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A review by samflowerv6
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I really liked this!!! The story is immediately interesting and never slows down. Jude is a one of my favorite FMC ever, she’s strong willed, passionate, protective and never gives up. Yes, she’s not perfect but that’s almost even better. We meet Jude and her twin, Taryn when they are about seven. They are living with their mother and father in the human world alongside their older sister Vivi, who is considered weird by those around them. A tale of blood, faery lore, magical lives and lands intertwined with determination and a VERY slow, slow burn. In this new land, we meet Cardan, a cruel manipulative prince *wink wink* who’s gorgeous beyond repair. Jude and Cardan hate each other so much…. Not sure it’s even hate anymore. Fuck that traitor bitch Taryn… yes, Locke sucks but HE DIDNT BETRAY HIS TWIN
If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.
“Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It's disgusting, and I can't stop.”
“Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?” Cardan asks, leaning back in the elaborately carved chair, the warmth of his words turning the question into something like a compliment.
“No” I say, glad to be annoyed back into the present. “Tell me.”
"I can't.”
“If you hurt me, I wouldn't cry. I would hurt you back.”
“So I am to sit here and feed you information,” Cardan says, leaning against a hickory tree. “And you’re to go charm royalty? That seems entirely backward.”
I fix him with a look. “I can be charming. I charmed you, didn’t I?”
He rolls his eyes. “Do not expect others to share my depraved tastes.”
“I am going to keep on defying you. I am going to shame you with my defiance. You remind me that I am a mere mortal and you are a prince of Faerie. Well, let me remind you that means you have much to lose and I have nothing. You may win in the end, you may ensorcell me and hurt me and humiliate me, but I will make sure you lose everything I can take from you on the way down. I promise you this is the least of what I can do.”
“Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear.”
“Father, I am what you made me. I’ve become your daughter after all.”
“Let's have a toast. To the incompetence of our enemies.”
“You really do want me,' I say, close enough to feel the warmth of his breath as it hitches. 'And you hate it.”
“Cardan looks at me as though he's never seen me before. He looks at me as though no one has ever spoken to him like this. Maybe no one has.”
“I get why he chose her. I just wish she had chosen me.”
“It's shocking," he says, as though he's giving me some great compliment. "I know humans can lie, but to watch you do it is incredible. Do it again.”
“I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.”
“He stares at me as though I am a stranger, but I have never felt less like one. For the first time, we are both unmasked.”
“Faeries make up for their inability to lie with a panoply of deceptions and cruelties. Twisted words, pranks, omissions, riddles, scandals, not to mention their revenges upon one another for ancient, half-remembered slights. Storms are less fickle than they are, seas less capricious.”
“There is a pleasure in being with them,” he says. “Taking what we wish, indulging in every terrible thought. There’s safety in being awful.”
“Crowns of flowers on our heads, shooting bows and arrows at the sky. Eating candied violets and falling asleep with our heads pillowed on logs. We were children. Children can laugh all day and still cry themselves to sleep at night.”
If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.
“Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It's disgusting, and I can't stop.”
“Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?” Cardan asks, leaning back in the elaborately carved chair, the warmth of his words turning the question into something like a compliment.
“No” I say, glad to be annoyed back into the present. “Tell me.”
"I can't.”
“If you hurt me, I wouldn't cry. I would hurt you back.”
“So I am to sit here and feed you information,” Cardan says, leaning against a hickory tree. “And you’re to go charm royalty? That seems entirely backward.”
I fix him with a look. “I can be charming. I charmed you, didn’t I?”
He rolls his eyes. “Do not expect others to share my depraved tastes.”
“I am going to keep on defying you. I am going to shame you with my defiance. You remind me that I am a mere mortal and you are a prince of Faerie. Well, let me remind you that means you have much to lose and I have nothing. You may win in the end, you may ensorcell me and hurt me and humiliate me, but I will make sure you lose everything I can take from you on the way down. I promise you this is the least of what I can do.”
“Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear.”
“Father, I am what you made me. I’ve become your daughter after all.”
“Let's have a toast. To the incompetence of our enemies.”
“You really do want me,' I say, close enough to feel the warmth of his breath as it hitches. 'And you hate it.”
“Cardan looks at me as though he's never seen me before. He looks at me as though no one has ever spoken to him like this. Maybe no one has.”
“I get why he chose her. I just wish she had chosen me.”
“It's shocking," he says, as though he's giving me some great compliment. "I know humans can lie, but to watch you do it is incredible. Do it again.”
“I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.”
“He stares at me as though I am a stranger, but I have never felt less like one. For the first time, we are both unmasked.”
“Faeries make up for their inability to lie with a panoply of deceptions and cruelties. Twisted words, pranks, omissions, riddles, scandals, not to mention their revenges upon one another for ancient, half-remembered slights. Storms are less fickle than they are, seas less capricious.”
“There is a pleasure in being with them,” he says. “Taking what we wish, indulging in every terrible thought. There’s safety in being awful.”
“Crowns of flowers on our heads, shooting bows and arrows at the sky. Eating candied violets and falling asleep with our heads pillowed on logs. We were children. Children can laugh all day and still cry themselves to sleep at night.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Stalking, Kidnapping, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship