Emily (Books with Emily Fox on Youtube)'s Reviews > The Cruel Prince

Finally someone agrees with me 😭

Fair n honest review, Emily!

that's exactly what I thought Em! it was so blahh!! I had many violent thoughts towards the characters ...

I still liked The Cruel Prince, but I have also been mystified about what all the hype has been about because I really didn't think it was any different from any other new fantasy novel and I thought that parts of the plot were really juvenille, despite some of the more shocking aspects of the plot

This wasn’t a dystopian novel, just to be clear

I really wanted to read this book but the mention of romance has put me off 😕 how bad is it?

nate wrote: "I really wanted to read this book but the mention of romance has put me off 😕 how bad is it?"

It's not a huge part of the book page wise but it's bad enough due to the type of romance and it seems like it will be a big part of the second book :/

the mixed reviews I see about this book make me incredibly hesitant to pick it up! thanks for ur review Emily, it helps in the final decision on whether on not I wanna read it lol

Booktubers and people on Goodreads are suckers for books about faeries.

I really love this girl. No qualms about unpopular opinions. I will still try it bc I got it in OwlCrate so I paid for it, but I usually have the same feelings as Emily and I already had a feeling I wouldn't like this since it seems popular with the ACOTAR crowd.

I agree it’s overhyped. I read a different Holly Black novel that I really enjoyed and everyone loved this and Jude was kind of underwhelming. She doesn’t have a fully fleshed out motivation and just kind of does whatever someone else needs her to do to continue the plot.

And when I DNFd it I tought I am the strange one... Should have waited for your review before picking it up.

Totally agree!!! I was sooo underwhelmed by this book and i love fairies

I felt exactly the same. Even the ending wasn’t enough of a plot twist to make me want to read the next book sadly.

It had strong A Court of Thorns and Roses vibes for sure

I’m so glad I’m not the only one! Don’t get the hype for this at all.

Same. i didn’t love it or hate it either but i really dint get the hype

I loved it.
But like you said "unmemorable"... like I know I enjoyed it but I actually don't remember anything about it. shit.
Got to say though, my expectations were reallll low. So I was pleasently surprised. Jveux dire j'ai abandonner que les YA romance ne soit pas insta love so what ever.

Glad to know I can pass on this one.

So glad I'm not the only one who didn't like it!

I really liked it at the time... but now that you mention it... I’m not even sure what it’s about anymore? I am sitting here honestly trying to remember even one character’s name. It’s not coming to me.

nate wrote: "I really wanted to read this book but the mention of romance has put me off 😕 how bad is it?"

I really did not think there was romance. I think people are making them a pairing because they happen to be two seperate genders on page. I didn't see the romance at all. By definition of romance, there needs to be courting and "wooing" and mystery, etc. There is no lovey dovey feelings at all. They are rivals and the hate toward each other resembles sensual tension, I thought. Just an opinion!

Leslie wrote: "This wasn’t a dystopian novel, just to be clear"

She is lumping in the tropes/cliches she finds in that genre that she saw in this one. She knows that, lol. I find that fantasy and dystopia can often fall into the same cliches as one another.

Hmm maybe I just don't read a lot of fantasy that focuses on these elements because all the fantasy I read last year were given 3 stars are lower. This happened to be a refreshing read for me.

Can you tell me what others books this reminds you of so I can compare? I guess I don't read as much fantasy as I thought. I know people who read loads more fantasy than me are like, "That's it?" I read a lot of lack luster fantasy last year, so for some reason it stood out to me. But I don't read as fast as other people so I guess I'd have to read more to see it.

Completely agree. So overhyped.

Aw really! I had just put this book on my TBR list lol

It is like a romantic comedy to me! It is not great but it is such an easy, feel-good thing to enjoy that I cannot help but love it.

Womp womp 😂 I wasn’t expecting you to like it but I’m still sad you don’t lol!

I really wanted to like this book but..... I did not get it either... I enjoyed reading the first could chapters and then I felt like it was not making any sense... I ended up not reading the rest of the book when I was about 60% through I just could not finish

Yeah I hated this book haha

I can’t even finish it it’s just ok...

I’ve liked all of Holly Black’s other books that connect to this one and loved this book. I do see how people could find it confusing though.

I knew you wouldn't like it ! honestly I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. It was just as cliché and cringe worthy as I expected but I don't know a small part of me still enjoyed it, it was like a guilty pleasure read haha

I gave this book 4 stars when I read it but as I am thinking of it I might reduce the rating to 3 stars.

I hated this book too!

I haven't read this one, but I always appreciate your honesty. It's great that you don't just claim to like something because everyone else does. Thanks for being you!

Dislike!

I agree!

YES. so glad to see someone else not like this. I honestly don't see how so many people love this. these characters and this book in general were the worst.

Slogging through this right now, I think the issue I have with this is that the author seems to have wanted to make this a plot about court intrigue but spends too much time on rivalries between the teen faeries and Jude. And so the twists don't make sense. Really disappointed so far.

I truly disliked the main character. The story was OK, but nothing spectacular.

This book is giving me so much pain but I’m going to persist 😂 Glad to find someone else who didn’t like it either since I’d heard so much about it

Yep! Agreed. Struggling to push through. The content is not enjoyable, nor is it engaging. I’m so confused as to her approach at the style of writing 😫 Going to persist....hopefully it gets better!

I KNEW IT EMILY... I knew you were going to understand me.

Totally agree! I keep seeing Cruel Prince fanart and posts pop up on Pinterest and Tumblr and I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE LOVE FOR THIS BOOK.

Same I didn’t like it and after that I didn’t pick up the next books in the series

Same as Throne of Glass I think? I haven't read it but seems like that?

I agree with you. It was just hype.

There is like maybe 5% romance and the rest is she working her way to the top with plot twist and betrayals

Im reading this right now and im so disappointed...there's like no romance at all, I hate the main character. I feel like it could have been interesting because the plot is actually interesting but it just wasnt.