What a ride! This book was my second real exploration into the world of the Fae and it did not disappoint! This book was called The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.
Synopsis: Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
I read this book over the Christmas holidays and I could not put it down. Jude was such a compelling main character and she showed so much growth from the start of the book to the end of it. She is exactly what I am looking for when I hear “strong female character”.
You were tastefully introduced to the world of Fae by Jude and her sisters having their parents murdered and kidnapped to live with their parent’s murderer. The world is built in such a way that you explore it and all its quirks while learning about Jude and her sister Taryn (she was annoying) and how they have turned out now that they are in their teens. They had another sister named Vi and I resonated with her a lot more. She was the fun one that I feel like I would get along with.
This book made me feel so many different emotions when I was reading it. Excitement, rage, sadness, empathy, joy and it was as if I could feel the vengeance too. There were times where I thought that the characters were making stupid decisions but by the end, I believe it was all masterfully put together and I am super excited to read the next book in the series.
Overall, I would suggest this book to anyone that wants a fast-paced fantasy book with lots of betrayal, deceit and intense tactical manipulation.
Book Rating: 4.5/5
You can buy this book on Amazon and find it on Goodreads.
Disclaimer: I borrowed this book from Markus to read and give an honest review. I was not compensated for this review in any way.
I have been tagged in a lot of book tags and it is about time I am finally getting around to doing them! Here is my Two Books One Stone tag video!