by Holly Black
He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne
Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.
Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her twin sister, Taryn, whose life is in peril.
Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics.
And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity . . .
He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne
Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.
Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her twin sister, Taryn, whose life is in peril.
Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics.
And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity . . .
Reviews-
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Narrator Caitlin Kelly delivers all the fervor of the conclusion to Black's Folk of the Air trilogy. Jude is in exile when her treasonous twin provides a way to return to Elfhame. Curious, and with lingering feelings for Cardan, Jude takes her sister's place in the faerie realm. As the story changes direction, Kelly allows listeners to reconnect with the romance between these two. The political games heat up, and Kelly, likewise, adds to the intensity. The climax is reached when an ancient curse is released and Jude has to decide how to move forward. The author and narrator both give this decision the necessary gravity, ending the series with all the breathtaking drama it deserves. S.K.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
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Starred review from September 15, 2019
Broken people, complicated families, magic, and Faerie politics: Black's back. After the tumultuous ending to the last volume (marriage, exile, and the seeming collapse of all her plots), Jude finds herself in the human world, which lacks appeal despite a childhood spent longing to go back. The price of her upbringing becomes clear: A human raised in the multihued, multiformed, always capricious Faerie High Court by the man who killed her parents, trained for intrigue and combat, recruited to a spy organization, and ultimately the power behind the coup and the latest High King, Jude no longer understands how to exist happily in a world that isn't full of magic and danger. A plea from her estranged twin sends her secretly back to Faerie, where things immediately come to a boil with Cardan (king, nemesis, love interest) and all the many political strands Jude has tugged on for the past two volumes. New readers will need to go back to The Cruel Prince (2018) to follow the complexities--political and personal side plots abound--but the legions of established fans will love every minute of this lushly described, tightly plotted trilogy closer. Jude might be traumatized and emotionally unhealthy, but she's an antihero worth cheering on. There are few physical descriptions of humans and some queer representation. Whether you came for the lore or the love, perfection. (Fantasy. 14-adult)COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Starred review from September 15, 2019
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* In this closing volume to what has been an unusually strong trilogy, Black sends Jude Duarte, who was first a human spy in a faerie court (The Cruel Prince, 2018), then a seneschal to a faerie prince (The Wicked King, 2019), and is now the exiled Queen of Faerie herself, into her most fraught mission yet. Betrayed by Cardan, the High King of Faerie, her sometimes-enemy, sometimes-lover, just as they'd reached a tenuous peace, Jude is eking out a living in the mortal world when her twin sister, Taryn?herself familiar with betrayal?finds her to beg for help. Taryn needs Jude to impersonate her in Faerie, but Jude is forbidden from returning there, and the people she'll run into if she pretends to be Taryn are those most likely to see through her disguise. But Jude was never one to shy away from a challenge, and she has scores to settle, debts to pay, and a crown to claim in Faerie. She may be down, but Jude's not out; she remains a wily political thinker until the bitter end. Though Black ties up a few plotlines early on in this finale, the action remains explosive until the rewarding ending. There are even a few additional characters who turn up, adding new life to an already fresh tale. A compelling final piece in a powerful set. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The first two books in the series sold big, as did the movie rights for The Cruel Prince. Let's face it: people want this book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.) -
July 1, 2019
At the end of The Wicked King, King Cardan betrayed Jude, his secret wife and ostensible Queen of Faerie, and exiled her to the mortal world. Now Jude's twin arrives with the startling news that she has murdered her husband and requests that Jude stand in for her at the Faerie Court's inquest. Jude sneaks back into the Faerie realm, where she foils her foster father's traitorous designs and reconciles with Cardan. This trilogy ender delivers a heady mix of urban fantasy, court intrigue, and romance.(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
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November 1, 2019
In a stunning act of betrayal, the High King, Cardan, exiled Jude (secretly his wife and the ostensible Queen of Faerie) to the mortal world at the end of The Wicked King (rev. 1/19). Now, at the start of this entry, Jude's estranged twin sister, Taryn, arrives with the startling news that she has murdered her husband, and requests that Jude stand in for her during the inquest at the Faerie Court. Jude reluctantly agrees and, after sneaking back into the Faerie realm, is immediately and inexorably drawn back into the ubiquitous plotting and scheming from rival factions. Through it all, she manages to foil the traitorous designs of her foster father, Madoc; find her way toward reconciliation with Cardan; and discover a measure of happiness. Black delivers a heady mix of urban fantasy, court intrigue, and romance in the climactic book of this trilogy (which began with The Cruel Prince, rev. 1/18). Jonathan Hunt(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
