Review by elizzabethanne - The Cruel Prince

elizzabethanne 's review for:

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

3.75

adventurous fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Ok stop this was actually so fun?! I was hesitant to pick this series up because I have previously read Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Cold Town and really didn’t click with it but I really enjoyed her depiction of faeries in this story. The world building isn’t dense so you’re just thrown right in and it was quite addicting to read; I flew through it. Elements of this story felt a bit repetitive but I still enjoyed it and was always intrigued enough to read the next chapter. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot, even if I saw most of them coming it was still exciting to see if I was right in my guesses. I enjoyed the flawed and manipulative cast of characters, it’s much more interesting to read and makes all the court politics much more interesting. I’m impressed with how comfortable I felt in the world of this novel despite the lack of world building; it’s like Black knew exactly how much to give me so that I knew what was going on but didn’t overwhelm me with irrelevant details. I also really liked that romance was a very minor subplot and not the focus. I am still not obsessed with her writing style as it leans a bit too juvenile and repetitive for me but this is young adult so that’s more of a personal preference than a critique. Usually I’m much more annoyed by YA protagonists but Jude’s journey didn’t get on my nerves, I felt like I could understand her intentions and character development well. Overall, pleasantly surprised and will be putting my hold in at the library for the next book in the series.

Content Warnings