Addicted to YA discussion

This discussion will be lead by Kimi. The discussion leader will be here to help keep the conversation going. Look out for comments and questions the discussion leader might make and respond back to them!

I just devoured this book in a day! So excited it was finally released!

I was satisfied, but I wasn’t wowed, which is sort of Holly Black’s superpower. Anyway, the further away I get from the read, the less wowed I am. I’m pretty sure The Wicked King was my favorite of the series. It stuck! For a book as anxiously awaited as TQON was, HB left quite a lot of meat on the bone. What do you guys think?

Hi guys!!! I’ll be your discussion leader for this book! I’m super excited!!

Those who have already devoured the book please refrain from spoilers for others that are working their way there.

I’ve arranged the reading goals per week with questions and discussion.

Reading goal:
Week 1: chapter 1-8
Week 2: chapter 8-17
Week 3: chapter 17-24
Week 4: chapter 24-end

Questions
1. What are some of your expectations?
2. How do think things will turn out with Jude and Cardin? Will they be together?
3. Do you think Cardin will remain King?
4. What are characters you are hoping to be eliminated, exiled, or rise to power?


My answer:
1. I'm expecting this book to end fantastically but may be due to hype.
2. I want the love/hate trope to find a conclusion and I'm hoping it will end with them together.
3. Well I accidentally ran into spoilers for the end...so I'll leave it at that for now.
4. I'm hoping for Locke to be out of the picture and Taryn to pay for betraying her sister.

The questions will be for predictions and fun while we get into the book.

I look forward to reading along with everyone and I hope I can make this reading experience fun. Let me know of any feedback so I can improve on your reading experience.

I really liked this book but to be honest I didn't feel that it was as good as the other two. I was a bit disappointed with the storyline in the second half of the book

@shraddha it’s seem you’re not the only one to feel this way about the book as well. I haven’t read the book yet as I was waiting for everyone in this thread. I’ll catch up.

I liked the book, it was good but it wasn’t great . I felt like there was room for so much more.

I started this book as soon as I finished The Wicked King and I read it in a single day. I guess I'm in the minority cause I loved it. The pacing did slow towards the end but it didn't bother me at all.

Emma wrote: "Jenn wrote: "I started this book as soon as I finished The Wicked King and I read it in a single day. I guess I'm in the minority cause I loved it. The pacing did slow towards the end but it didn't..."

Yes! I'll bring the finger sandwiches lol!

I think that the first book wasn't as good as the second. Even though the first book was really good, but the huge cliffhanger at the end of the Wicked King made me really want to read the Forgotten Queen as quickly as possible. i really hope i can get a hold of it soon, and it sounds great, according to some of the reviews.

I literally have like TWO chapters left and am listening to it on audible so i have to wait until after work in my car to finish and i'm DYYYYIIINNNNGGGG, I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! I'm really hoping there's a twist at the end so I don't get my heart decimated (all i can say w/o spoilers).

This book left me quite conflicted.
Without going into much detail, I'll say that the ending was a little too convenient for my taste.
Jude and Cardan's relationship felt like it progressed to quickly at times, but I suppose it was a tricky situation. In order to portray a relationship that's not toxic, I can see Holly Black sacrificed some of the original fire/flavour of their dynamic.

If anybody wants to rave/discuss/fangirl in further detail, my inbox is open. c:

I agree. I loved the relationship development between Jude and Cardan but the way the story progressed was disappointing for me.

ﾟ･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*Anna*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･゜ wrote: "I think that the first book wasn't as good as the second. Even though the first book was really good, but the huge cliffhanger at the end of the Wicked King made me really want to read the Forgotte..."

I hope you do too so you can get started with us!

Shraddha wrote: "I agree. I loved the relationship development between Jude and Cardan but the way the story progressed was disappointing for me."

I'm looking forward to seeing the development of Jude and Cardan. I'm looking forward to discussing this subject once we have read the book.

Lauren wrote: "I literally have like TWO chapters left and am listening to it on audible so i have to wait until after work in my car to finish and i'm DYYYYIIINNNNGGGG, I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! I'm really hopin..."

