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momwithareadingproblem 's review for:
The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black
I’m not gonna lie….I really debated picking this up to read. It’s been recommended to me SO much by so many people that I trust their recommendations and yet I was still hesitant. Why? Because I tried reading it last year on vacation and despised it. I DNFed at around the halfway mark and felt zero remorse for doing so. Then the audiobook popped up as a daily deal on Audible, and I thought “Maybe I’ll enjoy it more if someone reads it to me…..” Well that thought was apparently true. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black has moved to my list of favorites. It’s dark, intriguing, and leaves you questioning your own morals. You know everything a true fairy tale is.
Jude was only seven when she witnessed a fairy kill her parents and was then whisked away to his land with her sisters. Her older sister is part-fae, her other is her twin and opposite. Jude has learned in her time with the fairies to be ruthless and cunning. If she wants a place in their courts, she will have to fight for it and prove her worth. She is not above doing just that, no matter the cost or collateral damage. The things she has survived will turn your stomach, and yet when she does some pretty despicable things herself you root for her. Honestly it left my head spinning.
Prince Cardan is the youngest son of the High King, and a classmate of Jude’s. He is cruel as the title suggests, and yet behind his cruelty is something I did not expect. The looks he gives Jude, his attention and his backwards way of protecting her all hint at deeper feelings, a twisted view of love perhaps. I was fascinated by him. For all of Jude’s protestations, she is too.
I really can’t tell you anything about the plot because well….spoilers! I can say that there are so many twists and turns that you will never guess the ending. And the ending?! OMG!!!! That ending ranks up there with [b:Catching Fire|6148028|Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)|Suzanne Collins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358273780i/6148028._SY75_.jpg|6171458] and [b:Empire of Storms|28260587|Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463107108i/28260587._SY75_.jpg|25272004]. It left me with my jaw on the floor.
The world-building is beautiful. These fairies are cruel and unearthly, as they should be. They are inhuman and Jude and her sister have to navigate this world with all their human feelings. It’s a wonder Jude is the way she is.
Overall I really enjoyed The Cruel Prince. I’m glad I decided to pick it up again. I love fairy stories, and this is the closest I’ve ever read to true fairy mythology. I love it! I can’t wait to see what will happen next to Jude and Cardan and what they’ve set in motion. If you enjoy fantasy and fairy tales, I highly recommend this be your next read!
Jude was only seven when she witnessed a fairy kill her parents and was then whisked away to his land with her sisters. Her older sister is part-fae, her other is her twin and opposite. Jude has learned in her time with the fairies to be ruthless and cunning. If she wants a place in their courts, she will have to fight for it and prove her worth. She is not above doing just that, no matter the cost or collateral damage. The things she has survived will turn your stomach, and yet when she does some pretty despicable things herself you root for her. Honestly it left my head spinning.
Prince Cardan is the youngest son of the High King, and a classmate of Jude’s. He is cruel as the title suggests, and yet behind his cruelty is something I did not expect. The looks he gives Jude, his attention and his backwards way of protecting her all hint at deeper feelings, a twisted view of love perhaps. I was fascinated by him. For all of Jude’s protestations, she is too.
I really can’t tell you anything about the plot because well….spoilers! I can say that there are so many twists and turns that you will never guess the ending. And the ending?! OMG!!!! That ending ranks up there with [b:Catching Fire|6148028|Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, #2)|Suzanne Collins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358273780i/6148028._SY75_.jpg|6171458] and [b:Empire of Storms|28260587|Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass, #5)|Sarah J. Maas|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463107108i/28260587._SY75_.jpg|25272004]. It left me with my jaw on the floor.
The world-building is beautiful. These fairies are cruel and unearthly, as they should be. They are inhuman and Jude and her sister have to navigate this world with all their human feelings. It’s a wonder Jude is the way she is.
Overall I really enjoyed The Cruel Prince. I’m glad I decided to pick it up again. I love fairy stories, and this is the closest I’ve ever read to true fairy mythology. I love it! I can’t wait to see what will happen next to Jude and Cardan and what they’ve set in motion. If you enjoy fantasy and fairy tales, I highly recommend this be your next read!