My goodness, it feels as though I have been waiting for this book for a lifetime, despite the fact that the publisher pushed the publication date up to November. I was late for work the day it came out because I couldn’t wait for my pre-order to arrive anymore. I’m so glad that I FINALLY get to review The Queen of Nothing! If you haven’t read the previous two books in The Folk of the Air trilogy, I urge you not to spoil yourself by reading this review! I’ll be talking about some things that happened in the second book, so please go and read The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King before you come back here. Now, without further ado, let’s talk about The Queen of Nothing.
Jude Duarte has learned just how hard it is to hold onto power in Elfhame, and is now living in exile in the human world. She’s powerless and still reeling from Cardan’s betrayal, but she’s determined to bide her time and take everything that he’s stolen from her. The perfect opportunity arrives in the form of her traitorous sister Taryn, who’s life is currently in peril. Jude will venture back into the faerie court to save her sister and face her lingering feelings for Cardan. However, Elfhame is not how she left it. War is brewing, and as she slips behind enemy lines, she becomes involved in the conflict’s bloody politics. Worse still, when a dormant but powerful curse is unleashed, she’ll have to choose between her ambition for the crown and her humanity.
That description alone was enough for me to dive back into this world without a look back, to find out just what was going to happen. Let me tell you, I was not disappointed. It was as brutal as I expected this world to be, building up to some very emotional scenes. Let’s start with Jude. She’s had the world in her palm and had it ripped from her hands. I love her personality so much. She’s not simpering and whining about losing what she most wanted, but she’s devising just how she’s going to take it all back. I loved getting to see what she was up to in the human world, and one of my favourite interactions is the one she has with a certain character that also comes up later in the story. The human world hasn’t dulled Jude down one bit. Her character development in this trilogy has been my favourite by far.
Despite all of the betrayal she’s experienced, I love seeing Jude interact with her twin sister—the one that she still goes back to Elfhame to save despite the anger and resentment she carries toward her. However, I know that a lot of people are waiting for me to talk about Jude seeing Cardan again. All I will say is that you’ll have to read it to see how you feel about it. I’ve seen a lot of opinions on the internet about it, but what I will say is that I enjoyed the reunion. Their conversations (in the entire series) are some that I just relish. However, I will say now that I got to read the exclusive edition sold in Barnes and Noble that showcases Cardan’s side of things.
While I don’t think that Cardan got as much character development as Jude, I do feel like he grows in a different way. He’s become more self-aware, and that was something I truly enjoyed seeing on the page. I was a little disappointed that there was less court intrigue in comparison to the previous two books, and I missed that. I think it would have added the layer that I felt I was missing while reading this book.
The pacing of the story was also different from the other two stories. I read The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King in what felt like record time. I truly devoured each book. However, I was able to savour this one. This isn’t a bad thing, but it was something that I noticed while I was reading. Something that I will admit was that I was really looking forward to a good battle scene because of how everything had been built up in the previous two books, and while I enjoyed how everything went down, I could have used a little more battle scenes.
If I’m being honest, I loved how this story ended, and while I hope that we might someday revisit this world…it’s a very satisfying ending in my opinion. I’d love to know what other readers think of it, because I’m sure we don’t all have the same opinion. Something I do wish that all readers had is the special edition B&N book, because without that, I think readers are missing some very fun/key information about Cardan.
This story for me is a 9/10. It’s a great read, and I was satisfied, but I had hoped there would be more of some of those things that the first two books had. I’m glad to have had this journey with Jude, Cardan, and co., and I can’t wait to see where Holly Black takes her readers next.
The Queen of Nothing is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
After being pronounced Queen of Faerie and then abruptly exiled by the Wicked King Cardan, Jude finds herself unmoored, the queen of nothing. She spends her time with Vivi and Oak, watches her fair share of reality television, and does the odd job or two, including trying to convince a cannibalistic faerie from hunting her own in the mortal world.
When her twin sister Taryn shows up asking of a favor, Jude jumps at the chance to return to the Faerie world, even if it means facing Cardan, who she loves despite his betrayal.
When a dark curse is unveiled, Jude must become the first mortal Queen of Faerie and uncover how to break the curse, or risk upsetting the balance of the whole Faerie world.
The finale to the New York Times bestselling Folk of Air trilogy, that started with The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, from award-winning author Holly Black.
