A review by thecityofstarlight
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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

4.0

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I really liked this book. After hearing mixed reviews, I put off reading this for so long, but man, do I regret that. It has a delightful plot that is packed with adventure and kept me intrigued, to the point where when I saw that I only had 3 chapters left, I rushed to the store to get the second book (which I will most definitely start after writing this review). 
I think the reason why so many people were disappointed with Cruel Prince, is that it was marketed by so many booktok peeps as a dedicated enemies-to-lovers story, but really there’s only wisps of it and it’s mainly about faerie politics. I also want to point out that I am NOT into political stuff, so that was another surprise for me to actually like where the story was going. If you go into reading this as just a cool story with hints of romance, you’ll have a different experience. Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who is in search of a powerful female character kicking ass all on her own. We love a girl boss 😌✨
Expand filter menu Content Warnings