Skip to main content

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (Review #162)

"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:
OH MY GOSH I frickin' love Jude. Stolen from our modern human world and brought to the fantasy world of the High Court of Faerie, where humans are more often than not considered animals than people. Jude and her twin sister Tayrn are one of the few exceptions, living with their half sister Viv and her father, a royal general, where they are treated as one of the nobility. 

While Tayrn tries desperately to do as the Fae say and to be married into a safe and powerful position in the court, Jude doesn't want to join them. She wants to beat them. And you can't help but love her for it. Despite the constant ridicule and torment she endures on behalf of those prejudiced against her, she never ever EVER backs down. 

This story was more about Jude's personal journey than anything else. From a human among Fae, to a badass who shows them just how much they underestimated her. I love that for her. Now, with that being said, I have mixed feelings about Cardan. He's a straight up bully for 75 percent of the book!!! Sure, his friends are way worse than he is and SURE he draws the line at straight up murder, but does that excuse his behavior? NO. ABSOLUTELY NOT. Also, his past/current trauma is also not an excuse. ALSO HIM BEING ANGRY AT HIMSELF FOR HARBORING FEELINGS FOR HER IS NOT AN EXCUSE EITHER!!!!! Sounds like "I hurt you because I love you" abuser type stuff to me. 

So, maybe in the next book I'll warm up to him more, but Holly... so far I don't stan. Jude can be a boss ass bitch without a man okurrrrr. As for Locke, I'm ready for Jude to mollywap him AND Tayrn. The level of manipulation is astounding. I was truly at a loss there. And dear ole Viv was one of my favorites. Half Fae-half human, all she wanted was to piss off her dad and run away to the human world to be with her human girlfriend. That girl was transparent from the jump and with all the deception and lies going around, I loved that consistency from her. 

Overall, I loved this one, I read it within two days and was deeply invested in Jude's future. I'm optimistic, while also apprehensive going forward, but I have no doubt Jude is going to kick ass. 

Leave your thoughts and feels in the comments below!!


Want more Holly Black books? Check out The Coldest Girl in Coldtown!



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian (Review #29)

"Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister. Kate is tired of the rumors, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person - her ex-best friend - and she's ready to make her pay. Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him. Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they've each had a taste." Review: This book was FAN-TAS-TIC!! I am not for the petty popular girl books, and this is definitely not one of those books. The revenge you wish you got on the person who double-crossed you is finally let loose In one of the best and most inventive ways, and the ending left me jaw-dropped. This is a book everyone should have on their shelf.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (Review #20)

"Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed. There is. She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong." Review: This is a book you simply have to read. It's probably a part of my top ten favorite books list. Mara is this girl who just lost her friends and boyfriend in a terrible, but also peculiar, accident and now people who tick her off - and who she's attracted to (cough-cough-Noah-cough-cough) - are in her powerful line of fire... It's a tantalizing tale that will have you (for a lack of a better cliche) gripping the edge of your seat!!

Antigoddess by Kendare Blake (Review #141)

"Old Gods never die.. or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health. Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra - an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god. These days, Cassandra doesn't involve herself in the business of gods - in fact, she doesn't even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning. Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with others of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these antigods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caric...