The Queen of Nothing (Folk of the Air Series #3)

by Holly Black

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The dramatic conclusion to the fantastical fae trilogy sees Jude down, but never out as she gears up for her reckoning. It’s the epic end this series deserves.

A powerful curse forces the exiled Queen of Faerie to choose between ambition and humanity in this highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy from a #1 New York Times bestselling author.

He will be the destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne

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 twin sister, Taryn, whose 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 . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316310376
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/24/2020
Series:	Folk of the Air Series , #3
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	640
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Holly Black is the bestselling author of contemporary fantasy novels for teens and children, including The Folk of the Air trilogy, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale and the #1 New York Times bestselling Spiderwick series. She has been a finalist for the Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award and Mythopoeic Award. Holly lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library. Her website is www.blackholly.com.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for The Queen of Nothing:


*"Whether you came for the lore or the love, perfection."

—Kirkus, starred review

*"A compelling final piece in a powerful set."—Booklist, starred review

"We're being promised a 'jaw-dropping' finale...Based on the ride she's taken readers on so far, we'd expect nothing less."—Entertainment Weekly

Praise for The Wicked King:

*"A stunning and compelling sequel."— —SLJ, starred review

*"A heady blend of courtly double-crossing, Faerie lore, and toxic attraction swirls together in the sequel to THE CRUEL PRINCE.... Black's writing is both contemporary and classic; her world is, at this point, intensely well-realized, so that some plot twists seem almost inevitable."—Kirkus, starred review

*"[A] dangerous journey filled with mystery, betrayal, intrigue, and romance.... Larger-than-life action in a kingdom packed with self-centered, evil, and manipulating characters also doles out real life issues."—VOYA, starred review

*"A rare second volume that surpasses the first, with, happily, more intrigue and passion still to come."—Booklist, starred review

Praise for The Cruel Prince:

"Lush, dangerous, a dark jewel of a book. Black's world is intoxicating, imbued with a relentless sense of peril that kept me riveted through every chapter of Jude's journey. And Jude! She is a heroine to love—brave but pragmatic, utterly human. This delicious story will seduce you and leave you desperate for just one more page."—Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom

"I require book two immediately. Holly is the Faerie Queen."—Victoria Aveyard, #1 bestselling author of The Red Queen series

* "[S]pellbinding.... Breathtaking set pieces, fully developed supporting characters, and a beguiling, tough-as-nails heroine enhance an intricate, intelligent plot that crescendos to a jaw-dropping third-act twist."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "Another fantastic, deeply engaging, and all-consuming work from Black that belongs on all YA shelves."—School Library Journal, starred review

* "Jude, who struggles with a world she both loves and hates and would rather be powerful and safe than good, is a compelling narrator. Whatever a reader is looking for—heart-in-throat action, deadly romance, double-crossing, moral complexity—this is one heck of a ride."—Booklist, starred review

"This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life. Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in."—Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Narrator Caitlin Kelly delivers all the fervor of the conclusion to Black's Folk of the Air trilogy. Jude is in exile when her treasonous twin provides a way to return to Elfhame. Curious, and with lingering feelings for Cardan, Jude takes her sister's place in the faerie realm. As the story changes direction, Kelly allows listeners to reconnect with the romance between these two. The political games heat up, and Kelly, likewise, adds to the intensity. The climax is reached when an ancient curse is released and Jude has to decide how to move forward. The author and narrator both give this decision the necessary gravity, ending the series with all the breathtaking drama it deserves. S.K.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile

★ 2019-08-28
Broken people, complicated families, magic, and Faerie politics: Black's back.

After the tumultuous ending to the last volume (marriage, exile, and the seeming collapse of all her plots), Jude finds herself in the human world, which lacks appeal despite a childhood spent longing to go back. The price of her upbringing becomes clear: A human raised in the multihued, multiformed, always capricious Faerie High Court by the man who killed her parents, trained for intrigue and combat, recruited to a spy organization, and ultimately the power behind the coup and the latest High King, Jude no longer understands how to exist happily in a world that isn't full of magic and danger. A plea from her estranged twin sends her secretly back to Faerie, where things immediately come to a boil with Cardan (king, nemesis, love interest) and all the many political strands Jude has tugged on for the past two volumes. New readers will need to go back to The Cruel Prince (2018) to follow the complexities—political and personal side plots abound—but the legions of established fans will love every minute of this lushly described, tightly plotted trilogy closer. Jude might be traumatized and emotionally unhealthy, but she's an antihero worth cheering on. There are few physical descriptions of humans and some queer representation.

Whether you came for the lore or the love, perfection. (Fantasy. 14-adult)

Kirkus Reviews