The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince

By Holly Black
Published: Little Brown Books, 2018
Pages: 381
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Amazon, Goodreads

What they don't realize is this: Yes, they frighten me, but I have always been scared, since the day I got here. I was raised by the man who murdered my parents, reared in a land of monsters. I live with that fear, let it settle into my bones, and ignore it.

About the book: Jude's parents are murdered when she is young, leaving her and her sisters to be brought up in a magical fairy world by the man who killed her parents. Ten years later, Jude and her twin sister are despised by the fairy folk for being humans, made worse by Jude being targeted by Cardan, a fairy prince. Jude is given a chance to find her place in this magical world, but as she becomes embroiled in palace politics and deceptions, she discovers her capacity for bloodshed and trickery. The Court of Faerie threatens to collapse and Jude must choose between doing what is right and deceiving those she loves.

OK, so I wasn't sure I'd like The Cruel Prince; I'm usually one for fairytales. This book still managed to draw me into Faerie, a place of imagination full of magic, imaginative creatures, and impossible scenery. The writing, plot and characters were so gripping and addicting that I would have liked the book with or without the fairytale theme.

I absolutely loveeeedddd the characters. Jude is great as a protagonist; she is both courageous, intelligent while also full of darkness and deception. The interaction between Jude and Madoc is interesting... They have (something of) a father-daughter relationship but they are also sort of enemies. Honestly, I don't think The Cruel Prince would be as entertaining without this weird and disturbing dynamic.

After the first few chapters, I instantly recognized the strange chemistry between Jude and Cardan, and I was pretty worried that the relationship would turn into the typical YA romance. I was pleasantly surprised to see how the relationship transforms into something else entirely.

I immensely enjoyed the plot and writing style in The Cruel Prince; I believe I read one other book by Holly Black and I remember enjoying it, especially the ending. I also enjoyed the ending in this novel as well. I won't say I hate, but I will say I strongly dislike stories I can easily guess the ending of... I like to be surprised and shocked. The Cruel Prince is definitely a book I recommend to those who enjoy the YA genre!

RATING (out of five puppies):