The Cruel Prince | Book Review | By Holly Black
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Title- The Cruel Prince
Author- Holly Black
Publisher- Little, Brown and Company. Hachette Book Group Inc
Genre- YA Fantasy
Links- Book Depository | Goodreads | Amazon
My Rating- ★★★★✰
Contents
Synopsis
My Review
About the Author
Synopsis
We follow the life of JUDE, a human child brought to the land of Faerie from the real world. Jude and her twin sister TARYN grow up in the Faerie Kingdom as outsiders, raised by the man who murdered their parents. Their older sister VIVI is half human, half faerie and doesn’t understand their struggles. She is the one who belongs in Faerie, but doesn’t want to.
The dangers are real for a human in Faerie, but Jude is not deterred and is determined to become a Knight of the Court. Betrayal and scandals are rife in the Kingdom, and there are many who do not want Jude to succeed.
Will Jude be able to face the trials thrown at her? And can she stay alive in Faerie where there is no one she can trust and so many forces working against her?
“What they don’t realize is this: Yes, they frighten me, but I have always been scared, since the day I got here. I was raised by the man who murdered my parents, reared in a land of monsters. I live with that fear, let it settle into my bones, and ignore it. If I didn’t pretend not to be scared, I would hide under my owl-down coverlets in Madoc’s estate forever. I would lie there and scream until there was nothing left of me. I refuse to do that. I will not do that.”
My Review
This isn’t a happy fairy land of magic and wonder, rather, a dark version of a fairy tale filled with arrogant royals, dangerous magic and backstabbing faeries.
Faeries are not nice. Though they can’t lie, they make up for this with copious amounts of deceit, trickery and betrayal. It takes a lot for a human to survive in this land, and most wouldn’t be up to the task.
At times I found this book stressful, Holly Black has no trouble abusing her characters. The way she’s puts them through humiliating and horrible situations is impressive. The plot is filled with drama, tension, surprise twists and some very nasty characters.
I enjoyed the world building; the setting was simple but whimsical and easy to imagine. I appreciated details such as the ragwort steeds and descriptions of Madoc’s house where the girls live. The actual Faerie world is a little cliched, but I think that’s why people like these books so much, you are reading it for the classic fairytale experience, but with an extra pinch of darkness.
The characters are unique and well rounded, an interesting bunch. I also like the unusual family dynamic.
This ticks all the boxes for me on plot, setting and characters.
It is a fast paced, addictive read that made me start on the second book as soon as I finished. Many people refer to Holly Black as the Queen of the Faeries, and I agree, she knows her faeries. I recommend this book if you are into classic royal court drama and love anything with fae.
“Faeries make up for their inability to lie with a panoply of deceptions and cruelties. Twisted words, pranks, omissions, riddles, scandals, not to mention their revenges upon one another for ancient, half-remembered slights. Storms are less fickle than they are, seas less capricious.”
“Faerie might be beautiful, but its beauty is like a golden stag’s carcass, crawling with maggots beneath his hide, ready to burst.”
About the Author- Holly Black
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 Newbery 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 in a house with a secret library.
Check out Holly Black’s Website
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“Here’s the best advice I have gotten and given over the years: First, write to please your reader self and not your writer self. Second, finish what you start. Third, unless you’re totally against the idea, find a critique partner with whom you can pass things back and forth.”
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