The Queen of Nothing

The Cruel Prince ???????????????The Wicked King ???????????????The Queen of Nothing ???????????????

I won't go into specific plot points in this book, but I will talk about what I liked and disliked briefly.

I really enjoyed Cardan and Jude's relationship for the most part. It was complicated, there were issues and it just really worked for me. The whole faerie world and its lore also was really enjoyable. I haven't read a series about fae before and I loved the setting a lot, especially the cruelty the fae loved to inflict on others. I also enjoyed how many different aspects there were to the plot, and how you could easily forget about one aspect only to be surprised with it later on.

Otherwise, I felt like this book should have been double its length. A lot of essential plot points happened off screen, or in the time between books two and three. This made the experience a lot less immersive and feel a bit cheap.

I didn't think I would get the opportunity to read this book so soon because this series tends to have long waitlists at the library. But I was pleasantly surprised that I got my copy already. If you've read some of my recent tag posts on my blog, you also know that I'm not a huge fan of the series and I frankly didn't have much expectations from this finale. I was actually prepared to be underwhelmed, so it was even more surprising that I ended up liking it. There will be spoilers below, so please read at your discretion.

I'm someone who loves reading hyped books but the Folk of the Air trilogy never managed to become one of my favorites. So when I started reading this finale, I just wanted to know how it all ends. And I think the author does a nice job wrapping it all up in a bow. To begin with, the story is pretty fast paced (except a few chapters in the beginning) and quite entertaining - I was never bored and neither did I want to put it down. I flew through it in just a few hours. The story did feel a little predictable at times though, but there were just a couple enough surprises which kept me engaged. However, I really really expected a huge war to breakout towards the end and Jude to show off her fighting skills and prove how she is a worthy queen - but none of that happened and that was a bit of a letdown. But I also guess it's in character for the Fair folk in general who would rather engage in wordplay than in a fair fight.

Jude has always been the one trying to prove her strength and show herself as steadfast, so it was actually different to see her in situations where she was uncertain how to act. I liked getting to know her more vulnerable side and see how she may behave in those times. Cardan is also a surprise this time and every scene when they were together felt so different from how I would expect them to be. This is a relationship that I've always believed is extremely toxic and I could never really get behind them, but they start being all lovey dovey and sweet to each other suddenly and I didn't know what to make of it. While they both maybe suited to each other in a weird way, I don't think I've been convinced enough that Jude is so okay with loving a bully, whatever might be his traumatic childhood; nor the fact that he has always been in love with her. Apparently one of the special editions of the book has some letters written by Cardan to Jude showcasing his true feelings, so I guess only the owners of that book are allowed to experience the true nature of Cardan's feelings.

And then comes Taryn. I really really hated her character for what she did to Jude and was expecting some punishment for her or atleast a redemption arc that involves a lot of groveling. Instead, we get a restoration of the sisterly bond without even a proper apology and I hated it. Locke is killed off page and we never even get to meet him and I thought that was really unfair because he deserved a much prolonged punishment at the hands of Jude. Even Madoc gets off so lightly towards the end that I kept wondering what was the whole point of it all.

But there were some heartfelt moments between Jude and Oak, Heather and Vivi, and it was all lovely to read. I also love the trust and bond that Jude has with the Court of Shadows. We get introduced to a new character called Grima Mog and she was absolutely delightful to follow along. Some of the other interactions with the leaders of the lower courts were fun and fascinating. It was all these little moments that made it all very entertaining.

Overall, I think this was a good ending but not a satisfying one. I don't think it does justice to all the buildup of the conflict or characters we've had in the first two books, and it just all fizzles out. It all wraps up in a bow with no serious repercussions or introspections, so everything just felt a tad bit superficial with no depth. However, despite all these shortcomings, I had fun while reading and in the end, I think that's all I can expect from a book.

