Tuesday 24 April 2018

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Book Title: The Cruel Prince
Author: Holly Black
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: I own a Kindle copy

Goodreads, Amazon UK

Goodreads Summary: 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.
What did I think?

Hyped books are a bit hit and miss when it comes to me.

This one is a firm hit!

I devoured it in like a day, I just couldn't stop myself. This is my first book by Holly Black, but it definitely won't be my last.

Now, before I get into why I liked this so much, let me just clarify: this is a young adult fantasy. Just in case you're not into young adult....

It literally starts with the visceral murder of Jude's parents. Right there on page one, I knew I was in for a wild ride. The plot is fast paced and the characters are well developed. I would have liked to see some more world building, because I find the world of the fae fascinating, but I'll be happy with all the wild twists and turns for now.

The Cruel Prince starts out with a bang, followed by a slow build up filled with tension until it feels like the entire book explodes in your hands.

Jude is a great character. She's an underdog who does not give up and will always go down fighting. Truly a character to root for.

Now, where's the second books, please and thank you?

5 comments:

  1. Ah it is SO awesome when a book actually lives up to the hype!!
    So happy the story's fast paced, and yay for well developed characters. I'm kinda nervous to read this book because of the hype, but I do love deep characters and lots of twists.

    Lovely review Olivia :)

    Amy @ A Magical World Of Words

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  2. LOL! You are so excited! And rightly so, this has got such great reviews!

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  3. Oh wow, you're know in for a wild ride when there's murder on the first page lol. Hyped books are often hit or miss for me too, so I'm glad to hear this was a hit for you! Sounds like the pacing and tension is really well done!

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  4. I very rarely pick up fantasy but I loved this one. I was so invested in Jude's story and life in the Fae realm. I felt like the book had a bit of a slow start (after the initial shocking beginning) so I switched to the audio version and it made for an incredible reading/listening experience. And now the long wait for the next book!

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