Title: The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)
Author: Holly Black
Date Read: January 20th 2017
Published: January 2nd 2018 @ Little, Brown
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
"What could I become if I stopped worrying about death, about pain, about anything? What if I stopped trying to belong? Instead of being afraid, I could become something to fear."
This is the first time since I started doing reviews and following the book community that I've read a book in the midst of its hype, right after its release, and I'm glad that I did if only because it's exciting to be swept up in the madness. And while this wasn't the most amazing book I've ever read in my life, this was a well-crafted and engaging novel with a lyrical writing style well-suited to its subject matter.
Jude, a human teenager, starts her story by being whisked away to the land of Faerie alongside her two sisters, Taryn and Vivienne, after their parents are murdered. She grows up in the faerie court among the gentry, hyperaware of her own inadequacies in comparison to the lovely and cruel fey. As such, she is constantly grasping for the tiniest bit of power and control over her life, which leads to her being caught up in the political machinations of court just as the king plans to abdicate the throne to one of his sons.
I'm not usually a fan of books about the fey, largely because I find the lore surrounding them confusing, but I loved Holly Black's Tithe series when I was in middle school and I think she does a very good job of creating a lush atmosphere of magic that implies the lore without completely overwhelming the reader. Because we follow Jude at the age of seventeen, having spent ten years among the fey, there are things that she as a narrator takes for granted that Black trusts her audience to pick up or leave based on importance to the current narrative. Things like the different types of fey and the way that the different courts work are touched on, but they aren't dumped on the reader's shoulders just for the sake of it. It worked well for this story to have an impression of these things without having the information drag down the pace and intensity of the story.
In terms of plot, this was tightly crafted, if a little predictable. There were no reveals throughout the story that I hadn't seen coming, and at times I had an incredibly difficult time believing that Jude (who was oftentimes rash but never implied to be stupid) didn't see certain twists and events miles away. What saves this from being seriously detrimental to my enjoyment of the story is that the execution and narrative flow are beautifully done. The suspense is always present, and while Jude has her flaws, I consistently rooted for her. We love a vengeful queen.
Which, sadly, brings me to my real gripe with this book: the inconsistency of Jude. There were instances where I felt very connected to her as a character, I felt outraged at the way she was treated and I congratulated her when she got one over on those who had wronged her. But there were these other moments where her thoughts and her actions were so at odds with one another that I was completely pulled from the story. Sometimes she thinks extensively about how to achieve her ends without causing harm, sometimes she doesn't think at all, and sometimes she shows a very purposeful disregard for others, and there doesn't seem to be any attempt to reconcile these different levels of motivation and sacrifice except for just... how she's feeling in the moment, I guess? It feels like this might have been an attempt to make her seem more reckless, and more like a wildcard, but this turned out to be unsuccessful for me, seeing as the story is focalized through this character, and we as an audience are privy to her internal monologue.
I did, however, adore the complexities of the supporting cast. No one in this novel is really good or really evil, and all are subject to the ruin that comes with desire and ambition. Particularly, I really appreciated Madoc and Oriana's characters, and their relationships to Jude and Taryn, showing a complicated and broken household that is shadowed with past abuses. While Madoc never lays a hand on Jude or Taryn, he is still their parents' murderer, and the narrative approached this theme of loving one's abuser in a tactful and poignant way.
Overall, I'd say this was a beautifully lyrical novel with tight pacing and a perfect atmosphere. It misstepped sometimes, but not enough to hinder my enjoyment of the story. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.
Jude, a human teenager, starts her story by being whisked away to the land of Faerie alongside her two sisters, Taryn and Vivienne, after their parents are murdered. She grows up in the faerie court among the gentry, hyperaware of her own inadequacies in comparison to the lovely and cruel fey. As such, she is constantly grasping for the tiniest bit of power and control over her life, which leads to her being caught up in the political machinations of court just as the king plans to abdicate the throne to one of his sons.
I'm not usually a fan of books about the fey, largely because I find the lore surrounding them confusing, but I loved Holly Black's Tithe series when I was in middle school and I think she does a very good job of creating a lush atmosphere of magic that implies the lore without completely overwhelming the reader. Because we follow Jude at the age of seventeen, having spent ten years among the fey, there are things that she as a narrator takes for granted that Black trusts her audience to pick up or leave based on importance to the current narrative. Things like the different types of fey and the way that the different courts work are touched on, but they aren't dumped on the reader's shoulders just for the sake of it. It worked well for this story to have an impression of these things without having the information drag down the pace and intensity of the story.
In terms of plot, this was tightly crafted, if a little predictable. There were no reveals throughout the story that I hadn't seen coming, and at times I had an incredibly difficult time believing that Jude (who was oftentimes rash but never implied to be stupid) didn't see certain twists and events miles away. What saves this from being seriously detrimental to my enjoyment of the story is that the execution and narrative flow are beautifully done. The suspense is always present, and while Jude has her flaws, I consistently rooted for her. We love a vengeful queen.
Which, sadly, brings me to my real gripe with this book: the inconsistency of Jude. There were instances where I felt very connected to her as a character, I felt outraged at the way she was treated and I congratulated her when she got one over on those who had wronged her. But there were these other moments where her thoughts and her actions were so at odds with one another that I was completely pulled from the story. Sometimes she thinks extensively about how to achieve her ends without causing harm, sometimes she doesn't think at all, and sometimes she shows a very purposeful disregard for others, and there doesn't seem to be any attempt to reconcile these different levels of motivation and sacrifice except for just... how she's feeling in the moment, I guess? It feels like this might have been an attempt to make her seem more reckless, and more like a wildcard, but this turned out to be unsuccessful for me, seeing as the story is focalized through this character, and we as an audience are privy to her internal monologue.
I did, however, adore the complexities of the supporting cast. No one in this novel is really good or really evil, and all are subject to the ruin that comes with desire and ambition. Particularly, I really appreciated Madoc and Oriana's characters, and their relationships to Jude and Taryn, showing a complicated and broken household that is shadowed with past abuses. While Madoc never lays a hand on Jude or Taryn, he is still their parents' murderer, and the narrative approached this theme of loving one's abuser in a tactful and poignant way.
Overall, I'd say this was a beautifully lyrical novel with tight pacing and a perfect atmosphere. It misstepped sometimes, but not enough to hinder my enjoyment of the story. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.
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