Let's talk The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

Hey lovelies, welcome back!

My gosh it has been a long wait for this one! Originally due to be published next year, but thankfully brought forward, The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black is the thrilling conclusion to her 'The Folk of the Air' series. *WARNING! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS THEN THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!*. 

Jude has been exiled to the mortal world mere hours after marrying The High King, Cardan, and becoming The Queen of Faerie. Struggling to come to terms with her sentence, and Cardan's betrayal, she vows to reclaim everything she lost and enact revenge on those who wronged her...  Opportunity presents itself in the form of her twin, Taryn, whose life is in danger and desperately needs Jude's help. Braving to return to Faeire, upon pain of death, Jude finds her kingdom on the brink of war and must do everything she can to stop it, including confronting Cardan...

Oh, how I devoured this book! I loved everything from beginning to end! Everything I have been waiting two years for finally came about and I don't think Black could have written a better conclusion if she'd tried. My heart was full to bursting by the time I read the last sentence! 

As always Black's writing was effortless. She conveys the surreal, ethereal quality of Faerie in a way that heightens not only your imagination but your senses too, something only this "Faerie Queen" can! 

Everyone's character arc comes full circle and I was stunned at a few character’s fates... Black sure knows how to throw a plot twist in doesn’t she!

For me the two who developed most were Taryn and Cardan. Taryn has grown from the trivial, frivolous girl into a strong independent women “who don’t need no Locke”… She was one of my favourites by the end. And of course, I'm still hopelessly in love with Cardan! His character development was unsurpassed. Watching him grow throughout the series from the nasty, spiteful boy we meet in TCP to the scheming, methodical young man we say goodbye to in TQoN. It was refreshing to see a different side to our Wicked King.

If I had to choose, TWK would be my favourite out of the trilogy. Although I loved TQoN, it felt lacklustre in comparison to the previous book. Maybe I was expecting too much… It’s still a dazzling read nonetheless that will hold an eternal place on my bookshelf.   

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Let's talk The Wicked King by Holly Black

Hey lovelies, welcome back!

The Wicked King is the stunning sequel to The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. If you haven't read this series you really need to ASAP! IT'S F**KING BRILLIANT!

Jude has put the crown on Cardan's head and tricked him into becoming the High King, that was the easy part. She now has a year and a day to figure out how to keep him there and maintain her control of him, that's the tricky part. But while Jude is figuring that out, while also battling their complicated relationship, friend and foe alike are out to play them for their own personal gain. Suddenly a year and a day seems like no time at all…

MY HEART!!!!! I finished this book within a day because seriously, I couldn’t stop reading. Everything about this book drew me in, from the magic, the adventure, the betrayal and of course the sizzling chemistry between Cardan and Jude! And just like TCP, the plot lingered long after I’d finished.

Just like its predecessor, TWK is told entirely from Jude’s perspective. I love this as you really feel the power and control that Jude processes and get to experience her growth alongside her. This also allows you to witness first hand Cardan’s development. We see a completely different side to him, although he remains the same arrogant, scheming villain we hate to love that he’s always been, and watch his fascination with Jude take on a whole new meaning. Let’s just say I SHIP THEM, HARD! For me, they are the new Valek and Yelena. 

In regards to the other characters, all our favourites are still around, although slightly in the background. It was interesting to see how Jude's relationship with her family, especially Tarryn and Madoc, progressed in this book and it was great to see her gain some independence. I also loved that some of the minor characters of TCP were given their own story-line; I can definitely see a spin-off there. 

Black’s world building is still as intricate and breathtaking as it was in TCP. The description of that secret room, yes you know the one, was simply mesmerising and really highlighted the magnitude of that scene. The description of the Undersea court and the logistics of that scene were particularly interesting. It was thrilling to witness Nicasia in her natural element and to experience another part of Faeire. Holly really has a way with words.

And can we just take a moment to talk about that ending… WTF! It shocked me to my core, I need book three immediately! It’s going to be a long year while we wait for The Queen of Nothing.

Holly Black event | The Cruel Prince book review

The last time I attended a book event was before I went on my 2 year break and it took a lot of courage for me to start attending them again. But when I saw that YA author Holly Black was going to be at Waterstones Piccadilly talking about her new book, The Cruel Prince, I knew it would be now or never...

Because I am a Waterstones bookseller I was able to attend the event for free, and luckily I was able to meet up with one of my longest blogger friends Nicola from Fantastic Book Dragon.

As soon as I arrived I was greeted with a glass of wine, always a win with me, and the most beautiful set design I have ever seen at an event! It honestly felt like a real life faerie glade which fit perfectly with the book.

The talk itself was so mesmerizing and imaginative. Holly talked about her inspiration behind the story, a combination of forgotten folklore, creating stories on long drives and Dungeons&Dragons!, how she comes up with her characters and how her stories take on a mind of their own and never end the way she thought they would, our favourite forgotten fairytales, who her favourite character to write was and hints about book two.

The talk finished with a Q&A and was followed by a book signing and a chance to speak to Holly personally. I didn't say much as I was too starstruck so I went for a photo instead. Oh and we were given a goody-bag with some amazing treats inside too!
















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BOOK REVIEW: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Anyone who knows me will know how obsessed I am with anything mythical, especially faeries! So when I saw that Holly Black was coming to London it gave me the perfect excuse to pick up this alluring book. 

The Cruel Prince follows three young girls, Jude, Taryn and Vivi, who are kidnapped and taken to Faerie following their parents' murder. There they are raised as part of the gentry and installed into the Royal Court. However Jude and Taryn are human, doomed to suffer under cruel Prince Cardan's superiority. Jude longs for a place in Faerie and to finally fit in but with the coronation of the new High King just around the corner and new opportunities presenting themselves, Jude must take the utmost care for the path to power is never easy...

Let me start off by saying that I FRICKING LOVED THIS BOOK! It has everything that I look for in a novel - magic, adventure, friendship, betrayal and of course the sultry villain that you just hate to love. I knew as soon as I read the blurb that I was going to fall head-over-heels for the story-line, what I didn't expect was how long it would linger after I finished. 

What I particularly loved was the world building that Holly dedicated the first three quarters of the book too. The awe of Faerie translated fluently from the page to the imagination and this, enhanced further by the first person narrative from Jude's perspective, , as a reader, allowed me to fully grasp how Jude was influenced.

What struck me most is that the action doesn't really kick in until the towards end of the book. I'm not normally compatible with this style of writing, I much prefer my books to kick off after about a quarter of the way through, but something about this one just agreed with me, fitted perfectly with the plot and opened up book two effortlessly. 

This was the first of Holly's books that I've read but her writing and world building has captivated me in a way I haven't seen since Maria V. Snyder and because of that I will most definitely be ordering in the rest of her books soon!