The Cruel Prince by Holly Black -- Review

Title: The Cruel Prince 
Author: Holly Black 
Pages: 384
Publishing: January 2nd 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0316310271

Synopsis: 

Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old 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.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war 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.

Review: 

Holy. Crap. I went into this novel with a completely open mind... and that mind was just blown! This novel is epic! That's seriously the best way to describe it. If you love stories about the fae, you will not be disappointed with The Cruel Prince. It is the perfect blend of fantasy and the mortal world. I absolutely loved the complex characters and the constant build of anticipation. 

Jude and her sisters have been forced into the faerie world (that's all I'm going to say because I don't want to spoil anything) and they have to learn how to fit in or get tougher skin. In Jude's case, she learns to toughen up. I absolutely loved her character and appreciated the fact that she did not take the easy way out of her struggles. She fought to survive and became power hungry in the process. I typically enjoy trustworthy narrators, but in this case I really loved that no one, not even the narrator could be trusted.

At the beginning of the novel, Jude started out as a tough and ambitious young woman who just wanted to belong in the fae world. By the end of the novel, she was shocking the entire kingdom (and me!) and becoming more of an antihero, which I totally did not expect. I loved the novel from start to finish and highly recommend it to readers who enjoy young adult fantasy stories. The Cruel Prince is a must read and I can't wait for the sequel! 

Thank you to The Novl for sending this free copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Rating 5/5