Reviews tagging 'Torture'

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

86 reviews

ohtoasty's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Jude is the main character of this story. She is written in a badass kind of way, wanting to be stronger than the limitations that life gives her. She wants to overcome the challenges in her way, even though they logically seem near impossible (not completely impossible, but incredibly difficult). I like that at Jude's core, she cares for her sisters and her family, but she cares for herself first and foremost. She is going out of her way, to get what she wants, and she does not care about who may be in her way. Things happen in this book simply because of her sheer will and determination. I find that I don't know why her body is filled with such spite and ill will, the author does not fully explain her motivations at times. But I can look past that.

I can't look past the world building though. I think I am intrigued enough to pick up the second book, because I am curious as to how the story moves through the book series, but I honestly have no fucking idea what is going on. There are other courts? Okay. I have no idea how much power they have and how that may differ from where she is living. Are they all located in the same location? Or do they travel? What kind of power do they have and is it different? Fuck if I know. I had the idea that some courts are more important than others, but I have absolutely no idea how they relate to each other and how important they are overall. I have zero idea what the governing system is like. The main point seems to be that a relative needs to place the King's crown on the new King's head. That is the most important aspect and I got that, but anything else, fuck if I know. I don't even know how important being a Knight is and what kind of status that gives you, just the fact that Jude wanted to be one. 

I didn't care for Taryn, Jude's sister. She consistently gives up, wants to be a quiet small mouse, totally fucks over her sister for what seems to be very little reason. Like okay I guess. Vivienne is a lot more interesting to read. Technically a part of that world but desperate to not be. Queer and willing to take care of the younger brother in the mortal world. Way more interesting of a character and I'm excited to see more than her. 

I don't really care at all for Cardan. I understand why he's sad, he's been pushed over, ignored, tortured by his family, he resorted to alcohol and not giving a fuck. He clearly had a very complicated view of Jude. She was beaten down over and over again but never ever gave up whereas he chose that path consistently. Apparently that angered him. Now she has power over him for a year and is awkwardly flirting I guess. Sure. I'm gay so angsty book boyfriends are hard for me to actually be interested in. He was no different. Not the worst I've ever read but not anything to gush over.

Book had a slow start considering how bad the world building was. Everything was leading up to the first plot point felt slow, the twist and everything after felt fast. Wish it had more even pacing throughout and that I understood what the fuck was going on. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Alcohol, and Classism

scythe_2006's review against another edition

adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Murder

snakebyte180's review against another edition

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Death of parent

Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Torture and Alcohol

adoptedbuttons's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

Didn’t think I would finish until like page 250

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Abandonment

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Torture, Toxic relationship, and Abortion

miss_berry315's review against another edition

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! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

diana_raquel's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, and Trafficking

cloudysky123's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

_ao_'s review against another edition

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Torture, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

jque97's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Death of parent

pizzamyheart's review against another edition

mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Despite the shocking opening This took forever to get into.  There were so many characters it was hard to keep them straight.  There were plot points involved that seemed to go nowhere.  As if they took a 600 pg epic and cut it in half,  leading much to be desired.  

I hear the series gets better so I'll try book 2. Then update if it was worth the time.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture