The Cruel Prince

"This book was not really for me. I admittedly don't read much fantasy but I don't think that was the problem. I listened to this through an audiobook, otherwise I don't think I would've made it to the end. The plot was interesting enough, but I didn't like a single character, not even the MC/narrator, Jude. Multiple things were repeated throughout the whole book, think of Princess Bride's famous quote "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." which is repeated several times in the movie, except in this book, that pattern is unironic. I couldn't understand what the purpose of repeating these things was. Saying it a second time, okay the author wants to emphasize it's important, but three, four, maybe more times?? I'm not an idiot that needs to be told this same thing over and over, I know you hate these people, it's been made ABUNDANTLY clear. The MC is also majorly flawed, she comes off to me as very selfish, judgemental and somewhat hypocritical, in that she criticizes so many around her but she also wants to be like them, and in their position I don't think she'd be any different, she may even be worse. She also sees people as pretty black and white, if they're "bad", she doesn't want to acknowledge even the possibility of them being good, and that's actually quite plainly stated in the book. This is mainly an issue for me, because I feel like as a reader I'm supposed to be rooting for her, and I can't. Anyway, my overall rating is 5/10, and while I'm inclined to round down, I'll round up for the audiobook that helped me enjoy the book more than I know I would've had I read it in the traditional manner. 3/5🧚‍♀️ "

"the betrayal at the end is crazy"

"Young Jude and her sisters are ripped from their ordinary, happy life when there parents are murdered in front of them. With no where else to go the sisters are introduced to the supernatural world they could only imagine. Now grown, Jude must fight to fit in the only world she now knows along the mortal-hating-fae. Among them the royal fae whom nothing makes him happier than to watch Jude suffer. Amazing audiobook read, found a good book to obsess upon!"

"This is one of my all time favorite series and perhaps my greatest comfort read! This was the third time I've read this book, and I still love it just as much as the first time I picked it up! Jude and Cardan are some of my favorite characters ever! I love them both so much! The plot is intriguing, the world building amazing, and the characters are, in my opinion, perfection! Enemies to lovers, slow burn, and plenty court intrigue/politics! 100/10 would recommend!"

"Reading Holly Black's work is never a hard thing to do. Her writing style makes for fun reading and you go through the story without ever feeling stuck or bored with a part. Her books are nice when you want the fantasy but don't want the work that some high fantasies make you put in before you know what the heck is going on. I like those too, it's just nice sometimes to have a nice fairy story that you can jump right into without having to be confused and figuring out the world first."

"Great!! Just perfect!!😆"

"I dnf this the first time through because let's be SO FOR REAL, nothing good even happens until after the first 200 pages. People glaze over the bad plot because they want to get to the 'oh so good' enemies to lovers. This book is extremely overrated. I am going to continue the series, as it has peaked my interest (only slightly) but I wouldn't be surprised if I dnf another book in the series or if I just forget about it all together. Please, guys, let's stop glazing over books with a bad plot just because the writing is good or just because the tropes are 'to die for.' This book should never be anything more than a 3 star rating. "

"Enemies to lovers!! Carden is pretty cool but I didn’t like Taryn 🙄 Jude was badass and I enjoyed her dynamic with Carden "

"Book 1 Elfhame Series- dark fae fantasy where being human is not only bad but dangerous. Jude is determined to not let her humanity get her down but the cruel prince keeps getting in her way"

"The enemies to lovers was enemies to lovering. The plot was good. Action packed. The ending was good. Can’t wait to read the sequel. "