How is the audio book version of the book? How did you like the narration?
Did you listen to all 3 books this way?

Anyone currently reading the book? How is everyone progressing along?

It seems most of you all are done reading it. I'm working on reading and hope to finish it soon.

I don’t want to finish this book!! I love this world so much 😍

Honestly, I personally loved it. IT was great, the writing was good, but I hated how different Cardan was compared to the first two books. He wasn't the mean, crazy, guy was love, but instead a smol bean. It doesn't fit him.

I loved the book so freaking much. I love how it was the book that calmed down and how the conclusion was so final and satisfying. I actually did feel that the whole tone of the series shifted in the third book and it was a lot tamer then the last two, but it wasn’t a good sort of shift, gently lulling us into the end of a beautiful series. I desperately need more faeries and more Holly Black.

Drunkinbook wrote: "Honestly, I personally loved it. IT was great, the writing was good, but I hated how different Cardan was compared to the first two books. He wasn't the mean, crazy, guy was love, but instead a smo..."

I'm more than halfway through the book now...I kinda of like Cardan this way. =P

Pihoo wrote: "I loved the book so freaking much. I love how it was the book that calmed down and how the conclusion was so final and satisfying. I actually did feel that the whole tone of the series shifted in t..."

This is a good description to the end of the book. As I'm reading the book it feels as that as well. I'm kinda of sad that it's coming to an end but at the same time I feel I am ready. =D

Jo wrote: "I don’t want to finish this book!! I love this world so much 😍"

I DO TOO!! But I need to find out what happens!

Hi Everyone!

For those that are still reading...how is it coming along? Are you guys finished up to chapter 8 yet?

For those that have read the book or most of it...
1. What are your thoughts on Locke? Did you see that coming?
2. What did you think of Taryn doing what she did? Did you see that coming as well?
3. Did you want Jude to help Taryn with her situation?

My answers:
1. I didn't think Holly would take Locke out that early in the book...I thought we hear about him more.
2. It would have been hard for me to forgive Taryn and I thought Jude would take longer to decide on helping her. Jude to me is a hardass and I would have assumed she be the hardass to Taryn as she was in the beginning of the 2 books.
3. I would have like Taryn to squirm for a day longer before Jude agree to help her. But I'm a hard stern person so I guess...that's what I would want.

Hope you guys are having fun reading. Please feel free to ask questions and add more comments. =D

Emma wrote: "1. What are your thoughts on Locke? Did you see that coming?
2. What did you think of Taryn doing what she did? Did you see that coming as well?

I assumed he'd be a character we'd lose in this boo..."


Drunkinbook...you make a very good point about Jude dying to get back to the fairy world. I think though if Jude would have kept thinking about what Cardan said she would have figured out she could have pardon herself. But...I guess this path makes things more interesting.

Emma wrote: "Drunkinbook wrote: "Honestly, I personally loved it. IT was great, the writing was good, but I hated how different Cardan was compared to the first two books. He wasn't the mean, crazy, guy was lov..."

I agree with Drunkinbook! This was good character development from Cardan. I appreciate it and 75% into the book I hope to see more of it.

Cardan has the best lines among them all! DAMN those lines! "I want to tell you so many lies", "You looked like a knight in a story tonight, possibly a filthy story", "You're a liar, a dirty mortal liar" and so many more. These lines would probably break my heart if it were said to me by another man, but with Cardan, I would definitely melt and be a puddle of water by now.

Valerie May wrote: "Cardan has the best lines among them all! DAMN those lines! "I want to tell you so many lies", "You looked like a knight in a story tonight, possibly a filthy story", "You're a liar, a dirty mortal..."

YES!! Valerie!! I totally agree and I'm sure I'm not the only one. =D

Hello Book Friends!!!

We are reaching our 3rd week of December! The new year is reaching upon us fast! With that being said for those that are reading the book should have finished chapter 9-17. The 3rd week will be focusing on chapter 18-24.

