After everything that Locke and Jude's sister did to her I was highly disappointed that we didn't get to see his death and that Jude forgave and trusted her sister so quickly. Everyone seemed so out of character in this book.

Queen of Nothing was extremely rushed! I was shocked about how short it was, and then how quickly the story ran through everything. Holly Black has such an amazing talent for storytelling, I was extremely surprised that things got brushed over so quickly. A lot of moments could’ve lasted a bit longer, other things could’ve been better explained, not many areas of the map was used, and suddenly trickery and scheming wasn’t such a big deal in this book compared to the previous two. Even the “war” at the end lasted only 4-5 lines! I’m just disappointed... 🤦🏻‍♀️

I actually really like that Locke died off screen because I know deep down that he would have hated the idea that he wasn't even deserving of his own on page death scene.

The Madoc and Jude dynamic needed a better resolution given they're both strategists. I was hoping the student would outsmart/ out do the teacher....sigh...can't have everything we want

I rushed through this book in a single night and enjoyed the process for what it was, but I also felt like Holly Black wasted the potential of Depth and richness her Setting and characters had in them. She settled for smooth and quick insetad of lush and fleshed out, I feel. The Story would have been much more stunning and memorable, if the plot would have been a bit rough around the edges, with increased friction and groing pains in the character developement, more heart in the whole process instead of rushing through the key plot points. Overall, it did feel very much like a highlight reel, not like a full length novel.

I actually loved Queen of Nothing, BUT when I picked it up I was not in a mood for a lot of drawn-out plot and tension. I mostly just wanted to see how the story would end. So for me it was the perfect book, but I can definitely see why people who expected more would be disappointed.

I loved it but I do think the ending was pretty rushed and I wanted more...I was so sad I was like I need more of this

It's funny because I agree with literally everything you said, but I still really enjoyed this book. More than anything this series was just so much fun to read that each book felt like eating a big bar of chocolate or something, and while I do think it could have been stretched out and better (I think it's telling that it was pushed from January 2020 to November 2019) I still had such a good time reading it that I don't really mind how rushed it was? I would have liked to have seen Locke's death on the page, but I am so, so glad Taryn's the one who killed him.

OMG finally someone who realized she realized the loophole and still didn’t try to go back

Yeah I totally agree on the point that the series should have 4 books. I think that after Jude finally returned back I think that her and Cardan should spent some time discussing misscomunication and then building up the relationship slowly. To me slow burn feels so real and I think it would work better. I want to see them taking their guard down slowly and discovering themselves. I want to hear them talk about their struggles not just me knowing them through small pieces of information. I feel like the part after Jude gets hurt had so much more potential. Imagine Cardan crying like and him being all soft, taking care of her. While reading this series I figured out that the author was speeding through all the parts that had potential and then writing boring things - Cruel Prince and Queen of nothing had so many scenes that could be longer and really enjoyable. P. S. The snake thing was so random to me like wtf.

I'm glad I had no real emotional investment in these books because that finale was so lackluster. I felt like I was reading a different series. As you said, the characters felt like different people, it wasn't as bloody and cutthroat as the books before and it seemed like Holly Black just took the easiest route to wrap things up. The final battle felt like it was over in two pages and I'm not sure what she wanted to accomplish with the serpent transformation. It just took time away to develope the romance more which their relationship really needed. I just didn't believe that they LOVE each other. Always felt more like hate fueled lust to me.

this book honestly felt like holly black just got tired of writing this series

I really think we needed more Jude and cardan moments because if she was wasn’t going to focus that much on the war then she could at least shine some light on jurdan. They had almost no scenes and I really wanted more from them. Also what’s this romance between the ghost and taryn? I hope we get more closure in the cardan novella but that’s mostly gonna be the series through his POV im pretty sure.

I agree with you on the length of the books and them just being lacking in areas - world building and pacing. I kind of feel like Holly Black is holding herself back from writing denser books in order to appeal to those particular aesthetics, like the light romp of a tale that has certain scenes that might stay with you but overall is just an okay story. Oddly, I feel like her standalone books have been better in terms of having meatier plot and character development. She's still an auto-buy author for me, even though I was disappointed by this book and how quickly we got to the end.

Totally agree. I enjoyed the book, but I feel like so much more could've came out of it.

I found it hard for me to put my finger on what I didn’t like about this book, or what was missing. But I think you put it perfectly when you said there’s like a step missing and that’s exactly it!! Thanks for your review!!

