“Prince Cardan will be your last born child, he will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.”

 Baphen ― Queen of Nothing

Hello everyone! We are back with the Perks of the third book series! This time i'm bringing you also the hype series by Holy Black, The Folk of the Air series! As i've did before in this series, i'll compare the third book with the other previous two before it.  I've made a review for the previous two books before, check it out just in case you missed it by clicking the picture below.

First Book  : The Cruel Prince

Second Book  : The Wicked King

A Quick Flashback 

Jude made Cardan the High King but keep him under control so when the time comes for her little brother Oak to rule Cardan just step down to him. But keeping Cardan under control isn't the solution because Taryn her twin sister tricked him, impersonate as Jude and asked him  to gave Madoc half of his army and Cardan approve it right away because he never question her and he trusts her. Cardan persuade her to release him from that control and marry her in return so she can rule as Queen which she agreed. 

By the end of the book two Cardan exiled her to mortal world because she killed Prince Balekin, the ambassador of the Underdesea in order to save Cardan from poison which Balekin has the antidote for it.

 “I hereafter exile Jude Duarte to the mortal world until such time as she is pardoned by the crown. Until then, let her not step one foot in Faerie or forfeit her life.”

High King Cardan ― The Wicked King

Comparing Each Book in the Series 

In first book it's focusing in Jude as mortal and struggling to be accepted as one of Faeries which got bullied a lot in return. I struggle a lot in this book because bullying is not my fave part to read, i can't really understand why they do it and for whatever reasons of it, just can't justify their actions. I struggle to like any character in this book, not Prince Dain, not Cardan and his friends, even don't like Taryn. I quite like Ghost tho, and i like Madoc too. 

In second book, Jude become High King's Seneschal, she still didn't really accepted well in faeries court although she's the king's right hand, in this book the politic intrigue is quite heavy, which Jude has to keep peace with other Lords around the Elfhame like Lord Robien who support Cardan to be the king at first place but she also have to keep the treaty with Queen Orlagh. Well.. in short, in this second book we got introduce to a lot of new character, Grimsem the best blacksmith who made the blood crown that is the crown that High King wears, Mother Marrow who kind of threat Cardan to marry her daughter or herself by receiving the silk from her.  

By the map of it the book definitely developed a lot where Cardan made the Elf ash in the second book after he exile Jude. We got introduced a lot with the characters a long with the series. 

What's Different In The Third Book?

We got a glimpse of mortal life here in the third book which is amusing, how Jude is kind of like out of place in the world that suppose to be hers. She got offered to kill a Faerie in the mortal world which turn out to be a red cap, a Faerie with killing as their nature (which Madoc, his foster father is one of them). This Cannibal Faerie turns out to be Grima Mog, the famous faerie who is famous as the general of the court of teeth in the north of faerie land. Jude outwitted her in the battle and in return Grima Mog gives her some information what happen in faerie land, who later become her commander in palace.

She got back to the Elfhame in order to help her twin sister, Taryn, who killed her husband Locke. Taryn asked her to go back to Elfhame as her in order to enter a questioning about the death of his husband, but because she's the one who killed him and she can be compelled by faeries so she can't tell lie, unlike Jude that can't be compelled because the geas she got from Prince Dain. So in order to tell lies that Taryn didn't kill Locke, also to see what happen to the world that suppose to be the world that she rules she got back there.

Well that kind of sum up the third book first chapter lol! I can tell you all the stories in the book but what's so fun of it right?

What I Like about This Book

I love the fast pace of this book,  i even finish this book in less than 24 hrs! Such a page turner and i just can't put it down. I really like how much this book talk about Cardan a lot too just to get to the glimpse why he become who he is.

Character Development

We can see how much Jude developed throughout the book, first she's just a mortal girl in faerie land that got bullied a lot but she has goals and she achieved it, the second book she become the high king seneschal, the third one she become the queen. I like how she achieve her goals, outwit her father Madoc's plan.

Cardan also got a lot of spot in here, from such a cruel useless prince to a king. We got a glimpse of how he got tortured by Prince Balekin that made him hate fighting, using sword and politics. In third book we can see that he's not the fool king but the king that can rule and be accepted by the Faeries. 

Loveline 

In book two Cardan obviously already has feeling for Jude and vice versa but Jude is just in the state of "i'm too human to be loved by a faerie" kind of thing, still she hate when Cardan flirt with Nicasia (who she order him too tho) in order to get more information about Queen Orlagh's plan. Cardan tried to save her from get humiliated by Locke in the revel. Cardan also save her from Queen Orlagh's underworld which confuses here because she thought Cardan would be happy without her ordering him around.

In the book three, knowing that Cardan is in danger of Ghost trying to kill him, although almost dead after dueling with Madoc she went to the castle in order to save him from the Ghost which turn out only Madoc's plot. Cardan tell her that he loves her in this book, which probably one of my fave scene.

“It’s you I love, I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn’t have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten, and scabrous thing. But it is yours. You probably guessed as much, but just in case you didn’t.”

Cardan ― The Queen of Nothing

The Prophecy

I always love book with Prophecy as one of the tropes in it. This third book talked a lot about the prophecy, in order to complete that and made sense, they also talked about Cardan's childhood which is a sad and cruel for baby Cardan, i guess i kind of understand him by it.

When Cardan was born, Balekin the Royal astrologer look at the stars and tell his father his prophecy that he will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne. Only out of his spilled blood can a great ruler rise. Turns out it Cardan literally ruin the throne and purposely breaks the Blood Crown that made by the blacksmith Grimsen who turns out put curse to that crown and made Cardan turn into a great black serpent. 

I always love books with riddle to solve and this part of the book is one of it which is my fave how Jude tries to cure Cardan or save him out of his misery. And of course, expect for the plot twist. Again i said, i always love the plot twist

In Conclusion

I like the third book indeed, not just because it's the lucky number three for me but also because it's the finale of the book, but unlike my previous episode, i only suffer though the first book, i love the second book as much as i love the third book also. I gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars for this book for the fast pace, plot twist and well.. ending sometimes doesn't really matters me for the rating of the book because i love progress a lot more but yeah i like the ending too.

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