Review: ‘Queen of Nothing’ by Holly Black

“As the exiled mortal Queen of the Faerie, Jude is reeling from Cardan’s betrayal and is determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose life is in peril. Jude must return to the treacherous Faerie Court and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan.

But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing, and she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics. When a terrible curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing Jude to choose between her ambition and her humanity...”

I will start by saying, that on the whole, I love this series, and if you have not yet had the opportunity to read these books, then I highly recommend checking them out for yourself.

That being said, I am somewhat conflicted on how I feel about this particular book. Whilst, on one hand, I loved the portrayal of the characters, particularly Cardan, on the other I felt parts of this story needed to be developed more and felt a little rushed.

Of the reasons why I love this book, is Cardan. After reading Wicked King, one of my main lingering thoughts of the story was that I wished it had been told from his perspective. By comparison, I actually really enjoyed the way he was presented through Jude’s narration in the Queen of Nothing. I can't put my finger on the reason why, but I definitely found Jude a less grating character this time around and her storyline was nicely balanced with the other characters of the book.

As always, I found Black's style of writing very enjoyable and engaging. It flowed well throughout and, to me, seemed to be embedded with a type of magic than enhanced and complimented the world in which this is set. (I will say, however, even three books on, I'm still a little confused as to the mortal-world, faerie-world overlap. Its never too early to reread your favourites, right?).

My biggest issue with the whole book is plot development. Something about this book seemed to be too neat and felt like its aim was to tie everything up with a nice pretty bow. One of the reasons why I loved the first book so much was the complexity, to the characters, within the worldbuilding and the storyline. I can see the author's same intention within the final section of the trilogy, but something seemed missing, almost as if it was rushed in order to provide a conclusion.

Furthermore, whilst I love a nice happy ending, this seemed overly sweet, and in my opinion, lacked the darkness and twists that I loved to begin with. (This though, might just be my reading preferences, always preferring angst and emotional turmoil to action and adventure). I was also left unsatisfied with the ending. In some ways, I would have liked a much more turmoltous conclusion...

But, I have to say it was amazing to return to this universe, and I truly comend Black on the way that she crafted all three books, expecially in the way that they develop and flow as the story evolves. I may have my gripes and critiques, but this series still stands out against most of the YA fantasies that I have read.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

ISBN: 9781471408502

Publisher: HotKey Books (an imprint of Allen & Unwin)

Publication Date: November 2019

RRP: $24.99