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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.
As you may have all noticed, this is the first book that doesn’t have a five-star rating here in my blog. Please don’t feel alarmed, this book is actually great. The reason why I gave it a 3-out of 5 stars rating has more to do with myself rather than the book itself.
Let’s start with the title.
My thoughts? Perfect. I honestly love the title. It’s actually the only reason why I read it in the first place because if I’m being honest, the synopsis didn’t kill me. It could have been better because the story has so much potential in it.
Now let’s focus on Jude Duarte, the main character and our heroine. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m very judgy when it comes to character’s names. And Jude Duarte is definitely not topping my list when it comes to favourite character names. First of all, the name Jude is alright, not my favourite, but I guess it is a nice name. My problem is with her last name. Duarte. So many beautiful last names in Spanish (and I should know since I live in the Dominican Republic) and she (Holly Black) had to choose that one in particular. Duarte is the last name of the DR’s most notorious founding father, he is the equivalent to George Washington over here, so it was kind of awkward seeing his last name slotted there.
But things like names are the least significant, especially in a book like this.
I enjoy fiction. I love fiction. But whenever I read fiction, I don’t usually go for fantasy. Lord of the Rings? I enjoy the movies, but the books are not something I can say I have read (although I’m kind of looking forward to it). Same with Harry Potter. Believe me, I know it sounds bad, I KNOW, but I really can’t help it. It’s simply not my thing.
Why read this then?
Like I said before, the title.
I’m a sucker for anything medieval that involves kings and princes and royal romances and dark, gory twisted love triangles. When I first read the title, I had already created a whole movie inside my head. I imagined this book to be centred around a prince, a cruel one, a dark character. And a girl, most presumably one who tries to change him (cliche, I know, don’t judge me). And we all know how that one goes.
Instead, I was in for a hell of a ride.
I can’t say I didn’t get my fair share of a dark, cruel prince. But it wasn’t quite how I expected it. Instead of focusing the story on Jude’s and Cardan’s relationship, the author chose to focus the story on Jude. Jude’s coming of age, Jude fighting her way in the Faerie Court and becoming someone by her own merits. Jude. Jude. Jude. In this story, Cardan (the prince) is nothing more than a side character who poses a slightly important role. After all, he is Jude’s major tormentor.
I guess you could say that what the author did here is innovative. I’ll explain. Usually, this type of fantastic narratives, when the protagonist is a female, don’t focus as much on what is actually going on and what the female character is doing to fight her through as much as they focus on the romantic aspect of the story. Usually, the adventure and badassery are left in a second plane, and the plot line follows much more closely the female and her romantic interest. However, if you take this exact same setting and do the only change of swapping the gender of the main character, the whole narrative changes exponentially.
The story is not focused on the romance, it now focuses on the battles, the danger, the adventure.
And romance is left on a second plane. Random dalliances here and there, and most unusually a single romantic interest that seems unattainable and far away.
Yet, The Cruel Prince didn’t follow this pattern. Holly Black gave this story all the characteristics of a normal fantasy tale, yet treated it as if the main character were a man and not a woman.
“What could I become if I stopped worrying about death, about pain, about anything? If I stopped trying to belong? Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear.”
And that is great. More than great, actually. It’s another step towards gender equality, believe it or not.
But I’m not here to talk about gender equality.
No.
I’m here to talk to you about something even better.
Freaking Cardan Greenbriar
sigh
“Get down on your knees, Beg. Make it pretty. Flowery. Worthy of me.”
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? No bitch. This is Prince Cardan Greenbriar of Elfhame.
Prince Cardan is cruel, sarcastic, prideful and manipulative. But he is the kind of cruel, sarcastic, prideful and manipulative that girls fall over for. At least I did, even if he spent the whole book being an asshole towards Jude.
From a realistic point of view, Cardan is an ass. The perfect representation of a chauvinist and egocentric male. But I can’t help loving him, and by doing so I fall into the typical stereotype of a female reader (for others, the typical woman) who cheers on abusive relationships and condescending male characters, but hey, sue me. Cardan deep down isn’t that bad.
Plus, Jude can defend herself perfectly.
They don’t really start a romance, except for that one kiss almost at the end of the book, but all along its easy to tell that the reason why Cardan hates Jude so much (besides his jealousy) is because he is crazy about her.
He leans in and closes his eyes. “Most of all, I hate you because I think of you. Often. It’s disgusting, and I can’t stop.”
He is head over heels for her. He wants her, and it disgusts him. He hates wanting her. He hates himself for wanting her. But oh boy, does he want her.
It’s all pretty comical now that I think about it. Because Jude hates him, she truly does. But after his little confession in Chapter 25, she sees him in a different light. She now wants him as well. And really, since the very beginning, she makes it clear that she finds him prettier than the rest
“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.”
YEAH SURE
YOU CAN’T BREATHE BECAUSE YOU LIKE HIM
And yeah, sometimes it be like that
And yes, I know I’ve been focusing only on the barely there romantic aspect of the story, but really, I can’t help it. I’m just a sucker for romance, wherever I manage to find it.
Let’s not even mention her affair with Locke.
I never dug it. Since the very beginning, my fangirl heart had been set on Jardan (Jude+Cardan FYI). I was always a little suspicious of Locke anyway, and wow, he really showed what a douchebag he was one the truth about who was Taryn’s sweetheart was out. And shame on Taryn as well. Sisters before misters. You just don’t do that, at all. You don’t do that to a friend, especially if that friend is your FREAKING TWIN SISTER.
The same twin sister who risked her life in order to keep Cardan and his bullies away from you, Taryn. Shame on you.
Despite everything, I enjoyed the book.
Jude’s complicated relationship with her adoptive father is one of the things I admire the most about the book. Although Madoc killed her parents, he was the one who raised her, and in his own way, he loved her. It was kind of a Thanos-Gamora situation.
At one point I must admit I thought Prince Dain and Jude would end up together, or that maybe Dain would end up killing Jude. However, I was truly surprised by his invitation for Jude to form part of the Court of Shadows.
Something I didn’t like? The sudden and completely unexpected plot twist at the very, very end of the story.
How come Oak is the youngest heir to the throne of Elfhame and we find out at the end? Conveniently, Oak’s little secret is exposed at the exact moment when a new heir is needed. I mean, I guess it is kind of a neat move on behalf of the author, but honestly, it just feels forced, a little.
In all honesty, the only reason I didn’t give this book a 5 out of 5 was that I’m not really a fan of fantasy, and not only that, I feel like there could have been more. More of what? I don’t know, really.
In conclusion, The Cruel Prince is an awesome book. To those of you who enjoy strong, female characters, Jude Duarte is for you. For those who enjoy dark romance, Cardan is your guy. And for those who simply want to enjoy a good fantasy book, The Cruel Prince will prove to be more than satisfactory.
The Book Stall 