Questions:
1. Did you expect Jude to meet Ghost after their last encounter in the 2nd book?
2. Did you expect Jude to help Ghost? How do you feel about it?
3. When Cardan came to try to rescue Jude what were you feeling /thoughts at that moment? Were you expecting Cardan to fight?
4. When Jude and Madoc were fighting did you have an expectation of the outcome?
5. When Jude was healed were you surprised of the method?
6. How did you feel when Cardan announced about Jude when she fell from the ceiling? Did you expect him to announced it the way he did or were you hoping for some celebratory type of announcement.

Answers for me:
1. I honestly did not expect Ghost to be back in the picture. I figure he would work behind the scenes but not come back the way he did. That was an unexpected surprise.
2. I thought Jude would kill Ghost off and be done with it. But this turn in events showed her character development.
3. When Cardan showed up it was a sign that he cared and his feelings were starting to show true. I had expected him to fight and be her knight but that is the hopeless romantic in me I guess. =D
4. I thought Jude would win. I thought Madoc would come to his senses and reconcile however, the outcome of their battle came with a pleasant surprise.
5. YES! I was surprised. I think that was a good sign that Cardan and Jude's marriage was real. I guess I was starting to question if it was legitimate.
6. I guess I was going for more of a proper announcement of Jude being Cardan's wife. But obviously Jude's character has never been like Taryn (proper). So hindsight this was more fitting for Jude and a sign of her love/concern for Cardan even after exile.

I hope you all are enjoying the read! So excited to read everyone's response to the questions. Please feel free to include your own questions to add more interesting discussion.

I wasn't a huge fan of the characters in the first two books but HAD to finish the series! I thought Jude needed to calm down and Cardan was too contradictory in his feelings/actions. This book, though, was great! I liked how Cardan was in this book more than the others. If someone like him treated me the way he did in the first two books and then told me they loved me, I would not be ok with that. His actions in the third book backed up what he said in all of them.

I liked this book the most out of all three!

Ahhh!!!! I don’t want this series to be over! The Queen of Nothing was great but I confess my favorite is The Wicked King. I really liked this book though. It had just the ending I wanted.

I'm glad this book finally closed the series. On a weird note, it was a bit more explicit than I anticipated from book one and two.

I really liked book one and three the most. I definitely agree with some of the above comments that said they wouldn't follow a guy that said some of the things Cardan said. BUT! I think the unique thing this author brings to the table is the differentiation between 'human' and 'fae'.

We as readers want to see fae as the same as human, but there are clearly some things that the author incorporates (like the cruelty of Cardan's brother) that make you realize 1) humans can be this cruel. 2) some things are distinct to morals, culture and upbringing... not that it makes it 'ok'. or that it makes cardan's actions 'okay' but they can be explained.

At last, I finished the book! I think it was a very good ending for the series and my romantic heart is living for everything that happened. However, I didn't love it as much as I wanted, and this seems to be something that happened to me through all the series, except maybe for book two. I think that, for me, Holly's style of writing isn't attractive enough. I can get behind her books and enjoy them, but never fall in love with them, which is a bummer.

Having said that I really, really liked The Queen of Nothing, June it's at her finest, especially at the beginning, and she shines throught all the book. I also like the role of Taryn in this book, it seems like she has matured a lot and finally found her place on Elfhame.

Who I don't think shined enough in this book was Cardan. We gotta be honest, there's never enough Cardan. NEVER. I know his disappearance was necessary for the plot, but I wanted more...

I think my favourite character is Grima Mog, so fun, blood thirsty and fresh. Her interactions with the other characters were really fun cause she's just so unapologetic and the situations she creates are very interesting.

As I said, a really great and happy ending (even for Madoc) and it was awesome seeing Vee and Heather talking things out and fighting for their relationship. I would love, love, love if Holly Black made a book of short stories of these characters, like:

- Cardan discovering the human world and his love for cartoons
- Grima Mog going on an adventure
- Heather and Vee first second date
- Cardan and Jude arguing about mindless things

Mostly, I would love to see what happens to Elfhame in the future, cause the universe she created is really amazing and cannot stop here!

