The Cruel Prince
Ratings643
Average rating3.8
“Because you're like a story that hasn't happened yet. Because I want to see what you will do. I want to be part of the unfolding of the tale.”
You know when you're reading a book and then you get sad because you realise you only have a few pages left until you finish? This is how it was for this book. I didn't want it to end.
The Cruel Prince reminded me exactly why I started to recently get into and enjoy reading fantasy.
I am going to keep this spoiler free as I do with all of my reviews.
I knew from the very first few chapters that Jude would become very special to me. Though, it's not the same (My world is not fantasy in any aspect), I relate to the feeling of never feeling like I belong and feeling pressure to try to. Jude might be young but she is most definitely not the weak girl that some of them make her out to be.
I am so excited to read more about Cardan and get to know him underneath the rough exterior that he presented throughout the book. I loved that I got to see a glimpse of it in some moments and I can't wait to see more.
Every character that you come across is flawed and complex. It was difficult to trust any of them and I found it so much to wait every chapter to see if anyone was reliable.
The drama, the plot twists... I am obsessed and I can't wait to pick up the rest of the series. I am so annoyed I didn't read it earlier.
I'm still surprised to enjoy this as much as I did. I was prepared to not like it very much, honestly, with all the hype surrounding this trilogy. I started reading it with low expectations. I was sucked in this world pretty fast. The cruelty of the Fae, the setting, Jude's personality, the politics & intrigue, Cardan's obsession about Jude really made the story for me.
It dragged a bit but I really enjoyed this one.
3.25/5 ⭐
This book was immensely disappointing. I was so incredibly slow for almost the entire book until the end when everything just happened at once. I hated Cardan for the entire book. I don't understand the hype.
Awesome plot-twist at the end, was not expecting this book to be more centered about Faerie politics but I'm glad it was! And Jude is such a badass, really powerful!
Jude singlehandedly carried the first two thirds of the book, because the weird bully school romance thing did nothing for me, but the last third was really fun to read and I look forward to the rest of the series.
Why are we still writing stories where the fifth grade boy shows his adoration by kicking the girl?
Seriously.
If it weren't for that trope, this would be a very good YA.
Honestly, at first I thought this book was going to be quite dull, but in the end I enjoyed it!
FIRST OF ALL LET ME SCREAM BECAUSE I STARTED THIS BOOK WITHOUT GIANT EXPECTATIONS YET HERE I AM, UGLY CRYING IN MY ROOM WITH NO DECENT SOUL ANYMORE hides in pillows
it's been a while since I haven't felt such a lack when I ended a book. Not a lack of something into the book, a lack of more of it. That wasn't enough. I need more. That was just too good.
yes, The Cruel Prince is the kind of book where the story is so captivating that you can't get enough of it, and you irredeemably find yourself in the biggest book hangover ever.
often enough it occurs that an overhyped book is actually disappointingly slow to start, and you may ask yourself at a random moment if the hype around it was really worth it. Sometimes it is, finally, because the last half of it catches up (almost) wholly, sometimes it doesn't at all.
here, we're gripped to the plot from the beginning to the end.
Holly Black has her own terribly efficient way to weave webs into her story so she can be the only one to know how to unravel it, especially when if comes to court connections and politics, and it's bloody billiant. I feel like I've just read my favourite book of the year only twenty days onto it, which is a premiere, even if I'm known to be an easy lover. It's just that I have those very special feels that I recognize easily. They usually comes when I read a very, very good book and could be explained by how invested i am in a story.
the characters are great in all their complexity, they all bring something special to the plot. Jude is the anti-heroine by excellence. Ruthless, ambitious, rough and attracted by power, she is the antithesis of the girl seeking to be good from every angle (Taeryn, her twin sister, is more likely to be). Jude is unapologetic, and I love her for that. I don't want to say a lot about Cardan, but his character development is the best out of the whole book.
i obviously ship Jude and Cardan so much, even if the epilogue broke my heart. Why. Why why why..
i've never been especially attached to the world of Faes, even when I read Sarah J. Maas's books. The best advice I can give you if you intend to start this book (if you don't, what you doin?!!!) is not to refer too much to these series, because that's brought up very differently.
anyway, The Cruel Prince is a book you'll remember for sure. This trilogy debuts is a beautiful stone spotted in the world of YA fantasy, and i can't wait to meet the two final pillars. 2019 never seemed so far right now.
Better than I expected, and those last few chapters killed me.
You can read the spoiler-free review up on my blog now!
Goodreads Review coming soon!
3,5 sterretjes
Gelezen voor de NEWTs readathon van Book Roast:
Exceeded Expectations in Herbology: een boek met tussen de 350 en 390 bladzijden
Er waren heel veel zaken dat ik enorm leuk vond aan dit boek, maar er waren ook dingen die ik minder vond. Ik werd er niet zo hard door meegesleept zoals ik had gehoopt.
De wereldopbouw is voortreffelijk, rijk en sappig. Heel mooi beschreven zodat je het zo voor je ogen ziet.
De personages zijn grijs, waarmee ik wil zeggen dat ze nooit helemaal goed of helemaal slecht zijn. Ze zijn allesbehalve saai. De relaties tussen de personages vond ik ook enorm boeiend en toch wel uniek.
Het verhaal vond ik verrassend en origineel. Niet wat ik ervan had verwacht en ik ben echt benieuwd hoe het verder zal gaan.
De schrijfstijl is bijzonder vlot en zet aan tot verder lezen.
Wat er denk ik voor zorgde dat ik het minder overdonderend vond dan gehoopt is dat voor sommige gebeurtenissen context ontbrak. De opbouw - van gevoelens en naar gebeurtenissen - zat ergens niet goed of kwam volledig uit het niets.
Een groot stuk zou voor mij denk ik verholpen zijn geweest als er tussen de proloog en hoofdstuk twee meer geschetst zou zijn geworden dan één enkele zin. Ik miste de introductie van de zusjes in Elfhame, hoe ze om zijn gegaan met die verandering van wereld, hoe ze relaties opbouwden met de feeën die hen nu opvoedde, wat een invloed dit had op hun ontwikkeling en op de relatie met elkaar, etc. Doordat dit stuk er niet was, miste ik wat emotionele betrokkenheid in de gebeurtenissen en personages.
Maar daarnaast waren er nog passages in het boek die nogal uit het niks kwamen of te weinig uitgediept waren, zoals de verhaallijn met Locke of wanneer Jude een mensenbediende steelt of hoe ze plots een superspion wordt,. Het voelde eigenlijk vaak dat er gewoon heel veel van het boek was geschrapt om het in te korten, maar daardoor werd aan diepgang en verbondenheid ingeboet.
Globaal gezien een leuk boek, met een geweldige schrijfstijl, een interessante wereld, bijzondere personages en een uniek verhaal, dat worstelde met tempo en diepgang. Hopelijk wordt dit in de volgende boeken opgelost, want ik ben er toch benieuwd naar.
When Jude's mother was pregnant, she ran from faerie to hide in the human world. Ten years later, her husband took his revenge and stole not only his fey child, but the human twins as well. Taken from her murder parents, Jude and her sisters learn to survive in the treacherous world of faerie without being held under enchantment. Every day Jude must endure the cruelty of the fey and constantly be reminded of her human mortality. All she wants is a place in court and the comfort of safety. But to gain that protection, she will have to dive deeper into the danger to earn her keep.
Jude just didn't cut it for me as a main character. I was surprised how little character building there was to her. Her past is literally glossed over in bullet points for a chapter. Seriously? I hate to say it... lazy writing. Something I didn't think I would see from Holly Black.
Not a series I will continue. The plot dragged on and I could care less about the sub plots.
4.5/5 stars
Jude is bad-ass, she knows what she wants and she'll do whatever it takes to get it. Holly Black is the best, i love all of her books about Faerie, this one included.
