The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description from the Publisher: 

An instant New York Times bestseller!

By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue.

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.

My Review: 

I'm on the fence about this book. At times, I really like it, and then sometimes I think it is just OK. The fairies in this book are incredibly cruel, to the point that it was hard to read at times. The fairies that go to school with Jude enjoy bullying her to the breaking point. Jude grew a lot in this book; her character development was the best by far. I liked that she finally stood up for herself, but I felt like some of her actions went too far. Overall, I think that she is a strong female character who finally found her voice. There were also a lot of plot twists that were well done. I was not expecting the ending!

I gave this book four stars because I am so indecisive about it. I feel like if I really loved it, there wouldn't be a question of how many stars to give. I will continue with the series, but I don't think this book quite lived up to the hype. 

Trigger Warnings: suicide, physical abuse, bullying