I finished reading the Wicked King. Why did it feel so anticlimactic? The thing is, before I began reading I already knew some spoilers and was very excited to see how they would be executed. Because the experience of Cruel Prince had left me with excitement to see what games Jude would play in the second book.
Nothing of note happens that she herself initiated. And not much that is meant to be a permanent change happened either.
Then the spoiler that I knew of happened: Jude’s exile. And it felt like an off hand comment. Not a pivotal turning point of the story where Jude is forced to restart again in the mortal realm. As well as being betrayed by her husband. When I knew the exile was going to happen, I thought Cardan would orchestrate the entire thing.
He would love Jude, yes, but clearly her greed and distrust kept him restrained. So i thought he was going to trick her…. deliberately. For him to be cruel intentionally for his benefit.
And then Jude would come back to faerie world, much to his delight, and force him into another bargain. Because honestly I don’t expect their relationship to be normals in any sense of the word. I doubt Jude will ever trust Cardan again… because she shouldn’t. HAHAHA like, Cardan didn’t even give her a trial before deciding to exile. And it amuses me because he gave those musicians bickering over a stolen instrument more thought, before passing his judgement.
It would HYPOTHETICALLY be really funny if someone were to HYPOTHETICALLY write a insanely freaked out erotic fanfic of Madoc x Justin. That would HYPOTHETICALLY be really funny and inspiring and great and cool
Unfortunately this review is not spoiler free, so read at your own risk.. also i didn’t spell check so pleaseee let me know if you see something! ⋆˚࿔
𝒯his is nothing more than me expressing my thoughts on some things I disliked about the book. However, I did enjoy it and if you wish to see my joyful review go here. 🐈 Now, without any further ado, here’s my review.
First of all, i’d like to disclaim i am not hating and i’m a firm believer we should critique the things we consume and i also am not an expert so this is probably rushed or horrible.
𑣲𝐿ist 𝑜𝒻 𝒢rievances
Taryn’s character usage, (for lack of a better word.) I personally disliked the way everyone just joined Jude. Everyone who was meant to betray her, just came back and suddenly they were all buddy-buddy. Even Madoc for a bit. But, what bothered me most of all was the way Taryn was written and used. When she first came in asking for help, I felt that it was very random, especially the way Jude didn’t question Taryn at all except for once.. which just feels so out of character considering jude is always scheming. Plus, by this point Taryn has betrayed her twice, she should know better. I also feel as though Taryn’s pregnancy was very unnecessary. It didn’t add anything to the plot and was barely mentioned too; like you’d see this girl moving like crazy, making you forget of her pregnancy. In general, I just disliked what was done to Taryn.
This leads me to my next point, nothing happens. No one dies, no one suffers, and everyone is pardoned. I could see why Jude would pardon Taryn, he sister whom she has been with her whole life. But Madoc? Who tried to kill her? Multiple times? I just feel like Jude would at the very least put him in prison or something.. The ending just felt very underwhelming.
𑣲𝑀y 𝒮olution
Taryn betrays Jude. It would just be so much more interesting if Taryn decided to side with Madoc. Not only would it bring conflict between Jude and Taryn, but also could show Taryn struggling to be what Madoc wants of her. Taryn and Jude are twins, having Taryn stay with Madoc would work as a mirror for Jude, showing her what she could have been had she stayed with Madoc. They would be two sides of the same coin. Not only that, but Taryn would also have the pressure of being better than Jude, as obviously Magic’s first choice for the war would have been her and not Taryn. I just think it would have provided a much needed, interesting conflict. Taryn instead, ends up falling short and flat. Nothing truly interesting happens with her, she’s just there. Her pregnancy could also have been used as a plot point. For example, Madoc could have wanted her to marry Cardan, and pretend it was his child so that Taryn, under Madoc's “advice” could rule. Or something like that I don’t know.
Overall, I had fun reading this book and did enjoy it. It did feel a little fast paced towards the ending, and throughout the book, it felt like a lot and nothing was going on at the same time. But other than what i already listed, i did like it, and especially loved Jude, Cardan, the Bomb, and the roach; (not a big fan of the ghost, whom i think should have remained a traitor.) And, if you ask me, Wicked King is the best book. Thank you for reading my short little rant 🐈.
