A great story with morally grey characters and I can't wait for The Wicked King!

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So far this year I’ve loved most of the books I’ve read, and things were no different with The Cruel Prince. I left this review a couple of days extra because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t post-reading feels that had me thinking it was amazing but the story is just so consuming that I know for sure it’s a 5 star read! I did debate between 4.5 and 5 stars… but really there was too much I loved about this book overall that I just couldn’t bring it down.

“IF I CANNOT BE BETTER THAN THEM, I WILL BE SO MUCH WORSE.”

The book is set out in two parts – with the last section being a lot smaller than the first. The point of view is from that of Jude, who has a twin sister (Taryn) and an older half sister who is half-fae (Vi). I think Vi was one of my favourite characters other than Jude, she’s a very interesting character and rebellious too. In terms of the sisters, it was interesting that although Vi fitted in the best in Faerie she was the one sister who wanted to escape as soon as possible. I loved the contrast between the twins too – one wanting to find her place in Faerie through love (Taryn) and the other wanting to prove her place there by becoming a knight (Jude).

“INSTEAD OF BEING AFRAID, I WILL BECOME SOMETHING TO FEAR.”

Jude is by no means a perfect main character, she has her flaws and has to make some difficult choices but personally I prefer seeing more complex characters like that. Her and her sisters have grown up in the world of Faerie, in the house of the Fae who had murdered their human parents – Madoc. Madoc himself was such a strange character, he was cruel and bloodthirsty yet treats Jude and Taryn as though they are his own daughters, which is massively contrasting to the way that the majority of the Faeries treat humans. I found myself very interested in the “Cruel Prince” himself – Prince Cardan – also. I was hoping for a Everless sort of reveal of his character fairly early on as, although he was most definitely horrible I couldn’t stop wishing it was all just an act. I really did love the character of Locke too. I thought he was such an intriguing character especially with this quote:

“IF I CAN’T FIND A GOOD ENOUGH STORY, I MAKE ONE.”

The above characters aren’t even half of the characters we’re introduced to either, but Holly adds so much to the story that they all fit in so well. The majority are subject to being involved in intricate subplots to the main story and every part fits together in a beautiful way.