First thing's first, I did not realize this was a YA book until about five minutes ago when I was reading through the reviews, but it does make sense knowing what I now know.

This book was overall very okay. I'll admit it was my first non-Sarah J Maas fantasy book, as I'm still very new to the fantasy genre. The Cruel Prince was a very okay read, for me. I grumbled a lot about the hundreds of pages of worldbuilding in the ACOTAR and Crescent City series', and was initially happy and surprised to find that The Cruel Prince comes in at under 400 pages. Unfortunately, I now know why worldbuilding is so important in this genre. I felt like I was just plopped into the middle of a world and had no bearings. Not much was explained to the reader, and I felt a little lost. I will no longer groan about worldbuilding.

My other qualm with this story was the lack of emotion I felt throughout the book. It was a quick and engaging read, but it lacked the emotional punch that I had grown used to. Again, I'm sorry to compare so much against ACOTAR, it's just what I know, so far. It read as though Black knows all the things that make a great story, but left the emotion I want to feel while reading. The story was there, but the writing felt mechanical, clinical, rather than evoking feelings. I wanted more from the characters.

On a positive side, I really liked the main character - Jude. She has a "take no shit" attitude and fears nothing while simultaneously fearing everything. I think utilizing the "faeries can't lie, but humans can" tale as a centerpiece for the plot was clever. I enjoyed the sibling dynamics and the familial themes.

I'm not sure I will read the other two in the series.