I read the Magisterium Series by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare a few years ago. I hadn't read any Holly Black books before that, but I absolutely love that series so I was really excited to read this book, especially since it was the exact genre of YA fiction that I loved.
I was pretty much hooked to this book since the beginning. The main character - Jude - is one of my personal favorite female protagonists. I know in the Cruel Prince fandom she tends to get a lot of hate, and I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's something in the later books? To me, Jude is an example of an amazing female character. She's strong, but not in a way that seems cliche or built to fit the trope of a "strong female character" that only seems to be weak when it comes to her love interest. Jude is smart, powerful, and ruthless when she needs to be, but also convincingly human. She has self-doubt, insecurities, and weaknesses that any teenager her age would relate to. Yet, despite these apparent weaknesses, she will do anything and everything to get what she needs to get done. That's what makes her an empowering female character instead of a cookie-cutter one.
As for Cardan, I loved his character (almost) as much as Jude's. I've heard about Cardan from the book community more than once, and I went into this book expecting him to be a typical dark-haired arrogant love interest with a god complex. Some of my assumptions ended up being right - see "god complex" - but in others, I was pleasantly surprised. I believe this has to be the first fantasy-YA-romance I've read where the female in the relationship is genuinely stronger than the male. I mean, sure, Cardan's a bully for the majority of the book, and that might seem a little scary. But I find it hard to imagine Cardan fulfilling the knight in shining armor rescuing the poor, helpless Jude trope. If anything, it would be the other way around - and again, I love it.
As for the plot as a whole, I have nothing to complain about. The story keeps a steady pace that is just fast enough to keep you interested for most of the book. There are parts that keep you on the edge of your seat, and in the other parts, you're still invested enough to keep reading. I came to this book after reading through as much as I could of A Court of Thorns and Roses before I had to stop since, personally, I'm not a huge Sarah J Maas Fan, so I was a little skeptical of going into another book about the 'fey' world. However, Holly Black does her fictional setting justice. The world of the fey from Jude's perspective is beautiful and also slightly odd, just how I love fantasy worlds to be. The giant toads are my personal favorite detail.
Overall, this is a great book to read if you're a fan of character-driven fantasy teen fiction books with good female protagonists. I'm SO excited to read the next book!
I was pretty much hooked to this book since the beginning. The main character - Jude - is one of my personal favorite female protagonists. I know in the Cruel Prince fandom she tends to get a lot of hate, and I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's something in the later books? To me, Jude is an example of an amazing female character. She's strong, but not in a way that seems cliche or built to fit the trope of a "strong female character" that only seems to be weak when it comes to her love interest. Jude is smart, powerful, and ruthless when she needs to be, but also convincingly human. She has self-doubt, insecurities, and weaknesses that any teenager her age would relate to. Yet, despite these apparent weaknesses, she will do anything and everything to get what she needs to get done. That's what makes her an empowering female character instead of a cookie-cutter one.
As for Cardan, I loved his character (almost) as much as Jude's. I've heard about Cardan from the book community more than once, and I went into this book expecting him to be a typical dark-haired arrogant love interest with a god complex. Some of my assumptions ended up being right - see "god complex" - but in others, I was pleasantly surprised. I believe this has to be the first fantasy-YA-romance I've read where the female in the relationship is genuinely stronger than the male. I mean, sure, Cardan's a bully for the majority of the book, and that might seem a little scary. But I find it hard to imagine Cardan fulfilling the knight in shining armor rescuing the poor, helpless Jude trope. If anything, it would be the other way around - and again, I love it.
As for the plot as a whole, I have nothing to complain about. The story keeps a steady pace that is just fast enough to keep you interested for most of the book. There are parts that keep you on the edge of your seat, and in the other parts, you're still invested enough to keep reading. I came to this book after reading through as much as I could of A Court of Thorns and Roses before I had to stop since, personally, I'm not a huge Sarah J Maas Fan, so I was a little skeptical of going into another book about the 'fey' world. However, Holly Black does her fictional setting justice. The world of the fey from Jude's perspective is beautiful and also slightly odd, just how I love fantasy worlds to be. The giant toads are my personal favorite detail.
Overall, this is a great book to read if you're a fan of character-driven fantasy teen fiction books with good female protagonists. I'm SO excited to read the next book!