The Queen of Nothing

The Queen of Nothing

by Holly Black

4 out of 5

Synopsis
He will be 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 deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal 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…

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy.



Review
After being banished to the mortal world, Jude has to find her way back to Faerie, find out who she can trust; plus stop a war from destroying the only place she calls home.

I was really excited to finally get my hands on the final part of the Folk in the Air trilogy.
I listened to this on audiobook.

This third installment follows Jude, as she teams up with both of her sisters - the fae who hates Faerie, Viv; and her twin, the double-crossing Taryn.
It was interesting to see them all put their differences behind them, as they try to stop the deadly tide of war.

And then there's Cardan, who may or may not be in love/hate with Jude. He's either going to be her greatest ally, or enemy, there can be no inbetween.

I really wanted to love this book as much as it's kooky and deceiving predecessors.
Jude remains the strong-willed and deadly protagonist. She's long given up any ideas of being a hero, as she is far from shiny. She has killed and lied and forced Faerie to respect her, so she can lead them to do the right thing and build a kingdom for her brother, Oak.
But... it felt like the plot was stalling. Yes, there's a war brewing. Yes, Cardan is destined to destroy the throne. Yes, there is a fairytale monster...
I think with the conflict settled very early with Cardan and Tarryn; and with no Locke to stir things up, the threats are all straight-forward. Huge and life-threatening, but straight-forward.

Don't get me wrong, it's a very good book, and I did enjoy it. If you're reading the trilogy, I would highly recommend it - especially if you ship Jude and Cardan.

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