The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)
By Holly Black, Narrated by Caitlin Kelly
Published by Hachette Audio
Unabridged: 12 Hrs & 36 Minutes
ASIN: B077VYK4SH
Genre: YA Fantasy
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.
The Cruel Prince was an anticipated release for me in 2018. Many favorable reviews were already circulating, and I am a huge fan of all things fae. This was a deviation from my current reading challenge, as I picked it up simply for me. Unfortunately, I may have fallen into the minority when I found myself lacking the same enthusiasm as many others. But there were so favorable moments. For the sake of this review, I will be addressing my time with the audiobook.
The skinny: A young Jude finds herself and her two sisters ripped away to the land of the fey after the viscous murder of her human parents. 10 years later she is struggling to cope with her own mortality and disgust her peers (the fey) harbor towards humans. She does not belong. Not in the high court of the fey nor among the humans. She attempts to seek knighthood and a spot in the court, challenging those around her, but soon finds it does not come without great risks and costs.
Sounds fun, right?! So what went wrong…
Those characters though: They fell into two categories for me. Over the top or 2 dimensional. I found the decision-making to be questionable during the best of moments, but did allow leeway in regards to the extremity of our protagonist Jude’s circumstances. Yet, I did not ever successfully connect with her. I do understand this is YA, but often found characterizations and responses to be too juvenile and simplistic. Without avoiding too many details here, I did feel the story offered a suggestive look at possible Stockholm syndrome with Jude’s constant struggle to come to terms with her “now father” Madoc. ⇐ I cringe as I write that knowing it may receive some very negative backlash, but this is my experience. I am not actually going to offer much more in terms of characters aside from stating that I did find Cardan’s development to be of the most interest here.
What about the story: While there were some unique elements in play, I found the main themes to be tiresome. I have reached a point where forbidden love and the victimized, not belonging, female protagonist making her mark no longer offers enough for me. It can work, but I need more. There was a lack of depth and complexity that seemed to constantly promise to surface only to slip away each time. A twist would occur but then manage to fall into the predictable. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the somewhat disjointed pace picked up around the last 15% leading to a more satisfying conclusion. Bonus points for that!
But that world building: This was one of the major highlights for me. I enjoyed Black’s description of the fey and their high court. Being introduced into their lives was fascinating and managed to compel me onward even when the story-line faltered. The incorporation things such as glamour and fairy fruit with details of the effects on humans was a welcomed addition. World development felt complete and immersive. Black takes the magical and lends an air of credible life to it. That alone will nudge my rating of this one.
Writing & Narration: Holly Black’s writing is crisp and smooth. She manages a fine balance between description and precision that serves a fluid experience. Caitlin Kelly’s narration was punchy and entertaining, lending life to the story and creating an easy listen.
Setting aside my own issues with The Cruel Prince (which lie mainly in a storyline that didn’t work for me), it is still easy to pick out the elements that find an audience within. If you enjoy story of the fey and overcoming the odds, I highly recommend exploring this one for yourself.
Enjoyed with a cuppa vanilla chai tea and cinnamon.
Purchase Links: Amazon.com
Happy Reading,
Danielle ❤
Great review!
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Thank you Nicki! Always hard to reviews those that did not quite meet expectations but did not entirely disappoint. I don’t want to discourage others 😉
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Ugh I hate when the characters aren’t that relatable.. Hope your next read/audibook is better!
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Thank you Nikola. I definitely struggled here. To be honest (and fair) they were very juvenile but that was somewhat appropriate for their age, but didn’t seem to mesh with the sort of development I expected under the circumstances. My two current reads are fantastic 😉 What are you reading?
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I’m reading The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones.
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I know I know that one, but my brain is struggling. I will have to pull it up!
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I loved your review, it was so great pointing out exactly what you liked and didn’t like. I think I will hold off on reading this until the hype dies down some. 😀
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You may like it better than I did. I just struggled with the character development. I loved the setting though!
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This is a wonderful review Danielle. It’s disappointing about the characters, but I’m not surprised that you loved the world building as that really seems to be Holly Black’s forte. I think instead of buying this I’ll check it out at the library instead. And that vanilla chai tea with cinnamon sounds heavenly.😊
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The tea is! I like to buy vanilla chai blends and add a small bit of cinnamon 😉 Her world building is definitely to be appreciated. I am not writing off exploring her work more in the future. Have you read other titles by her that you recommend?
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Wonderful review! Good to hear you still enjoyed it despite its flaws… That worldbuilding does sound great. I’m a bit wary to pick this one up myself though, because it triggers all the unpopular opinion warning bells for me. xD
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Yes. Based on some of your reviews, I might say hold off 😉 I did enjoy some aspects enough to keep her on my list to explore more, but the lack of “appropriate” character development was an issue. What are you reading at the moment?
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I’m definitely not getting a copy for now haha. And I’m reading a psychological thriller ARC The Camera Lies right now… And I’m having Station Eleven lined up to read soon. I’ve been wanting to read that one for ages!
