Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - The Cruel Prince

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. If you enter with the intention of looking for romance you’re severely mistaken, which I feel it’s an issue that many do. The book is set up to be a trilogy, book one introducing the characters and a bit of the world. The politics of it mostly. It can feel repetitive, perhaps even boring, but I personally found it very enjoyable. I give 4,5 rather than 5 simply because in some parts I truly struggled to understand what was going on and to remember all of the made up names.

Onto the characters. I adore Jude. A misconception of her character that I have seen a lot is people arguing “if she was so scared of the fae world why didn’t she just left?” She was scared, as she should be considering the morally grey beliefs those fairies hold, but the point is you have a girl, who saw her parents brutally pass away, and move to a world where she *doesnt belong*. But at the same time that’s the only place she knows. She has no connection to the human realm anymore. No education, nothing. She was raised to be a fae. It’s only obvious despite everything she keeps trying. And I found that admirable. How despite being scared, despite having people close to her like her twin sister, who constantly told her to stop trying to “rebel” and to just learn to live with it; she truly never gave up. She went on and fought for what she believed was right.

I liked how we saw a different face for Cardan, and I like how his and Jude’s relationship is already shifting somewhat.

I despite Locke and Taryn, who went out and betrayed Jude, her own twin sister. We can argue that she was doing the same thing as Jude, survive in a world that doesn’t belong to you. But I like to argue she did the cowardly thing, of which betraying the only person who stood by your side, who almost got killed because she only wanted to defend you, the person who almost drown to make sure she was safe and what does Taryn do..? Ah yes, enstablish a relationship with Locke, of whom painted himself to be this nice guy, who helped Jude when the others tormented her and yet… perhaps he hurt her the most. Dating both her and her TWIN sister. And can we just focus on this for a second? You’re telling me, your guy wants to test your loyalty and so he decides to kiss and have a thing with your twin sister? Like Taryn… what the actual fuck? How was she even ok with this is beyond me 😭💀

Book one is a book about fighting what you want. Learning to never gave up. Learning that even family can betray you, even your own blood. Learning that friends and acquaintances might come from the most unexpected places. Learning that despite not fitting in, it’s ok. It’s ok to be different, it’s ok to fight against it. And it’s ok to feel you belong, despite people telling you otherwise.

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mcc1210's review

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I didn’t like the

toxic relationship dynamic between Jude and Cardan. I didn’t like that he almost kills her several times and she’s still attracted to him.

just not personally for me.

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yarnarh's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love the story. The human being dragged to fae land to live. The story line was intriguing enough from the start for me to continue reading. I love how the writer is descriptive of the world they are building but not to the point of losing the plot.

Some authors would write pages of descriptions and I would be lost about what the plot is. I love the way they write. Few sentences and then move on to the plot. Love the twist and turns though I suspected most of them before it happened.

BookTok was right about this book. It was good and I enjoyed it.

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fieldofhats's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

“Faerie might be beautiful, but its beauty is like a golden stag’s carcass, crawling with maggots beneath her hide ready to burst.”

Spoiler warning from here on.

I was skeptical with this book at first, but it grew on me with every chapter. I read this via Audible and it took me a couple hours to get into this book, but once I did, it was smooth sailing. The YA writing style threw me off a little at first since the themes seemed pretty mature, but I quickly got used to it. We are seeing this story told through the perspective of a young adult/old teen, so it makes sense, and it’s done very well.

It also took me a while to get into the court politics, because that’s just not my thing, but I was sufficiently engaged and understood 85% of what was going on! The spy and intrigue plot was so-so for me; I didn’t care much for it at the beginning, although I thought Jude and Dane’s relationship was very interesting; but after Dane was killed and we got to see the whole Court of Shadows at their lowest, I was invested. I’m very excited to see where that plot goes in the coming books! I’m still not the biggest fan of all the politics in general, but I love all of the characters and their dynamics (and my best friend assures me the sequels are amazing), so I’m going to go on with the series.

Jude is an amazing main character. She has relatable flaws and deals with them in such a realistic way. She’s headstrong, which is both a strength and a weakness, since she’s bold but doesn’t know when to stop. She has a great sense of pride, which makes her a brave and determined, but also gets her in trouble with both her enemies and her family, especially towards the end when she duels Madoc. This may not be universal, but I related to her so much so I really enjoyed being in her head the entire time.

Cardan’s journey is also one that I did not expect at all. He was so cruel in the beginning, but by the end we see him in an entirely new light. He’s been through so much by the end that we pity and feel for him — especially because he’s being screwed over by Jude. I can’t wait to see that dynamic play out later on.

Overall, I think it definitely lives up to the hype! It’s more focused on politics and drama rather than romance, but the romance that’s present is done very well!

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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)

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starryeyedreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Non-spoiler bit: The book is great. If you like Holly Black's other fae books then you will like this. If you haven't read anything by Holly Black, I would recommend starting with the Modern Faerie Tales series, because it chronologically happens before this series does.

The spoiler bit:

expect betrayal, trying to figure out what's going to happen next only to be wrong cause the book sets up for multiple unexpected plot twists. Enemies to lovers trope is present. Some of the characters are just down right evil, but well written. In terms of diversity, there isn't much in the way of POC representation, but there is LGBT+ rep, and the folk are very diverse and you can definitely find yourself in the characters regardless of their appearance.

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