I read this book ages ago and loved it. I don't have much to say, but I did order it for my library at the time.

I received an advanced reader copy through work as an #indigoemployee in exchange for an honest review.

keeping this short and sweet: I LOVED this! I need the next book ASAP! This is definitely a story I want to reread.

I LOVE Holly Black as an author and this book is no exception from her amazing story telling. The world of the Fae is always so amazing to read about. I love how the story has to do with a human showing the rest of the fae who thinks they are better then her, that just because she human it doesn't mean she's less.

the first book in an absolutely iconic and wild trilogy. gorgeous prose, badass characters who don't give an F!!!! amazing banter, and i expected nothing else from the queen of fae!

I haven't read many books by Holly Black, mostly because they just haven't looked appealing to me, though I did enjoy a book she had co-written with Cassandra Clare. Still, though I enjoy a good fantasy story, Black's work just never looked like something I'd enjoy until I came across the description for <em>The Cruel Prince</em>. Something about this stood out and I looked forward to the read.

Unfortunately, it was absolutely underwhelming for me.

A young girl (Jude) and her sisters are sent to the High Court of Faerie after their parents are killed. While they live there for a decade, they are never fully accepted. Jude and her sisters are mortal and those in the fey world don't like mortals too much. And one who despises humans the most is Prince Cardan, the youngest son of High King.

And even though she doesn't seem to be wanted in the court, Jude really wants to belong. This is, after all, really the only home she knows. But to really belong she needs to face up to the evil Prince Cardan and in doing so she learns much more about the secrets and mysteries that go on behind closed doors on the castle. And she finds that she's quite capable of delivering some cruel blows to those royal members she dislikes. Which might just bring down the whole system to which she wants to belong.

First off, I just didn't care for anyone here. We could have the best written story line, but if it doesn't matter - if I don't have a reason to care about it, then it's worthless. And clearly I am not the target audience. Meaning... I think that possibly ...<em> possibly</em> .... if you are a teen girl who loves a fantasy in which a girl rebels against a handsome but cruel prince, then maybe this is the right book for you.

The failure for me to connect and care about any or all of these characters really overwhelmed my reading of the book. Author Holly Black has a strong fan base who will undoubtedly love this book, but it does nothing to bring me into her readership fold.

Looking for a good book? The Cruel Prince by Holly Black is a YA fantasy with a predictable amount of 'unlikely romance' that may appeal to a certain readership but the book does not generally appeal.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This series knows how to be magical and whimsical but also destroy you emotionally at the same time. Holly Black is a genius and the prospect of each new book just gets more and more exciting.

I really fail to see what everyone is always raving about when it comes to books by Holly Black. The premise always sounds good, the delivery leaves much to be desired in my opinion. I don't know if due to the hype surrounding her and her writing, I then judge her books more harshly, but I don't really see what everyone is talking about. This one just falls so flat and is so unbelievably dull that I didn't make it more than halfway through.

Loved it! Everyone is just a little bit evil and twisted in the land of faerie. Jude is a mortal and lives with the man that killed her parents, but she still loves him in a twisted way. And, she wants to stay in the fae world, so she spies and manipulates in order to find her place. Can’t wait for the next one.

I did not finish this book, and will not be posting a formal review online. I found the writing style to be clunky, and not a lot was happening in the story. I didn't enjoy how dark and bloody the book was, and found myself getting depressed with the lack of emotion and feeling from the characters. It just wasn't a book that made me happy to read it. Thanks so much to the publisher for giving me the opportunity.

This book definitely sounded good, but I think it was too hyped up for me. I don't usually gravitate towards books about faeries/fae, so I couldn't really get into it.

I was so excited to have Holly Black return to the faerie world! Unfortunately I struggled a little with the book. I kept comparing it to Tithe and didn't love that everything took place in the Faerie world and not in the real world. It took me a little while to connect to Jude, but once I got over that the book was an enjoyable read.

