The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Title: The Cruel Prince

Author: Holly Black

I have read two other series by this author, one YA and one middle grade, and really enjoyed both. I've been interested in some of her other recent books, but have not had a chance to read them.

Cover: I have seen three covers for this book: the one I have pictured, a variation of it that is black instead of white (Barnes and Noble exclusive, I think), and a purple one that shows a throne. I think all fit the book.

Review: Once again, I have the unpopular opinion of not liking a book as much as the general populice seems too. Everywhere online I see people raving about how great this is, but I'm just kind of meh about it.

The premise is that Jude and her sisters were taken in by a faerie when they were young, after said faerie killed their parents. Fast forward to when Jude and her twin are seventeen. Jude longs to be a faerie, to be like them, but for the most part, they are not treated well by the faeries around their age. In fact, one of the faeries, Prince Cardan, the youngest of the princes, harasses Jude. In court politics, the High King is preparing to step down and abdicate the thrown to one of his sons, Prince Dain. One of the other princes, Balekin, is not pleased about this, and so webs of court politics become tangled.

I felt that the story was a bit predictable, mostly in how the characters acted, and some plotlines.  I liked Cardan more than Jude. Jude was a bit annoying, and I never connected with the character. Even though Cardan was somewhat predictable, I enjoyed him. I did not like Jude's twin, Taryn, or Locke. Locke was also somewhat predictable. Slimy.

These complaints I have don't mean I  didn't enjoy the book. But only one part really surprised me.

Read on into the Spoiler Zone for details on that, only if you have read the book, or don't mind spoilers.

The only part that surprised me was how the coronation went down. I wasn't expecting all the death and mayhem. Some death, yes. That was an awesome scene, and the most climatic scene in the book. Just before that I had scoffed at the ridiculousness of Jude hiding a dead body under bed, so it was nice to go into a much better scene. Then I was a bit let down with how the story continued.

Overall though, it was enjoyable, and I'll read the rest of the series to see how it turns out, but I would probably give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.