Review: The Cruel Prince & The Wicked King

Hello, lovelies! I’m Marta and today I’m going to write some reviews (a series review?) of The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King and The Lost Sisters. I’ve started The Cruel Prince on a whim because everybody was talking about it and raving about how good it was and since it has faes, I was like “okay, let’s do it!”. You might remember that I also put it on my list of books to read before 2019 here – I’ve accomplished something, I read something off a planned TBR, omg, who am I?

I enjoyed the series, binge read it even, I’ve rated all of the books 4 stars because I’ve had some minor issues with all of them, mostly because I was deceived and hurt and I’m still heartbroken. Holly Black, how dare you destroy me like this? Who gave you the right?

To give you a brief idea about what the book is about… 

Jude is a human girl living in the High Court of Faerie along with her twin sister and her half-fae, half-human sister. They have been stolen away by the murderer of their parents and the father of Vivienne (Jude’s half sister), who’s the General of Fae. The first book explores how Jude and Taryn try to find their places in the Court of Faerie, always feeling like they don’t quite fit in because they’re humans. They both get caught up in a lot of fae intrigue, mischief, betrayals and even murders.

I won’t tell you a lot about the second book because it’s a bit hard not to spoil things that happened in the first one. But let me tell you that it doesn’t suffer from the sequel syndrome, it’s probably even better than the first.

Anyway, let’s get into mini-reviews of each of the book!

 

I think Jude is one of my favorite female characters because she’s so complex, she’s not a basic strong female character, she has layers upon layers upon layers of complexity. She is kind and loyal to her family, but also has a deep hunger for power and recognition, can be cruel and sly. She’s definitely one of the best developed characters I’ve read about in YA literature.

Cardan annoyed me at first, I didn’t know what you all saw in him because he was cruel and kept on bullying Jude without motive. But then The Wicked King came and The Lost Sister, I started understanding him and yes, he wins the award for the best redemption arc in the history. Also, he wins the award for the person who’s most likely to mess up everything. I can’t forgive him yet for that trick he pulled in the Wicked King. 

Their chemistry was off the charts, so much angst, it was the slowest slow burn I’ve read probably. And even now as their story progressed in The Wicked King, I feel like they are far, far away from each other. They have so many things to solve, but I have a lot of trust in Holly Black that she’ll make up for this mess.

I’m happy that The Lost Sisters made me understand Cardan’s actions in The Cruel Prince a little bit better, but I still don’t like or have any sympathy for Taryn and Locke, they can disappear forever and I wouldn’t miss them.

I love the political intrigue in this series, the many schemes and strategies. I just adore reading a book that makes me feel like I’m watching a thrilling chess game with turns and twists everywhere.

I also adored the family aspects, how despite the betrayals and the misdeeds, they still love each other and would die for each other. So many mixed feelings in the narrative, I swear.

The world building was exceptional, everything was so atmospheric in this book, I just wanted to step into the book and get lost into the beautiful forests of Faerie.

I never knew what to expect because especially in the second book, things happen all the time, you have no idea who to trust. Everyone betrays someone, everyone has ulterior motives for doing what they are doing. It’s mind-blowing and I loved every minute of my reading experience.

I’m also dying a little bit knowing that I’ll have to wait so long to read The Queen of Nothing, especially considering that plot twist in The Wicked King. If you’re wiser than I am, maybe wait a bit longer and read all of them at once.

“Nice things don’t happen in storybooks. Or when they do happen, something bad happens next. Because otherwise the story would be boring, and no one would read it.” 

Did you read this series? Are you enjoying it so far?

Who’s your favourite character? Talk to me, I have feelings!