The Cruel Prince was certainly a banger to end off 2017.

It's sometimes the hardest to write a review of books I love. How do I transform the feelings I hold for the book into words?

Holly Black has created a magical, dangerous faerie world that we are brought into through Jude. She is a human girl living in the faerie world after her parents were killed by Madoc, a red cap general who is the father of Vivi, Jude’s older sister.

The story is absolutely scintillating, as we learn of Jude and her twin, Taryn’s reluctance to return to the human world as it is all they grew up knowing. However, Vivi who is faerie, wants to return to the human world with her family. She delights in irritating her father.

There is constant action in the plot and it twists and turns, leaving me wondering what happens next. We are exposed to the cruel ways of the faerie and their politics. Jude wishes to stay in the faerie world through earning a place as the knight of one of the princes of the high king whereas Taryn plans on marrying into faerie. I’m a sucker for political intrigue and this book is definitely filled with it.

As I picked up the book, I was instantly sucked into the story with the way that the book begins, through a sort of flashback into how Jude came to be in her situation of living in Faerie with her mother's murderer. It took me about four days to bring myself to read the last 15% because I didn’t want it to end. I then did bring myself to read it because what a way to end the year right? That ending was not what I expected and was a sort of last minute twist and had me kind of almost reeling?

I freaking love this book and I can’t wait for the next one holy crap.

Another fabulous dark and twisty fairy tale from the world of Holly Black. The characters are layered and complex and the twists and turns are not always predictable. Cardan and Jude are both characters that have a dark side and their potential to not do the right thing keeps readers on edge. I loved the ending and am counting the days until the second installment. This book will fly off teen shelves.

I'm a huge Holly Black fan and this book did not disappoint! Many of my readers have already taken this book out and have swooned over it! Holly Black's fantasy stories keep readers engaged and excited about the story that comes from them.

While the storyline had me absolutely captivated, I do wish there had been more world building. The reader was just sort of thrown into the plot. However, I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!

The ending was AMAZING and after finishing I thought WOW this was AMAZING....BUT then I remembered I didn't care for the first 99% of the story. This falls into that category where the author waited until the last minute to grab her readers which of course will make most read the sequel. For me I don't think I can pick it up. We have a heroine who isn't fierce enough until the end (her inner monologues are fierce but that doesn't equal a fierce character), a strange romance that made me sneer in frustration, and a story that lacked the pull I've felt from other fey stories. And honestly the fact that the ending was something that grabbed me ticked me off because I think that was a cheap trick to keep readers invested and to forget about the story. so SO disappointed.

Side note...if Black would have shown more of her training and shown how fierce Jude could've been this would have helped a smidge. Probably wouldn't have saved the story but it would have helped me forget a tad more about things that bugged me.

The Cruel Prince follows Jude, a human who lives in the land of Fae. She struggles to keep light in her life, not wanting to turn to darkness and end up like the man who murdered her parents and then raised her and her sisters. This is her journey of fitting in, wanting acceptance.

Jude is a human, and usually in this world they are seen as slaves, so the fae hate her and her sister for being treated like any other fae child: having an education, going to balls and social functions, having nice clothes and personal posessions. And thus Jude and her younger sister are bullied, tormented, and unable to defend themselves against nobles. Jude has wit and a silver tounge, however, which usually gets them in more trouble and yet somehow captures the interest of someone as well.

I enjoyed the desceiptions and learning about how Fae live: their heirarchy, power play, means of survival, and manipulations. I loved their darkness, their cruelty. They are monsters in beautiful bodies, much like Vampires in today's age (beauty wise anyway). The fae are cruel, sly creatures and they want to take advantage of humans. Jude falls into their web, and soon enough she's not just being bullied, she's also training for something secret.

I found myself enthralled with the action and manipulations. Every chapter had one or the other, and it kept me wanting more. The fae are portrayed as delicously dark and devious creatures, leaving you to easily understand why Jude wants to be one so badly. You would too. They are mysterious, cunning, alluring. You can't help but stare at them and then once they notice, well you're in trouble.

