"The Wicked King" by Holly Black

The Wicked King is a sequel to The Cruel Prince, which I reviewed earlier. The story picks up right where the first book ended. This book also is written entirely from Jude's perspective. As such, it is still hard to tell what Cardan's intentions are. On the one hand, there are scenes where he behaves like he really cares about Jude and wants to trust her. But then there is the ending, which I know left a lot of readers wondering.

I still do not like Jude very much. I realize she is supposed to be a morally gray character, she just seems very immature and too power hungry for my taste. With morally gray characters, I usually enjoy sophistication, humor, self-assurance and cunning manipulations. Jude is just too young and inexperienced for that. So she comes off flippant and desperate. I also don't like the way she seems to be willing to sacrifice anything for power. We'll see what book 3 has in store, but at this point, it is hard for me to root for her.

I was glad to see that Cardan is much more present in this book. I was also happy he finally took charge in the end. I have no problem with strong female characters, but when the female lead begins to be inept, I appreciate that someone else can step in and save the day. A closer look at the underworld and the King's powers were also nice additions in this installment. Overall, I enjoyed the second book more then the first. Solid 3 out of 5 stars. Book 3 is coming out tomorrow and I can't wait to read the conclusion.