Title: The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3)
Author: Holly Black
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Publication Date:  November 2019
Format: Audiobook
Length:  10 hours

Read if you like: contemporary fantasy, fey magic, underdogs, power struggles, political scheming, morally grey heroes and heroines, betrayal 

Rating: 

Now that I’ve finished this original trilogy in the Folk of the Air series, I can officially say that this is one of my favourite young adult fantasy series that I’ve read yet. Black is such a master world-builder and storyteller, and to me, this was the perfect conclusion to a superbly executed story. There was action, politics, scheming, and a slow-burn romance to die for, even in a YA format. I couldn’t get enough of this series, and I’m so excited to continue through the next two books, even with the perspective shifts I know are coming. 

The Book Synopsis: The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

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…

The Review

What. A. Conclusion. This book served everything that I was hoping for and then some. 

Let me start by saying that I have loved the way that Black blends the world of Faerie with a contemporary urban setting. With Jude in exile in this book, I feel like we see that blend even more than we have in previous instalments, and I love how much it adds to the magic and intrigue of everything related to the Fae realm that the girls were raised in. 

Speaking of exile, the betrayal of the last book completely rocked me, even though realistically it did seem like the most likely of outcomes given what Jude had done to Cardan. Seeing the consequences of that betrayal, and eventually, the motivations behind it, really added this whole other layer to the story that demonstrated how unreliable Jude is as a narrator. You’re only seeing things through her perspective, which is admittedly narrow, and as a fuller picture of reality is painted it’s clear just how thick her biases are to have missed what was in front of her the whole time. 

I loved that this installment had as much, if not more political scheming than the first two books since the machinations and court politics are among some of my favourite aspects of Faerie. Jude and Cardan’s manipulation of the court is always a little genius and I love seeing their plots unfold in ways I wasn’t expecting. I felt like this book brought things together in a wonderfully intricate yet logical way and I felt satisfied as a reader by the end. 

While this is a YA book, I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on how unbearably good the slow-burn romance in this book is. I won’t go into mcuh detail to avoid spoilers, but the balance between hate and love is such a fine line that it’s exquisite. It’s such a glorious articulation of the complicated, messy nature of feelings and their sometimes illogical presentation. 

This series has been fantastic, and I definitely understand why for many it’s a classic. I’ve loved making my way through this original trilogy and I can’t wait to pick up the next book from a new perspective.