FOLK OF THE AIR SERIES REVIEW BY HOLLY BLACK

[@hazaryousef6406]

6:18 In The Queen of Nothing, it says that mortals won't age as long as they stay in the faerie world, but their age will catch up to them if they go to the mortal world. That's why Val Moran doesn't age.

[@bookishsophia]

wow i must’ve missed that entirely lmao. thank you for clarifying!!

[@ayaayah1817]

I find that confusing tho. So does that mean they wouldn't die too? So what was the point of Cardan and his friends bullying them

[@el_likes_books]

@@ayaayah1817 racism and the feeling of inferiority for loving a human, a ‘lesser’ being. I mean not the actual inferiority but smt close to that. The feeling of loving someone you don’t want to.

[@khalidatr]

My friend told me the ending didn't fit the tone of the rest of the series and I definitely agree though I absolutely loved the ending TwT

[@krimmy8459]

Yeah,the ending didn't really fit the book,but it was soooo satisfying.

[@keanukason5185]

Sorry to be so off topic but does anyone know of a tool to log back into an Instagram account?? I was stupid forgot my login password. I would appreciate any help you can offer me!

[@kylermessiah2215]

@Keanu Kason Instablaster ;)

[@keanukason5185]

@Kyler Messiah i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff now. Takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@keanukason5185]

@Kyler Messiah it worked and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy! Thanks so much you saved my ass :D

[@ChinIpod]

I just finished the 3 books in 4 days! What a roller coaster ride. Someone glamour me into forgetting the series so I can reread it again 😭😭. Since I read it so fast I didn’t really think abt what would happen nxt so I was pleasantly surprised with all the twists. Ahhh loved it so much!

[@booklover466]

I read all 3 books in a week! I LOVE it although I saw some of the problematic aspects of it, but I was still addicted. I know they’re not 5 star books but I gave them ALL 5 stars because I have a problem. For me, The Wicked King was my favorite because we get to see Jude trying to hold on to her power while it was just beyond her grasp and suffer the consequences of her actions from the previous book.

[@bookishsophia]

i think the wicked king is a lot of fun too! jude definitely shows so much agency and manipulation in that one. she's such a fascinating protagonist

[@fathimafaiqah806]

I totally agree, my fave was def the wicked king, we also get to see a backstory of cardan which i think was really good idea

[@xavyce1628]

agreed@@bookishsophia

[@krimmy8459]

My favorite was The Wicked King.I feel as though both the Cruel Prince and the Queen of Nothing only became seriously addictive close to half way through. Also,I understand what you mean about getting invested in Jude and Cardan's relationship 😂,I wish it was a bigger theme honestly.

[@casualcascade]

It's mentioned that mortals don't age if they stay in Faerie, so Jude shouldn't have to worry about being married to an immortal unless she leaves and all her years catch up to her I like QON alright, but I think it could have really benefited from being longer and having much more fleshed out plotlines especially the climax.

[@smilee2566]

Wait so then why is it when Jude and Taryn are taken to Faerie as children they both age as normal?

[@hazaryousef6406]

@@smilee2566 They must have visited the mortal world every now and then. In the Cruel Prince, it says that they tried to go back with Vivi when they were little, and that they have to go to the mall to buy tampons because there aren't any in faerie world.

[@nadia1497]

I could not agree with you more with literally everthing you said! The stuff Cardan did at the beginning was terrifying and borderline trautmatizing. Then again it all sort of made sense since Jude was also a really power hungry and violent. I think they both just share having excessive anger about something so it works. Also, I completwly agree, I love it when all/most of the characters are morally ambiguous; it makes it so much harder to just point fingers and blame someone/something. Plus, it adds so many more layers.

[@han-oi4cc]

*spoilers* i think the only way to see her exile in an understandable light is to imagine finally trusting someone after living a life of walking on not even eggshells, but glass shards, and then they "betray" you. even as an extremely tough woman, it devastated her, and rightfully so. plus, no one else knew of their marriage at that point and i'm sure the entire court would rather believe a wicked king's deception over any old mortal, who's probably pissed most of them off at some point, and can easily lie.

[@zoebluer2099]

!!!! Exactly! I was so upset that Cardan did that lol. I was expecting a bigger revelation when Jude came back 😂

[@ashujaz]

I love this series despite the flaws and bad characters.

[@lauraalmonte9256]

OH you made me feel stupid lol I didn't get the riddle about the crown :(

[@larissafonseca4007]

A year later but here I am 😂 my favourite was The Queen of Nothing because I felt like Holly Black finally used the whole of the book instead of just the second half. In the first 2 books the first halves were really slow but in TQofN it picked up right from the start. That’s my favourite in terms of plot but The Cruel Prince is my favourite in terms of character development and The Wicked King was really great with the part in the Undersea. Ahh having thought about it again it’s so hard to pick a favourite, they all excel at different things.