However, I found this to be a dragging read. I enjoyed many aspects of it, and disliked some as well. Such as the romance. So quick Jude is to trust and accept even when knowing what that person can do. Not to mention near the end, where some romance softens neither character and seems to make little sense. I did not find myself rooting for them. It didn't help that Jude was always complaining about something, and yes she turned out to be a kicka** character, but that made the beginning that much harder to enjoy.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and I will check out the sequel when it comes out because I adore the Fae! This is a well written story full of brilliant aspects, but I could not overlook the parts that made reading this slightly less enjoyable.

Jude could be frustrating at times but she sure pulled it off! I cannot wait for the 2nd book. I need to know how Oak and Vivi are getting along and what Jude will have up her sleeve next.

This book is a very different and unique take on the popular faerie world and beings, and it is a pleasure to see something so different coming from such an established author. This book was not the typical journey characters take in these type of books, and it was completely refreshing. I would recommend this book to anyone that has had fun reading the typical popular fae works, as well as those that are looking for something completely different from those. I would especially recommend this to individuals that love a complicated fantasy without happy endings. This is certainly that.

This book really wasn't on my radar at first. I did see it a couple of times but paid it no attention. It's been a good while since I have seen or read a good faerie story, I was leery. Then I started to see reviews, outstanding reviews, and I knew I must read this book. So I did. I loved, absolutely loved, this book.


Ten years ago, a faerie named Madoc, came to the house of twins Jude and Taryn and killed their parents. This Faerie was the father of the twins older sister, Vivianne. Murdoc wanted his daughter and because he killed the twins parents, he took all three children back to Fairyland. Jude is now 17, and she wants desperately to fit in with the world she lives. Jude believes her saving grace will be to become a knight of the court. This doesn't look like a reality, her father, Murdoc, will not allow this. Jude finds a way to join the court, become important, and basically involve herself in the politics and violence of the Faerie Court.

This book started out running at full speed. The first scene is a scene of murder and secrets. That is the way to start a story. It grabbed me in the first couple of pages for sure. It grabbed me and held me tight within its faerie grips. It was mysterious thrilling, dark, and everything I want in a faerie story. I was all in.

After a couple of chapters the story did start to slow for me, however, it did not loosen its grip. I was still all in. It was slow but there was enough going on to keep me fully invested. I know something would happen and all hell would break loose.

It was easy to follow the main character, I just adored her. There were times she was angsty and that was okay for me. Her world was torn apart, flipped upside down and then she was thrown into a whole new, evil, strange world. All at the age of seven. Some angst was allowed. I can easily see how some may hate her and the choices she makes. I didn't I loved her. She was smart, sly, a little feisty, and she was doing the best she could in the world she lived. She wanted to fit in and did all she could to make this happen. In the process, she forgot how grand being human was too. I liked how she never questioned or regretted the choices she made. If it didn't work out the way she wanted, she accepted and moved on. She was always fully committed to her mission and her loyalty never waivered....which was to herself, her family, and even fairyland.

The other characters were pretty grand for me too. They were a part of the story and always a bigger part then the story led on... but they weren't always in the forefront. We saw little snippets here and there but they all had their part to play. One of my favorites of the secondary characters, Vivianne. I really wished I could have spent more time with her. Hoping so in the next book. She was snarky and so just so lovely.

Now when I say I was waiting for something to happen... I knew it was building the entire time. It took about 1/3 of the book but when the crap hit the fan, the crap really hit the fan, went flying, and stunk up all of fairyland. I was a little sad that once it all happened, the booked ended. I needed more. So much more. I am really anticipating the next read. I can't wait and I will have it in my hands as quick as I can.



I just need more, like right now, or yesterday. A real twisted, dark, ugly, wicked, magical read.