Review: The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

Genre: YA Fantasy

Published: 2nd January 2018

Length: 384 pages

My rating: 9/10

Overview: Jude, a mortal girl living in the realm of faeries has always dreamed of being a knight and securing her place in the faerie court. However, with an upcoming coronation, she finds herself tangled in a dangerous scheme.

So I've never read anything by Holly Black before (apart from the first Magisterium book which I barely remember anything about, and which I only read because of Cassie Clare). A lot of people have recommended me her books but for some reason I've just never felt drawn to reading her, which now I realises was a HUGE mistake! This book was amazing - it was one of those stories that you just can't stop thinking about while you read it and I was practically running home from school one day just so I could read more.

At the start, I really wasn't too keen on the book. The prologue and first few chapters I found very clichéd and I didn't instantly connect with the protagonist Jude, who narrates the story in first person. The writing is perhaps a little less eloquent than most faerie books but because it is told through first person it fits the feel of the story more. Although I initially didn't like Jude, after some of her interactions with other characters I understood more how she felt and began to root for her. She is a mortal among faeries, horrifically bullied by the gentry at her school, denied her dream for no good reason, and having to deal with two crazy sisters. Another element of the story I liked was the Court of Shadows because it reminded me of the Night Court from the ACOTAR series, purely because of the name, which is a bit of a shallow reason to like it but sue me. Some of the plot twists in this book were really obvious (like who Taryn who was going to marry) but some I really did not see coming. The coronation scene at the end of part one was definitely the highlight of the book for me, I was just sitting there thinking 'OH SHIT'. And the last plot twist regarding Oak and Cardan was so cleverly done, seeing as Jude knew what would happen but yet it was still concealed from the reader in a believable manner. For a minute I though Vivi had betrayed Jude, but nah, of course she didn't :)

There are a HELL of a lot of characters here so I'm just going to sum up how I feel about most of them:

• Jude - a savage queen who was kickass and so clever! There was definite character growth and I can't wait to see how she tries to keep things together next book!

• Cardan - aka my husband. I adore this piece of shit. I don't think Cardan was actually in the story that much considering he will be the love interest in the next book (I think?). It is hard not to feel bad for him when you find out his backstory and even though he's kinda pathetic (drunk all the time, scribbling his crushes name over and over) I just want to h u g him. Also that tail - is it just me who definitely thinks it will come into play in some KINKY TIMEZ? The whole year and a day thing will be very interesting in the next book, I expect there will be lots of scheming from both him and Jude regarding this.

• Taryn - a bitch.

• Vivi - a bisexual goddess. I would willingly let her trample all over me in sassy mortal boots. If her and Heather don't get happiness I'm sueing. I found it interesting that although Vivi is the faerie out of her three sisters, she is the one that feels most out of place in the faerie world.

• Madoc - I'm not even sure how I feel about him. On the one hand, power-hungry murderer, on the other hand, took in children that weren't even related to him and raised them as his own. Somebody needs to tell him that with great power comes great responsibility.

• Oriana - I wish she was my mum too. Although at first she is a typical snooty stepmother, as the book progresses we see that she does actually care about Jude. Then we find out a tiny bit of backstory, and wow! Oriana is a lot cooler than I originally thought. I think she's stronger than we know and I can't wait to see more of her.

• Locke - a dickhead.

• Roach - for some reason in my head all I can see in my head when I picture Roach is one of those goblins from the Rainbow Fairies books (if you haven't read them, what was your childhood, smh). He's pretty cool, as are all the Court of Shadows.

In short, this is an amazing book if you love faeries, epic schemes, and beautiful moody princes. I found this book the perfect length for me - it didn't drag on, but still felt like a proper adventure. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book!

#review #hollyblack