The story is about a young girl named Jude and her sister, who get whisked away to the land of the Fae after their parents are brutally murdered. There, although she starts out hating where she is, as the years pass she begins to adapt and wish she belonged there. But mortals can never compete with Faeries, and the Gentry of Faerie love to show that, Prince Carden especially, with the way he bullies her constantly and derides her. But with the King of Faerie soon to abdicate, court intrigue arises as to which of his heirs will take the throne, and Jude must figure out how to strengthen her position and prove she is not as powerless as everyone thinks she is.
Holly Black proved that there is such a thing as a unique “fairy” tale when she expanded on her dark world of Faerie to create a completely new story with awesome and often frightful characters. And honestly, Jude is the best. I've read so many books where the main character acts like they're strong but end up not being able to make hard decisions or do the best thing. But when Jude sees her chance, she seizes it and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get where she needs to be, even if it means bloodying her hands a little.
i LOVED this book!!!!!!! my only issue is that i didn't feel connected to any of the secondary characters :/
reread:
4.5 stars!!!!! it took me so long to read it this time but i'm on vacation so it's not the book's fault. i definitely didn't pay enough attention to the book the first time i read it, based on the amount of things i either didn't know happened/didn't remember.
It's mostly a 4.5 going toward a 5 star but it was so good. Like the beginning is leading you toward the big climax and omg I love it so much I can't wait to start the next book
This was such a fun story. I love the strong female lead. I enjoyed the witty dialog and complex characters. I hope there's a continuation of the story.
It took me days to figure out how to write this review. I wasn't sure what to say or how to even word it. I am not a fantasy reader but I loved this read. This is my first read by Holly Black and I am hoping it won't be my last.
After their parents are killed, the girls are brought to faerie to live with Madoc, a faerie war general and the man who slaughtered their parents. If you think growing up is hard, try growing up in faerie when the blood coursing through your veins is 100% human.
The characters are excellent. Everyone is multi-layered and (dare I say it?) terrible, including our protagonist Jude. But despite their flaws, it's impossible not to be drawn into their world and root for Jude the underdog. Also, I have to admit that the aptly named Cruel Prince (aka Cardan) is both horribly mean and also deliciously complicated. I can't say I put him with Jude, but I also can't say they don't deserve each other. I found the plot exciting and the descriptions well written so I will be continuing the series. I have to say I loved the little boy.
Overall a great story with some moments that feel problematic but in the end it kind of works out.
Im really not a fan of how at the end Jude and Cardin are romantically involved. Considering the abuses that he put her through in the first half of the story. I like how she acknowledges that he is a way for her to gain power however it still feels a bit icky. I'm interested to see how the series plays out however as Jude seems to be a capable woman who will not put up with abuses of power so easily.
REad my full review on my blog: https://vicsense.wordpress.com/2018/01/10/the-cruel-prince-folk-of-the-air-1/
First off, I found that the Fairy kingdom is very much a grim Wonderland-esque place. Interestingly enough, at some point Jude finds a copy of Alice in Wonderland tucked away in Cardan's room. Everyone is stark mad in this book. The fairies are (for the most part) very mean and vindictive creatures but at the same time, they are beautiful beyond words and are unable to lie.
The author builds her world by using the fairy lore from Celts. She integrates into her story the Seelie Court, the Unseelie Court and the solitary fey. I thought that the world she built is spectacular and magical. The descriptions of the land and the Folk are enchanting and remind me of the fairies in Shadowhunters. My favourite part of Shadowhunters was the Seelie Court (well, that, and Magnus/Alec subplot, but I digress). Also, it's fun to note that The Cruel Prince was dedicated to Clare.
The best part of this book was the lack of romance. I was so happy to read a fantasy book that wasn't dripping in sappy romance. The plot was focused on action and one really kick-ass heroine. For once, I was given a female lead who 1) doesn't whine, 2) doesn't rely on male characters, 3) takes matters into her own hands, 4) isn't afraid to fight for herself. YES! GOOD JOB JUDE!