The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

1/22/2018

SYNOPSIS

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and...

she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him--and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

Synopsis from Chapters.Indigo.ca

PERSONAL REVIEW

Before The Cruel Prince, I'd only heard of Holly Black because of her collaboration with Cassandra Clare -- which I also haven't read -- so I had no idea what kind of fantasy author she would be. SHE BLEW ME AWAY. Once I started reading The Cruel Prince, I couldn't put it down. I was completely enraptured with the story and the characters and cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out (why did I read this so soon!!).

What I Loved:

Original Storyline: It might just be because I haven't read many books based around fairies, but I thought this was a very original storyline; a human being raised by fairies (specifically, the one who killed her parents) and trying to best them whenever possible while also hoping to be one? I loved it. The characters were dynamic, the storyline was captivating, and I cannot wait to read the next books in the series to find out where the story goes. I found that I was constantly surprised by where Black would lead her characters; I couldn't predict what characters would do next and I loved it! The ending was brilliantly done and it will be wonderful to see what Jude does next.
Surprising Characters: I haven't read many books involving fairies (besides those in the Shadowhunters series) but I know that in most folklore, they are cruel, inhumane, immortal creatures. So I was expecting this characterization in The Cruel Prince and Black did not disappoint in her portrayal of them. What I loved in this book is that it's told by the perspective of a human who, even while witnessing this and knowing their cruelty, still wants to be one of them. It's an interesting struggle to see how Jude wants to be like them for both the immortality and their gracefulness, but also acknowledges their cruelty and brutish nature. She's incredibly strong and refuses to back down to the fairies just because they think they are her "betters".

Her older sister Vivianne is one of my favourite characters: brash, proud, and loyal, she is so dynamic and I wish we saw more of her. I wasn't shocked by the revelations around Cardan's true nature (and desires), but I did love where his storyline leaves us at the end of the book. I am so excited to see how his relationship with Jude develops; will he fall further into disrupt just to spite her or will we see some positive attributes emerge? His selfishness is strangely compelling (as Jude seems to agree) and I can't wait to read more of their sparring.
Beautiful Storytelling: I loved the way this story moved. Characters moved through chapters seamlessly and realistically, which can be difficult in a fantasy novel. The story was somehow both fantastical and realistic, which I feel is a gift to accomplish. The best part of this book is that there are so many "big moments": the would-be coronation, the numerous life-threatening situations that Jude ends up in, the actual coronation...how do you choose the biggest moment from these when all of them had my heart racing. Black also left us with a cliffhanger (obviously), but I wasn't mad at her. The journey leading up to this was so harrowing, and she didn't let up with the ending. Although a ruler has been crowned, we are left knowing that Jude's journey is no where close to done. And that there is so much more for us all to look forward to. My biggest question: will there be a time jump? If we're waiting 8-10 years for the next ruler to step forward, and a current agreement is just over a year (I'm trying not to give spoilers here!!) will the next book jump head a year? And then another jump? I'm so curious!

In case it wasn't clear by this point, I was a big fan of this book. It completely grabbed my attention and I simply couldn't put it down until I finished (I bumped into a lot of people on the subway and walking home because of this book). I cannot wait for the sequel to come out and almost wished I'd waited to read it so that I didn't have such a long wait to find out what happens to these characters!

FINAL RATING: 5/5