“Cruel Prince” by New York Times Bestselling author Holly Black has been a prominant member of #BookTok lists, a trend on TikTok where readers share their favorite reads.
“Cruel Prince” takes place in the fantasy world of Faerieland where everyone has some kind of magical power. The main character, Jude, along with her twin sister (Taryn) and older sister (Vivienne), were taken from their homes in the real world when they were seven and nine years old, respectively. They had just witnessed their parents get stabbed with a sword, an unexpected event..
The girls’ mother was a human and lived in Faerieland married to the Fae, Madoc. Their mother then got fed up of the world and shipped her daughter Vivienne to the mortal world. Their mother then married Jude and Taryn’s father. Madoc discovered that his wife had cheated him out of fatherhood and took it upon himself to dispose of the parents and take the sisters under his wing.
They were stolen away, destined to live with Vivienne’s biological father. Jude and Taryn, unlike their older sister, are completely human. In a place like Elfhame, humans are not treated kindly to. They are weak and disposable in the eyes of Fae, so this makes life for Jude and Taryn extremely difficult.
Taryn is a kind-hearted and understanding soul who tries her hardest to keep her and her twin out of any trouble that a run-in with Fae could cause. Unfortunately, Jude is the complete opposite. Jude has made a mortal enemy with the High Fae’s children, Prince Cardan. After one too many run-ins, Cardan, as the royal reject and least favorite heir, decided that his life’s mission was to torment Jude and make her life miserable.
Jude, in turn, will not take any of the bait that Cardan throws at her. Throughout the story, Jude discovers her own way to taunt Cardan and get under his skin in her own manner of trickery and deceit.
“Cruel Prince” is a fast-paced and addictive story. It has romance, adventure and deep-rooted betrayal in an epic plot.
“If I can not be better than them, I will be so much worse.”