The Cruel Prince

Book Name

The Cruel Prince

Author

Holly Black

Book Description

Jude, Vivi, and Taryn have all experienced a difficult childhood. They saw their parents get murdered right in front of their eyes and were then whisked away by a complete stranger to the land of Faerie. There, Jude and Taryn live as mortals, mocked and teased by everyone, while Vivi takes her rightful place among her fellow Faerie. Jude wants nothing more than to break the stereotypes against mortals. The Faerie believe that mortals are servants and that their sole duty is to serve. She wants to become a fighter, and so she trains. When she is offered a secretive role instead, she takes it immediately, but soon after that, everything begins to fall apart. Her family, the kingdom, and various other things change, and not for the better. Soon, everything that Jude has known has changed, and she must make some tough decisions in order for her to survive. Will Jude be able to push through? Or will she fall victim to the chaos going around her? Read the book to find out!

Age Rating

14+

This novel is appropriate for readers aged 14 or above. Firstly, this book has a LOT of content and concepts, and only readers with more mature minds will be able to keep track and connect these different ideas, something that needs to be done in order for the novel to make sense. Secondly, there is a lot of violence that goes on in the novel (details below). Some of this is described graphically and can be scary to some younger readers. There are also some adult topics as well (described below).

Good Messages

4/10

There aren’t a lot of good messages present in the book, but some of the ones that are there include love for family (seen through the close bond that the sisters have with each other) and never losing hope (seen through how Jude always hopes for a better life for herself).

Violence

8/10

There is a lot of violence in this novel. Right at the start of the book, there is a graphic description of the killing of the girls’ parents. Throughout the novel, there are graphic descriptions of fights that use swords and knives. Poison is mentioned a lot throughout the novel, and the reader even sees Jude training herself to drink poison. There are graphic descriptions of blood as well.

Language

Intensity: 3/10

Usage: 3/10

There isn’t a lot of bad language in this novel. Some of it includes words like d*mn and h*ll.

Romance

3/10

There is very little romance in this novel. Some of it includes Jude kissing some boys, and Taryn talking about her potential engagement to a boy. Vivi is also seen to have a relationship with someone.

Adult Topics

LGBTQ+ is mentioned in the story, as Vivi has a relationship with another girl. Prostitutes are mentioned as well.

Tvix’s Take

I definitely liked this book! I am a huge fan of fantasy and action, and this book definitely fulfilled my craving. I loved how the author didn’t fill up the novel with a ton of romance. I’ve read a lot of fantasy novels and a lot of times the romantic tension and content kind of override the story. But this had a perfect balance! I do think that it was slightly predictable. It was similar to a guilty pleasure because you know exactly what was coming. I think that I would recommend this novel to beginner fantasy readers, as I think it is the perfect way to introduce them to the genre. But I definitely think that this was a great book!