I spent the first half of the book fed up with Jude (though tbh that has been a theme throughout this series). She kind of just gave up after the last book, sitting on a couch covered in Cheeto dust and tears, and decides a lot of things for herself whether they are true or not. She really needs to take time off sword fighting and work on her interpersonal skills. Though I kind of wanted more about her side job with the fae in the mortal world other than her one job to stop Grima Mog, I thought that was a lot more interesting than her moping around an apartment I can't see how they can afford and worrying about Heather like it's her business. Oak also seems to have aged a few years since the last book even though it's supposedly only been months? And there's no mention of him going to school, plus he can't even stop using his fae powers at the apartment playground. He can suddenly speak like an adult which was a bit jarring - it's hard to tell how old he's supposed to be here.
The second half was a lot more action with her back in faerie and Cardan rightly thinking she's a bit of an idiot but loving her anyway for some reason. We don't really get anything about what he's been up to, just bits and pieces Jude finds out by snooping or on accident, which is a bummer. He's obviously been doing a ton of thinking and planning and we get none of that because it's the Jude Show. Then suddenly he's a snake? And basically not a character for a 1/4 of the book, not even in his new form.
I loved this book because I love Holly Black's writing and her worlds but throughout this entire series Jude has really gotten on my nerves. The Strong Female Character trope gets a bit old, especially when Jude only gets through on sheer dumb luck, not because of any actual skills or communication. I look forward to whatever Black conjures up for her next original series, and hope that it doesn't focus so much on moral vs. fae and weird hair styles.

This book was interesting, but it didn't captivate me enough. I think that it was a good end for the trilogy but the resolution of the conflict wasn't epic enough and maybe too easy.
I liked the beginning, but then I felt that the characters were just walking around with little purpose. I recommend the trilogy but it wasn't my favorite.

okay, i finally finished my reread of this series. and i have feelings.

this series is so tough for me. while i do enjoy the story, about 2/3 through the first book i become super involved in the romance and then i don't really care about much that happens outside of that after. and a lot happens outside of that. like most of the books. after reading it i seemed to have blacked out and forgot how SLOW it burns. during my read this year i got about 1/3 of the way into this book and started losing it a little. i knew there were good moments coming up, but they really felt outside of my grasp.

then i picked it back up.

today i remembered why i soldiered on through the slow beginnings of this book because the QUOTES.

CARDAN AND JUDE.
(i feel strongly about them).

“my sweet nemesis, how glad i am that you have returned” is a line that makes me want to scream a little every time i readit. she made me wait so long to hear those lines of them finally understanding and hearing each other truly, and i am thrilled by it. anyway if you've read this please come talk to me about cardan and jude because they make me so mad and i love them in such an unreasonable way.

3.5 stars
This book needed more than 300 pages.
I enjoyed the ending but it could have been much better. Some things were too convenient, Jude's character development was weak (she seemed off through a large part of this book) and some things were added almost at the end to be resolved in a couple of chapters.
I was right about the solution for that ending of the Wicked King... and I'm mad about it.
In spite of it all, I still enjoyed reading it. It was addictive and very entertaining.

This wasn't as good as [b:The Wicked King 26032887 The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air, #2) Holly Black https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520620414l/26032887.SY75.jpg 45959180], but that's okay. It would have been very difficult to beat the standard set by that book. The ending felt a bit rushed and several plot points could have been better developed. Taryn deserved to have been slow-cooked in a vat of oil, barring that she needed to do some pretty serious grovelling/ character development but we didn't get that here. I kept expecting her to betray everybody

Hetzelfde gevoel als bij de twee vorige delen in de serie blijft overeind.
Enerzijds zoog de wereld, de personages en de hypnotiserende schrijfstijl mij helemaal naar binnen, terwijl er tegelijkertijd iets ontbrak wat me ervan weerhield om helemaal geïnvesteerd te raken.
De richting van het verhaal en de ontknoping vond ik fantastisch, maar alles voelde een beetje gehaast en verschillende zaken bleven onopgelost of werden uit het zicht opgelost.

Al in al ben ik echt wel fan van de stijl van Holly Black, de verhalen, de werelden en de personages die ze verzint, maar voor mij ontbreekt er iets in de algehele uitwerking om het echt machtig te maken.