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A review by swally2005
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This book is super slow and does not pick up until the second half of the book. I was listening to the audiobook version and it took until 65% was completed, before anything interesting happened plot-wise. I don't know why people hype up this book and the relationship dynamic between Jude and Cardan, maybe it changes in the later books; but in this book, Cardan and his friends are sadistic assholes who despise Jude for being human, and regularly torture her, going even so far as physical assault. There's nothing charming about Cardan's personality at all, and he doesn't even begin speaking to her like a human being, until after his entire family is murdered and she kidnaps him and ferrets him away for use in her power games. Even then, the attitude change is mostly brought along by the fact that she's constantly threatening to kill him, and she's also bound him to her commands.
If you can get through the first half of the book where it's basically Jude fluctuating from making reckless half-assed decisions out of murderous rage, to whining in self-pity when she has to deal with the consequences, you may find it worth continuing the series. Essentially the ending comes down to Jude playing Kingmaker, and in future books she'll likely have to find a way to deal with power games and intrigue in court, so hopefully that means for more interesting plots down the road.
An additional heads up for those who are listening to this via audiobook, this author's writing style is a bit verbose and weird; she also doesn't use many contractions for some reason, so when the narrator reads, the speech sounds very odd to the ear. Some people might find it a difficult listening experience.
If you can get through the first half of the book where it's basically Jude fluctuating from making reckless half-assed decisions out of murderous rage, to whining in self-pity when she has to deal with the consequences, you may find it worth continuing the series. Essentially the ending comes down to Jude playing Kingmaker, and in future books she'll likely have to find a way to deal with power games and intrigue in court, so hopefully that means for more interesting plots down the road.
An additional heads up for those who are listening to this via audiobook, this author's writing style is a bit verbose and weird; she also doesn't use many contractions for some reason, so when the narrator reads, the speech sounds very odd to the ear. Some people might find it a difficult listening experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Torture, and Toxic friendship