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ursium's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
this book gagged me at every turn tbh. multiple times there were twists where i physically put the book down and gasped and then i had to pick it back up and continue reading immediately.
i like that in this book, the reader is really eased into the court politics. i like fantasy, but struggle with high fantasy because it feels like i need to take notes to keep track of all the drama. in this book, it built up naturally and took you along the ride WITH the characters. also i love how holly black writes. amen. i will be reading the next two books asap
i like that in this book, the reader is really eased into the court politics. i like fantasy, but struggle with high fantasy because it feels like i need to take notes to keep track of all the drama. in this book, it built up naturally and took you along the ride WITH the characters. also i love how holly black writes. amen. i will be reading the next two books asap
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Murder
louisebergholdt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Suicide
annick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I enjoyed this. I’d happily recommend as young/adult fantasy.
books I rate over four stars mean I’d recommend to others and I’d be likely to reread in future (from being willing to likely and on to definitely and occasionally: imminently)
Once I got around 70pages in, I really got into it and ended up reading on until 3:30am. And excited to start book two the next day
It has flaws. I dislike the US-default of this writer’s fairy-based fantasy writing. Some twists were not a surprise (and most of these weren’t disappointing when revealed)
The psychological tensions between the twins feels undercooked. maybe it’s a slow burn into the series.
books I rate over four stars mean I’d recommend to others and I’d be likely to reread in future (from being willing to likely and on to definitely and occasionally: imminently)
Once I got around 70pages in, I really got into it and ended up reading on until 3:30am. And excited to start book two the next day
It has flaws. I dislike the US-default of this writer’s fairy-based fantasy writing. Some twists were not a surprise (and most of these weren’t disappointing when revealed)
The psychological tensions between the twins feels undercooked. maybe it’s a slow burn into the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Alcohol
mysamcatfan's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood
ryleighh's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide
crow_familiar's review against another edition
I just couldn’t get into it. I would pick it up, read four pages, and become disinterested again. I don’t think it’s bad it’s just not working for me. I see the appeal but the protagonist is a little annoying to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
naechan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
My expectations going in to this were very low. I thought it was gonna to be another generic YA romantacy with little plot and boring characters just being horny for each other the whole time. But I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed all the scheming, court intrigue and drama. It’s not the best book ever but I had a good time.
However, that ending pissed me off.
”The Queen”? Really? That’s the nickname the circle of spies decided to give her when “Kingmaker” was right there and it sounded so much cooler? This is such a dumb thing to get angry at but I don’t care. You let me down Holly Black, you let me down!
However, that ending pissed me off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
carolinacortez's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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
4.0
"No matter how eager you are for it, you cannot make the moon set nor rise any faster"
WOW!
La verdad es que me gusto muchísimo, estoy sorprendida de que para ser una fantasía "juvenil" no esta enfocada en el romance, más bien esta enfocada en el mundo, en sus leyes, en sus dramas políticos y de la corona y eso me encantó.
"Instead of being afraid, i could come something to fear. "
También, y creo que mi parte favorita, es Jude, que buen protagonista femenino; llena de valor, confianza, y un crecimiento enorme desde el inicio hasta el final de la novela., no puedo esperar a ver como sigue creciendo el personaje y como se va a ir adaptando, a lo que estoy segura que va a pasar, a lo que viene
"My people had wings once
And though i've never had a pair of my own, sometimes i feel the lack of them"
Super recomendado 1000/10 (solo le puse 4 estrellas por que dicen que los que vienen son mejores y tengo que darles su espacio lol)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse and Suicide
2blueshoes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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? No
3.5
1. pacing is slow for most of the book, but there is enough complicated intrigue and weird world building to keep you reading.
2. It does not feel like a story or world that I have read in fantasy before, and that’s hard to do. I enjoyed that.
3. Romance is basically non-existent in this book, but it does feel like a very long and elaborate set up for future romance in other books maybe? If anything this is really a political intrigue book with a very subtle romance subplot. If that’s your jam, you’re going to love this.
4. The person I am fairly sure is the future hero is A LITERAL ASSHOLE for 99.9% of the book. Like zero redeeming qualities, not even described as attractive? If you aren’t patient with very long redemptive arcs for characters, or if you can’t tolerate not knowing who the true love interest is, maybe skip this book.
5. The heroine feels really young and also not particularly moral??? Like she is decidedly not justice-motivated. She seems really immature and self interested at times. This makes for a surprising read if I’m honest and I think we will watch her develop a lot in the books. This book feels a bit like a prequel somehow?
6.
7. I would have given up on this book entirely if it wasn’t for some really surprising shit that goes down around the chapter 26 mark that had me WTF-ing all over the place. It’s like it suddenly turned into the book I wanted it to be. The last four chapters are, in my opinion, amazing. They had me on the edge of my seat. I hope they reflect what future books will be like.
Oh, final thought: I think listening as an audiobook kinda made this book worse for me than it was, because the narrator didn’t do distinct voices for the characters, and it made it really confusing. Would recommend reading it as a book.
Lots of content warnings on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying, Gore, Suicide, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Vomit, Dysphoria, and War
rabeekster's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Definitely slow-paced for 65% of the book but the payoff in the end is good. The Locke subplot was dragged on for too long and those pages would've been better off spent on some of the politics in the book which felt a bit weak. Obviously, the title of the book is The Cruel Prince but I do think some of his behavior is excessive and unjustifiable; however, the book does a good job of setting up a position for Jude to be in power (so that after a year, there is no power imbalance between the two (I am not sure if this will be the case but perhaps). Nevertheless, Cardan was definitely not as cruel as the other members of his group and I believe this was done deliberately but did end up making the readers have more empathy for him. I liked the Oak plot twist. I liked how the relationship between Jude and Madoc was written. I liked how the three sisters had different relationships with the world. Jude's character herself is very flawed but done in a realistic way and I am interested to see the direction of her character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Suicide and Murder