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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5/5 Stars
I adored The Cruel Prince!
This book is not what I expected, but for once, that is a good thing.
I love fantasy, and I tend to prefer books where Faerie/Faerieland is completely unrelated to modern earth, however in The Cruel Prince, Faerie exists parallel to modern earth, somewhere above/below/alongside earth. I actually appreciated that placement in this book, as it is integral to the plot. Black, being the awesome author she is, knew we weren't interested in the modern world so she spared us by making only a few trips to the modern world in the story.
Faerie is intricate while still maintaining a vague mystery. The faeries are exactly what I hoped for, all sharp teeth, bloodthirsty cunning, and lies-that-aren't-quite-lies. There are goblins, hobs, pixies, nixies, trolls, and fairies of all size, color, and persuasion. Faerie is laid out in a manner that is almost obscure, but the land and the lakes where you can see someone else's face are so enticing.
The world-building isn't what made this book so wonderful, however good it was, it is the characters that made this book earn its 5 stars. Cardan, for starters, confused the bejesus out of me, was he the villain, pawn, lover, or is he answer D, "all of the above." Cardan is obviously the namesake cruel prince, but he's more than just unprovokedly cruel, he's multifaceted. He's wounded, guarded, enraged, embarrassed, and afraid, all factors that cause cruelty to germinate. Don't get me wrong, he is unequivocally cruel, but that just meant I hated to love him and loved to hate him all the same.
Jude is the kind of heroine I can get behind. She's a human raised in faerie, by the cruelest of faeries, railing at the injustice of her mayfly life and yearning to earn her place in their court. She's afraid, of course she is, all the time and she uses that fear to drive her, to become fierce. It's her ferocity that makes me love her.
If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.
In her desire to gain her position and protect her sister, Jude shows she has a capacity for cruelty. She also exhibits compassion, forethought, and a pure slow burning rage. Her emotions became my emotions, her rage mine. I reveled as she chose her own way, as her ambition lead her to make tough choices and reach for more than dictated by her mayfly life.
I do not, however, love the drama between Taryn and Jude. I am not a fan of girl-on-girl hate, not that a woman can't be a villain, but this isn't villainy, this is pettiness. While pettiness is realistic, the drama between twin sistersover a boy for crying out loud felt a tad bit sudden and forced. However, this wasn't enough to dock a star or damage the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Cruel Prince and I will be pacing the halls (okay not literally) until The Wicked King is published. Read it. Just do it.
I adored The Cruel Prince!
This book is not what I expected, but for once, that is a good thing.
I love fantasy, and I tend to prefer books where Faerie/Faerieland is completely unrelated to modern earth, however in The Cruel Prince, Faerie exists parallel to modern earth, somewhere above/below/alongside earth. I actually appreciated that placement in this book, as it is integral to the plot. Black, being the awesome author she is, knew we weren't interested in the modern world so she spared us by making only a few trips to the modern world in the story.
Faerie is intricate while still maintaining a vague mystery. The faeries are exactly what I hoped for, all sharp teeth, bloodthirsty cunning, and lies-that-aren't-quite-lies. There are goblins, hobs, pixies, nixies, trolls, and fairies of all size, color, and persuasion. Faerie is laid out in a manner that is almost obscure, but the land and the lakes where you can see someone else's face are so enticing.
The world-building isn't what made this book so wonderful, however good it was, it is the characters that made this book earn its 5 stars. Cardan, for starters, confused the bejesus out of me, was he the villain, pawn, lover, or is he answer D, "all of the above." Cardan is obviously the namesake cruel prince, but he's more than just unprovokedly cruel, he's multifaceted. He's wounded, guarded, enraged, embarrassed, and afraid, all factors that cause cruelty to germinate. Don't get me wrong, he is unequivocally cruel, but that just meant I hated to love him and loved to hate him all the same.
Jude is the kind of heroine I can get behind. She's a human raised in faerie, by the cruelest of faeries, railing at the injustice of her mayfly life and yearning to earn her place in their court. She's afraid, of course she is, all the time and she uses that fear to drive her, to become fierce. It's her ferocity that makes me love her.
If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.
In her desire to gain her position and protect her sister, Jude shows she has a capacity for cruelty. She also exhibits compassion, forethought, and a pure slow burning rage. Her emotions became my emotions, her rage mine. I reveled as she chose her own way, as her ambition lead her to make tough choices and reach for more than dictated by her mayfly life.
"Instead, I shake my head at the thrill running through me at the sheer lunacy of what I'm about to do. It's the thrill of leaping without being able to see the ground below you, right before you realize that's called falling. 'You think because you can humiliate me, you can control me?' I say, looking him in those black eyes. 'Well, I think you're an idiot. Since we started being tutored together, you've gone out of your way to make me feel like I'm less than you. And to coddle your ego, I have made myself less. I have made myself small, I have kept my head down. But it wasn't enough to make you leave Taryn and me alone, so I'm not going to do that anymore.
I am going to keep on defying you. I am going to shame you with my defiance. You remind me that I am a mere mortal and you are a prince of Faerie. Well, let me remind you that means you have much to lose and I have nothing. You may win in the end, you may ensorcell me and hurt me and humiliate me, but I will make sure you lose everything I can take from you on the way down. I promise you this.'-I throw his own words back at him- 'this is the least of what I can do.'"
I do not, however, love the drama between Taryn and Jude. I am not a fan of girl-on-girl hate, not that a woman can't be a villain, but this isn't villainy, this is pettiness. While pettiness is realistic, the drama between twin sisters
I thoroughly enjoyed The Cruel Prince and I will be pacing the halls (okay not literally) until The Wicked King is published. Read it. Just do it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Third time reading it. Gets better every time. I love this series. Really noticed this time through how terrified Jude is the whole way through, which only makes her more interesting and badass.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous