The Queen of Nothing

Written by Holly Black

Narrated by Caitlin Kelly

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 . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Release date: Nov 19, 2019
• ISBN: 9781549150173

Holly Black

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy books, including the Novels of Elfhame, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and her adult debut, Book of Night, as well as an Arthurian picture book called Sir Morien. She has been a finalist for the Eisner Award and Lodestar Awards, and the recipient of a Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula Award, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into thirty-two languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library. She invites you to visit her online at BlackHolly.com or on Instagram @BlackHolly.

Reviews for The Queen of Nothing

[amethystangel777 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An absolutely great ending to a horribly wonderful story! It takes you through all the emotions and ends you exactly where you want to be!

[phoebellaisa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"How I walked right into the trap he set for me, as though I were some fool who'd never heard a ballad in her life." | "How unfair it would be for me to keep him this way and call it love."

From Jude at a constant battle with the Faerie realm, to owning it and the story ending with her, Cardan and her family in the mortal world is just satisfying. I love politics and the battle for status, but this book certainly portrays Jude and Cardans trust in each other. Better than standard romance are two lovers against the world and their found family.

- Am desparetly rooting for Taryn and Ghost hehe. (I love the Roach, Bomb and Heather and Vivi too)
Also Jude dying was scary lol

[illarai · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Why anyone would bother with Maas’ fey books when these are out there, I don’t know. I got sucked in to the story and didn’t mind a little predictability in some of the plot lines because the details were so unique! A satisfying end to the trilogy though.
All the ships get to set sail and it’s glorious.

If you’re hankering for a “child stolen by the faeries” story with a healthy dose of angst and web of strategy to untangle, I highly recommend this fun series.

[wyvernfriend · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Jude is married to King Cardan and in exile in the human world, yearning for Faerie and Cardan and trying to make money and keep connections with the world of Faerie, it's really the only world she knows. When her twin sister arrives and declares that she has killed her husband in self-defence and needs Jude to pretend to be her in order to answer the questions honestly, only this starts a cascade that keeps getting complicated.

While there are books that continue in this world this is an interesting end to a sequence and the characters have interesting resolutions to what has gone on in the story. It will be interesting to see what happens next but there's nothing major that remains unresolved in the cycle here.

[belbo713 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This series crept up on me. It was very enjoyable, all the way through. But somehow, by the end of it, it had established itself as one of my favourite YA Fantasy series of all time. Jude and Carden are just so interesting and so dynamic.

Highly recommend it to anyone.

[FiamaFi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

With no expectations at all, I started to read it. Unlike the previous book, I must say that I liked this third part much more than the second. I mean, I enjoyed it; I liked the way Jude and Cardan's story developed. There was a moment when I doubted it would end well, but I was quite satisfied and happy with how their story ended. This trilogy is very well told and written, making you see and feel like you are in Elfhame ☺️. I enjoyed it a lot. (Translated from Spanish)

[MarianaA2909 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Third and last part of this story.
I can't say anything without giving spoilers, so I'll just say that I liked the story very much, the world of cruel fairies that the author created is fascinating.
I loved the character growth, and contrary to popular opinion, I liked this last installment much more than the previous ones. I feel it captured me much more; at no point did I find it slow, the ending was perfect, so it was worth reaching the end. (Translated from Spanish)

[Lulilee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well, I have to admit that this one was my favorite. I didn't quite reconcile with Jude, but I liked how her character grew and the decisions she made in the end. Cardan's development was my favorite; as he took control, he began to steer his life and become a true king. I really loved Cardan. The other characters also redeemed themselves in my eyes; I enjoyed Jude's sisters' involvement in this book much more than in the others. Overall, I would give the entire trilogy a 3.5 ? and I would recommend it as a light and entertaining young adult fantasy. I loved the world of fairies. While these books won't be among my favorites, as they lacked a lot of romance for that, I don't regret reading them. They completely took me off planet Earth this week, and I thank them for that because I needed it, even if it was just to be angry with the protagonist. I found it hard to return to reality; I even completely lost track of Thursday. I don’t know what I did that day.
I really want to read Cardan's book; I will probably buy it because I've seen it, and it's a beautiful edition. For the others, I'm fine with having them in digital form. It was a lovely read. (Translated from Spanish)

[dinahmine · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked The Queen of Nothing but I didn’t love it. While this novel worked much better for me than The Wicked King did, I feel the best part of the series was the ending of The Cruel Prince. Overall, reading this series was enjoyable but unlike some other YA fantasy series I wouldn’t recommend it to people who didn’t already love the genre.

[michellesr13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4.5 It seems to me a great book, I think in some way the best of the trilogy, it is a great story that I could undoubtedly read over and over again. (Translated from Spanish)

[Naitora · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

We continue with that familiar thread. One of the great things that stands out about this series is the palace betrayals and strategy games, and here it reaches that point of no return where everything becomes delicious, dark... brilliant.

THE QUEEN OF NOTHING begins shortly after where we left off, and we can see how the pieces are once again falling into place to give us a work that, in addition to darkness, won’t let you breathe. We can finally see everything that is hidden in the hearts of our protagonists, what has been forged despite the initial hatred, but that is not all that is shown to us. Mutual trust is being built as the shadows of someone waiting for their moment draw closer. To say that I didn’t see those last aces up the author’s sleeve coming, the ones that make you suffer and wonder how she’s going to pull it off, was one of those moments that left me desperate to continue, almost breathless, until reaching that final point where everything that happened made sense to me, and I loved accompanying our heroes to that moment, saying, “I loved it, damn it!”

Holly Black surprised me at the time, but this writing is brutal, dark, shrewd, and it’s a great bet that I plan to keep following. Happy reading! (Translated from Spanish)

[brittaniethekid · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I spent the first half of the book fed up with Jude (though tbh that has been a theme throughout this series). She kind of just gave up after the last book, sitting on a couch covered in Cheeto dust and tears, and decides a lot of things for herself whether they are true or not. She really needs to take time off sword fighting and work on her interpersonal skills. Though I kind of wanted more about her side job with the fae in the mortal world other than her one job to stop Grima Mog, I thought that was a lot more interesting than her moping around an apartment I can't see how they can afford and worrying about Heather like it's her business. Oak also seems to have aged a few years since the last book even though it's supposedly only been months? And there's no mention of him going to school, plus he can't even stop using his fae powers at the apartment playground. He can suddenly speak like an adult which was a bit jarring - it's hard to tell how old he's supposed to be here.
The second half was a lot more action with her back in faerie and Cardan rightly thinking she's a bit of an idiot but loving her anyway for some reason. We don't really get anything about what he's been up to, just bits and pieces Jude finds out by snooping or on accident, which is a bummer. He's obviously been doing a ton of thinking and planning and we get none of that because it's the Jude Show. Then suddenly he's a snake? And basically not a character for a 1/4 of the book, not even in his new form.
I loved this book because I love Holly Black's writing and her worlds but throughout this entire series Jude has really gotten on my nerves. The Strong Female Character trope gets a bit old, especially when Jude only gets through on sheer dumb luck, not because of any actual skills or communication. I look forward to whatever Black conjures up for her next original series, and hope that it doesn't focus so much on moral vs. fae and weird hair styles.

[Jemfme · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

They had expectations from the blessed social media; I thought it would be even more wonderful than the second in the trilogy, but I couldn't connect with the story. A pleasant ending, equally unexpected as each twist in the plot, but still, in my opinion, it is the least rated in terms of the trilogy. (Translated from Spanish)

[Antof · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I said it before and I'll say it again. I admire Jude, he is such a persevering person and, despite his great ambition, he does not lose his humanity. Cardan's development is incredible, he managed to make me fall deeply in love and I admit that I suffered quite a bit in the last chapters.

Since the previous book, I had been wondering why this book had this name until I came up with a crazy idea, which in the end was not so far-fetched. While that was not a surprise, the content definitely was. (Translated from Spanish)

[Kooky12 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was definitely my favorite book, I liked Cardan much more in this book than in the others, and Jude, oh Jude, how I love her. (Translated from Spanish)

[hipney · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I just don't like Jude.

[sedodge-608996 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A nice conclusion to the trilogy! A happy ending for all - I wish the epilogue went a bit further, but I can't blame Holly Black for stopping where she did. All in all a good read

[abbieriddle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

And.....there's the conclusion. And what a conclusion it is!!

This series has been amazing. It will be on my to be read again shelf

[Eevebooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a book that closes the trilogy of "The Inhabitants of the Air," a very popular story that has been on many people's lips. However, I feel that too much hype has been given to a very simple plot that has been seen in several books already and does not offer anything different to generate such a massive hype.

The plot in this part is, I acknowledge, the most entertaining of the three books. It lasted very little for me because things kept happening, and that kept me so hooked that I struggled to put the book down wanting to discover what would happen to the characters and their evolving backgrounds. The final stretch, however, did not convince me at all; I feel it was too much of a "happy ending" for my taste considering the situation everyone was in, and it seemed complicated to resolve it so easily. Not to mention that everything complicated left open in the previous two books is resolved in no time in this last installment.

The characters weren't too bad in this book either. I feel that on an evolution level, they grew a bit more in this final stretch and were not as exasperating as in the previous two. The romance wasn't too bad either, but it still isn't one of my favorites; I think the enemies-to-lovers trope abuses that enemies dynamic too much, and there is barely any love, creating certain difficulties for me in enjoying it as much as I would like. Moreover, I felt that the romance was very rushed and everything was resolved immediately, just like the internal problems of each of them.

I liked the narrative because within the world of fantasy, Holly Black writes in such an engaging way that you don't notice how quickly you move through her story. I do acknowledge that when it comes to descriptions, the author did overdo it a bit, and it could become dense due to the few dialogues, but since she has a very simple vocabulary, it is easy to understand and digest.

In summary, "The Queen of Nothing" is a book that closes the trilogy of The Inhabitants of the Air, and I must say that although it is not one of my favorite stories, I liked this third part more than the previous ones. I felt the plot evolved constantly and gained a lot of weight as I continued reading. Things kept happening all the time, and that had me hooked to the point of not being able to put the book down until I finished it, which is the most positive thing I can take from it. I liked the final stretch less; I think it was because the author wanted to unfold a happy ending and went to a very basic and predictable point that left me with a somewhat bittersweet feeling. The characters weren't too bad in this last part; I feel they were less exasperating and had a more interesting and entertaining growth, but I reiterate that they weren't those characters that left a mark on me. The romance wasn't for me; I think it was a too exaggerated enemies-to-lovers trope and at times even toxic and harmful, which stressed me out more than made me fangirl. The author's narrative is quite engaging despite writing in the genre she writes, but there were moments where I felt she overdid the narrative, and there were very few dialogues to compensate for the excess narrative. (Translated from Spanish)

[Xeila · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I think it's a brilliant ending. The book is all action and never feels slow at any moment. (Translated from Spanish)

[aaleexxaandraa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

WHAT A GREAT ENDING. Jude and Cardan are my favorite couple from all the books I have read, and although the final plot twist felt very out of nowhere, I wouldn't change a single comma. (Translated from Spanish)

[the1butterfly · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm doing a trilogy review to make my life easier. First - I loved getting to revisit some of the old characters from other series. I really enjoyed the unlikely romance that played out, and yes, I enjoyed the rest of the drama that came together. My biggest disappointment is that of course there's another book I haven't gotten hold of yet, because just because I save up an entire trilogy to read doesn't mean that there won't be another related book that I don't have. Yes, all Holly Black Faery books are amazing.

[tikimoof · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It felt like things wrapped up a little too neatly, and people ended up being nicer than their earlier natures would have implied. I do still really like that Jude always feels she's weak and that other characters are able to contextualize that she's got more going for her than she thinks.

It was fine, just less biting than the other books.

