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 deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal 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…

Review!

Jude Duarte has been banished from Faerie. Now living in the mortal world and taking jobs from the folk that live there, her life is a far cry from her short spell as High Queen. That all changes when her twin sister Taryn appears. She desperately needs Jude to impersonate her, but that would mean returning back to Faerie & facing Cardan, the boy she shouldn’t love and the one who enforced her banishment. Nothing with Jude is ever easy though & she ends up pretending to be her sister for much longer than she intended and to people who are more likely to see through her disguise.

If any of you know me you will know that while I am a fan of this series, I’m not it’s biggest fan. There are parts of these books I find hugely problematic. That being said this was by far the best book of the trilogy in my opinion. We learn a whole host more about some of the characters, which helped me to understand, though not necessarily forgive their earlier actions.

Jude is a great character whose POV i have enjoyed following through all 3 books. One of the only things I didn’t like was that she didn’t seem to grow as a character. Always falling for the same people/lines. However, in this book I felt her character growth was impressive. Though inside she may still be a slightly scared girl way over her head in the world of Faerie, she learns to put on a braver front and realises that what’s best for her might not be what’s best for Faerie and vice versa. She sparks a loyalty in the fey that few understand, but those that truly know her grasp that Judes loyalty and work ethic would make her their perfect Queen.

As the others this book was fast paced and I flew though it within a matter of hours. Black brings the same twisty turny style plot we have all become accustomed too so I thought I was prepared for the usual bomb dropping, and yet I was still on the edge of my seat through most of the book. We see different sides to many of the characters, most of which were for the better. The main example of this would be Cardan. I will admit to not being his biggest fan in the first 2 books and I truly saw Jude as unbelievably naive to fall for him time and again. This book make me do an almost complete 360. I can’t say that I love him, but I certainly respect him more as a character once I realised his true intentions and his reasoning for past actions.

One thing I have always loved about these books is Hollys descriptions of the Fey. She never tries to make them nice and pretty, she instils in us from pretty early on that the fey are dangerous and not to be messed with. She never tries to sugarcoat their behaviours & I would certainly be wary before stepping into her world. Her descriptive writing in general is amazing and I find myself swept away on the journey these characters have to undertake.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend that you pick it up, even if like me you weren’t the biggest fan of the first two books. An easy 5/5 and I will certainly be picking up the series again.