a great, final scheme

*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*
The Queen of Nothing? More like everything! I always admire a book series that can manage to wrap up everything it started in a satisfying, third-book ending. This series did that for me. And I'm also just so impressed with how the inhuman, fantastical elements of Faerieland and its inhabitants are contrasted by moments of normalcy when glimpses of the mortal world, fish sticks, gummy worms, and pizza are shown. Jude endures as one of the most interesting female leads I've read. Poor girl is heavily traumatized and hasn't had a true moment's rest in far too long. But she's also unflinchingly strong, clever, loyal, and literally becomes the High Queen of Faerieland! Every parallel or full circle moment in this book felt so well-executed too. Take the unforgettable fact that Cardan and Jude are enemies to lovers, for example. When you pick up the first book, you obviously expect a romance to eventually blossom because you know how the YA fantasy genre works. But you don't know how it could possibly happen when you're watching Cardan gladly watch Jude and Taryn nearly drown in a monster-infested river. The murder of the sisters' parents at Madoc's hand is another example. The entire series gives color and shape to the twisted father daughter relationship Jude and Madoc share, and when Jude ends up finally being the one with power over the creature who took her true parents away, she still shows him mercy. That's probably the full circle moment that hit me the hardest. I haven't even mentioned Taryn just casually murdering Locke, but seeing Taryn capable of doing a very Jude-like thing felt so so important for Jude to realize that both of them were raised by a monster, but learned to cope with the consequences in different ways. I adored the hints that Taryn and the Ghost will most likely fall in love; they both deserve it. (Sidenote: If the opportunity to have an identical twin switch hadn't been taken, I would've been sorely disappointed. And Grima Mog rising to lead with Jude at her right hand? Legendary.) One of the other full circle moments that just really got me is small, and happened in a dream of Jude's that only gets a few lines of description. It's near the very end, before she must slay Cardan-turned-serpent, or bridle him to her forever. She dreams of standing before the serpent, saying "I love you," and being eaten whole. And if that isn't a manifestation of what it feels like for Jude to open herself up to the potential love and hurt of other people, especially Cardan in all his unpredictability and power, I don't know what is. Stylistically, I thought the last few chapters were written with the perfect blend of suspense and relief. Just enough time passes for readers to think, hold on, maybe Jude isn't going to find a way to save Cardan. But then, phew! She learns yet again that every Faerie prophecy and riddle should be taken very literally. Oh, and the prologue? It only took me those few pages to gain a true sense of understanding for Cardan and his poor circumstances. He's just a misunderstood little guy, made out to be cruel because of the actions of the people around him who should've shown him love and compassion. It's truly one of the best prologues I think I've ever read that does the kind of work a prologue should do if it's gonna be there in the first place.
Rambling aside, I once again have to say that this book's ending, and the series' ending along with it, was really impressive. It's not a 5-star series for me, but 4-stars from me is pretty high praise. I definitely recommend it, and will be buying a copy of How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories as soon as possible.


Some of my favorite quotes from The Queen of Nothing:

"He looks as surprised as I am that he protected me."

"Yeah, and the next thing we know, the High King is on our doorstep looking ready to tear down the whole apartment complex to find you."

"I feel like a constellation of wounds, held together with string and stubbornness."

"And maybe I ought not to be trusted, but let me say this: I trust you."

"Maybe it isn't the worst thing to want to be loved, even if you're not. Even if it hurts. Maybe being human isn't always being weak."

"By you, I am forever undone."

"'It's you I love,' he says. 'I spent much of my life guarding my heart. I guarded it so well that I could behave as though I didn't have one at all. Even now, it is a shabby, worm-eaten , and scabrous thing. But it is yours.' He walks to the door to the royal chambers, as though to end the conversation. 'You probably guessed as much,' he says. 'But just in case you didn't.'" (like, c'mon, are you kidding me?) 

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