A review by thursdaygirls
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

3.0

have to fight my nostalgia for holly black and her writing in order to not push this up higher but my childhood love for her work can only do so much for this book.

Things I liked:

• Fae being that sweet blend of monstrous and humane, a spectrum that is exciting to move characters along.
• Dysfunctional family dynamics and a question of possession or love.
• Holly Black’s ability to describe the visuals is always outstanding and her lack of shying away from both the odd and grotesque is something i’ll never take for granted.

Things I disliked:

• Taryn as a character and not because I’m angry at her for betraying her sister or any of that bullshit but rather the lack of focus or attention put towards her rather interesting situation.
• Pacing issues, expected within fantasy but always annoying.
• Inability to commit to making Jude and Cardyn just a little more unhinged and violent.