The whole Locke-Jude-Taryn thing just pissed me off. I wish that Jude could have killed him and I feel like she was hella too forgiving with Taryn for no reason. Taryn betrayed her twice and she didn’t really need anything to gain that trust back. It just makes no sense. Also, Taryn found out that Locke almost killed Jude and her reaction was like “Oh ok, nice.” But what I’m even more confused about is how Jude didn’t feel any sort of resentment towards Locke and Taryn. Taryn was her twin sister and she let Locke play with Jude’s feelings and thought that it was okay and even had the audacity of being mad at Jude.

I agree with just wanting more out of the book as a whole. Especially more out the sisters relationships and Locke. I felt like having ghost be redeemed was kind of a cop out, just let him be a bad guy. I thought the betrayal was well done, why ruin that? But overall the series was still entertaining.

I didn't think about 4 bookd but as soon as you mentioned it, my brain clicked that what I felt was missing was a book 3

Lackluster book, honestly. Everything was a kiddy ride because like on the first book, everyone was cruel and cunning. Here, it's like, welp, im actually good hehe(eg Ghost, Carden, Nicasia) Just disappointing. Expected more deaths, Lockes death was lame. Expected crazy battles with Madoc(like he would never give up) and the Sea Queen. And more angst.(jude would definitely not forgive Cardan and Taryrn that easily) Everything was just told to, not showed. Im sad because the potential it couldve been.

I was SO underWHELMED

I think that Jude choosing Cardan/love instead of uncontested power in the end also didn't really fit her character. Maybe I would feel different if more time was spent on character development but idk :/

As soon as she said “I’ll tell him I love him after the feast” I was like... oh no

Personally, I loved the series, but I completely agree. I felt rushed. There was so much distrust between jude and a few characters and it seems like they patched up their relationship too quickly. Even Cardan being turned into a snake could have been flesh out more and turned into a 4th book . I was just ready for an epic fight... that never came.

I agree to the author just left this story at the end....I predicted the end ........Jude and Cardan relationship was so rushed.,.. the Madoc surrendered without war

Exact feelings. It needed long and they were oddly good

This!! I overall enjoyed the read and liked a lot of singular scenes, but as a whole it felt rushed. I almost wanted more fallout from locke’s death, as well as the whole cardan/snake thing at the end felt like it wrapped up too easily. I almost kinda feel like Jude sneaking back into the faerie world could have been the third book, and a fourth book could have been dealing w snake cardan and madoc and the court of teeth could have been the last book.

SO mad that Taryn just killed Locke. The man who you betrayed your twin for, a couple months later you kill him? Whatttttt?

I was so confused at the end so I have a question How did June end the curse? I mean she told him that she loved him and chopped the head of the snake off And then cardan appears.. I.. how?

1. I don’t understand how carden and Jude are in love. They never had any moments where they got to know each other, they never learned anything about each other internally and they had no connection. Yet they loved each other in the end? She literally only had like 4 pure conversations with him in the whole series. 2. I have never in my life read such a bad ending. It was so rushed and was so confusing. The “war” scene was like half a page. 3. I loved Carden in the end but he was so different from the first book that he was totally unrecognisable that he was not carden. Like I get character development but she changed his whole character. 4. Idk why but Jude just really annoyed me. Yes she was a strong independent person but she appreciated nothing. She was so emotion less that I just did not care about her. The people that were kind and helped her she never smiled or thought about them at all. She’s kind of a bitch in my eyes. 5. The world made no sense. It needed way more world building. Like I did not understand the different courts, why they are there and where they are even located. The political system thing also totally lost me. I am kind of disappointed. Don’t get me wrong I love the whole aesthetic of the world and the ideas behind it but the characters and the plot lacked so much.

I feel the exact same way tbh. At the time I gave it a 4 star, but I honestly think that now I have time to sit on it it’s a 3. It just kinda sucks that every series I read has a disappointing or sucky conclusion. I mean you’ve read more than 1 book to get there and it honestly sucks sometimes. Plus I was pretty invested in the series so now that I’ve had a few months to think about it, I’ve realized I just don’t love this book

idk why but as I was watching your vid I had this weird realisation moment where I realised that I felt exactly the same about this book (but hadn't noticed it before). Everything felt a bit rushed and idk... It was kind of funny because when I got the book I was so surprised that it was such a short book and when I read it, it all made sense (sadly). Anyways, I love your reviews

I agree with you this book was rushed!! It was okay, but we definitely needed more flavor!! I think it was so cute about the Ghost liking Taryn in the end😍😍😍 I just hope in the 4th book it will add more flavor basically what we wanted in book 3 for the characters than just Cardan’s perspective which I don’t mind.

