Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Cruel Prince

I really liked this!!! The story is immediately interesting and never slows down. Jude is a one of my favorite FMC ever, she’s strong willed, passionate, protective and never gives up. Yes, she’s not perfect but that’s almost even better. We meet Jude and her twin, Taryn when they are about seven. They are living with their mother and father in the human world alongside their older sister Vivi, who is considered weird by those around them. A tale of blood, faery lore, magical lives and lands intertwined with determination and a VERY slow, slow burn. In this new land, we meet Cardan, a cruel manipulative prince *wink wink* who’s gorgeous beyond repair. Jude and Cardan hate each other so much…. Not sure it’s even hate anymore.

Fuck that traitor bitch Taryn… yes, Locke sucks but HE DIDNT BETRAY HIS TWIN

If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.

“Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It's disgusting, and I can't stop.”

“Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?” Cardan asks, leaning back in the elaborately carved chair, the warmth of his words turning the question into something like a compliment.
“No” I say, glad to be annoyed back into the present. “Tell me.”
"I can't.”

“If you hurt me, I wouldn't cry. I would hurt you back.”

“So I am to sit here and feed you information,” Cardan says, leaning against a hickory tree. “And you’re to go charm royalty? That seems entirely backward.”
I fix him with a look. “I can be charming. I charmed you, didn’t I?”
He rolls his eyes. “Do not expect others to share my depraved tastes.”

“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 is the least of what I can do.”

“Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear.”

“Father, I am what you made me. I’ve become your daughter after all.”

“Let's have a toast. To the incompetence of our enemies.”

“You really do want me,' I say, close enough to feel the warmth of his breath as it hitches. 'And you hate it.”

“Cardan looks at me as though he's never seen me before. He looks at me as though no one has ever spoken to him like this. Maybe no one has.”

“I get why he chose her. I just wish she had chosen me.”

“It's shocking," he says, as though he's giving me some great compliment. "I know humans can lie, but to watch you do it is incredible. Do it again.”

“I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.”

“He stares at me as though I am a stranger, but I have never felt less like one. For the first time, we are both unmasked.”

“Faeries make up for their inability to lie with a panoply of deceptions and cruelties. Twisted words, pranks, omissions, riddles, scandals, not to mention their revenges upon one another for ancient, half-remembered slights. Storms are less fickle than they are, seas less capricious.”

“There is a pleasure in being with them,” he says. “Taking what we wish, indulging in every terrible thought. There’s safety in being awful.”

“Crowns of flowers on our heads, shooting bows and arrows at the sky. Eating candied violets and falling asleep with our heads pillowed on logs. We were children. Children can laugh all day and still cry themselves to sleep at night.”

Content Warnings

thelibraryofjen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Jude is my new favorite character and I get the hype about Cardan. THE TAIL WAS CRAZY THOUGHHHH. The only reason why this isn’t 5 stars is because I was expecting enemies-to-lovers, but this is more like bully to friend to
lovers. I loved the plot and the overall political intrigue which really kept me entertained. Some people find this book boring because of that aspect but personally me I really enjoyed it. I will be continuing on to the second book whenever I get around to that.

Jude was an absolute badass and I was rooting for her through the whole book

why tf would Tyran do that to her SISTER?!!! I was utterly shocked and betrayed when that happend and Locke is an ick in itself. I loved the little found family with the Bomb, Roach, and Ghost that was very heart warming to see. The ending was ABSOLUTELY NOT EXPECT and I have to say I didn’t see it coming I really though Oak was going to be crowned. I really got immersed into the story and I just loved the characters and the world.

If you Love:
-found family
-bully-to friends-to lovers
-knife to throat
-batter
-lots of tension between love interests

Genre/Type: Fantasy Fiction 15+
(paperback)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️
Series or Standalone: First book in a trilogy (has a spin off series with oak this needs to be read first in order to understand the spin off series)

Content Warnings

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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giulianalb99's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.5

⚠️Esta reseña contiene spoilers⚠️

Este libro es fantástico. Ya entiendo el hype que tiene, está totalmente justificado y merecidísimo.
Me encanta cómo escribe Holly Black, nunca había leído ningún libro de ella y la verdad es que su pluma es increíble y preciosa. El mundo de Faerie es súper original, pero me hubiera gustado saber más acerca de él. Si que es verdad que al principio se me hizo un poco lento y, a veces, me pareció que los capítulos eran demasiado largos, pero se me ha pasado volando y lo he disfrutado un montón.

Jude (la protagonista) es genial. Me encanta que la autora plasme sus defectos y cómo va evolucionando su personaje a medida que va avanzando el libro, y su relación con Cardan es un enemies to lovers 100% que he amado y que no puedo esperar más a leer cómo va tomando forma su relación. Al principio Cardan no me gustaba tanto por el tema del bullying (ya que es un tema que no puedo apoyar bajo ningún concepto) pero al final van saliendo a la luz varias cosas que te hacen cambiar de parecer. Los demás personajes, en general, me han parecido buenos (menos Taryn obviamente, y Locke🤮), y es súper curiosa la relación que tienen Madoc y Jude teniendo en cuenta su situación extraña.

Poco más tengo que decir al respecto. No puedo esperar más a seguir con esta trilogía y ver cómo los personajes van creciendo/evolucionando y cómo su relación se va creando.
No le doy 5 estrellas porque creo que el segundo me va a gustar mucho más y porque he sentido que este libro ha sido más bien un “calentamiento” para los que se vienen.
Si te gusta la fantasía y el romance, tienes que leer este libro sí o sí.

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This book is fantastic. I understand the hype it has, it’s totally justified and well deserved.
I love how Holly Black writes, I've never read any of her books and the truth is that she writes so beautifully. The world of Faerie is super original, but I would’ve liked to know more about it. Yes, at first it was a bit slow for me and, sometimes, I thought the chapters were too long, but I read it so fast that I didn’t even noticed and I enjoyed it a lot.

Jude (the mc) is amazing. I love that the author captures her flaws and how her character evolves as the book progresses, and her relationship with Cardan is a 100% enemies to lovers that I loved and I can't wait to read how their relationship evolves. At first I didn't like Cardan so much because of the bullying issue (I cannot support that under any circumstances) but in the end several things come to light that make you change your mind. The other characters, in general, were really good (except Taryn obviously, and Locke🤮), and the relationship between Madoc and Jude is super curious considering their strange situation.

I have little more to say about it. I can't wait to continue with this trilogy and see how the characters grow/evolve and how their relationship takes shape. I'm not giving it 5 stars because I think I'm going to like the second one much more and because I've felt that this book was more of a "warm-up" for the other books that are coming.
If you like fantasy and romance, you have to read this book no matter what.

(English is not my first language, if you find any mistakes, please let me know)

Content Warnings

rylin_marie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

maltu21's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

delle_frenchtxt's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

You need quite a few chapters to get into it (the narrator is quite immature) but once the plot is unfolding you ll get hooked. Idk why exactly but I feel like the vibes are similar to the ones of Percy Jackson if you ve read that as a teen.

Content Warnings

katievallin's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

1.0

The world-building is interesting. However, I really didn’t enjoy this book overall because of the way abuse is handled. I don’t care how physically attractive someone is: there is nothing sexy about abuse. And trauma is neither sexy nor an excuse for abuse.

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