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divapitbull's review
5.0
The Black Prince part 1 picks up several months after the events of The White Queen, with both Isla and Hart dealing with their respective transformations . The focus of this volume seems to be on Hart – whose transformation is most significant. Gone is the jovial peasant, tumbling the serving wenches and bedding down in the stables with his pet pig. Hart has become…formidable. He is a member of Tristan’s Chosen (or The Forsaken depending upon who you ask)…a guardsman by day and a Priest of Ilde – The Lord of The Flies – by night – as well as an accomplished torturer. Isla, for her part; is having a bit more difficulty with her melding of the minds with Tristan – but she seems to be coming along – if not slowly.
Maeve is still intent on toppling King Piers - and Hart (or The Viper as he’s come to be called) as Tristan’s most skilled and trusted war leader is right in the thick of things – while his now blackened heart is juggling his epic love affair at the same time. And then the unthinkable happens – Rowena, Apple and the Earl – turn up again like bad pennies. And here is where The Black Prince turns into a sort of Game of Thrones meets Peyton Place – in a totally wonderfully entertaining way – especially when Rudolph, his horrifically foppish wardrobe and his huge codpiece show up! There are some truly funny moments – Tristan proves to have an unexpected and irreverent sense of humor; and Arvid the tribesman is always good for a laugh.
Isla’s family proves to be even more despicable than she thought; and I have to say I was a bit disappointed in her. I know she isn’t feeling 100% - but she had 2 legit offers to dispatch Rowena ("I could kill her,” Tristan offered conversationally) - and from Eir (“I see that the fat stupid one is still…with us. I should…eat her”) and yet she declines. So much for the “not turning the other cheek” that I admired so much in her in The White Queen. Isla has magic in her. She should be capable of great things and immense power. In part 1 of The Black Prince she seems to be balanced on the cusp – not fully willing and/or ready to embrace all that she can be, maybe even somewhat ambivalent – and thus vulnerable - at times appearing almost weak. I soooo hope that in part 2 of The Black Prince she comes into her own and kicks ass.
The conclusion to The Black Prince trilogy is long. So much so that the final volume is broken into 2 parts. Part 1 kept a steady pace and was infinitely readable. It concludes with a truly shocking revelation (which is exactly why someone should have been picking their teeth with her bones) and promises more intrigue to come before the story ends.
Maeve is still intent on toppling King Piers - and Hart (or The Viper as he’s come to be called) as Tristan’s most skilled and trusted war leader is right in the thick of things – while his now blackened heart is juggling his epic love affair at the same time. And then the unthinkable happens – Rowena, Apple and the Earl – turn up again like bad pennies. And here is where The Black Prince turns into a sort of Game of Thrones meets Peyton Place – in a totally wonderfully entertaining way – especially when Rudolph, his horrifically foppish wardrobe and his huge codpiece show up! There are some truly funny moments – Tristan proves to have an unexpected and irreverent sense of humor; and Arvid the tribesman is always good for a laugh.
Isla’s family proves to be even more despicable than she thought; and I have to say I was a bit disappointed in her. I know she isn’t feeling 100% - but she had 2 legit offers to dispatch Rowena ("I could kill her,” Tristan offered conversationally) - and from Eir (“I see that the fat stupid one is still…with us. I should…eat her”) and yet she declines. So much for the “not turning the other cheek” that I admired so much in her in The White Queen. Isla has magic in her. She should be capable of great things and immense power. In part 1 of The Black Prince she seems to be balanced on the cusp – not fully willing and/or ready to embrace all that she can be, maybe even somewhat ambivalent – and thus vulnerable - at times appearing almost weak. I soooo hope that in part 2 of The Black Prince she comes into her own and kicks ass.
The conclusion to The Black Prince trilogy is long. So much so that the final volume is broken into 2 parts. Part 1 kept a steady pace and was infinitely readable. It concludes with a truly shocking revelation (which is exactly why someone should have been picking their teeth with her bones) and promises more intrigue to come before the story ends.
purplethunder37's review
3.0
It took me ages to read this because I gave up halfway through, and then just picked it up again today. Just like the first two, it was ridiculously laden with entirely unnecessary commentary and over-descriptive-ness, which made me skim-read a lot of it. The first book was my favourite because although I was slow paced, it had a plot progression throughout the book. NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS BOOK AT ALL. ZILCH. NADA.
lavenderxohuang's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book was a lot slower-paced than the first 2 installments of the series. While the writing is as great as ever, I think the interesting parts are set too far apart. I loved that I got to read more about Hart (and Lissa woohoo) in this book and see what it's like to be in battles, but I also really wish I got more Isla and Tristan. After all, Tristan is the most interesting character to me. Although they are married now, they still haven't lost that big difference in power dynamics and a sense of fear is still there, which makes the relationship super titillating. There's not a lot of advancements in the plot so I definitely think it could have picked up more. Well... on to the final book so I can see the conclusions and finally get some answers to what I know Tristan is still hiding from Isla. Plus, gotta find out what purpose Isla's family serves now that they've shown up all over again after having left after the wedding.
koops333's review
2.0
I don't kn0w about this series at this point. I honestly just skimmed a lot.. bc things were either pretty boring, or got real dark real quick.
I mean.... Hart man wtf?
I mean.... Hart man wtf?
sagek's review
3.0
2.85/5
I'm not sure how to feel about this one. I enjoyed Hart's POV (although at the same time they made me sad bc of what he has become and what he is doing), and Isla just seemed to become a showpiece (no longer a strong woman with a backbone but a docile and fragile one who does everything that is asked of her).
The Dark Prince: Part 1 follows mostly Hart's POV, and is a lot slower than the last two books. This isn't going to be a full review, as I really don't have much to say about it.
I didn't like:
That Isla lost her backbone. It seems like she is there to look pretty and do Tristan
Rowena comes back and does as she pleases much to everybodies annoyance
Rudolph regrets marriage and seeks out Hart's help (Feels more like a reason to make the travelling seem less dull since we already read about Hart travelling so many times by that point)
What I like:
Hart finds love
Lissa is pretty interesting
Asher
I'm not sure how to feel about this one. I enjoyed Hart's POV (although at the same time they made me sad bc of what he has become and what he is doing), and Isla just seemed to become a showpiece (no longer a strong woman with a backbone but a docile and fragile one who does everything that is asked of her).
The Dark Prince: Part 1 follows mostly Hart's POV, and is a lot slower than the last two books. This isn't going to be a full review, as I really don't have much to say about it.
I didn't like:
That Isla lost her backbone. It seems like she is there to look pretty and do Tristan
Rowena comes back and does as she pleases much to everybodies annoyance
Rudolph regrets marriage and seeks out Hart's help (Feels more like a reason to make the travelling seem less dull since we already read about Hart travelling so many times by that point)
What I like:
Hart finds love
Lissa is pretty interesting
Asher
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