The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

The Cruel Prince

By Holly Black

  • Release Date: 2018-01-02
  • Genre: Fantasy for Young Adults
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 4,208 Ratings

Description

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes 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.

Reviews

  • Eh.

    3
    By AllieMCato
    I’ve seen lots of good reviews for this book, and it was alright. BUT, boring. Too much talking and not enough action. To many descriptions. Had the opportunity to be something great, but fell flat. I will not be buying the next book. I forced myself through this one and even then, I skipped paragraphs. Also, DEF for YA. I’m not saying I wanted sex sex sex, but a little more romance and tension. I’m also not a fan of women falling for men who have physically hurt them…. Over years. Like one time grabbing her too roughly is enough for me. Anything over that is wild.
  • poorly written

    2
    By Alondra_xi
    i didn't find myself really invested in any of the characters. i also found myself skipping through some of the writing because it felt pointless, i really wanted to like this book because i saw the hype about it but it felt as though everything led up to a big event like the climax and when it came it happened really fast and didn't get much of a feeling of excitement.... idk mixed feelings, couldn't get attached to any of the characters.
  • Recommendable But Not Completely Awesome

    3
    By adina allen
    I was intrigued because the main character is a twin with an older sister and younger brother. What’s funny is that I am a twin, and my sister and I grew up with our cousins, a girl who is a little older and boy who is younger. Get this, the personality of the older sister is like that of my older cousin. I felt like I was reading about myself. Quite the coincidence! Moving forward, the Prince wasn’t really cruel, so much as stupid or lazy. Also, I didn’t really care much about Jude’s goals/ambitions. That feeling reminded for most of the series, but there is an awesome character development and twist at the end of this trilogy, which is why I recommend this book. There are very interesting relationship dynamics, outside of the love interest. These remain throughout the story. What I don’t really like is that the lovers seem to be trying to gain power over each other. I feel like love shouldn’t be about that, but others may find it sexy. That issue does leave room for character development though, so maybe that’s what Black wanted. Anyhow, this book alone has an awesome twist and cliff hanger, making you die to read the next one.
  • Pleasure to read

    5
    By M4d_M41d3n90
    The suspense build up at the end! This book was spectacular and I can’t wait to continue in the series.
  • The Cruel Prince

    5
    By gissrosemary
    I loved it!!
  • Slay

    5
    By rowose
    Jude is def a slay
  • I cried when I finished

    5
    By cracker456
    I don’t even know where to begin. I LOVED this book!!! Ngl 🚨 spoilers 🚨 I honestly re read chapter 26 so many times because I knew it!!! I am a total romance queen but this fantasy had me literally balling because I finished it.
  • best book on earth

    5
    By 123LOOoL
    Jude is fr an icon ND BRO CARDAN AND JUDE TG OMG.
  • AHHH WHERE DO I BEGIN?

    5
    By folkoftheairfan
    I hadn’t read books this whimsical since I was a kid, but now I have been transported back to faerie realms and otherworldly realities. This book helped me get back into reading in general since I couldn’t put it down for a second! Every single page was packed with interesting information. Jude’s character is very intriguing and different from the everyday usual protagonist, which made me more glued to this book. All the plot twists really had me reading this everywhere at any time. I’d recommend this series to everyone—-regardless of whether they’re a reader or not.
  • Meh

    3
    By WoosahPanda
    I read this entire series within a few days, after just reading the ACOTAR series and the From Blood and Ash series. This series is a MUCH milder version of both, hence the young adult genre. Regardless, I just felt like I was always left wanting more.. and not in a suspenseful way. My 14 year old self may have appreciated this book more.. maybe.. lol. Just not sure why this book is recommended for fantasy adult romance.