A review by harmshoney
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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

3.0

well, this was incredibly underwhelming. I was expecting so much more 😕 I'm having a hard time compiling my thoughts, so I'm going to try this in a list format.

the lovely ♡
• I enjoyed the fantasy elements. I feel like most fantasy books don't involve enough of them, & I liked that there was a plethora of childlike wonder.
• the world sounds beautiful & whimsical.
• cardan is an amazing character. though he is unpredictable & hard to get to know, his attitude & mystery is intriguing.

the ugly ෴
• while I did enjoy having a lot of fantasy elements, after the first few chapters it became *too many*. it's like the author just started adding in every thing from every fantasy story ever. for me, it didn't add intrigue, it just felt fake (the irony, I know lol).
• yes, the world *sounds* beautiful, but like literally nothing else was described very well. no idea what the buildings, rooms, courtyards, etc. looked like. I enjoy world dumping!
• Jude actually annoys the absolute heck out of me. there were some scenes I liked, but mostly I was annoyed by how much of a "try hard" she was. whenever something bad happened to her I literally just didn't care 😅 
• HOW in the world did a fantasy book manage to take a stab at conservatives?? WHY is this a thing?? one of my biggest pet peeves is fiction books doing this & I wanted to throw this book across the room.
• vivi's character was so unnecessary.
• the romance twist was just too predictable for me.
• also, what do the characters *actually* look like?? there were animal features?? but like are they still human/fae looking? is locke actually a person? I was so confused lol
• I *feel* like the author tried really hard to create a complex political system, & it just became an unnecessary mess.
• I was expecting this to be a slow burn romantasy, buuuuut cardan & Jude literally have nothing until the last 8% of the book?? lame.

overall: ⭐⭐⭐ I do plan on finishing the series because I do like cardan & I hear the last book is the best.
content warning ⚠️ this book is a lot darker than I expected. it literally starts & ends with murder, & there is even a suicide which I was not expecting. this is most certainly not a wholesome fantasy story lol personally would not recommend.
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