Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

30 reviews

pgmoon's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Closer to 4.5 stars

This is a book I’ve been wanting to read for a while, as I've heard so much about it. I know it’s a bit polarizing, with some people loving the sequels more, but I have to say, I really enjoyed this first installment.

For me, the characters are the strongest aspect. They’re all flawed but fascinating. I really liked Jude and her journey from feeling oppressed and ostracized to realizing just what it takes to gain power. Vivi and Oriana were great side characters too—Vivi’s determination to escape and Oriana’s resilience after everything she’s been through really stood out.

I know Taryn isn’t everyone’s favorite, but I want to learn more about her,

as her flaws often were the center of the emotional core of the story.

And then there’s Cardan and Madoc—definitely not likable at first or even by the end of the book, but by the end, you kind of understand them in a way that makes you want to sympathize… maybe?

The world-building was another highlight for me. The idea of the world of Faerie existing alongside our world, kind of like Narnia, is a intriguing idea. I’d love to see more mingling of the two worlds in future books.

I’ve seen some people say that this book doesn’t have a lot going on, but I’d disagree. The first half is more focused on the characters, and the plot really picks up at the end. The pacing felt fine to me, and there are some lovely, quotable moments in the prose.

The coup at the the end was so fun to read and the twist pulled on Cardan was jaw dropping (to me at least!)

As for minor drawbacks,

the kiss between Cardan and Jude toward the end, while fun, felt a little out of place

. I also wanted more development for some of the minor characters, but that’s often the case for me with the first book in a series.

Overall, The Cruel Prince was a very enjoyable read with well-written characters and an interesting plot. I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Child death and Sexual assault

noellegrace8's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It took me about 25% of the way through to start truly enjoying this book. Because it takes the path of a slow reveal of situations and motivations, the beginning groundwork can be almost frustrating because you don't know why some people are acting the way that they are. Also, for a book with so much death and otherwise adult themes, the characters and the writing style both are a bit juvenile at times. I struggled at first with the incongruency of a lack of contractions in dialogue mixed with colloquialisms like "that sucks," but I eventually got used to it and do recognize that it makes sense given the setting. I also really hate first person present tense because it feels overdramatic and impractical, and this book uses it throughout.

That being said, I really like the main characters. Some of the side characters are a bit flat, but Jude, Cardan, Maddoc, Vivvie, Dain, Taryn, Oriana... none of them are "good" or "bad." They just are. They make decisions, they have instincts and natures that make those decisions difficult. I love the complexity! I also think this book set up a series (trilogy) well, so I'm hoping to like the next two even more! The worldbulding is awesome. Holly Black has created a very interesting mix of "fae" and "mortal," complete with rich history and quirks and physical descriptions.

I don't factor audiobook reader into my overal star rating, but I give Caitlyn Kelly 3.5/5⭐️. Honestly, I think she was part of the reason I struggled to get into this book, but there's no telling for certain. She oftentimes doesn't seem to read with the same cadence that the words on the page suggest. She also has a cheesy tone when voicing male characters and over-acts when it comes to emotional (and even sometimes non-emotional!) scenes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Excrement, Grief, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and War

lyr1cal's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

sprinkle_supernova's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

i LOVE this book with a burning passion. i was a bit confused by some of the wording, so i did have to reread like 2 pages. it physically hurt me to put this book down, and i finished it in about 12 hours and 39 minutes. (i’m a fairly slow reader, don’t bully) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

philosofreaky's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book took me a while to enjoy. I almost DNF'd this at the beginning as it was not gripping me like I wanted it to. I just had no interest in the characters and having known the end pairing of the series, which I thought would happen by the end of this book, I couldn't see how this was going to work.

The issue I found was that every time I have heard this book it was talked about as a enemies to lovers, which is not doing it justice. This is a fantasy book with some romance but not a romance fantasy book.

Once i got a bit more into the book and into the right mindset for it, it defiantly became more enjoyable. I do love the Court of Shadows. I think most of their scenes were my favourite in the book, and the ending intrigued me enough to pick up the next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

aya_h's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Jude + Cardan = ❤️❤️❤️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

grommit's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Fantastic politics, cruel people, and sucks you into its world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Death of parent

Moderate: Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Infidelity, Racism, Pregnancy, and Classism

thelibraryofjen's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Jude is my new favorite character and I get the hype about Cardan. THE TAIL WAS CRAZY THOUGHHHH. The only reason why this isn’t 5 stars is because I was expecting enemies-to-lovers, but this is more like bully to friend to
lovers. I loved the plot and the overall political intrigue which really kept me entertained. Some people find this book boring because of that aspect but personally me I really enjoyed it. I will be continuing on to the second book whenever I get around to that. 

Jude was an absolute badass and I was rooting for her through the whole book

why tf would Tyran do that to her SISTER?!!! I was utterly shocked and betrayed when that happend and Locke is an ick in itself. I loved the little found family with the Bomb, Roach, and Ghost that was very heart warming to see. The ending was ABSOLUTELY NOT EXPECT and I have to say I didn’t see it coming I really though Oak was going to be crowned. I really got immersed into the story and I just loved the characters and the world.

If you Love:
-found family
-bully-to friends-to lovers
-knife to throat 
-batter
-lots of tension between love interests

Genre/Type: Fantasy Fiction 15+
(paperback)
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 
Spice: 🌶️
Series or Standalone: First book in a trilogy (has a spin off series with oak this needs to be read first in order to understand the spin off series)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Gore, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting

starryeyedreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Non-spoiler bit: The book is great. If you like Holly Black's other fae books then you will like this. If you haven't read anything by Holly Black, I would recommend starting with the Modern Faerie Tales series, because it chronologically happens before this series does.

The spoiler bit:

expect betrayal, trying to figure out what's going to happen next only to be wrong cause the book sets up for multiple unexpected plot twists. Enemies to lovers trope is present. Some of the characters are just down right evil, but well written. In terms of diversity, there isn't much in the way of POC representation, but there is LGBT+ rep, and the folk are very diverse and you can definitely find yourself in the characters regardless of their appearance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest