“If I can’t be better than them, I will become much worse.” – Jude
I have seen the Cruel Prince book in so many Instagram posts and I loved the book cover. It has stunning art: the white with gold design is a pleasure to look at. I really love the little green beetle detail. Everybody on Instagram was saying how incredible this book is.
Although, I have not heard anything else about it I was excited to read it. I didn’t know any quotes, I didn’t know the main characters, and I had no information about the story. After having a YA overdose from Throne of Glass series I decided that I need a break and without knowing what I was doing I picked The Cruel Prince… I learned too late that this, also, is Young Adult literature. So I decided to get through it. I don’t give up on books and I thought that if it is so incredible then I will probably overcome my YA overdose.
The story takes place in the magical land of fairies. They are all different, some have blue or green skin and wings or horns. The imagination of Holly Black is incredible in this aspect. The clothing they wear is well described and it makes a vivid picture in reader's mind. The land itself, unfortunately, was a little bit less impressive. We only get to visit few places from the map. The king’s palace and the Mirror lake (it doesn’t show your own reflection but someone else’s face) sound absolutely incredible. But I feel like there isn’t a lot behind them. Why is this lake showing other people? Do other lakes in this magical land do the same? If not, why this particular one? What happened to it? What is the history of this king’s palace? How many citizens live there? Where do they get food? Water? Do they pay for these things? Do they have jobs? If not, how do they afford all of the food and clothes? Don’t get me wrong, sometimes it is exactly these questions and the unknown that makes me adore the world, but in this case, the world felt very shallow. Like not only Holly didn’t know the answers she didn’t even think about the questions when she was writing. All locations in the book felt disconnected there were no roads, paths, trade or any infrastructure between them. There were no cities only estates where do the lesser courts of fairies live? Also, we only meet two types of fairies: the royals and their courts and slaves. Where are all normal fairies? The kingdom can’t be built only on royals and slaves… where is the comon folk? When it comes to history of the land there was a brief mention of the previous king and some events of past but it was too blunt to leave huge impression on me.
The main character is a mortal girl Jude who has a twin Taryn and older sister Vivi. They live in the mortal world and have to move into the Fareham after their parents are murdered. When they move she is 6 years old. But the book takes place much later. At least I hope, because she is kissing and flirting and killing like she is an adult. But then there are scenes where I can see her being 6 years old. I am very confused with her age in the book, to be honest with you, and depending on which scene I was reading Jude was either 6 or 20. She was metamorphosing as it suited me. This might either be the coolest thing ever or it might mean poor writing skill, I let you decide. Jude is for change type of a character who is not saving the world but basically wants the power and to rule and make decisions. I love that. She doesn’t want to sacrifice herself, she doesn’t try to protect her family and friends. She has a selfish goal and she fights for it and goes over dead bodies to achieve it. I really liked that part of the story because there is nothing wrong with wanting something for yourself.
The main male lead, Cardan was a bully. He loved to torture and punishment and he didn’t really do anything to make it easier for Jude. Despite all of this (as you all already suspect) they do find a way to each other and they even kiss! If someone treated me like that I would have never ever even speak to them. This is simply unrealistic relationship progress and to me, it gives wrong signals about male/female equality, realaitonship and friendship.
The main male lead, Cardan was a bully. He loved to torture and punishment and he didn’t really do anything to make it easier for Jude. Despite all of this (as you all already suspect) they do find a way to each other and they even kiss! If someone treated me like that I would have never ever even speak to them. This is simply unrealistic relationship progress and to me, it gives wrong signals about male/female equality, realaitonship and friendship.
The start of the book is great. The first chapter drops you right in the middle of a murder and drags you deep down in the story. After that, it gets a bit boring. On one hand, I understand that it is important to introduce the world to the readers so they can understand the changes that will happen in the future. It is important to get to know this magical new land and characters and understand the current state of affairs just so we can understand all of the uprisings and riots. On the other hand, I believe it can be done in a more interesting way. People said to me that the second half of the book was better… I disagree… the book is 370 pages long and I think I actually enjoyed the last 70 pages. As much as I wanted to enjoy this new world, I don't know why were there 300 pages about something that was not worked out properly anyway...
Several people asked me if they should read The Cruel Prince. I told them that it is a classic YA book and they should not expect too much from it then they might like it. I was expecting a great read and now I am disappointed. I don’t regret reading this book and I know I read worse books… but I also read better ones… Will I read the second book in the series The Wicked King? I don't know, maybe I will buy it when it is on sale ten years from now...
No comments:
Post a Comment