The Wicked King
Holly Black, 2019
Fantasy Young adultPhilosophyContemporary fiction
A mortal spy keeps a wicked faerie king on a leash, and every courtier wants to cut it. The mood is all coiled power and longing, with court intrigue moving at a dramatic, dread-soaked pace and a plain, sharp voice.
Feels like longing, dread and tenderness. About power, love and faith.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy YA fantasy about faerie courts, risky romance, and characters who trade leverage instead of trust. The scheming and dread stay thick throughout, so it can feel tense rather than cozy.
Why read it
It gives you a tight knot of longing and power, and a sharp-eyed look at what it costs to hold leverage over someone dangerous.
A page from the book
Power dressed as a joke, and everyone in the room knows it.
The three of you have one solution to every problem. Murder. No key fits every lock.” Cardan gives us all a stern look, holding up a long-fingered hand with my stolen ruby ring still on one finger. “Someone tries to betray the High King, murder. Someone gives you a harsh look, murder. Someone disrespects you, murder. Someone ruins your laundry, murder. Holly Black.Before Elfhame, Holly Black co-created The Spiderwick Chronicles with Tony DiTerlizzi; the series became a film in 2008.
Books that feel like this
More by Holly Black
The Cruel Prince
Holly Black, 2018
A mortal girl raised among faeries decides she will not be a pawn, in a court where every kindness has a price and every promise can be twisted.
The Queen of Nothing
Holly Black, 2019
A mortal girl raised among faeries has learned to fight for every inch of power; the hardest battle is letting someone close.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
Holly Black, 2020
The boy with the heart of stone gets his own book: Cardan, before and beside the crown, and the stories that made him.
Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is The Wicked King for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy YA fantasy about faerie courts, risky romance, and characters who trade leverage instead of trust. The scheming and dread stay thick throughout, so it can feel tense rather than cozy.
- What is The Wicked King like?
- The mood is all coiled power and longing, with court intrigue moving at a dramatic, dread-soaked pace and a plain, sharp voice. Feels like longing, dread and tenderness. About power, love and faith.
- What should I read after The Wicked King?
- If you liked The Wicked King, try Lightlark (Alex Aster), King's Cage (Victoria Aveyard) and Siege and Storm (Leigh Bardugo).
A taste of the feed
What it sounds like when someone could ruin you and chooses not to.
I could open a black hole that would swallow the beach. I could turn the sea dark as ink and kill everything inside of it. I could demolish the castle, brick by brick, from where we stand. I could take you back to Nightshade lands with me right now.” His voice was deep as dreams, dark as nightmares. “I could do all of those things.” His lips pressed against the top of her ear, for just a moment. “And I might—if I didn’t think you would hate me for it.
Lightlark · Alex Aster
What it means when the eyes you fear are a mother's eyes.
And his eyes are worst of all. Her eyes, Elara’s eyes. Once I thought them cold, made of living ice. Now I know better. The hottest fires burn blue, and his eyes are no exception.
King's Cage · Victoria Aveyard
The loneliest thing anyone can say is that they stayed.
Why won’t you leave me alone?” I whispered one night as he hovered behind me while I tried to work at my desk. Long minutes passed. I didn’t think he would answer. I even had time to hope he might have gone, until I felt his hand on my shoulder. “Then I’d be alone, too," he said, and he stayed the whole night through, till the lamps burned down to nothing.
Siege and Storm · Leigh Bardugo
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