Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

25 reviews

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

monomoon_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Please use media literacy to realize that romance is not everything for this book. The main plot is about a mythical land with rules & customs that show up as trials to the human MC. Go into the book with that in mind. Romance does happen! It's just not the main focus.

Nevertheless, I was on the edge of my seat, to my sweet surprise. I saw all the bad reviews but knowing Holly Black's past works, I decided to give this a read. It did not disappoint whatsoever.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

meg_elyse's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Vomit

zeloco's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Death of parent

Minor: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment

princessrory's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury

helvars's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide, Pregnancy, and War

becca_w_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Xenophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War

enbiace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture

Minor: Body shaming, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, and War

delle_frenchtxt's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective

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

3.75

You need quite a few chapters to get into it (the narrator is quite immature) but once the plot is unfolding you ll get hooked. Idk why exactly but I feel like the vibes are similar to the ones of Percy Jackson if you ve read that as a teen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation