The Ragpicker King

By: Cassandra Clare

Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Christian Coulson

In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as “everything I look for in fantasy,” Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.

ONE OF PASTE’S MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.

Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.

Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.

As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.

©2025 Cassandra Clare (P)2025 Random House Audio

Wow I never thought!

This book was written so well The way she moves the characters around the board is just amazing and just to make it clear you don’t have a clue what’s going to happen. In the end I was very sad then realized that like everyone reading this he did all he could do to save the ones he loves! This story can not be over! It would be a tragedy if it is!

I love this series books!!!

I can not wait for the next book . I feel like I waited for this book for so long ,but it was so worth it . I love all of her books . I really was stuck on the shadow hunters . I love the sword catcher one just as much .

The Strategy!

I loved every bit! I was skeptical before I started this series. Clearly I was wrong, I love the attention to detail that Cassandra Clare put into her work.

Amazing

I really enjoyed this book and am only sad because the next installment isn’t out yet! The characters building continues and the story takes twists and turns. Treat yourself and buy it!

Beautiful continuation of this storyline.

Clare uses beautiful imagery and well developed characters to pull our full attention into a storyline largely free from typical fantasy tropes. The characters develop into surprising roles that are in line with their history but not expected. This series has the potential to surpass any other recent fantasy series without needing to rely on graphic sexual content or violence.

Political Intrigue Meets Yearning-Laced Slow Burn

This sequel hit harder, deeper, and way more emotionally than the first. The romance between Conor and Lin had me clinging to every page. Beautiful, intimate, and quietly intense. This book whispered “ache” and I said “yes, louder.”

the story!

it’s so captivating i love all the characters and story line i cannot wait for more in the series to come out

Develop the emotional intimacy before the physical intimacy please Cassandra!!!!

My biggest gripe with this book is the extremely rushed emotional/intimacy development between Lin & Conor. This didn’t drive the plot, but in a large way it shaped the entirety of the second half of the book. The folly scene was blindsiding as a reader, mainly because it seemed entirely out of Lin’s character to act so impulsively. It was 0-100 real fast and I’m over here thinking, they genuinely only had a handful of interactions together which made Conor’s professions of love feel like they had no basis or depth. Honestly it came across as Cassandra Clare wanted the pairing to have ANGST and to be star-crossed lovers, without putting any of the work into it. True, they came from different lives, but Conor wants Lin to give up her entire life to be his mistress after one rain scene. Then as the plot moved along Lin is sent to Conor to change his mind about Kel because she lovesssss him, like girl, you are just horny. It came across like because of their physical intimacy now their relationship has depth, honesty, and devotion, when that isn’t the case.

Besides that, the political scandals were interesting, but the entire conflict could have been avoided if Kel was honest with Conor about working with the ragpicker king from the beginning. Still not sure why Conor couldn’t know about that, but whatever. The Prosper Beck being Antonetta was surprising, but again it came across as far too convenient to move the plot along. Overall I did enjoy this book, but I obviously had some gripes with it!

Storyline was excellent!!

I enjoyed how previous stories were woven throughout & the connections were well written. The intricacies involved to provide unexpected plot twists were deliberate and well planned. An excellent & entertaining lead.

5 stars epic fantasy

As someone who reads a lot of fantasy this storyline is original with fantastic character development and world building. The book was long and yet I didn't want it to end.