The Cruel Prince
Trust me, when I say that The Cruel Prince was the BEST book I read in 2020 so far, it is quite a big deal. I mean, oh my GOSH how did I not pick this book up before? This book has become my next favorite thing after the A Court of Thorns and Roses series. It was so delightfully unpredictable, I couldn’t even know where the book was leading at all and I LOVED that my smartass mind couldn’t figure it out.
The Faerieland was described so marvelously, and so magically, and so beautifully, and yet I did not wish to visit it as a merry mortal. Damn, that place is so horrifying for us. But it’s surely an amazing place to visit if you’re a Fae. Go and have a visit there if you’re a fae and immortal.
Even though I’m a mortal, the intricate and amazingly designed dresses and jewelry made me all greedy to have a real look through their world for some extravagant shopping.
🚨Spoilers Alert🚨
⚠️Look Away⚠️
The story started with an epic bang, with Madoc – a greenish skinned fae murdering Jude’s real parents in front of her very eyes in the mortal world when she was only 7, and then kidnapping her and her sisters to his peculiar, interesting Faerieland. Honestly, I had not expected the starting of this book to be so unbelievably intense. And I couldn’t believe how the author made it impossible for me to hate Madoc afterwards even though he did so wrong. That’s a talent that needs appreciation, folks.
My first impression on Cardan: My goodness he’s such an asshole, why did people love him? This was the first time I wanted to kick a boy right in the ass, oh wait, not the first time, the second time. The first boy was my little monster cousin from hell who had decided to make every second of my existence hell when we were at my grandma’s place. ANYHOW, my feelings for him changed so smoothly, and by the end of the book, I was like: Oh my poor baby boy Cardan you deserve all the love of Faerieland and all the happiness there is in your world. However, and I might be hated for this, but him bullying Jude and many other people around him was in no way acceptable, and I will not walk past it until he redeems himself and actually feels sorry about it. I will always have that tiny resentment towards him.
Jude was such an inspirational personality – ask my friend; she buddy read it with me - I loved how she fought with her fear, how she stood up for herself and how she never gave up. My impression on her twin sister, Taryn, was the complete opposite. I could not like her from the beginning, and my hate towards her increased by the end. The way she betrayed her sister by letting her secret boyfriend mess around with Jude’s feelings as she sat and watched, only for winning Locke over was in no way acceptable. I don’t think my feelings toward her would change anytime soon. And Locke. Locke can go straight to hell is all I care about.
Overall, I loved this book so much! It’s a total 5 out of 5 stars from me.
The Wicked King
It’s unfair for you to play with an individual’s feeble heart just because you CAN, Holly Black. I love you, but I also hate you for writing such an intense and excruciatingly compelling novel. I was glued to the book for the last 4 days, you can know from that little detail how much the book compelled me to read on. When my friends told me The Wicked King would be better than its first book (The Cruel Prince), I couldn’t believe them. I mean, HOW could a book be better than that? BUT my goodness, I was AMAZED at the level of entertainment I received from this book.
I ended up loving all the characters I had loved in the first book doubly and ended up hating the ones I did even more. I loved how the author was able to make us love and hate the characters according to her will. Just like Victoria Aveyard had said, Holly Black is indeed a Faerie Queen.
I am going to keep this review spoiler free and only say that this series will definitely keep you entertained, and at some points, you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, and you’ll constantly freak out and would feel like talking to someone about the story just like I did. So if you decide on reading this, know that I’m here for you!
5/5 stars for this fantastic piece of artwork. “Pain makes you strong, Madoc once told me, making me lift a sword again and again. Get used to the weight.”
The Queen of Nothing
Amazing, fantastic, marvelous, wonderful, out of the world, awesome - ok, I’m out of adjectives, but what I’m not out of is my love for The Cruel Prince series. This is the quickest fantasy book series I ever read, so if you’re looking to read a fantasy novel with minimal commitments, The Cruel Prince will be perfect for you. It only has 3 books, and is short – if you compare it with other fantasy novels.
- Review for The Queen of Nothing –
- Spoilers Alert –
- Look Away –
I loved Cardan the best in The Queen of Nothing, he grew up to be such a kind king and his love for Jude felt so special. However, I could not find the only thing I was looking for the most in the book - more romance between Cardan and Jude. By the time Jude had confessed her love for Cardan, it didn’t feel satisfactory enough. So many things remained unsaid. It seemed to me like Cardan loved Jude more than she loved him, and I wanted her to prove me wrong.
As a lover of details, I wish there was more details on everything, like the war, schemes, Vivi and Heather’s relationship, Madoc and Oriana’s life in the mortal world, and the letters that were sent out by Cardan that never reached Jude.
Oh god. The letters,
That truth still hurts, knowing that Jude never got to know the desperate, loving words Cardan had sent to her when she thought she was in exile. We, as women, love men who are all arrogant and heedless about everything on earth apart from us – men who are crazy desperate for you and your love and attention only, that does it for us. I am still at unease knowing she’ll never get to read the letters.
I hated Taryn so much in The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King, but I loved how Taryn changed in this book, she turned into the good sister she was supposed to be. I love how she made us like and trust her again. What I loved more was the fact that there might come a scene between The Ghost and Taryn in the future and I’m so thrilled!
Of all the things I wished happened in this book, I really wish Cardan hadn’t turned into a serpent. I know it’s a fantasy series, and it’s supposed to be outrageous, but still, this was just too weird. It made me think for many seconds how unreal everything was when I didn’t think that way throughout the whole series.
Wow, I spoke a lot. 4 out of 5 stars.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
I had been looking forward into reading How The King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black since August 2020, so when I read it first thing this year, the book almost looked up to all my expectations. *Almost.*
I got introduced to a side of Cardan that was a mystery to us before – an emotional, sophisticated side of him that I fell in love with all over again. I got to see a deeper part of him that was beyond his wicked mind and sharp tongue. We also got a glimpse of Cardan and Nicasia’s relationship and their scandalous breakup which was super fun to read. The illustrations inside the book were so beautiful, and even though I am a reader who loves words more than pictures, I had to stop a minute to admire the artworks.
However, I was once again hoping to get more of the Cardan and Jude chemistry in this book which I hadn’t gotten in The Queen of Nothing, but I still couldn’t get it. There was a tale in between the story which was constantly under a highlight, and it was something that was repeated thrice. I found that kind of tiresome to read through as it sounded almost always the same but with a different ending. I really expected to read the things the author couldn’t add in her last book, but unfortunately I was still not fully satisfied.
I will keep my first book review of 2021 precise and only say this: whatever my complains might be; as it’s a Holly Black book, you’d definitely love the story and the characters a lot none the less. 3.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Comments