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rachaelemm 's review for:
The Cruel Prince
by Holly Black
For some reason, I've always viewed "The Cruel Prince" as a sort of "classic-YA-fae-romance" book. Maybe it's because I haven't read much faerie romance until recently, but this series has clocked itself in my mind as one of the staple faerie books I need to read ASAP.
This was a solid book and a strong beginning to the series as a whole. Jude Duarte, a human girl raised in Faerieland by the Faerie general who murdered her biological parents, has always felt a certain polarity between her heritage and the magical world that raised her. Despite the protections bequeathed to her by her status as a Gentry child, her Fae peers make no effort to conceal their disdain for her mortality, even going so far as to force lethal Faerie fruit down her throat, kick dirt into her meals, and even push her into a river — all while forcing her twin sister, Taryn, to promise that she'll never stand in their way. Most of this antagonizing is orchestrated by Cardan, the sixth son of the High King of Elfhame. We are introduced to Cardan as he decides to rip off a fellow Fae's wings at a party, where he is quickly established as the literal "cruel prince" — and Jude's bane. Not only does he allow his friends to physically offend Jude, such as by watching them choke her, but he also allows them to verbally abuse her, too, claiming all humans are good for is breeding.
This leads to the largest issue I had with the book: I'm not sure whether the romance between Jude and Cardan is meant to be a focal point or more of a subplot. Since the book itself is titled "The Cruel Prince", one would think Cardan would have a more consistent presence. While his scenes are certainly intense, they are not frequent. Because of this absence, and he does not seem to face any character development as the story progresses, which made me averse to him when I did see his name. I was especially disappointed with Cardan's lack of page time because he is implied to be Jude's "love interest" by the book/series end (perhaps it was just me. I did not completely trust Locke). Sadly, we see Valerian and Locke more than Cardan himself, and Jude arguably has the most meaningful scenes with Locke, who ends up breaking her heart in favor of a marriage to Taryn. I wish I had seen more development between Jude and Cardan before the climax. It seems their development was glossed over simply because it "fit" the story and fueled Jude's goals, but that doesn't mean it makes for an engaging relationship.
Jude also thinks of Cardan a lot, reminiscing on the looks of hatred he gives her and the rude remarks he makes towards her when he is on the page; I was hoping to see them interact more, especially since the summer tournament at the book's beginning felt like it was meant to bring them closer to each other's orbit. For most of the book, he is nasty to her simply because he can be. I honestly didn't feel one way or another about him at best, and disliked him at worst, since I wasn't given a reason to care about him for a majority of the book. There is no apology from Cardan, or even an adequate justification for his actions. When he confesses to Jude as to why he hates her near the story's end, it seems out of character and more like a way to bring out the romance between them, which was honestly quite barren until that moment and doesn't seem to develop further after it, either.
The romance between Cardan, Nicasia, and Locke is also unclear. At one point, Jude even remarks that Cardan and Nicasia seem to "speak to one another like friends" in an attempt to humanize Cardan while spying on the two — I never caught that Cardan and Nicasia were romantically involved, nor that Nicasia left Cardan for Locke, as Locke himself tells Jude these things. I'm not sure why the relationships between the three exist, as Locke mentions them in passing, but it doesn't seem to have a large part to play in the story. You could argue that it's significant because the three originally mistook Jude for Taryn, which influenced their poor treatment of Jude, but Jude quickly finds out that they knew it wasn't Taryn they were tormenting, and they instead asked Taryn to promise she wouldn't help Jude whenever they attacked her. I feel like this was an attempt to "humanize" the group despite their villainy, but I wasn't invested in any of them besides Locke (and quickly lost that interest as soon as he said it was because he liked dramatics and stayed with Cardan simply because he provided that), so I didn't find myself caring about their circle's connections or the struggles they had with each other.
However, what kept me powering through the lack of characterization I felt was the magnificence of the world. Holly Black has crafted such a unique setting for the characters. I appreciate that Faerieland and the mortal realm are separate entities. In this particular story, it helped cement the divide between Jude's "homeland" and the land that she truly considers her home. It's super neat that the Fae can see the lights of human towns if they look close enough, like from Locke's home. I also found other miscellaneous tidbits amusing: how the Fae are actually nocturnal and most of Jude's waking moments are at night, how unique the names and appearances of all of the characters are (as well as the idea of large toads as mounts), and how interesting the Fae's general ways of life play out, such as the lore and conditions behind Mab's crown and the idea of Fae finally "passing on".
I've never been one to see plot twists coming, so I was satisfied, if not delighted, by Jude's switch-up. I always figured she would insert herself as regent, but I did not think she'd gamble lying to Cardan to do so, and I think it is interesting she put herself in such a precarious position in an attempt to save the world, and people, she loves. It's telling of her character and makes me excited to read the next book. Jude is definitively morally gray and power-hungry, but it is not something I can fault her for. I look forward to seeing her navigate the newfound world, politics and relationships she must face in the sequel in the light of the finale!
This was a solid book and a strong beginning to the series as a whole. Jude Duarte, a human girl raised in Faerieland by the Faerie general who murdered her biological parents, has always felt a certain polarity between her heritage and the magical world that raised her. Despite the protections bequeathed to her by her status as a Gentry child, her Fae peers make no effort to conceal their disdain for her mortality, even going so far as to force lethal Faerie fruit down her throat, kick dirt into her meals, and even push her into a river — all while forcing her twin sister, Taryn, to promise that she'll never stand in their way. Most of this antagonizing is orchestrated by Cardan, the sixth son of the High King of Elfhame. We are introduced to Cardan as he decides to rip off a fellow Fae's wings at a party, where he is quickly established as the literal "cruel prince" — and Jude's bane. Not only does he allow his friends to physically offend Jude, such as by watching them choke her, but he also allows them to verbally abuse her, too, claiming all humans are good for is breeding.
This leads to the largest issue I had with the book: I'm not sure whether the romance between Jude and Cardan is meant to be a focal point or more of a subplot. Since the book itself is titled "The Cruel Prince", one would think Cardan would have a more consistent presence. While his scenes are certainly intense, they are not frequent. Because of this absence, and he does not seem to face any character development as the story progresses, which made me averse to him when I did see his name. I was especially disappointed with Cardan's lack of page time because he is implied to be Jude's "love interest" by the book/series end (perhaps it was just me. I did not completely trust Locke). Sadly, we see Valerian and Locke more than Cardan himself, and Jude arguably has the most meaningful scenes with Locke, who ends up breaking her heart in favor of a marriage to Taryn. I wish I had seen more development between Jude and Cardan before the climax. It seems their development was glossed over simply because it "fit" the story and fueled Jude's goals, but that doesn't mean it makes for an engaging relationship.
Jude also thinks of Cardan a lot, reminiscing on the looks of hatred he gives her and the rude remarks he makes towards her when he is on the page; I was hoping to see them interact more, especially since the summer tournament at the book's beginning felt like it was meant to bring them closer to each other's orbit. For most of the book, he is nasty to her simply because he can be. I honestly didn't feel one way or another about him at best, and disliked him at worst, since I wasn't given a reason to care about him for a majority of the book. There is no apology from Cardan, or even an adequate justification for his actions. When he confesses to Jude as to why he hates her near the story's end, it seems out of character and more like a way to bring out the romance between them, which was honestly quite barren until that moment and doesn't seem to develop further after it, either.
The romance between Cardan, Nicasia, and Locke is also unclear. At one point, Jude even remarks that Cardan and Nicasia seem to "speak to one another like friends" in an attempt to humanize Cardan while spying on the two — I never caught that Cardan and Nicasia were romantically involved, nor that Nicasia left Cardan for Locke, as Locke himself tells Jude these things. I'm not sure why the relationships between the three exist, as Locke mentions them in passing, but it doesn't seem to have a large part to play in the story. You could argue that it's significant because the three originally mistook Jude for Taryn, which influenced their poor treatment of Jude, but Jude quickly finds out that they knew it wasn't Taryn they were tormenting, and they instead asked Taryn to promise she wouldn't help Jude whenever they attacked her. I feel like this was an attempt to "humanize" the group despite their villainy, but I wasn't invested in any of them besides Locke (and quickly lost that interest as soon as he said it was because he liked dramatics and stayed with Cardan simply because he provided that), so I didn't find myself caring about their circle's connections or the struggles they had with each other.
However, what kept me powering through the lack of characterization I felt was the magnificence of the world. Holly Black has crafted such a unique setting for the characters. I appreciate that Faerieland and the mortal realm are separate entities. In this particular story, it helped cement the divide between Jude's "homeland" and the land that she truly considers her home. It's super neat that the Fae can see the lights of human towns if they look close enough, like from Locke's home. I also found other miscellaneous tidbits amusing: how the Fae are actually nocturnal and most of Jude's waking moments are at night, how unique the names and appearances of all of the characters are (as well as the idea of large toads as mounts), and how interesting the Fae's general ways of life play out, such as the lore and conditions behind Mab's crown and the idea of Fae finally "passing on".
I've never been one to see plot twists coming, so I was satisfied, if not delighted, by Jude's switch-up. I always figured she would insert herself as regent, but I did not think she'd gamble lying to Cardan to do so, and I think it is interesting she put herself in such a precarious position in an attempt to save the world, and people, she loves. It's telling of her character and makes me excited to read the next book. Jude is definitively morally gray and power-hungry, but it is not something I can fault her for. I look forward to seeing her navigate the newfound world, politics and relationships she must face in the sequel in the light of the finale!