I've missed this channel so SO much. And yes, you've put into words why I thought the book was a bit off. Especially considering how good Wicked King was.

I like tcp and loveee twk, jurdan is one of my top otp but yeah this final book is very lackluster

So what do you think about her latest book King of Elfhame???

I couldn't agree more. There was a lot that felt 'expected' in this book which took away from what could've been a more fleshed out finale. It was rushed but if I'm honest I never really felt like she fully leaned into the parts of the book that made it interesting (i.e.the dark, complicated grayness of the characters/world she built). She started to in Wicked King but then backtracked in QON. Still, the series is an enjoyable enough read but not really memorable for me either.

I finally bought the Cruel Prince and I want to read the whole series. I keep hearing that the last book was a bit disappointing though. I love morally grey characters though.. This series just hasn't been on the top of my list though.

I just have one question: What happens after 10 years of Jude and Cardan's marriage? Like did I miss something in the book if or when they say she is immortal because it would really suck if she died of old age even if they stayed together. It would most certainly suck for Cardan to live his immortal life without her. Did I miss something in the book?

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel like Jude was an idiot (brave and courageous , yes) but just blinded by her own internalisation & plotting most of the time, so much that she missed very important facets of truth, particularly with Cardan in both WK and QoN. I felt her to be quite frustrating as the main character and had to skim over some of her scheming etc..as I just found it tedious.I think the main character in a book should have some degree of emotional intelligence...?

Only reason why I stuck to the end with this book was for the Jude and Cardan romance but other then that the book was good but not my favorite series, it felt a bit rushed in my opinion

queen of nothing really disappointed me. it’s weird i got the same vibes from all the books that you did but i loved them all anyways. I feel so unsatisfied though. The last book was incredibly rushed. I wish she would’ve just either made the book longer or added more books to the series. Like Throne of Glass is my fave series of all time and when it ended i felt very satisfied, with the cruel prince i did not. There was a lot of potential there that didn’t live up to. But for whatever reason i still deeply love the series

I read the first book, and I just felt like it was rather mediocre and gave it 2 stars. In addition to the massive pacing issues, Jude as a character transitioned from being a meek girl to this badass assassin way too quickly for it to be believable to me. There were some aspects of the plot that made little sense to me like the relationship between Jude and her adopted father or how she wanted to be a fae, despite what they did to her family. Not to the mention the first half was a complete bore until that one king dies. Honestly, I have no desire to continue on with the series, especially after hearing this book wasn't that great either.

100% this book probably needed like another 200 pages. But overall I think the enemies to lovers trope was well done.

As soon as I saw how short the book was, I knew it was gonna be shit. Holly Black has always been a hit or miss author for me, I absolutely adore The Darkest Part of the Forest (it definitely should have been a series instead of a standalone) but this series was lackluster for me. The writing style felt juvenile and like it was a rough draft instead of a final product. The plot was all over the place, the characters’ personalities did complete 180s out of nowhere, and the writing was overall not the greatest.

I wanted jude to kill locke, I mean I was impressed with taryn ,but I still dont like her. Love grimma mog! I'm also really confused about how I feel about madoc

I found this book a little flat. When Cardan became a snake I was surprised, but I did wonder why he became a snake. Madoc is no longer my favorite character, Cardan is because of his growth. I'm glad Jude and Cardan have a happy ending. The three other couples didn't really have much of a happy ending. The final chapter felt rushed to me. I still give this book 5 stars and ♥️♥️♥️ I will miss the High King and Queen of Faerie.

Holly Black totally gave up on this series and half assed this series :/

It was definitely too rushed. I enjoyed the read but needed it more fleshed out.

The Cruel Prince series was ok, not the best. I stopped reading at Wicked King since I got a little bored.

Honestly for me, this book saved the series from being absolute trash. It isn’t the best book by all means but it’s better then the other two. It felt wayyy to short tho and the part where Cardan turned into a snake then simply turned back once Jude cut the head was so plain and predictable. I feel like it should have been harder. At least this book was more entertaining and the relationships became less toxic cuz well Taryn killed Locke lol.

I agree with you, but I"m also going to disagree with you and say that this book was hot garbage and I expect more from someone who's written over ten books.

This whole series was kind of just ok, it wasn’t as amazing as everyone had hyped it up to be. I really liked Cardan as a character, but otherwise, it was just mediocre

Didnt LOVE IT . But still read them all because of the hype lol. I wont forget Jude , Cardan, the General... but I didnt love the writing

I hated this series. I dont get the hype!