The Cruel Prince

Author: Holly Black             Genre: YA Fantasy

Summary (https://www.goodreads.com):

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.

Review:

In the Cruel Prince we follow Jude Duarte. Jude was such a strong and fierce female main character to have. She was someone who didn’t let others deny her power and took what she wasn’t given. Her character development was so strong even if she did make some questionable decisions. She has a twin sister and I liked how it showed how two different people can come out different from the same circumstances. I think many people think that this is a Fantasy Romance but that's not the case. The Cruel prince himself gets more important and frequent in the second part of the book.

The first half of the plot was a bit more „slice of life“ showing the world of faes and how it felt for humans. It showed her life in school and how she got treated and bullied for being different.

The first part of the book was really where she started fighting for the power she wanted to have.

The pacing did seem a little off with the second part, the one I preferred, being cut too short for my liking. It seemed a little rushed and I just wanted more and longer scenes of the events happening there.

I really liked the world of Elfhame. It was really magical with fae and different creatures.

There was a big amount of politics and I did have some difficulty understanding the system of the courts but once I did it was so fun to read about. The world just felt really whimsical, with ogres and pixies and magic. I also liked that the fae did have some weaknesses and strengths that differentiated them from humans.

Buchbuzz Review:

⭐ 3.5–4 out of 5 stars - I really liked the world building and the plot but the book was a bit slow to read. The ending makes me want to read the second book though so I would maybe recommend this.