[@anshupadigla5916]

She literally even said she could probably go back since she says she is queen, but then she said they wouldn’t believe her cause without Cardan even saying anything they didn’t believe she was queen and just laughed

[@ayaayah1817]

4:40 I think it's also because she was very insecured. Like by the end of Wicked king, she said that she was the queen and everybody, including Cardan, just laughed at her.. By then she thought he just tricked her by making her his queen, she didn't really trust him that much.. Maybe she was even fearing for her life, especially because of the severity of the punishment if she was caught breaking her so-called "exile"..

[@jasperkennethacasio1783]

I am so done reading the series like an hour ago and I love it. I have not tried rereading a book but this probably the first books I will reread in the future. I love QoN, it didn't bored me a little unlike the first 2 books which there were parts that bored me, QoN is full of events and I love the ending. It is super cute.

[@bigjbird4427]

Omg I agree I love how morally grey all the characters are. Honestly I love the politics and action, but idk if this is defined as a romance series? Because all over TikTok Twitter I thought it was romance then when I read it I was like ???? I feel like the author knows how to create tension but not sustain or satisfy it in terms of romance, the pacing between them seemed off. There would be long drawn tension that had a release long after another plot point that felt so disconnected. The pacing in general I feel, while I enjoy how fast paced it was I feel she could have done more to develop. Sometimes this was happening and that was happening and people were adjusting way to quickly to the things that happened learning and growing and developing too fast? Like idk if it makes sense

[@retitauts186]

ACOTAR was the reason why I didn't want to read this series because it was so bad but you changed my mind completely. Vroom Vroom, on my way to get The Cruel Prince!

[@bookishsophia]

vroom vroom i'm in me mum's car also I HOPE U ENJOY i promise this isn't anything like sjm lmao

[@lovepatriciax]

I was disappointed with the 3rd book. Ithought it was rushed.

[@newuser5773]

ya it had a generally good plot but definitely should’ve been a thicker book for the finale, not the shortest in the series

[@jessicamueller5921]

I feel like the relationship abuse point is just knitpicking because it obviously is. That's the whole point. There relationship isn't meant to he glamorized, it was questioned and shaky every time she talks about it because Vivi is not a good romantic partner.

[@avocadodog6317]

I love your reviews! I just finished tfota series and it was so good!!! My favorite was The Wicked King, because it had so many twists and betrayal. Though I wish the books had a little more romance, because I kept seeing so many fan art of Jude and Cardan and I assumed there would be more romance. I also wish Queen of Nothing was a little better because I found that one to be slower at first with not as much betrayal as I expected. But still the books amazing and I love Jude and Cardan

[@GenievaWalter]

in the start of the third book(or maybe the end of the second, I don't quite recall) she does think of the loophole but dismissed it because it was to easy

[@lina-kx6ip]

did she just threw shade on Sarah J maas.... O HELLL NOO

[@bilgemehves]

Sarah created Acotar itself.I love Sarah.

[@Aizirk9]

Can someone tell me what happened to Queen Orlagh?? Did I miss what happened to her in the 3rd book?

[@cantlieman]

Ahh I wish I could forget it and read it all over again😩 Mf got butterflies thru reading it lol.

[@pallavipareek8479]

I devoured the whole series in a week and i really can relate to you on your opinion for the. Like I loved the book. It was fun and interesting, I couldn't put the book down but it was also like fine. It was not like mind-blowing amazing but yah i liked it. I wanted more romance between Jude and Cardan.

[@mallory.22]

You were wondering if Jude dies like a mortal but in the book it said that as long as she stayed in the faerie world she would live but if she returned to the mortal world she would die if she was too old to be living there

[@madihahnoor6297]

OMG yes the exile point you made I thought that too also if Cardon was so in love with her why couldn’t he just go and visit and been like why haven’t you been responding

[@tulexia8841]

0:28 hol up you read 3 books a month!! I think 3 is wayy to less for em personally I read 10 books a month mostly

[@nomdeplume1358]

😭😭😭😭not even 2 minutes in and you just dragged Sarah J. Maas...I literally gagged That being said I definitely prefer the Fey in Holly Black's books. I also read this for the first time this year, 😂 and I like the way she writes the Fey because they feel like actual faeries, like those from faery folklore instead of hairless werewolves with giant penises and magic powers. Which is how I feel about SJM’s faeries, you could literally replace them with any other fictional creature and it would make no difference to the story, they could be wolves, elves, fucking wizards

[@bookishsophia]

yes, i love all the lore and mythology that holly black incorporates into this series! the glamours, the faerie fruit, the tails (lmao)

[@neko_stardust4127]

Read the whole trilogy in a span of 3 days. 💁🏼‍♀️💕 Yes, I agree that the tone of the books arent similar. The first one was too dark, too traumatizing- and yet the 3rd has this intense romeo and juliet vibes, and rainbows and pizza 🍕 but i love it. Some, angry critics out there might hate these elements of the book since its so not okay, but for people that just want that regular angst and satisfaction. Its worth it. 💕 For the Romance part, i dont think that the book needs more 'romance' since the story focuses on the politics and suspense and plottwists- i watched a youtuber like a month ago, where she says that the series doesnt need romance more. If you like romance, then pick up a romance book 💁🏼‍♀️. And i get that, because if the romance parts are too much- the readers perspective will shift and focus on the lovey dovey scenes (tho im also part of the ones that screams everytime jude and cardin are ALONE IN TOGETHER YES GIRL WERE WAITING FOR THAT PART) i still believe that the author did a great job by showing small scenes from them, because its more impactful for the readers- the reason i dont read romance novels is because i get too sick of the romance factor. And thus, i look for books like these. Where there are small scenes, but the romance is more meaningful than those cheesy YA novels. And at the same time, appreciating a book because it has a good politics vibe and a psychotic mc who you really cant blame. 💁🏼‍♀️

