i was going to write a review fresh off of finishing this book but after a nonstop 12-hour reading sprint my brain and eyes were so fried that i abstained until i felt more sane. it's about nine hours later rn and i've been running on the fumes of only two hours of sleep but i thought i should get this out before unwittingly starting the second book already. this book is so cunt. jude is so cunt. cardan is so cunt. holly black i love you for creating this cunt story. i love love LOVED jude as a protagonist. none of that weepy passive moral guilt shit and thinking there is power in no power. jude is the truest strong female main character i've read in a long LONG time. do i want to be her or be with her? no one knows. cardan? ohmygod put a leash on him and lock him inside the cage in my basement i love this cunty pretty boyfailure who can't fight with a sword to save his life and is at the complete and utter mercy of the one girl he's obsessively hated for so long that it has morphed into scathing attraction. the political intrigue is not too complex (i mean, this is a YA book) but jude is such an active player in moving the chess pieces that it is genuinely so fun to watch as it all unfolds. safe to say my jaw was on the floor when jude pulled that feint and had cardan crowned as king instead of oak. SHE IS SO CUNT. i'm sorry i can't think of any other word to describe her, cunt is perfect. i love how she's a killer and how she thinks. most mentally strong fmc ever. also, jude and cardan's relationship HAHAHAHAHAHA dude that's the best part genuinely coz i was LIVING for every single one of their interactions. just when they were becoming something resembling friends, jude nukes it and makes cardan king, which is the last thing he wants, AND OH LAWD THE SHEER LOATHING IN HIM HAHAHAHA ITS SO EROTIC TO WITNESS I CAN'T WAIT TO READ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. in other news, locke and taryn are fkin rats and i hate them. oak is a cutie patootie baby i wanna adopt him and play games with him. vivi is a real g, i stand by her. everyone else is a fkin cunt (this time i mean it derogatorily). oh wait ghost, bomb and roach are chill, they're invited to the cookout. i totally called oak being the mysterious royal baby btw. i appreciated the non-romanticised depictions of faerie lore in this world because unfortunately the hyper-sexualized canon of fae popularised by sarah j maas makes up for most modern interpretations and i was glad to read an iteration far removed from that idea. also thank you holly black for inventing the dagger against neck trope. u will always be famous. anyways, #pegcardan2026.
