The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black | 370 pages | 2018

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.

(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

I think I went into this one with the wrong expectations, so I was a bit let down. I was expecting a little more of a love story, and what was in there was pretty clumsy. I also apparently didn't realize it was YA, and my biggest issue was how immature the main character was. She was so petulant and naive that I had to keep reminding myself she's supposed to be 17 instead of 13. Also wasn't necessarily expecting the ties to the modern mortal world interspersed in the story, but I haven't quite decided if I like those or not. All that said, the variety of faeries and the fantastical setting we're really interesting, and this lays a foundation for a very cool political story arc (especially if the main character grows up a bit).

This would be an excellent pick for teens who prefer less romance and more fantasy or intrigue.