Book Review: The Cruel Prince
My first YA fantasy novel in a long time, but one that I am very glad I read!
I read this novel for a book club and it’s my first time in a long time reading YA Fantasy. I really liked this novel.
The standout in this novel is by far the characters. Our main character, Jude, is the driving force of the novel. There is no real overarching plot that I can clearly identify, however, the actual story is really Jude’s desires. If you like clear stakes this probably won’t be for you. She has goals but the manners of obtaining them aren’t super well explained.
There are three characters that each represent a different desire: Vivi who wants nothing more than to leave the fantasy world they’re in (Faerie), Taryn who wants to assimilate, and Jude who is caught in the middle of both wanting to conform in her own way and struggling with wanting to be in the human world.
The world building is okay but subtle and not a standout. If you’re looking for lots of lore, this book doesn’t have it. We get to see some of the customs through the characters. I do have a problem with the cruel prince (Cardan). He feels cartoonish in terms of why he does what he does. And, this is an “enemies to lovers” and “romantasy” book. So, even though I fully anticipated the two of them ending up together, there was no real build up. And, it was actually quite jarring for me when it does happen in Act III.
Occasionally, the audiobook narrator sounds different. I think some lines were re-recorded and it did jar me a bit but otherwise it was good.
The writing is approachable, clear, and easy to follow which is expected in YA. However, this does bring to me another note: as a YA novel it is rather dark at times (which I appreciated). There’s death, murder, and extreme cruelty--even the prologue starts off strong with it. Sometimes the big cast of secondary characters can make it difficult to follow, but it’s not to the point it inhibited my reading.
Lastly, the novel does sit well as a full story, start to finish, while leaving room for a sequel. Sometimes books (even my own first book Missing Among the Stars) ends on a cliffhanger or on the heels of a second book. Luckily, this one actually functions as a proper ending to the story (but it is a series).
I recommend reading this book if you’re looking for an approachable, spicy-less, fantasy. It’s sorta kinda high fantasy (but it’s really just Fae and Humans if I recall correctly).
