Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

72 reviews

oddpilot97's review against another edition

challenging mysterious tense 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

5.0

I think I might be obsessed with this book. It’s the first novel I read as an adult that gave me the same feeling as when I read as a child.

Enemies to lovers is one of the best tropes in my opinion. And this book did not disappoint. I appreciated that both characters were complex, with dynamic motivations, and that there wasn’t an uncomfortable power dynamic.

The only tiny critique I have is that the audiobook narrator got a bit whiny at times of high tension. It was a tad grating/melodramatic.

The main character isn’t a goodie two shoes, and I loved that. The plot had excellent twists and turns without being predictable, and never got too dull. The twists were well established in advance as well, which I appreciated. It's got my favorite parts of YA without feeling immature.

Read this! It’s amazing.

Content Warnings

dramagirl2003's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-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

5.0

I was a little worried that I would find the world-building too confusing but I clearly loved this even more than I thought I did since I finished 50% of it in a day! now this is a real enemies to lovers, my first, and i liked it

thoughts while reading

p20: IT'S CARDEN
p33: love jude's imagination
p35: well that is a surprise
p39: i can just see jude quickly becoming a killer just to prove madoc wrong. i don't think she'd dare to sneak into the running for knighthood without his approval
p77: based on trope norms, i suspect this is the point that carden starts to secretly admire jude
p88: I'm scared dain is gonna abuse her in some way. faeries are mischievous at heart, no matter how supposedly honourable they are. but then maybe carden will save her, and then it might be alright
p96: hmm bet scattering jude's salt is just a cover for saving her
p100: HE DID THAT ON PURPOSE
p118: oh. my. gosh. no wonder carden is so cruel!
p197: i could never
p200: well due to spoilers i think i know that

carden eventually becomes the high king, so I'm very curious to see how this pans out, cause i don't see it happening tomorrow

p211: interesting. and all of a sudden, now she's a killer
p245: CARDEN KNEW I SWEAR HE MUST HAVE KNOWN AND THAT'S WHY HE'S MISSING
p275: well i did think that

taryn and locke had a thing for each other right from the start

p292: that makes so much sense
p307: well this is a mysterious turn of events. i feel so much more sorry for carden because jude is a badass manipulator who will break him with any fraction of vulnerability he displays
p353: what. a. badass. move.
p358: ah meirda
p365: now that i was not expecting. i'd actually forgotten all about the spoilers after i getting fully invested in the story

quotes

I draw my sword, and he does, too, the scrape of metal loud in the room. I hear distant laughter, but here in the hall, we are alone.
My hands are sweating, but this had the feeling of inevitability, as though this is what I was careening toward the whole time, my whole life.
"You can't beat me."
"I already have."

"I imagine you're not feeling quite yourself," I tell him.
His sword sags a little, and he looks at me in sudden comprehension. "What have you done?"
"I poisoned you. Don't worry. It was a small enough dose. You'll live."
"The cups of wine," he says. "But how did you know which one I would choose?"
"I didn't," I tell him. "I poisoned them both."

"Have I told you how hideous you look tonight?" Carden asks, leaning back in the elaborately carved chair, the warmth of his words turning the question into something like a complement.
"No," I say, glad to be annoyed back into the present. "Tell me."
"I cannot."

Content Warnings

miss_berry315's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Re-read review. Changing rating to 4⭐
Love how strong and badass Jude is.
The writing and flow of the story are something to get used to, but it works well.

it feels almost like an unreliable narrator in the way that since we are in Jude's mind, we get everything the way she interprets it. She sees what she wants to see and tells the reader what she wants us to know.
Poor Cardan is just a sad, hurt lil dude who admires the way Jude handles her shit. He's just bad at flirting bc he's scared to get close to people and he deserves a hug and kiss on the forehead and to be told he's doing a good job!!

Original review:
This book had kind of a slow start to it, but about 30% in, I was hooked.
The characters are complex and feel (mostly) realistic, the courtly politics kept me guessing. I wanted to slap Jude the whole damn book, but her decisions make sense for who she is, and that's what makes it so good!
So glad the next books are out so I can keep reading!

Content Warnings

e_emmaa's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

diana_raquel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

tiaroseshang's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

cloudysky123's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense 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

5.0

The book is a must read for fantasy lovers my fav fantasy read so far this year this is epic shit really!!! Pls I'm begging everyone to read this atleast once guys

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_ao_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I wanted to give up early on, but told myself I'd give it until the end of the first third. It picked up right around 1/3 of the way through, and wound up being better than I had expected.

Content Warnings

stewartj0421's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It took 85 pages for me to become invested in the story. The beginning feels clunky and aimless, and then all at once you’re swept up into this magical world of lies and dishonor.

I found Black’s fondness of obscure vocabulary to be at odds with the modern time period the story takes place in. I suspect her intention was to portray Faerie as more elegant and otherworldly, but the juxtaposition was jarring and, at times, unsettling in a way I can’t explain.

Despite my dislike of the writing quirks, the book eventually captured my attention. I also found it to be really well suited for the young adult genre. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.

Content Warnings

alexijai98's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

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