A review by dramagirl2003
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was a little worried that I would find the world-building too confusing but I clearly loved this even more than I thought I did since I finished 50% of it in a day! now this is a real enemies to lovers, my first, and i liked it

thoughts while reading

p20: IT'S CARDEN
p33: love jude's imagination
p35: well that is a surprise
p39: i can just see jude quickly becoming a killer just to prove madoc wrong. i don't think she'd dare to sneak into the running for knighthood without his approval
p77: based on trope norms, i suspect this is the point that carden starts to secretly admire jude
p88: I'm scared dain is gonna abuse her in some way. faeries are mischievous at heart, no matter how supposedly honourable they are. but then maybe carden will save her, and then it might be alright
p96: hmm bet scattering jude's salt is just a cover for saving her
p100: HE DID THAT ON PURPOSE
p118: oh. my. gosh. no wonder carden is so cruel!
p197: i could never
p200: well due to spoilers i think i know that
carden eventually becomes the high king, so I'm very curious to see how this pans out, cause i don't see it happening tomorrow

p211: interesting. and all of a sudden, now she's a killer
p245: CARDEN KNEW I SWEAR HE MUST HAVE KNOWN AND THAT'S WHY HE'S MISSING
p275: well i did think that
taryn and locke had a thing for each other right from the start

p292: that makes so much sense
p307: well this is a mysterious turn of events. i feel so much more sorry for carden because jude is a badass manipulator who will break him with any fraction of vulnerability he displays
p353: what. a. badass. move.
p358: ah meirda
p365: now that i was not expecting. i'd actually forgotten all about the spoilers after i getting fully invested in the story


quotes


  I draw my sword, and he does, too, the scrape of metal loud in the room. I hear distant laughter, but here in the hall, we are alone.
  My hands are sweating, but this had the feeling of inevitability, as though this is what I was careening toward the whole time, my whole life.
  "You can't beat me."
  "I already have."

  "I imagine you're not feeling quite yourself," I tell him.
  His sword sags a little, and he looks at me in sudden comprehension. "What have you done?"
  "I poisoned you. Don't worry. It was a small enough dose. You'll live."
  "The cups of wine," he says.   "But how did you know which one I would choose?"
  "I didn't," I tell him. "I poisoned them both."

  "Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?" Carden asks, leaning back in the elaborately carved chair, the warmth of his words turning the question into something like a complement.
  "No," I say, glad to be annoyed back into the present. "Tell me."
  "I cannot."
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