So, I didn't like The Cruel Prince. I didn't get the hype of it, and I didn't think it was anything extraordinary in any way. Jude was a blah main character in a blah story filled with throw away characters.

I stand by that.

This was better. Jude was more tolerable and the throwaway characters had more substance here. It also didn't suffer from second book syndrome and had a better plot all around.