The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Synopsis: 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.
Genre: Fantasy
Review: My first ARC review! I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this one back in November when I went to YALLfest, but my reading schedule for the rest of my reading challenge was so hectic that I just committed to reading it at the start of the new year before Holly Black’s author event. But now I’m kicking myself for putting this off because I cannot believe how great this book was!
Jude and her sisters, Taryn and Vivi, have grown up in Faerie after their adoptive father, Vivi’s biological father, killed their parents and took them into his care when they were children. As mortals in the world of faeries, twins Jude and Taryn stand out, but Jude has a dream of becoming a knight. When her request is denied and a different opportunity falls in her lap, Jude embarks on an adventure filled with death, self-discovery, betrayal, and lies. When she has the tools needed to save the kingdom, will she choose right?
So I have a confession to make. I’ve never read a single Holly Black book before The Cruel Prince. She’s been on my radar, but I never made my way around to any of her stuff until fate book this book in my hands at YALLfest and said, “It’s time.” As a fresh Holly Black reader, this was absolutely amazing and I’m eager to devour the rest of her books!
From the very start, Jude is a character the reader relates to, as she is a mortal among faeries. As the main character, she brings us up to speed on her place in her world and then we are very much on the ride with her. Her arc is very reminiscent of Adelina’s from The Young Elites, in the sense that as she figures out who she is and what she can do, she has to make the choice between right and wrong, and the right choices may put her on side of bad. Though similar to Adelina’s developmental arc, Jude is her own character and her story is much lighter and easier to read than Adelina’s.
I was very pleased by how well developed the supporting cast of this book was. Her twin sister Taryn was her own person, and very different from her twin, though you could see their twin bond. Her older sister Vivi is possibly one of the most vibrant characters in the whole book. Even their father, Madoc, is given many layers, as are the members of the Gentry who bully Jude: Cardan, Nicasia, Valerian, and Locke. As we learn more about these characters, we grow attached, even if we shouldn’t. And many of them have secrets of their own that will make the reader do a 180 on their previous opinions.
I started this book at work gasping my way through the first chapter, and I ended it in a Starbucks with my mouth gaping open as I devoured the last few chapters, which are packed full of action and suspense. Once the ball gets rolling in this read, it doesn’t stop, and the reader is more than happy to be dragged along with it.
Holly Black’s writing is beautiful, her characters are rich, and her story is intricately woven into something truly irresistible. I can’t wait for the sequel next year, and I can’t wait to read more of Holly’s books before then so that I understand all the characters from her other books who appear in this trilogy! Hearing Holly talk about the book (sans spoilers, of course) at one of her first stops on her book tour only made me more excited to read this and I can now definitely say I am a Holly Black fan. The Cruel Prince was the perfect read to start off my new year. Don’t wait to get your hands on this one!
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