A review by peregrinwho
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

adventurous lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I used to love this author's books in middle school, so figured I'd give this a try. Unfortunately, I think this author is best left in short form books. When given more time to flesh out worlds and plots, they instead fill pages upon pages with descriptions of clothes and repeatedly explaining what has just happened. Such things really slow down and draw focus away from the plot. We know what just happened. We read it. Please have more faith in your readers to understand what just happened instead of then adding paragraphs of the mc's inner monologue reciting it back to us. You don't have to show and tell every time, and I don't need to know what every character wears in every scene.
Despite that, the characters do have depth. However, it's disappointing they want me to believe this enemies to lovers subplot when they've both hurt eachother in multiple ways in which are way too grievous to forgive. "He didn't know how to handle his feelings so he hurt her." Yeah that's not love. I don't care what he felt, he hurt her repeatedly, and she did the same to him. They're both terrible, immature people who will abuse and bully eachother until death. You don't hurt the people you like. I enjoy the politicing plot but I'm just not sure I can stomach all the filler distracting from it.
This book would probably be more liked by younger readers or those who don't read very often as it is light and easy to follow.
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