Joint Discussion: The Cruel Prince

Hello all! C and I will be discussing "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black. I a, in brown and Carole in blue. 

Author: Holly Black 

Title: The Cruel Prince

(The Folk of the Air #1)

Genre: Fantasy, YA

Pages: ebook

Published: January 2nd 2018

Where I Got It: Borrowed from the library

Jude was seven years old 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.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war 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.

After Maas *shudders* I wanted to try a YA Fae fantasy again, so we gave it a go ;) And I was pleasantly surprised! It was by no means amazing, but I’d say it was good enough.

It was a million times better! I actually didn’t do a lick of skimming like the other one ;).

Lol, no skimming from my part either! It was a light easy read with lots of darkness, but the writing flowed and she is a good author, I will give her that.

It was a light, easy read. Very dark though and I liked it. I’m glad she didn’t chicken out on that and make it fluffy. Faes are jerks and she really made sure we knew it. I liked her writing style a lot. Great world-building and the dialogue was good too.

Very interesting world, with lots of different Fae. And they are cruel and it shows. I liked the darkness. No fluff, I mean Maas was dark, but it was so DAMN fluffy in its darkness. Here it was more darker somehow.

It was a more honest and realistic darkness. No dark to just be dark.

Yes! Exactly, not dark just to be dark. You nailed it.

Ugh speaking of realistic-ness….I hate the majority of the characters. But I liked hating them. They were jerks! Jude was okay...but she was naive.

Haha, yes. Jude was ok, but I was not all I want to be her friends. Nah, she was too much of an idiot. Our dear cruel prince is an ahole by the biggest means. But I liked hating him and I understood him more at the end. Her twin, blergh, I hated her most of all. She puts women to shame. My favorite was Madoc, it’s just something about a man who kills his former wife and lover and takes care of their kids. Messed up

I have hope Jude will be better in the next. She is young and is messed up in the head. Hated the Prince. I do not want them to end up together. It does not compute in my brain! He is horrible and tried hurting her really bad. She would be a dummy to fall for that! And he hates humans. SOOO? Sighs. Ugh her twin “sister” was horrible. Madoc was fun. He was such a complex character and I adored it. Murdering, but loving. He was fun. I’m curious to see what is next for him.

It was my biggest fear. And I am sure it will happen, I hope it will make sense it does happen cos now, damn woman, are you stupid! WTF, stay away from him, do not even think it. DO NOT EVEN!

I was looking on Goodreads and there are so many fans that want them together to at least bang. NO!!!! Run woman run! I can’t see any scenario where he can justify all the terrible, horrible things he did and said. That is abuse and Madoc should’ve kicked his royal butt!

Ugh, ok so if it does happen, I hope she like sees the light and kills him or something.

Me too. Or maybe he’ll get knocked outside the head and become a different person? HAHAHA. That would be hilarious and karma-rific.

I like that, I guess even aholes can be forgiven if they grovel enough and if they ever say one aholey thing then let them hang

I suppose. But still. Bleh. And how will he forgive HER at the end there. No spoilers...but that is tough.

He is Fae, he should have striven to it. But yes let them not get together. But they so will, how could it else end? Arghhh I actually really need to know this! That is a good, the book made me want more. I bow to you Holly Black. I hate most of the characters and the main character is meh but I am still curious

Me too. That really does take a good storyteller. Not liking the characters, but still intrigued and wanting more. Kuddos there! I also really want to explore more of the world. There is so much more! I didn’t expect so many other kingdoms and whatnot. That was fun.

Then we shall read more! Please no stupid angst, pleeeeeease

Yess I beg. The summary looks promising….but. You never know! I want Jude to be a cool, cruel gal. I want her to be like Madoc. A soft-spot for family, but no one else.

Yes I am intrigued, I do wonder what will happen. ...anything else?

That is the problem with these books when they are so good! You don’t want to spoil anything! Ummmm….I was hooked from page one. There was a lull for a couple of chapters before the tournament, but after that I was hooked again. Beware the lull and push through! Totally worth it!

The lol for me is a certain romance part, no thanks to that. But yes a good book, I read it fast. I hope it keeps on improving and not fall into second book syndrome

Oooo that would be bad. *fingers crossed*

The end? :D

The end! :D Quick discussion today!

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging a long while now. The last couple of years the epic duo have been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - Holly Black

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

My thoughts:

I have only read one book by her before but it was dark. I like that, the world is not all roses and sunshine. Especially not when you throw in vampires. 

Tana lives in a world where vampires came out by mistake. Now some are free, and some are stuck in Coldtowns. Together with humans who wants to become vampires, and those who are infected. And those unfortunate souls who got stuck behind. It's not a fair system, it's unfair and cruel at times. But that's life.

After a massacre at a party she flees with her infected friend. There is only one place to go. She could be safe or not so I got why she had to go there. And there she sees cruelty by humans and vampires. It's a dark and cold world, but there is also kindness.