Maria wrote: "I wasn't a huge fan of the characters in the first two books but HAD to finish the series! I thought Jude needed to calm down and Cardan was too contradictory in his feelings/actions. This book, th..."

Maria you've made a good point!! I think if someone like him had treated me that way I would have written him off awhile ago. But I do love character development.

Jean wrote: "Ahhh!!!! I don’t want this series to be over! The Queen of Nothing was great but I confess my favorite is The Wicked King. I really liked this book though. It had just the ending I wanted."

The ending was fantastic!! I was afraid that Holly Black was going to rip my heart out...lol.

R.R. wrote: "I'm glad this book finally closed the series. On a weird note, it was a bit more explicit than I anticipated from book one and two.

I really liked book one and three the most. I definitely agree ..."

R.R you make a good point about Holly Black making human and fae distinctly different. That is really good observation that I noticed but was overlooked to mentioned. I think this world of the fairy was a bit more crueler than others I have read.

Rosalia wrote: "At last, I finished the book! I think it was a very good ending for the series and my romantic heart is living for everything that happened. However, I didn't love it as much as I wanted, and this ..."

Well Met!!
OMG Rosalia!!! I love the idea of the short stories!! I think those are amazing and maybe you might want to reach out to Holly Black through Instagram or some social media to tell her that. I would love to read those as well and maybe a little bit of romance with Cardan and Jude! LOL or more of Cardan. I would have like to get to know Cardan more it seems his thoughts or actions aren't always clear in direction. Since his character developed in the last book it would be nice to "get to know" Cardan more in maybe in extended QON 2.1 type of thing.

I loved this book. I think it ended kinda hokey, but it is ultimately a faerie tale and they have happy endings. That's why The Wicked King was so amazing because it left so much too the imagination of what was going to happen. I liked that Jude never lost her ambition and what she wanted for herself because of a boy unlike a lot of other YA I've read. I'm so sad the series is over but jumping the shark is never good. All I need to do is track down a B&N copy with Carden's letters to Jude.

Erica wrote: "I loved this book. I think it ended kinda hokey, but it is ultimately a faerie tale and they have happy endings. That's why The Wicked King was so amazing because it left so much too the imaginatio..."

OMG, I didn't know there was an edition with Cardan's letters!! Thanks so much for the info =)

Rosalia wrote: "Erica wrote: "I loved this book. I think it ended kinda hokey, but it is ultimately a faerie tale and they have happy endings. That's why The Wicked King was so amazing because it left so much too ..."

welcome

Wow, i read this serie and i loved it! The Queen of Nothing is a good book and Cardan is so cute and adorable with Jude, and the letters in the ending? That proved it! I'm not a fan of open finals, but well, it doesn't mean i didn't enjoy the book...

Trad: Wow, leí esta serie y me encantó! The Queen of Nothing es un buen libro y Cardan es tan lindo y adorable con Jude, y las cartas en el final? Eso lo probó! No soy fanática de los finales abiertos, pero bueno, eso no significa que no haya disfrutado este libro...

Cardan's perspective. Publishing date in November.

OMG!! I tots didn't expect this, but I'm so excited

Erica wrote: "Rosalia wrote: "Erica wrote: "I loved this book. I think it ended kinda hokey, but it is ultimately a faerie tale and they have happy endings. That's why The Wicked King was so amazing because it l..."

Open finals? Where? :o

Rosalia wrote: "Erica wrote: "I loved this book. I think it ended kinda hokey, but it is ultimately a faerie tale and they have happy endings. That's why The Wicked King was so amazing because it left so much too ..."

Yes!! All the B&N edition have some extra bonus content and that's why I had to buy them all! LOL

Erica wrote: "

Cardan's perspective. Publishing date in November."

OMG Erica!!! Thank you for sharing!

Welcome

Hey! I just read the whole series and I need to rant about it asap but no one I know read it (they're missing out).

Can I rant to anyone here in private messages? (if you have read it)

I've read it so you can rant about it to me if u want :)