[malegotti · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was sad to let go of this trilogy, the best I read this year… Holly Black has a great talent for creating characters that tear you apart, the best part? they are all bastards. (Translated from Spanish)

[Bre0498 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I simply loved it, I adored the story from beginning to end. It has definitely become one of my favorite trilogies. (Translated from Spanish)

[xherrerad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the second time I've read this book, and the second time it leaves me with an immense void when I finish it because I love these characters so much that it just makes me want to cry for having to end this story. The first time, I was so surprised by how each book was better than the last that I thought I would never surpass them, and after rereading them seven months later, I am clear that I will never surpass them in my life. If Holly Black decided to write 20 more books about Cardan and Jude, I would eagerly read all of them without any problem because they are amazing.

In “The Queen of Nothing,” the last book of the trilogy, we find many more descriptions than in the previous ones, especially regarding politics and combat strategies, putting a bit more aside the relationship between the main characters, but it keeps you glued to the story and the plot. Perhaps everything is resolved a bit faster than I would like, even leaving me wanting more, but Holly resolves it quite well in the next installment: “How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories,” giving us a little more about Cardan.

What's clear is that absolutely all the characters in The Cruel Prince series are amazing, and the development and evolution of the main ones (especially Jude and Cardan) is what makes these books so incredible and so hard to surpass because they leave you with an incredible emotional hangover; along with the setting, the plot (conspiracies, betrayals, struggles, and confessions), and the entire story in general.

It may be the second time I've read them and there are other ways to return to Faerieland, but it won't be the last time I return to Elfhame to enjoy this story again. Giving it 5⭐️ feels insufficient, but it's because it doesn't allow for more. ? (Translated from Spanish)

[lalectorasincola · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The third book of the saga "The inhabitants of the air."

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll just mention that the ending was worth it: a book full of twists, resolving the tangle of complications and challenges from the previous ones, everything neatly tied up as I like it and a surprising conclusion, though for me not intense. Cardan and Jude have matured a lot, and that shows in their decisions, their mistakes, and their attitude. Holly's writing is incredible.

If you like fantasy mixed with reality, don't miss the chance to read it; it's a delightful read. (Translated from Spanish)

[Strawberryesp · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Third and final installment of the "Airborne Inhabitants" trilogy by Holly Black. This book is the perfect conclusion to a saga that, while it started a bit weak in all aspects from my point of view, has ended wonderfully.

There is a chasm between the attitude of some characters at the beginning of the saga and at the end, like Taryn, Cardan, or Jude. Others, however, seem to have remained indifferent to the events and present the same attitude as at the beginning. That did surprise me a bit because I believe that the experiences we go through always leave some mark on us and make us see the world differently. But well, I suppose that since many of them are not fully human, it doesn't count.

If I had to point out a flaw, I would say that the reconciliation between Jude and Taryn at the beginning of the book feels a bit forced to avoid a bad ending, but it doesn't make much sense after everything they've done to each other. However, I really liked how the relationship between all the siblings evolves over the years and how they all stand up to the villain of the book at a certain moment. Cardan was a big surprise for me because in the first book he was a character who didn't resonate with me at all, and in this one, he even managed to win me over with his actions.

So in summary, it is a young adult fantasy series that is entertaining and allows you to escape for a few hours from the very human world around us. (Translated from Spanish)

[leslyaguilar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Long live the king... and the queen too! This is what I was waiting for, the culmination of all the chaos and its solution. I loved it so much. First of all, I have to confess that I didn't like Jude at first; it wasn't until the second half of the book that I understood her, and to be honest, I liked her evolution quite a bit. However, the one who truly deserves the crown for merit is, of course, Cardan. What a character! There's no better villain than one who, beneath a layer of cruelty, shows vulnerability and humanity (as much as that is possible). Cardan has the best development, the best personality, charisma, and above all, attractiveness, haha. The trilogy as a whole is a delight; I definitely recommend it. (Translated from Spanish)

[HitanRobledo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought it was a good book even though I feel like it was missing something…
Jude has always seemed to me like a character who always had a plan in mind and always managed to surprise me, but in this book, Jude felt like she was “calm”. I don’t know how to explain it, but I missed reading about that Jude.

In the other books, romance was scarce, and this one is no exception; I would have liked a little more romance. I'm not saying it should be sappy and excessive. I just wanted a bit more. (Translated from Spanish)