I’m very blessed to have a best friend in Stagey Bookish that is such a passionate and supportive member of the Booktube community. It means that we can share our love of books, as well as theatre – I can always count on her to introduce me to new authors and sometimes I think she knows my taste in books better than I do with the recommendations she gives me! My fourth book of 2020 was one such: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

To start off with a full and frank disclosure: I’m an absolute sucker for the fantasy genre; I love the allure of getting lost in worlds so different to my own, and the scope it gives for epic world building and character development. That in mind, me and the first book in the Folk of The Air trilogy were already on a good footing!

When they are seven, Jude and Taryn’s parents are murdered by Madoc, father to their half sister Vivi and he spirits the three of them away to the High Court of Faerie. Over the years, the twins do their best to adjust to life as mortals in a world where they’re unwelcome and despised for the most part. Taryn wishes to marry and have children, whilst Jude covets a place at court as a knight, and to be accepted by the Fae. She has a plan to do so, but in order to succeed she must defy the wicked Prince Cardan, youngest son of the High King, and navigate the politics, intrigue and sometimes deadly nature of the High Court.

“Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is more beautiful than the rest. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.”

One of the main reasons this book appealed to me is that though there’s an element of romance, its weaved in as part of the central plot idea: a young woman who wants to challenge convention and take the place she wants. It’s actually quite a dark novel in some ways: there’s murder, blackmail, humiliation and betrayal, and I adored it all the more because of those, I just find things with a darker edge capture and keep my interest more intensely. The romance itself is actually quite a slow burner, and though I’m not the biggest fan of the enemies to lovers idea I think it kept me engaged because it was framed against this more political/thriller type backdrop.

Character wise, I went through quite a rollercoaster with this read: my feelings towards many of them changed for the better and the worse depending on the plot, and I think part of why I love this universe so much, and if many character was supposed to be considered outright likeable or otherwise. I wondered if that conflict was her aim when Holly wrote this series. If it was, she certainly succeeded, and if that was something I took away myself then I hope that when I eventually get my novel out of my head and onto paper that my own cast of characters can evoke such intense reactions.

Take Cardan, for example. I vividly remember messaging Liv saying how much I hated him and that he was giving me serious Joffrey and Ramsay Bolton type vibes when I was early on in my reading – I statement I still stand by, to some degree. He’s arrogant, manipulative and does some absolutely vile things to Jude, Taryn and the rest of court, but as the novel and (indeed series) goes on his character become more complex as we learn about his upbringing and see him wrestle with how he feels about Jude.

Speaking of our heroine, I loved how ambitious and resourceful she is; she goes through some absolutely horrific stuff in the course of the book but never loses sight of her goal and how she’ll get there, even if that means becoming embroiled in violence and deceit.

“What they don’t realize is this: Yes, they frighten me, but I have always been scared, since the day I got here. I was raised by the man who murdered my parents, reared in a land of monsters. I live with that fear, let it settle into my bones, and ignore it. If I didn’t pretend not to be scared, I would hide under my owl-down coverlets in Madoc’s estate forever. I would lie there and scream until there was nothing left of me. I refuse to do that. I will not do that.”

I found it really striking to see a heroine embrace that ambition in herself, in so many books I’ve read the ladies change who they are for the guy, or vice versa; I like how this establishes them on an even footing and in that respect found the romance really satisfying!

 

The relationship between Jude, Taryn and Vivi will stay with me as one of my favourite things about this book. I haven’t come across relationships between siblings that I’ve loved so since Bowman & Kestrel in The Wind On Fire trilogy. As twins, Jude and Taryn are incredibly close, and that closeness is tested throughout the book, mainly through the secrets they keep. I enjoyed seeing how, despite their closeness, they want different things from life and how their dynamic is about them accepting those differences. Then, we add Vivi to the mix: the sister that’s truly Fae, but doesn’t actually want any part in that world. She’s somewhere in between Taryn’s sweetness & Jude’s hunger for power for me: she likes to sneak off back to the mortal world and hates the politics of court, but will come through for her sisters if they need her- she’s cheeky and I found that really endearing.

 

I spoke earlier about how I hope to create characters that evoke emotions in the way Holly’s do; the same is true for her worldbuilding: I found it really addictive! I adore books that can make me feel part of the world by really vivid descriptions and imagery, and I think she excels here: I loved how easily the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of this world were conjured up in my minds eye and I could picture everything. She also has a wonderful gift for evoking colours in particular and I want every single one of Oriana’s gowns!

I devoured this book in a week and it is definitely one of my favourites I’ve read so far this year! Stay tuned for some thoughts on The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing…