The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

The Queen of Nothing (The Fold of the Air #3) by Holly Black, 300 p.

"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…"--Goodreads blurb

An alright ending to this series. It was worth reading, but the relationship between Cardan and Jude was very unbelievable. The snake storyline was not my favorite, for sure, but some side characters really helped this series stay interesting. 

The Wicked King by Holly Black

The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black, 336 p.

"After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world."

This second book in the series suffered a bit from a sophomore slump, but not too badly. The court intrigue and family drama is always a good enough storyline to keep me coming back, but the relationship between Cardan and Jude is very frustrating. 
 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

 

The Cruel Prince (The Fold of the Air #1) by Holly Black, 370 p.

"Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself."

I've had this book on my TBR for quite a while, and this opening book was a good read. I liked the juxtaposition of the Fairy world and the "real" world. The story definitely kept me intrigued enough to continue on with the series with some twists and turns, but there were also some very cliche storylines.