2 min to read
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
- Title
- The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is a story about a girl who is forced to live among faeries in their magical kingdom. Sounds a bit familiar? Yes, I was sceptical and I wasn’t sure if I want to read it. I thought it was another version of ACOTAR and title indicating a romance theme. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I’m so glad I decided to read this book, because it is so much more!
Our main character is Jude, whose parents were murdered when she was a kid and she and her sisters are taken in by Fae general to live with him in the faeries lands. She grew up in a High King court and, thanks to her new father authority, received the same education as other faeries children.
But as you can imagine, it’s not easy to be a mortal in the domain of immortal creatures. Even though she is privileged enough to be on the court, she and her sister are bullied and tormented by their fellow students. Despite beautiful landscapes and amazing magic, girls live everyday in fear, that they are so fragile they could be easily enchanted and dead if they are not careful. While Jude’s twin sister pursue her place in a court by finding the right husband, our heroine decides she want to fight her way to gain the power, so that other creatures won’t dare to stand against her.
What starts as a high school competition and bulling (but with use of magic and far more cruel) quickly became full blown political intrigues and schemes. It was very interesting to read about Jude’s struggle to get a position and power so she can escape the torment of other faeries. With the book progress she became more and more capable and confident in her own skills and her chances against other court competitors.
The book is full of twists and quick plot changes. It’s so interesting you can hardly put it down. Most of the characters here are complex and we can see their good and bad sides. The only thing I didn’t like was the sister relationship here. Jude has an identical twin sister and you could thought they should be very close, considering the harsh environment they are living in. Well they’re not. We had that impression at first, but then they turn out to be completely different and keep antagonising each other. I would really love to read about real sister’s bond for once.
I really enjoyed reading this book and I can only blame myself that I didn’t pick it up earlier. It was very interesting story and I can’t wait for the Wicked King, to see how the story will unfold!
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