Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

13 reviews

cloudysky123's review

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

5.0

The book is a must read for fantasy lovers my fav fantasy read so far this year this is epic shit really!!! Pls I'm begging everyone to read this atleast once guys

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annick's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed this. I’d happily recommend as young/adult fantasy. 

 books I rate over four stars mean I’d recommend to others and I’d be likely to reread in future (from being willing to likely and on to definitely and occasionally: imminently)

Once I got around 70pages in, I really got into it and ended up reading on until 3:30am. And excited to start book two the next day

It has flaws. I dislike the US-default of this writer’s fairy-based fantasy writing. Some twists were not a surprise (and most of these weren’t disappointing when revealed)

The psychological tensions between the twins feels undercooked. maybe it’s  a slow burn into the series. 




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samflowerv6's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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.”

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aysha_blake's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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thisisfee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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princessrory's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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emilyvannooij's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

4.0


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embla_v's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional

5.0

Spänning, överraskningar och förräderi, är bara början på denna makalösa fantasy bok. Den här boken överträffade mina förväntningar och jag kan knappt vänta på att få hem andra boken i serien. 

Boken handlar om Jude som fördes till Faerie som barn tillsammans med sina systrar. Som människa i Faerie blir hon mobbad men allt hon vill är att passa in. När Jude blir äldre inser hon att hon inte kommer på en plats i Faerie om hon inte skapar en själv men vägen till makt kantas av fara och förräderi, och Cardan, prins av Faerie, hotar allt som hon försöker bygga. 

En fantastisk spännande bok som jag definitivt rekommenderar. Den är på engelska och är för unga vuxna. Oerhört läsvärd!!

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stellenelcielo's review

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challenging dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I will give two stars because I appreciated certain points of the book. Like, the portrayal of faerie lore and the malicious attitude towards mortals? I did like that. I also liked that there were certain niche memories of Jude’s that felt relatable, like the sticky fingers and television childhood, as well as different descriptions of emotions she was feeling.

However, this book’s pacing was hell on my ADHD and it truly felt like a chore to read. There were parts that were engaging and I had no problem getting through chapters, and others were so slow that I would lose focus and go do something else. This book took me a month to read, which is atrocious and I wish I had a the habit of DNFing a book without feeling guilty, but I don’t so here I am now. 

The characters as well, while relatable at certain points, are infuriating. Jude makes absolutely no sense. Why stay in Faerie if she’s angry and terrified all the time? If the people around her are all fucking terrible? Because you were raised there? You want power? Even though you are viewed as inherently inferior? 

You gonna go ahead and fall in love eventually with someone who ripped another’s wings right off and participated in sexually assaulting you?


Bullshit, sounds like torture porn. 

Vivienne was the only engaging character. I would read three books about her romance with Heather and her grappling with her identity and her hatred, but her determination to love a mortal and live there. 

I didn’t care for the romance either (I mean, I’m gay, so I would never have cared for the het romance anyway) but I bought the book because people were mad about the lack of it, only to find political intrigue. I love political intrigue, but this book was vague at best with the world building and system descriptions. So I found that to be lacklustre as well.

I hear that Wicked King and Queen of Nothing were better, but I don’t think they might be better enough to give a shot, also it will be the last time I take book recommendations from heterosexual booktokers.

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zoeelora's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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