Holly Black - The Cruel Prince.

Holly Black – The Cruel Prince.

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars.

Hey Everyone. I’ve been waiting until I’d finished the entire The Folk of the Air series to post my reviews as I wanted to post all three together. I absolutely loved reading this series, I read all three books within two days. I heard really mixed reviews on them so I put off reading them, but I’m pleasantly surprised. This review is for the first book in the series The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. This book was a 4 out of 5 stars from me. Here is some more about the book and my opinions.

Synopsis:

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered. The fearsome assassin abducts all three girls to the Faerie court, where Jude soon realises that to survive she needs to be as cunning and deceitful as the Fey themselves. But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan.

A Little About The Author:

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newberry Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son.

A Little About The Story:

This story was about Jude and her sisters. They watched as their parents were murdered by Vivi’s father, Madoc. He then took the girls back to Faerie and raised them as his own. Jude and Taryn aren’t Fae like their sister so they are treated as outcasts. We follow Jude as she finds her feet. She wants to become a knight and have an important role in the Faerie courts despite her human lineage. She finds herself in the middle of a war for the crown and she must come up with a plan to save the people she cares about and the place she has grown to love and call home.

The main characters in this book were Jude, her sisters Taryn and Vivi and Cardan with his group of friends. Also crucial characters are Madoc (Vivi’s father, he raised all three of the girls), The King, Prince Dain and Prince Balekin. There are so many important characters in this story. If you removed a single one of them, the story wouldn’t work.

Jude throughout this story finds her way, her place in faerie. She wants to be a warrior, and to have power in a place where humans don’t have any. Vivi however, wants to leave Faerie. We watch her defy Madoc over and over again, ignoring what he wants, not going to school, sneaking away to the human world. We get to see as she reveals what she truly wants to people. Taryn wants love. She would like to be married in Faerie and have a family and a house. This, however, leaves betrayal and hurt in her midst. We watch and read along as Cardan and his friends are reckless and want nothing, though behind the curtains they are all fighting their individual demons. Cardan more than most.

The main problem in this book is the fight over the crown. Who is going to be the ruler of Faerie. This is an issue Jude finds herself thrown into and has to try and navigate her way through it to find what is best for the everyone. Jude is reckless, and she fights, but she has a purpose.

My favourite character was Vivi. She was determined not to live the life she was thrown into. The easiest path for her to take would have been going to classes and fitting into faerie which would have been simple for her to do. She knew what life she wanted to live and she had a plan to make it work despite what the people around her said.

I couldn’t relate to any of the characters in the story, but I loved reading about them nonetheless. Every character had a reason for being there and a backstory that explained their behaviour. I loved them.

I really did like this book. I had heard such mixed reviews about it, so I put off reading it for so long but once I started I couldn’t stop. I read this book in less than a day. I was so invested in the storyline and finding out who would win or what twists would come next. I would have given it 5 stars but it didn’t give me the wow that I get from a 5 star novel. I cant put my finger on what it is so I gave it a 4.

My favourite part of this book was Jude’s last scene with Valerian. I honestly didn’t see it coming and it sets Jude up for the rest of the novels. I am not going to spoil it but it was what set Jude off on the path she is on.

My least favourite part of the book is anything with Taryn in it. I don’t like her as a character. I understand her purpose and think she is a well written character. I just don’t like her. Which seems intentional from Black.

I would recommend this book to people who are a big lover of fantasy books. Fantasy books are my favourites and this book hit everything I wanted it to.

So that is it. My thoughts and opinions on The Cruel Prince. I loved it and I hope you did too. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope this post convinced you to pick up a book!

Stay Curious!

J x