The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

This book was bought because other people said it was good. Then I found out that the guy is supposed to have a tail, and that felt so cringe to me that I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to read it. In addition, I am not the biggest fan of fantasy as names are usually very difficult to pronounce, and they sound so similar in my head. Also, I am not a visual thinker at all. It’s just vibes and feelings for me. So I get so surprised by people looking different because I truly forget. The book, though, is so pretty, and I loved the artwork inside. Anyway, I pushed myself to read it because I have two more of the series, and truly, what is wrong with having a tail anyway?

The Book in short
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 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.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal 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.
I got this information here .

My Thoughts
I really started liking it near the end. A friend of mine also read it, and chatting with him made me so excited to read the rest of the series, too. The twist at the end was fascinating, and he reminded me that it wasn’t that I forgot, but the rest of the book is, I suppose, not that memorable to me. But it was good, actually.

I was a bit annoyed by Jude sometimes because of her inner monologue, thinking that Cardan hated her when she found a letter with her name written a bunch of times. I was shaking my head at the book. Then again, she is a young girl, and to be fair, they think like that. I surely would have.

Having said all that, and taking it all together. I do think it’s a good set-up for the next book, and I am keen to read that. I do not think it’s a great book on its own. At least for someone like me, that is not that into fantasy. It’s a lot of set-up and worldbuilding, but that takes away from the characters a little bit. To be clear, it’s also not a romance, which I have seen it advertised as. It’s a self-discovery journey more than anything, and I do admit I am ready to learn what more is in store for Jude.