The Wicked King (2025)
The Wicked King is a 2025 young adult fiction book written by Holly Black.
Jude holds more power than any mortal in Faerie should, and it is already slipping. Holly Black's sequel finds her ruling from the shadows, having bound the wicked king Cardan to her will while guarding her young brother's claim to the throne. Cardan submits and needles her in the same breath, his fascination as sharp as his contempt. Alliances in Elfhame shift by the hour, someone close means to betray her, and the crown she fought for grows heavier. Court intrigue, dangerous longing, and hard choices tighten around a queen who trusts no one.
Quick answers
What is The Wicked King about?
Jude holds more power than any mortal in Faerie should, and it is already slipping. Holly Black's sequel finds her ruling from the shadows, having bound the wicked king Cardan to her will while guarding her young brother's claim to the throne. Cardan submits and needles her in the same breath, his fascination as sharp as his contempt. Alliances in Elfhame shift by the hour, someone close means to betray her, and the crown she fought for grows heavier. Court intrigue, dangerous longing, and hard choices tighten around a queen who trusts no one.
When was The Wicked King published?
The Wicked King was published on 14 October 2025.
Who made The Wicked King?
The Wicked King was written by Holly Black.
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A few thoughts on The Wicked King
The pleasures here are poison cups and shifting loyalties. Game of Thrones matches the court knives and the price of holding a throne. The Favourite trades in the same intimate power games and cruel wit. For a game, Dishonored lets you scheme through a court of masks where every ally may turn.
Royal courts where a single misstep gets you killed
Jude survives Elfhame by hiding how much power she's holding, the same knife-edge court Game of Thrones runs on for years. The Favourite plays an identical game with letters and whispers instead of crowns, Dishonored hands you the tools for a coup instead of a throne, and Throne of Glass and Crown of Midnight both drop a woman with secrets into rooms full of people who'd kill for her seat.
Fae courts built on bargains, tricks, and dangerous longing
Cardan and Jude's whole relationship runs on bargains neither of them can afford to break, the same currency A Court of Thorns and Roses trades in from its first pages through Mist and Fury and Wings and Ruin. Tithe drops a human girl into the same treacherous Seelie and Unseelie politics, and Once Upon a Broken Heart makes literal deals with a fae-adjacent trickster the whole plot hinges on.
Enemies who circle each other before anything else
Jude keeps Cardan bound and humiliated while he needles her right back, neither one willing to blink first. Serpent & Dove runs the exact same standoff between a witch and a witch hunter forced together, Heir of Fire keeps Celaena and Rowan sharpening each other through pure hostility, and Caraval and its sequel Legendary turn every alliance into a game where trusting the wrong person costs you everything.