Book Description
Betrayed by Cardan after trading her control over him in exchange for being the Queen of Elfhame, Jude is left worse off than ever. Powerless and exiled from the home she fought so hard to belong to, she is left bitter and seeking revenge. Fortunately, a golden chance arises when her troubled twin sister Taryn pays her a visit with a dangerous request.
Returning to Fae Court she must find a way to save her sister whilst dealing with her long-standing feelings for Cardan. However, this trip ends up being far longer than she planned. With an upcoming war looming and a prophecy unfolding, Jude has an impossible decision to make that will cost her and the rest of Elfhame greatly…
Review
Writing this is bittersweet, I can’t believe this is the end AAAGH! But even so, Holly Black wrapped this story up beautifully, leaving me more than satisfied overall.
Seeing Jude carving a life for herself in the human world was painful to read. Although she is human herself you can tell from a mile away that she doesn’t belong, everything about her screams fae. The Queen of Nothing is truly a fitting title as she spends her days cramped in Vivi’s humble apartment watching TV and training a reluctant Oak. It’s not until she starts working for an exiled Fae did I begin to recognise the badass Queen we all know and love and it only goes up from there! Not long later, we are introduced to a new character, who has quickly become one of my favourites and plays a key role in the unfolding of this story.
The tension between Jude and Cardan is still alive and kicking but their characters development is what transforms their relationship and sets them apart from the Jude and Cardan of the past. They’re no longer running away from their fears but facing them head on and they are now far more mature and stronger because of it. Cardan surprised me the most in this book, he’s grown so much that he’s hardly recognisable, usually, Jude is the one that really blows me away, but Cardan undoubtedly shined through in a way that has me giddy and grinning like a proud mum.
The one thing I was disappointed about was how everything played out with Taryn. Taryn is the character I disliked the most since finishing The Cruel Prince and rightly so. Her betrayal left a deep-seated wound in Jude that really pierced me emotionally and forever tainted my image of her. Her weak attempts at repairing their relationship in The Wicked Prince were nothing short of aggravating and disingenuous. She had no comprehension of how cruel her actions were. So, Taryn screwing Jude over once AGAIN wasn’t shocking, to say the least, but man did it leave me fantasising about potential scenes where Jude gets her revenge.
Unfortunately, none of my gratifying fantasies played out and the reality was much more underwhelming and frankly disappointing. However, Taryn’s personal growth did have me feeling begrudgingly somewhat proud of her. Gosh, that was painful to admit but true.
Tarn’s decision-making skills so far are severely flawed (as we all know) but seeing her come out from behind the shadows and take charge of her life was commendable. However, nothing changes the fact that she is still self-serving to the core and will never deserve her sister Jude. Especially if I put into perspective that she’s the older twin. Her behaviour from start to finish is still sickening to me, perhaps because she was never truly punished for her actions. So, whatever she does regardless of how helpful will always be tainted by her past behaviour which proves my belief that she is, to put it bluntly, forever untrustworthy.
The turbulent relationship between Madock and Jude is at the forefront of this book. Their twisted care for one another makes them an abnormal family but their clear opposing desires make them the greatest of enemies. Watching them go at each other and witnessing Jude come to grips with her feelings for her adopted father/ murderer of her parents was the highlight for me. Holly Black brilliantly conveyed the complexities of their relationship so well that even I grappled with how to view Madock.
Final Thoughts
Exciting, daring and stressful in the best way possible perfectly sums up the last instalment of this trilogy. I’m half mad and half glad that I left this series for so long. Mad because I could have read this fantastic series much sooner but glad that I left it late enough to happily binge it all. Now that I think about it, I probably would have lost my mind waiting for each book, especially after The Wicked King. I couldn’t have devoured this book fast enough if I tried. This series had me in a chokehold that I will miss dearly!
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