Digital Reads Reviews
Book Review - The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
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Blurb
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 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.
As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed.
But as betrayal 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.
My Review
What was it all about
The core of The Cruel Prince was about a mortal girl wanting to be a faerie, even when she hated all that faeries stood for. Maybe it was a human trend to lust after all that one could never have or never be.
How it made me feel
I felt incomplete on reading this book, not exhilarated at the triump. There was something missing. The story would often take me to the edge of excitement, then pull away from it, even when the scenes would all be present.
Told in the POV of Jude, a wannabe faerie, I found myself quite irritated by her. I understood her courage, even respected her for it, but for the rest, I wished she was more likable.
The Good
The concept of the story was good, the politics of the faerie court and Jude’s intelligence and her ability to swim against the tide were honorable.
Many varied characters were added to the pot that cooked the stew, some of them did affect the plot. Okay, I am reaching here. I just couldn’t find many good points.
All I could say that with so many political agendas being played out, I wanted to see how the author Holly Black would play it out. So the book tickled my curiosity bone.
The Bad
Oh boy, this would be a long list. The characters needed to be fleshed out. I couldn’t claim to know Jude or like her by the end of the book. Nor did I find Cardan, her male counterpart, the Cruel Prince of the title, handsome. They were all weird at some level.
The writing wasn’t haunting. The author would use the right words, but the poignancy behind the words was simply not there. I didn’t feel the words in the depth of the core.
I was told a lot of information and believe me, I liked the subplots too. But the seams between them were present. I still didn’t know how driving a knife through the palm for no reason would generate loyalty. But that were the faeries for you.
A book that would have me rooting for the main character like Jude had me wondering why the author did not make her a leader. The X-factor in her was missing.
The Conclusion
Ah well, what should I end the review with? I would give the author one last chance and read book 2. Else it would be goodby, forever.
Book Links
Book Details
Publication Date: 2017
I downloaded the digital version of the book from an online retail, and this is my journey down its pages, straight from the heart. STRICTLY HONEST and UNBIASED.
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2 Responses
Love your detailed and balanced review! 🙂
Thank you so much Felicia. You are most kind.