I read this series around the summer of 2022. It was a good read. The story is so meticulously plotted down. I really love how Judes's character is portrayed. She's one hell of a tough woman. Everything about the story is great except for the first few chapters where we get to know about Carden and how he treated Jude. It's hard to justify his action regardless of his bitter past. Even though there was always this sexual tension between Jude and Carden, their relationship felt a little rush toward the end. But the political ploy that unfolded throughout the story is excellent.

O M G ! I started this book with 2 friends and we loved it so so much. We each have necklaces matching to the books (a crown, coral and snake) and dagger earrings. This book was beautiful to read, Black's descriptions are carefully written and give you the feeling of being within the scenes.

4.5 ☆
holy SHOOTERS WHAT A SERIES!!! read the first few pages and immediately was obsessed. the world building had a really big learning curve, esp the politics, but wow was it so scrummy once i learned. jude and cardan are so interesting and their relationship throughout the books is so complex.

i am a huge fan of the way dear miss holly black crafted the relationship between jude at madoc. to me, its even more complex than cardan and jude. i love a good troubled father-daughter relationship and dear holly did it so impressively i could eat my own sock.

a list of quotes that haunt my waking hours:
1. "Tell me that you hate me." - GAWD IM CLIMBING THE CEILING
2. "You really do want me,' I say, close enough to feel the warmth of his breath as it hitches. 'And you hate it." - IM SCAMPERING AROUND THE ROOM AND KICKING MY FEET!!!!!
3. "Kiss me until I am sick of it." - HOLLY BLACK YOU GENIUS YOU
4. "I urge you: Come be angry at a nearer distance.” - BARS.

I really enjoyed this series and I couldn't put it down! I was impressed with and interested by the pacing and style of this series. Black does a fantastic job diving into the characters and the world of Faerie that she has built without rushing into the biggest conflict possible; I personally appreciated this, as then I felt that I understood the gravity of the conflicts and the weights behind them. This does not by any means make the story slow or uneventful, but makes you gasp when things really go south. There were some neat trope subversions, and I really appreciated the complexity of the characters' relationships. A wonderful series altogether, and I'm itching to pick up some of her other works!

Honestly a literal masterpiece. I read this series over the course of three days (pretty much two because i was at work all day on the second day). The world that Holly created is amazing, and you can easily find yourself inside of it while reading these books. The land of Elfhame and the Fae land over all was so amazing and well written. on top of that the actual story arc throughout the three books was amazing. It also had soooooo many plot twists that i never saw coming, but still made so much sense and i was upset i didn't realize sooner. the narrator Jude had such an amazing character arch, and at times was extremely relatable despite her being in a fantasy world. And don't even get me started on Cardan. Boy do i love him now. the enemies to lovers trope through this series is unparalleled. it was honestly so amazing and one of my favorite parts of the whole series. this series is a must read!! even if you usually don't read fantasy (which was me until now) you definitely need to try it out!! It also wasn't spicy! it definitely had a little bit of steam at times but nothing super descriptive, and mainly relied on the emotions of Jude. it was definitely swoon worth at times!! I personally would consider this a fantasy romance because the romance was the main thing i focuses on however it can easily be labeled as a political fantasy series as the political state of elfhame was a major plot line through out the series
Tropes:
* Faerie
* Found Family
* Enemies to Lovers
* who did this to you
* touch her and die
* "that's my wife"
* grumpy x grumpy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️♾️/5