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Station Eleven has been on my radar! Enjoy 😊
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I know this looks like it will be one of the big books of 2018, but I’m just not interested. The summary doesn’t draw me in and I read another book by Black, The Darkest Part of the Forest, and didn’t particularly connect with it. So I might be alone on this, but I’m probably not going to pick it up. 😦
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You are not alone 😉 I struggled here with several issues. Her world building was nice though. I think I may explore her more at a later time, but I certainly did not connect with this like most.
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I take comfort in the fact that she is so wildly popular that she is not likely to miss me. 😉
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Right! 😉
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A super review of this book, Danielle. I love the detail and explanations.
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Thank you Robbie. I was trying to find a way to apprpach my issues without taking from the positives. That can be challenging.
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You did a great job.
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Great review! I love how you broke it down! I’ve been wanting to read this book, so it’s nice to see a review that really shows the pros and cons of the book. ❤
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Thank you Kelly! I admit I found flaws in some of the character development, but was impressed with other elements. So it was a tough review. I do hope you enjoy it 💗
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cooool! glad you went for it and it’s interesting to see the book from your point of view… 👌 even though Cardan does have the biggest development happening, I still can’t get behind it… I think if he was a real peraon Id really dislike them no matter how boohoo their reasons… there’s always a choice to be a better person and he always chose not to be kinder. not discounting your thoughts on him of course, nit at all! I am just so butthurt about him 😁
glad you enjoyed some parts of the book and sorry you didn’t with some other parts, but hey, that ending though?! that ending was top notch!
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Oh no haha.. I agree. He was an ass. I just found his development the most interesting in terms of characters. But I failed to like any of them sadly. Haha yes the ending and world building pulled through! I liked her approach to things such as glamour and fairy fruit. Those aspects were fun. Do you think you will try her again?
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Aye… Cardan did have the most to build upon and your man, whatsisname… the trickster fae.. he was interesting as well… wolf in sheep’s skin! Will I read more by Black? At the moment answer is No… I would like to know how that whole ‘relationship’ thing is going to go because there’s some serious shit to be forgiven and forgotten before it makes any healthy kind of sense… thought I would just keep eyes out on reviews for book 2… but, I guess, never say never 😀 Who knows what mood might strike! 😉
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My sentiments exactly! I will also wait to see whether reviews for sequel promise enough growth and development to intrigue me 😉
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I just finished The Cruel Prince and completely agree! It needed something a little extra to stand apart from other sinilar books for me, but I did really enjoy the ending. Great review!
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Thank you Brittany! And I am glad you can relate. So many people fell in love with this one, and while I did not dislike it, it did not hit the mark. There was definitely soemthing missing. For me, I think some of it was in the character development.
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I’ve been curious as I’ve been wanting to try Holly Black, and I like fae stories- especially if they have an edge or are a bit dark. But it’s YA too and YA faery stories have been hit or miss for me. So I may read it, but I won’t rush to! lol the world building sounds phenomenal, but I’m not sure I’m into the forbidden love thing- I mean, it can work I guess- but the whole Madoc thing seems kinda ugh.
Thanks for a great review!
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Yeah the Madoc issue was one I struggled with. There was potential for a significant message there, but it became a bit convoluted for me and as you said, meh. I can only say maybe go in with no real expectations. You might fall on the other side of the line. I am certainly in the minority here 😉
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Great review! I’m sorry you didn’t enjoyed this book as much as you hoped. I haven’t read it yet but I will soon.
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I still found value within, so I do hope you enjoy it as well as others 😊 just a few too many characters issues and some pacing problems I was hung on.
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Wonderful honest review, Danielle! Sorry to hear that it didn’t raise the bar and bring more originality in terms of plot. Coming from someone knows her stuff in all that is fae, it definitely tells me a lot!
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I wanted to like this one more. I was digging for reasons to. But it was flawed in terms of character development for me. I did enjoy the setting and world building. I may explore her work again at another time, but not now 😉
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I have never tried Holly Black’s writing because two of my blogging buddies who love her warned me that I would not like her over the top characterizations. I’m glad you experienced that because now I know I am not missing out. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 💜
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Haha yeah that is one way of putting it for sure. They felt so juvenile that it was as if it had the opposite effect and resulted in lack of growth for me. Was not able to connect. But the world building was solid 💕 I am not writing her off, just passing for now.
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I didn´t like this one that much, either. And I had such high hopes. Meeh. On to the next fae read. ❤
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I am glad I am not alone! Have you read any of her other books? This was my first.
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No. This was my first Holly Black book, too. And you are definitely not alone. I sometimes think that likes and dislikes are an age issue. So many younger bloggers have raved about this book. Goodreads is packed with 5* reviews…. Maybe you and I can´t see the beauty in the whole picture, you know? Maybe our reading experiences play a roll in what we think is great story telling and what isn´t. Maybe I´m wrong about that and it has nothing to do with age or any experience. Maybe it´s just us. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I think I´ll give Holly Black´s books another try.
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Maybe you are on to something there! I love fantasy, but certainly have years of it under my reader belt and with that comes more stringent expectations and requirements 💕 Perhaps a few years ago, it would have truly hit the spot!
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