[@elizabethgamez9293]

I also rushed through the series because I HAD TO KNOW. I ranked them as such The Cruel Prince at the top then The Wicked King and then The Queen of Nothing. Spoilers ahead The ending...I thought and anticipated there would be more action, if you will. Characters were going to die but nah. And I was also frustrated with Jude when she didn’t compute that she’s is the crown. When Carden banished her, she should have been “As the Crown *clears her throat* NO” or sneaked into the castle and scared Cardan while he slept. Overall, I really enjoyed the series. :)

[@bookishsophia]

i'm glad u enjoyed the series too!! i think QoN could have had more twists and turns. it felt kind of like breaking dawn where there's a ton of build up for something that de-escalates almost instantly.

[@elizabethgamez9293]

thebookbasement omg yes! 😂😂Perfect analogy. 👌 oh well.

[@ukusnadna]

i read all of them in 2 days and am still obsessed with them... send huelp

[@Savetheunicorns16]

She literally even says at one point she could pardon herself but that no one would believe her if she went back and cardan still didn’t confirm she’s the Queen. It was a stupid plot point.

[@aghasemoa8878]

I just finished reading the series! I agree with you on it being so addictive that's why it only took me three days to read it! I adore QoN because that is where most of the romance is and also because it is where each character's vulnerabilities were truly addressed. Although it was the book that I LITERALLY did not put down, I'd have to rank last tWK because I hated how power-greedy and manipulative Jude has become. But overall, I liked the series! I have to agree with you on rereading it because for real I speed read the series🤣

[@sobiyahilal2449]

In which book are the letter present??? Can anyone help

[@chandanakumari1987]

Guys If you read the 3 series... Please help me with this question! ∆ Can I read the queen of nothing without reading the 1st amd 2nd part? Please help meh 🥺

[@ishratbari6595]

No

[@augstuffie8609]

"During one book you may hate a character and during the next book you might love them" this does not apply to taryn. We hate her in every book.

[@peterevelin9939]

In one month, I usually read in average like 6-7 books.

[@joduyt]

Okay, guys honestly...... Does it read like a Wattpad book or are characters genuinely developed with great storylines?

[@reminiscentoss681]

I loved the first two books in this series with TWK being my favorite, followed by TCP and then QoN. I will say that out of all the conclusions to a series I got to see in 2019 QoN was the least disappointing. I think my biggest problem with QoN was Jude, her defining character traits are her ambition and relentlessness, both of which I felt were absent in her character from around the time Taryne showed up. I think I was most upset about that because it felt like those parts of her had been forcibly crushed by her imprisonment and banishment rather than a natural progression of her character arc. The plot to QoN also felt a lot less tight than TWK had, and was kind of boring? I guess? Like I kept expecting for it to be revealed that Vivi made a deal with Cardan to have Jude banished or for Grima Mog to have been Madoc's mum. I still love the first two though, I am so close to rereading them again

[@bookishsophia]

ooh yes i agree with you. the queen of nothing felt like it didn't have the same intensity or number of twists as the other two had. there were no huge betrayals or secrets

[@alishakazi8317]

I read the entire series in like 4 days lol I was that invested in it.

[@kazzbrekker5187]

Just wanna say that mortals in faerie never age

[@vandora6771]

I've heard so much about this series (some really hated it while others loved it) and I don't know wheter it's worth buying... Please help

[@unprofessionalcritic3107]

1:03 Exactly the same thought as me.

[@beetrf]

love your reviews as always!

[@bookishsophia]

thank you so much!

[@samaraholland5078]

My question, how does Madoc not die when he goes back to the mortal world??? Aren't their years supposed to catch up to them, and he's like OLD

[@jocey1364]

That only applies to humans and he is fae

[@nikkicas260]

I feel like booktube and tiktok really hyped it up for nothing…. Tbh some booktubers are just book collectors they hardly read the books they buy.

[@kindred.spirit]

i loooove your reviews haha

[@jennydeng593]

I loved it but I kinda wish that more things happened

[@elizabethgamez9293]

I also rushed through the series because I HAD TO KNOW. I ranked them as such The Cruel Prince at the top then The Wicked King and then The Queen of Nothing. Spoilers ahead The ending...I thought and anticipated there would be more action, if you will. Characters were going to die but nah. And I was also frustrated with Jude when she didn’t compute that she’s is the crown. When Carden banished her, she should have been “As the Crown *clears her throat* NO” or sneaked into the castle and scared Cardan while he slept. Overall, I really enjoyed the series. :)