This was my first Holly Black book and while I really liked it, I wasn’t in love with it. First, I felt Cardan was underdeveloped, and I was expecting more from him. Things did get there, though, but the first 66% not much really went on! And the twist was easy to guess ahead of time because that character was underdeveloped, too!

However, I was a Jude fan. Her choices may not have always been good ones, but they were for the right reasons. Her sister, Vivi, I loved!! I want to see more of her! She really is a fantastic sister. And their brother Oak was so cute in the scenes he was in.

Here’s the thing, I expected this to be darker than what it was, which is fine that it wasn’t, but the prologue was dark. And I loved the darkness in it. But I also loved the personality of Jude with a subtle humor she has. The world that Holly put together was very cool and she built that world beautifully.

Also the Cruel Prince felt very much like an opening book. And like I said the first 66% was mundane, and Cardan was missing most of the time in that time frame or his scenes were short for a while. So I was like why is the book even titled The Cruel Prince, if he’s barely there?!

Anyway, things did pick up and got addicting, and this is one of those times where I wish the next book was already out or that books came out quicker than a year apart, because I’m very interested to see what comes next! I just have so many questions!

Review on my blog https://literarydust.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/review-the-cruel-prince/