The one thing I was not a fan of was the romance. I am sorry but I am so over some 100 year old falling for a teen. If I was that old I would not fall for some silly slip of a boy or girl who was all angst and teen issues. I got why he had to be old, I got why she had to be young (this is YA) but it's just so done!

Conclusion:

Still, a good story, even if she was a bit perfect at times. Suddenly nothing could take her down. And there was no blurb for book 2 so now I am do want to know what happens.

Cover

eh

Paperback, 422 pages
Published February 6th 2014 by Indigo

YA, paranormal romance
Own

Audio Reviews: Cleopatra's Moon and White Cat

Cleopatra Selene is the only daughter of the brilliant Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and General Marcus Antonius of Rome. She’s grown up with jewels on her arms, servants at her feet, and all the pleasures of a palace at her command, and she wants only to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a great and powerful queen. 

Then the Roman ruler Octavianus, who has always wanted Egypt’s wealth, launches a war that destroys all Selene has ever known. Taken to live in Octavianus’ palace in Rome, she vows to defeat him and reclaim her kingdom at all costs. Yet even as she gathers support for her return, Selene finds herself torn between two young men and two different paths to power. Will love distract her from her goal - or help her achieve her true destiny? 

My thoughts: 

Look at that. I finished it!! It only took me a year, but then audio and I are very meh. I just do not have the time, but now I have found the time and it works great..well only for those times. Everything else it still no.

Right, how to review it then..I honestly do not know. I do not get the same feeling from listening that I get from reading. I do not get feelings. So I can't say much. It was interesting listening to. I have read a book about Selene before and I did not know her story before that one. But it was still interesting listening to another version of what could have happened.

The audio, the narrator was good but I got annoyed when she did Isis' voice. It felt lame. But for the most part it was a pleasant voice to listen to.

And I am wondering what I would have felt reading the book. I doubt I would have felt it was better. But would I have thought it was worse? 

For a YA book it dealt with more mature subjects. Attempted rape, seduction...but then again it was another time and it was Rome.

Audio
Published August 1st 2011 by Oasis Audio
12 hours or something
Own
YA /historical

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers—people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn’t got magic, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail—he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

            

Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to outcon the conmen.

My thoughts:

I was not sure about Jesse Eisenberg as the narrator. He sounds so insecure at times so it was like Cassel was constantly in doubt. But I got used to it as Cassel was pretty unsure about himself.

Narration, seems it worked in the end then.

Story. I think I dosed off in a vital part (don't I always ;) But otherwise it was a good and thrilling story. I liked the concept of curse working, and the plot had a good pace as I got more and more answers. The end promised more good things to come.

It worked well on audio but as times before I wonder if I would like it as much in print. I think not.

Would I listen to more?

Yeah

Cover

meh

Audio CD, 6 hours or so
Published May 11th 2010 by Listening Library (Audio) (first published May 4th 2010)
Curse Workers #1
YA /paranormal
Own

Review: Tithe by Holly Black

Tithe by Holly Black
A Modern Faerie tale

Group: YA
Genre: Urban fantasy
Pages: 336
Published: 2004

Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms -- a struggle that could very well mean her death.

(Author's site)

It seems I have had a YA week of the futuristic and paranormal kind. I heard about Tithe long ago from a friend but back then I didn't read YA and didn't see the point. But now I know that they have changed from the few I read some years ago. Not that I will read many now because I have more or less gone through those that looks nice. Those that seems to be books I want to read.

Tithe was a good book, and I truly enjoyed it. I can't belive I hadn't read it before. It's a very dark book and it takes up the normal things a teen goes through, sex, violence, alcohol, and feeling different from others. In that aspect I liked it, it was not a rosy sweet world, but a dark one where she didn't attend school anymore, and everyhting was just dirty and bleak.

If you thought the faerie world was better then you are mistaken. This is how the seelie and unseelie world should look like. They are not a bunch of happy cute faries that Disney made them out to be. In the old stories they are a dark, blood thirsty, baby stealing and people drowning folk. You thread lighly when thinking you are near them and you are careful and use charms to ward them off. I like that Holly Black uses this in her book, and the fairy world is just as dark as ours.

I liked Kaye, she was a good heroine of this book. She is a bit different and she can see things that others can't. Soon enough when back in her hometown she is thrown into a dark world and she will become a pawn in a bigger game. Then there is the dark knight Roiben, well I had to like him too. What was there not to like. Was there even ne charcater that was actually nice and sweet in this book, in a way the answer is no. For some reason I liked that because it was more real. They were nice in their own ways, like her friend Cory. Such a nice guy actually. Good truthful portraits.

I was sucked into this grim world, and I came back up wanting more. There are two more books, the second I can skip but I am curious about book 3 because there we meet Kaye and Roiben again. And I want to know how things turns out.

I would have liked to known why it was called Tithe, I just googled it and still don't know why. Otherwise this was a great book that I do recommened. It was a bit like Wicked Lovely in the faerie aspect but much darker and more true I thought, and better. I really enjoyed this book.