Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black

13 reviews

anigirl524'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

3.25

i didn’t love it and i don’t really get the hype 😅.

I felt like the first part largely dragged on with unnecessary plot points, but i haven’t read the whole series so maybe the following installations will tie up some of those loose ends?  it picked up and got much more interesting around the halfway point, though.  once i understood why things were happening, it was much easier to keep up with the story.

also, i get that black was trying to make a point with all of the bullying at the beginning, but i think it was taken a bit too far.  even without the

Spoiler

attempted murder

it was taken to an extreme i don’t think was necessary.  it made it hard to read.

i definitely will continue with the series because i did enjoy the story and i’m ✨intrigued✨.  i want to know how the rest of it plays out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Bullying, Death of parent, Hate crime, and Violence

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

cielmac's review

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I will give two stars because I appreciated certain points of the book. Like, the portrayal of faerie lore and the malicious attitude towards mortals? I did like that. I also liked that there were certain niche memories of Jude’s that felt relatable, like the sticky fingers and television childhood, as well as different descriptions of emotions she was feeling.

However, this book’s pacing was hell on my ADHD and it truly felt like a chore to read. There were parts that were engaging and I had no problem getting through chapters, and others were so slow that I would lose focus and go do something else. This book took me a month to read, which is atrocious and I wish I had a the habit of DNFing a book without feeling guilty, but I don’t so here I am now. 

The characters as well, while relatable at certain points, are infuriating. Jude makes absolutely no sense. Why stay in Faerie if she’s angry and terrified all the time? If the people around her are all fucking terrible? Because you were raised there? You want power? Even though you are viewed as inherently inferior? 

Spoiler

You gonna go ahead and fall in love eventually with someone who ripped another’s wings right off and participated in sexually assaulting you?

Bullshit, sounds like torture porn. 

Vivienne was the only engaging character. I would read three books about her romance with Heather and her grappling with her identity and her hatred, but her determination to love a mortal and live there. 

I didn’t care for the romance either (I mean, I’m gay, so I would never have cared for the het romance anyway) but I bought the book because people were mad about the lack of it, only to find political intrigue. I love political intrigue, but this book was vague at best with the world building and system descriptions. So I found that to be lacklustre as well.

I hear that Wicked King and Queen of Nothing were better, but I don’t think they might be better enough to give a shot, also it will be the last time I take book recommendations from heterosexual booktokers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping

adeliab's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

I am really conflicted on how to rate this books. On one hand I enjoyed myself and there were some elements pertaining to mortality that I thought were interesting. On the other I take issue with some of the plot beats relating to the romance and with the overall pacing.

This book is just flat out addictive. I started listening to the 13 hour audiobook yesterday and am finished with it today. I did not put the book down. My favorite fantasy novels are those that focus on interpersonal relationships, but have fantastical and sociopolitical elements to spice it up. Luckily for me, that is what this book does. It focused on the relationships between Jude, her family, and the rest of the court all within the setting of this fantasy world. 

The strongest element of this book, in my opinion, is the exploration of morality. All of the main cast of characters are morally complex. Whether is be the Jude's adopted father Madoc,

Spoiler

who kills Jude's biological parents, but clearly loves Jude and the rest of the family

or Taryn Jude's sister

Spoiler

who lets Locke, the boy Taryn is engaged to, court Jude because she want so badly to be accepted by the fae

or even Jude

Spoiler

who is tries to secure peace for the human and fae people while you the reader can tell she is brimming with violence and desire for power

. I appreciate this book for exploring how one can both love someone and disdain them for their actions. 

Further, the books focus on making all of the characters morally ambiguous ensures that the characters are dynamic. Oriana Jude's step-mother, for example

Spoiler

seems to occupy the niche of evil step mother, a relatively static role, but is later revealed to have acted out of caring. She may have lectured and been suspicious of the girls, but it was because she was influence by her own experiences as the concubine of the king to protect the girls from evils of the court. Oriana, could have remained a static character, a foil for the plot, but I believe because of the book's commitment to exploring mortality she was given more depth

. 

Yet, when it comes to Cardan (finish review later)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, Death of parent, and Hate crime

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Slavery

Minor: Kidnapping

lexi_readsbooks's review

adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

I normally don’t write reviews but this book is just so good I had to, unlike most books there are no patch’s where it just gets boring it’s just great. However if you came to this series promised an enemies to lovers that’s more of a sub plot and the rest is like an awesome fantasy with politics and some family 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Murder, Violence, and Alcoholism

merelyakalan's review

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Alcohol, Violence, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, and Injury/injury detail

andersonmm223's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Hate crime

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse

ali_debookness's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Gore, Self harm, Abortion, Alcohol, Child death, Suicide attempt, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Injury/injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Infidelity

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Vomit, and War

egurgens's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Honestly, I’ve been looking for a book with a great villain arc, and I found one! Instead of seeing a hero fight against their worst impulses, Jude embraces them. Sure, Cardan is cruel, but so is her adoptive father, in a way, and so is the society she finds herself in. There are two possible paths Jude could have taken to survive with the Faerie, she just chose the opposite path of her sister, Taryn. 

There are so many political twists, so much betrayal, blood, gore, spies, magic, bullying, and violence, but it is so so so good. 100% recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Classism, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, Domestic abuse, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, War, Child death, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

level1055's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

I did not know what real speed was till I caught myself reading with the pace of an ostrich running after a safari car, the second half of this book! 
Well, let me tell you about the ending... It makes you want to hop on to the next book right away.
🙏 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War