The Queen of Nothing: the series conclusion fans wanted and received

     The Queen of Nothing is out to the public and after waiting almost a year for its release, fans are buzzing about the stunning conclusion to Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air Series. Readers were left reeling after the conclusion of The Wicked King placed Jude in a place of no hope or solution for her current situation. Now, readers will finally see what Black has planned for Jude, Cardan, and the rest of Elfhame.
     Jude Duarte has learned the hard way that power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. When she released her control over Cardan, the High King of Faerie, she didn’t expect him to exile her immediately after they said their marriage vows. 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. When her twin sister, Taryn, comes for Jude’s help, Jude realizes that the time to take back her power is now. 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 and as Jude slips deep within enemy lines, she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics. And, when a powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land and forces Jude to choose between her ambition and her humanity…
     I refuse to believe that this book series is over. The writing was witty, detailed, and just amazing! The plot itself was dramatic, shocking, and enthralling. Readers won’t be able to put this book down and will just devour it from start to finish. Most importantly, long awaited answers will be given to the burning questions left at the end of the previous book.
     The character development of Jude is amazing to see and with the lies and deceptions of the Faerie Court, the plot twists just kept on coming. I found myself liking certain characters, like Taryn, more in this novel than I did in the previous two books. Jude and Cardan’s relationship is one of the best enemies-to-lovers relationships I’ve ever read. The reader really gets to see their relationship develop and transition into the “lovers” aspect of the trope. They learn to trust each other for their sake and the sake of the Faerie kingdom.
     While the prologue and epilogue perfectly set up and conclude the story, respectively, I just wanted this book to be longer. Overall, this novel was paced out very well. Everything was perfectly balanced in the story; there wasn’t an overabundant amount of gore or violence and the romance is satisfying, but not too raunchy either. There were just a few plot points or details that could’ve been fleshed out and lengthened.
     I truly didn’t want this novel, or series, to end. The Queen of Nothing is the conclusive ending readers were hoping for and hits all the right notes, while retaining the aspects that fans love about Faerie. Fans of the series will be satisfied with this conclusion, but will also be begging Black to continue Jude’s story; I know I am!

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