The Cruel Prince - by Holly Black

Listening to book hype is a tricky thing.

Sometimes it is incredibly, horribly wrong. (Can I get a From Blood and Ash, anyone?) Sometimes it’s mildly right. (*Someone in the audience coughs Red Queen*.) And sometimes, when you get extremely lucky, the hype is completely, utterly right. Like Six of Crows. Like The Cruel Prince.

I heard about this book from a lot of people. And when I say “a lot of people”, I mean the ENTIRE GOODREADS community. Nevertheless, a bunch of people screaming in my ear is not enough to make me pick up a book and read it. However, when someone is quite literally threatening to murder me in my sleep if I don’t read it ... well, let's just say that's a completely different story. Seeing as how I don’t like receiving death threats, I decided that I should just go ahead and read the book. See if I liked it. And if I didn’t, then no one could kill me— because at least I had made somewhat of an effort to preserve my life.

Okay. Let’s get into it. I want to first discuss what all of you (who haven't read the book) might be thinking.

"The Cruel Prince."

I can describe this title in about a hundred different ways, and none of them would be positive. Dumb, cliche, annoying, run-for-your-fucking-life, sounds completely pointless, why-would-I-ever-read-this-trash, bye, how-did-you-even-get-published, blah blah blah.

No.

Absolutely not.

Despite how stupid the title sounds, this book is not your usual fairy-merry type of bullshit. It's not. I'll admit I had this misconception going into the book, but that's only because I'm a dumbass and despite being an avid reader, I always judge books by their covers (and titles). I thought this was an extremely cringy, eye-rolling piece of trash. Just another story about faeries. So I went into this book warily. I was NOT expecting to like it at all. So you can imagine how completely blown away I was when-- upon reaching the last page-- I realized I would probably give up my life to read the sequel.

So let me give y'all newbies a little heads up: This book is NOT trash. My advice to you would be to stop reading this review right now, locate a copy of this book wherever you are in the world, and read it. Because it’s oxygen. It's water. It's everything you need in a year like 2020.

Can we just ... can we just take a moment of silence and mourn these characters? Can we just mourn the fact that Jude does not exist, Cardan does not exist, the people in this book do not exist? Can we mourn for the fact that there is no portal to transport the desperate people of this coronavirus world like you and me straight to Elfame? It fucking hurts to know I will never get to meet any of these beautiful creatures.

Now, for my sanity— and for the sanity of those who have already read TCP— let us discuss Jude Duarte.

”If you hurt me, I wouldn’t cry. I would hurt you back.”

Someone pull me out of the water because I'm fucking drowning out of my love for this bitch. I am speechless, utterly blown away with what Holly Black did with this character. “What are you talking about, Yumiko??? Jude is a cruel, brutal, nasty, sadistic, untrustworthy, pathological liar, and extremely deceptive. How could you ever like her??” First of all, sit the hell down. You aren’t ready for this conversation.

I want to talk to Jude. I want to kiss Jude. I want to be Jude's best friend. I want to tell Jude that being human in a fey world doesn’t mean shit, because you are so strong, you are so resilient. You can beat those faerie pieces of shits. They have no idea who they're messing with, human or not.

Ms. Holly Black, may I ask politely why you did this to me? Please, tell me. Why would you create a character like Jude when you KNOW how much I would DIE for my strong female protagonists? How could you do this to me? How could you ruin my life like this?

You mortals don’t get it. If you haven’t read The Cruel Prince, I’m sorry. I’m terribly sorry for you. Your life must be terrible. But I assure you, if you read TCP right now, your life will improve drastically. I speak from personal experience.

Jude teaches you an interesting lesson about strength. Power. Throughout her journey, she teaches you that weakness is only in the mind. That you don’t have to be the most powerful person in the room to totally kick ass. You mortals don’t understand how difficult it is to stand up to someone bigger than you, stronger than you, more powerful than you. Especially after they belittle you and make you feel like you are worth nothing. It is so, so hard.

But Jude stood up, while Taryn decided to submit. “It isn’t worth it, Jude. Don’t fight them. You won’t win.” I’m sorry, Taryn, but I don’t recall anyone asking you for your OPINION. BECAUSE JUDE DID WIN. SHE GOT CARDAN'S HEART. WHO LOOKS LIKE A DUMB BITCH NOW? YOU DO, TARYN. YOU DO.

Jude stood up because she would not be talked down to. Mortal or not, she would not be treated with disrespect. How how how could you NOT fall in love with such determination, sass, stubbornness, and resilience? If you’ve read this book, and you don’t give a damn about Jude, you don’t give a damn about Cardan, then congratulations. You deserve a standing ovation. I don’t know how you managed to keep your heart.

Jude hates vulnerability, and everything that isn’t strength is a weakness. Have you ever read about a character more relatable? She hates being weak in a world surrounded by strong fey. And can you blame her?? (Blame her. I fucking dare you.)

Don’t even get me started with Cardan. Don’t. Because then we’ll be here for a long, long time. “Again, Yumiko. What is it with you and cruel, nasty, despicable people who trick others into getting what they want? People that make promises and don’t keep them because they’re the only one benefitting from it?” Just be quiet. You don't understand.

There is something so viciously hot about a boy being mean to you just to get your attention. Cardan is just ... I can’t with him. I can't understand him. He’s beautiful. He's amazing. Us lowly mortals do not deserve him.

Next, let's discuss Locke the Bastard. No, not the Bastard of the Barrel. Not the love of my life. The Bastard. Words cannot describe the things I want to do to Locke. I had this terrible, gut-wrenching feeling that he was using Jude, that he was playing her. For him to play my Jude like that--to break her heart without a second thought--just makes me want to break him and see how he likes it. The only fate her deserves is to be Kissed by a Dementor.

Taryn can also be Kissed by a Dementor, for all I care. She doesn't even deserve her own paragraph, so I'm not even going to talk about how much I hate that h**.

Overall, this book kept me on my toes the entire time. That ending was gratifying. I love plot twists. I don’t know what to expect of the sequel. All I know is that if Cardan and Jude don’t get together, if Taryn doesn’t hang herself, if Locke doesn’t break Taryn’s heart and kill himself afterward, then I don’t want to read it.

Anyway, read this book. You will not be sorry.