Book Review :: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
ISBN: 031631031X
Series: The Folk of the Air #1
Also in this series: The Wicked King, The Queen of Nothing, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories, The Stolen Heir
on 2 January 2018
Goodreads

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.

Last updated on 14 October 2023

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What is The Cruel Prince by Holly Black about?

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is the story of seventeen-year-old Jude, living in the High Court of Faerie. When she was young, she and her sisters were taken (after her parents were murdered), and grew up in the land of Elfhame.

Despite her being human, she wants to belong in the land of Faerie, but the fae don’t like humans … at all. Especially not the wicked Prince Cardan, son of the High King. And to actually win her place in the court, she needs to defy Cardan, even if that means some terrible consequences.

“Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It’s disgusting, and I can’t stop.”

My thoughts on The Cruel Prince

The detail in which Black so beautifully writes the land of Elfame and the characters that fill it is brilliant, and I thoroughly enjoyed The Cruel Prince. Holly Black, as Victoria Aveyard rightly puts on the back cover, truly is the Faerie Queen.

The story flowed so well, and I never found myself getting bored or wanting the story to just ‘hurry up and get to the point already’. I was fully engrossed in the tale and the world and the magic. It was faced paced, but not too fast, and a great length for what was packed into it.

Our protagonist, Jude, was firey and resilient, and I really enjoyed her. So many main characters are a bit ‘meh’ to be, but Jude was not. I also appreciated how involved in the story her siblings were, as so many of the stories I read have main characters who don’t have siblings, or if they do they’re estranged or not really in the story. It was a family-based story a lot of the time, with multiple families.

“I am going to keep on defying you. I am going to shame you with my defiance. You remind me that I am a mere mortal and you are a prince of Faerie. Well, let me remind you that means you have much to lose and I have nothing. You may win in the end, you may ensorcell me and hurt me and humiliate me, but I will make sure you lose everything I can take from you on the way down. I promise you this is the least of what I can do.”

The princes in the story – for there were many – were all cruel in their own ways, with Cardan being the cruellest of all. There were times when I did ponder if the ‘Cruel Prince’ was Caradan or just all of his family in general. Because it’s a title so many could have carried.

Other than the horrible princes and the magic and general cunningness of fae, I would love to visit Elfhame. The way Black writes the setting is a lot of fun, and beautiful somehow, full of magical creatures and magical beings. There’s also a map in the front, which you know I LOVE, so it was easier to figure out where the characters were going or where they were stationed.

Somehow Holly Black pulls you into her worlds with poetic and captivating prose and sharp dialogue that entertains, catches your breath, and I love everything about it. My friend asked me once if I read every single word when I’m reading a book. I don’t actually think I do (it’s more that my eyes go over a sentence, pick out the main words to get the main point and move on to the next one – I have yet to test my theory and wouldn’t know where to start. Any ideas?), but I found myself reading all the words, all of the time with The Cruel Prince. If you’ve read any of Black’s other books, then you might know what I mean.

I gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads (coz Goodreads doesn’t have half-stars yet ha), and if you’re into your Young Adult or fairytales, then do head down to your local bookshop, or library and pick it up!

Have you read The Cruel Prince? What did you think?