The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, 3)
A powerful curse forces the exiled Queen of Faerie to choose between ambition and humanity in this highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy from a #1 New York Times bestselling author. He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power. Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan's betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her twin sister, Taryn, whose life is in peril. Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict's bloody politics. And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity . . .
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Community Reviews
I think I have to give this one 3.5 stars. I liked the series, but there were so many loose ends I just wish had been tied up. Another reviewer MischaS_ pointed out a lot of what I felt was wrong/missing.
As others have said, I just wish there had been more Cardan, either before or after the serpent ordeal. That would have fixed 90% of all plot holes.
Without more time for Cardan on the page, it felt like the final progression of his relationship with Jude just wasnât all there. I could see the pieces unfurling as we were hearing about Cardanâs actions from Judeâs POVâand I fully expected him to explain himself later, and be like âyeah I went crazy with worry when Madoc thought you were Taryn and snatched you from meâI fought so hard to get you back,â and that would have been a huge revelation for Jude. Or âyeah I was ready to burn whole worlds and wage wars to get you back from Undersea.â I wanted the letters that Asha intercepted to come up again in his big admission of love, a âno, darling, marrying you and exiling you was never a trick, I had a plan all alongâjust read my letterâ moment. Because I donât think that whole exile thing was ever explained very well⦠Missed opportunitiesâ¦missing pieces from Cardanâs POV that made his transition from enemy to lover feel rushed and not as natural as it could have been.
Speaking of the romance, Iâm fine with closed door intimate scenes, and I thought the second book did that much better, but the big romance scene that this entire series led up to just fell flat. I would have preferred it to have occurred sometime after they had both confessed that they loved one another, so that Jude wouldnât have still been cagey and holding her feelings back when they finally got naked on the page. It would have been a lot more impactful if it had occurred later in the storyline and with different connotations to it. If youâre only going to get one, let it be the very best one and the perfect moment.
Also, no mention of Judeâs mortality and the implications of that on her relationship with Cardan? Does her sovereignty and tie to the land also come with fae immortality?
In general, Cardan took a mega back seat to Jude, esp towards the end, which was how things have always traditionally been between them, but the serpent ordeal and prophecy felt like it was meant to be a turning point and a transition for Cardan to fully take charge as a great High King and not just caper anymore while Jude pulls the strings, so why did he let her make all of the final decisions after the battle? All because he was absentee due to being a serpent when all of the big moves were made? A convenient but not satisfactory excuse. I would have enjoyed more of that fully realized new Cardan featuring prominently. His appearance in the epilogue was also very subdued, which seemed out of character for him.
Last thing Iâll mention for now is that Iâm normally all for HEA, but even I felt some aspects of this ending were a little too happy. Jude was extremely magnanimous at the end while doling out her punishments, but as others have mentioned, it didnât feel in-character for her. She was mostly ruthless, bitter, and revenge-driven throughout the series, reflecting multiple times upon how sheâs become a killer and not a good person, but she goes easy on almost everyone. The guys who got it the worst were the ones who wouldnât repent and got turned into birds, and honestly what Madoc did to her and her loved ones deserved so much worse than that, but she didnât really punish him at all. âMercy, or something like itâ means he still gets to live with his wife and unrestricted access to his son, AKA the future heir to Elfhame and a super impressionable child. Just doesnât seem like a good idea, especially if Oak can reverse Madocâs exile when he eventually takes the throne. She didnât mention anything about banning him from using magic either, so he can still live a reasonably good life in the mortal world until then. Suddenly even Vivi sounds like sheâs forgiven him and is actually looking forward to spending time with her dad, even if itâs just for her own amusement to see him struggle in the self-checkout line. How is this the same girl who would pinch and bite her sisters for showing Madoc love?
Nicasiaâ¦she just deserved to get her butt kicked a lot more, I thought, in retaliation for everything she ever did to Jude, especially in Undersea.
Iâm tired and running out of energy to critique this much more. I did like this series a lot. I know you might not guess that based on this review, but Iâm just a little disappointed in all the untapped potential.
As others have said, I just wish there had been more Cardan, either before or after the serpent ordeal. That would have fixed 90% of all plot holes.
Without more time for Cardan on the page, it felt like the final progression of his relationship with Jude just wasnât all there. I could see the pieces unfurling as we were hearing about Cardanâs actions from Judeâs POVâand I fully expected him to explain himself later, and be like âyeah I went crazy with worry when Madoc thought you were Taryn and snatched you from meâI fought so hard to get you back,â and that would have been a huge revelation for Jude. Or âyeah I was ready to burn whole worlds and wage wars to get you back from Undersea.â I wanted the letters that Asha intercepted to come up again in his big admission of love, a âno, darling, marrying you and exiling you was never a trick, I had a plan all alongâjust read my letterâ moment. Because I donât think that whole exile thing was ever explained very well⦠Missed opportunitiesâ¦missing pieces from Cardanâs POV that made his transition from enemy to lover feel rushed and not as natural as it could have been.
Speaking of the romance, Iâm fine with closed door intimate scenes, and I thought the second book did that much better, but the big romance scene that this entire series led up to just fell flat. I would have preferred it to have occurred sometime after they had both confessed that they loved one another, so that Jude wouldnât have still been cagey and holding her feelings back when they finally got naked on the page. It would have been a lot more impactful if it had occurred later in the storyline and with different connotations to it. If youâre only going to get one, let it be the very best one and the perfect moment.
Also, no mention of Judeâs mortality and the implications of that on her relationship with Cardan? Does her sovereignty and tie to the land also come with fae immortality?
In general, Cardan took a mega back seat to Jude, esp towards the end, which was how things have always traditionally been between them, but the serpent ordeal and prophecy felt like it was meant to be a turning point and a transition for Cardan to fully take charge as a great High King and not just caper anymore while Jude pulls the strings, so why did he let her make all of the final decisions after the battle? All because he was absentee due to being a serpent when all of the big moves were made? A convenient but not satisfactory excuse. I would have enjoyed more of that fully realized new Cardan featuring prominently. His appearance in the epilogue was also very subdued, which seemed out of character for him.
Last thing Iâll mention for now is that Iâm normally all for HEA, but even I felt some aspects of this ending were a little too happy. Jude was extremely magnanimous at the end while doling out her punishments, but as others have mentioned, it didnât feel in-character for her. She was mostly ruthless, bitter, and revenge-driven throughout the series, reflecting multiple times upon how sheâs become a killer and not a good person, but she goes easy on almost everyone. The guys who got it the worst were the ones who wouldnât repent and got turned into birds, and honestly what Madoc did to her and her loved ones deserved so much worse than that, but she didnât really punish him at all. âMercy, or something like itâ means he still gets to live with his wife and unrestricted access to his son, AKA the future heir to Elfhame and a super impressionable child. Just doesnât seem like a good idea, especially if Oak can reverse Madocâs exile when he eventually takes the throne. She didnât mention anything about banning him from using magic either, so he can still live a reasonably good life in the mortal world until then. Suddenly even Vivi sounds like sheâs forgiven him and is actually looking forward to spending time with her dad, even if itâs just for her own amusement to see him struggle in the self-checkout line. How is this the same girl who would pinch and bite her sisters for showing Madoc love?
Nicasiaâ¦she just deserved to get her butt kicked a lot more, I thought, in retaliation for everything she ever did to Jude, especially in Undersea.
Iâm tired and running out of energy to critique this much more. I did like this series a lot. I know you might not guess that based on this review, but Iâm just a little disappointed in all the untapped potential.
Once again, Holly Black has stolen my heart with her characters and writing. I can't wait to get back to this trilogy in a couple years to reread it
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