A review by buffyreads
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

3.0

Ra's Mini Review!~

*This is a reread from many years ago*

Characters:
Jude was full of rage and arrogance and I loved it. I love characters who just want power for themselves. Cardan was a nutcase loser but in a good way. Taryn made me want to rip my hair out. I had forgotten the "plot twist" and rolled my eyes so hard at her.

Plot:
I remember liking this book a lot so I was shocked at how bad they get bullied in the beginning. Their "father" was either willfully ignorant or prideful to send them to school with people who could easily kill them. I prefer fantasy like this that lack a crazy adventure and is character focused so this was good. The romance aspect was lacking for me but I love Jude so it was okay.

Secret Sauce:
I loved this world building and how cruel (no pun intended) the fae are. I realized 20% into the book how much it reminded me of Hana no Dori (Boys over Flowers) with the bullying, the friend group and the demands of begging for forgiveness. This may be way I was okay with how aggressive it got.

Rating: I give this book a 3/5