#45 in Young adult
The Wicked King
- 332
- Pages
- about 6 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The Wicked King” is where this series finds its plot. Where the first book spent its time building Faerie, the sequel is all treachery, shifting alliances and manoeuvring for power, and the bond between Jude and Cardan becomes more convincing as it grows more dangerous. Readers who like court intrigue with a dark edge will be well served, and the ending raises more questions than it settles.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince. You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring. The first lesson is to make yourself strong. After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished. When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.3 across 1,026 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 87% of the weight and the score stays at 8.3 — the Young adult average of 7.8 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.4 | 23 | 2% |
| Hardcover | 8.3 | 1K | 98% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Wicked King for?
The Wicked King sits on the Young adult shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 13 and up. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 332 pages — shorter than 90% of the ranked books in Young adult.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Young adult — with scores between 7.8 and 8.3, closest to this book.
