Thursday, March 29, 2018

Review: The Cruel Prince



The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Goodreads/Amazon



Jude was seven years old 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. 
In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war 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.



The Cruel Prince is a very promising start to a new series which I am undeniably excited for. Holly Black is such an amazing writer. I loved her Curse Workers series and I'm glad to have found a new piece of work from her.

This book is definitely causing a storm in the book world. There's so many good reviews on Goodreads, blogs, and YouTube. While I didn't love it as much as some people, I definitely enjoyed it. (The hype might have ruined it a bit for me!)

THAT ENDING THOUGH. The ending has me itching for the next book. 

I'm getting ahead of myself though. So what do I love about this book? I love that this book doesn't hold back on the dangerous, feral quality of the fae. They are bullies. They are powerful. They will kill your parents. They will make it their mission to torture you. There were some fae *cough cough you-know-which-one-if-you-read-the-book* who I loathed. 

At some points I was close to yelling at the main character, Jude. DON'T DO THAT! DON'T TRUST THIS OR THAT PERSON etc. Sometimes I did question her judgement. Also, the bullying scenes were hard to read sometimes. 

I was intrigued by all the family, sister, and friend dynamics. Jude has a twin sister and a half sister. And they are all very, very different. And Jude's relationship with Madoc is so complicated and hard. He murdered her parents, but he's really the only parent figure she's known. It's all very interesting, especially toward the very end. 

I was pretty sucked in by the story. I felt a disconnect from Jude sometimes but I think future books will create a better connection between reader and character. So, in conclusion, I highly recommend The Cruel Prince. It's definitely cruel and dangerous. And the twist/cliff-hanger(ish) is a killer one. Now comes the wait for book two. 





Monday, March 26, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Take Place In Another Country



Visiting other countries is amazing. I dream of seeing new places and getting out of the United States can feel so very freeing. However, trips are expensive. So what's a fun alternative? Books, duh! :)

So, here's my top ten books that take place in different countries!


The United Kingdom 
There's like a million books I love set in the UK:
Harry Potter
obviously
Murder Most Unladylike
Some good old British fun. This is my favorite middle grade series at the moment. I love the female friendship and quirky mystery solving.
Clockwork Angel
The whole Infernal Devices Trilogy is such a love letter to London.

Australia
Saving Francesca
Melina Marchetti never disappoints and lots of her emotional, amazing novels take place in her home country.

Paris
Anna and the French Kiss
I will never get tired of singing its praises. Anna is hilarious and her descriptions of being an American in Paris are spot-on.

Prague 
Night of Cake and Puppets 
Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone series takes place partially in Prague. However, Night of Cake and Puppets takes place entirely there! These beautiful books make me want to visit so badly.

Antarctica
Up To This Pointe
Ballet and penguins? What more is there to ask for? I read this while at a ballet intensive as well... so that was cool!

Ancient Greece
The Song of Achilles
So I've raved about this one so much. It definitely transports you back to the myths of Ancient Greece. It's so well researched and I love Patroclus and Achilles so much.

Afghanistan
Kite Runner
This is a powerful classic that everyone should read. I really need to get my hands on more work by Khaled Hosseini!