Book Review - The Cruel Prince

Title: The Cruel Prince 

Author: Holly Black
Published: January 2nd, 2018
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:

Of course, I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered, and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters and Faerie itself.

Review: 

Another book that booktok made me buy, so again, thank you for the endless videos on tiktok talking about this book.

Let's start at the beginning, the very first chapter. It threw me off, not because of what happened but because of the way it was written. The style was in the third person, and I honestly had difficulty understanding which person would be the main character. I knew that if this was how the whole book was written, I would struggle to finish it. Luckily, it changed after chapter 1. 

The first half of the book was good, but it was not great. I had a hard time understanding Jude's decisions and even struggled to understand her sisters. The way Carden and his friends were attacking her and her sister made me angry, and it all seemed to be moving at a languid pace. 

Then it all changed, approximately halfway through the book. The betrayal that happened angered me so much that I had to put the book down and go for a run (my 2nd fastest run of the year, just bragging a little). Jude's intentions become more clear, and the plot started to make sense. I could finally see which direction it was headed. The last half of the book had me hooked, and I finished the book in no time since I could not put it down. 

Over to the characters, starting with our main character Jude. I like her. She is strong and has a mind of her own, though she sometimes strikes me as a "not like other girls" type of girl. Sometimes her actions seem irrational and illogical. Despite this, the root of her actions is always focused on improving her sisters' lives. She goes up against the bully because she wants him to leave her and mainly her sister alone. She accepts so much from Taryn, not even caring that Taryn is turning her back to Jude as long as Taryn is safe. Jude wants to become a royal guard. Since then, no one will be able to harm Taryn or her. I'm really looking forward to watching Jude grow.

Taryn is her twin sister, they are identical, and honestly, I liked Taryn initially. She was scared and did not have a strong voice like her sister. She tried her best to find a way to fit in as well. Though, I now hate her.

Vivi is the girl's older sister. She is fantastic and my favorite character in the book. Her personality is cheerful and happy; she lives her own life, not caring about anything. She does her best to find a way out of their world and back to the human world. Despite Jude not realizing it, Vivi has always worked towards a safe way to leave and start over in the human world. She loves her sisters and their little brother and would do anything to make sure they were safe. 

Cardan is becoming better and better in my book. I have a theory that he has been helping human servants. Though, as for now, I do not have any strong thoughts or feelings about him. I am looking forward to getting to know this character as well. 

Locke, I hate him. 

The rest of the characters are all amazing in their own way, they all have unique personalities, and there seems to be a lot to unfold. Disclaimer, I do not like all of them, but I still find their story and personalities very intriguing and looking forward to understanding why they act and behave the way they do. 

The sequel is already paid for and downloaded to my kindle, looking forward to starting it after A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire.

Have you read The Cruel Prince?