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afantozzi 's review for:
The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black
adventurous
dark
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:
Complicated
4.5 stars for Drama! Drama! Drama! My first dip into fantasy and this Princess Diaries Meets Game of Thrones did not disappoint!! I had so much fun reading this.
It took probably about 50-100 pages to really get into this, but I consider the first third of the book the necessary climb before you plunge into the rest of the rollercoaster that is this plot. You do actually need to pay attention to the trivial antics of their school room for the payoffs at the end of the book. And for that, I hope you sleep well Holly Black!
There are some aspects of the book I either wish we got more of or didn’t make sense to me. For example, despite the map at the beginning, I had such a hard time perceiving how far away these respective locations are from one another. Elfhame: a walkable community or not? There are so many characters with very similar names that I did need to go back and double check who was who. It got a little annoying during crucial scenes. Wish we got more of Vivi and Oriana, hope to see more of them in the following books. I didn’t fully get the impact of the Jude/Taryn/Locke drama but oh well.
Top of the Dance Moms pyramid: Jude, your decisions are so bananas and you were BORN to drive the plot. Second in line, Vivi, let her BE GAY AND AT THE MALL. Third, Cardan, I love all the descriptions of how you sit on a chair. Fourth, Taryn, all that over a blonde man? Embarrassing. Bottom of the pyramid, is Madoc. I never trusted your homicidal ass!! Your entire household are Stockholm Syndrome survivors.
It took probably about 50-100 pages to really get into this, but I consider the first third of the book the necessary climb before you plunge into the rest of the rollercoaster that is this plot. You do actually need to pay attention to the trivial antics of their school room for the payoffs at the end of the book. And for that, I hope you sleep well Holly Black!
There are some aspects of the book I either wish we got more of or didn’t make sense to me. For example, despite the map at the beginning, I had such a hard time perceiving how far away these respective locations are from one another. Elfhame: a walkable community or not? There are so many characters with very similar names that I did need to go back and double check who was who. It got a little annoying during crucial scenes. Wish we got more of Vivi and Oriana, hope to see more of them in the following books. I didn’t fully get the impact of the Jude/Taryn/Locke drama but oh well.
Top of the Dance Moms pyramid: Jude, your decisions are so bananas and you were BORN to drive the plot. Second in line, Vivi, let her BE GAY AND AT THE MALL. Third, Cardan, I love all the descriptions of how you sit on a chair. Fourth, Taryn, all that over a blonde man? Embarrassing. Bottom of the pyramid, is Madoc. I never trusted your homicidal ass!! Your entire household are Stockholm Syndrome survivors.