This is a spoiler-free review! A list of trigger warnings can be found here.
I am finally getting around to starting this series after staring at these books on my shelf, and I am so glad that I did. From the title alone, you know that Cardan is going to be cruel, but I never imagined the things that he does, especially to Jude. It's absolutely insane and you cannot help but be on the edge of your seat, dying to get to the next page. My jaw dropped so many times at the things he, Valerian, and Nicasia would do to Jude, and while Locke was with them, he shows his true colors as the story goes on.
Being mortal in a land where no one else dies must be unfathomable, yet we see Jude live in a state where she has one foot in each door. She was robbed of her life in the mortal world, yet yearns for Faerie after living there for ten years. Jude longs for the life she once lived but never got to experience, yet her internal conflict remains that she cannot leave a magical world that she has grown accustomed to.
Dain and Locke both exude this energy that just draws you to them -- in Dain's case, you have a mistrust towards him but cannot help but be intrigued, and with Locke, his initial impression he gives is simply a cover for his other side -- or is it? Cardan's blatant antics and borderline torture of Jude and other members of the Gentry are presented upfront the minute we are introduced to his character, but I found myself rooting for any interaction that he would get with Jude.
I was giggling and kicking my feet at any time when Locke showed up in the beginning of the book -- the way he shares these raw moments with Jude melts my heart, and I could not read the pages any faster if I could. But in Faerie, not everything is as it seems, so my suspicions reminded as the story went on. I demand justice for Cardan's tail -- there should have been more scenes of it swaying around rather than just being mentioned. I do not care what the book community has to say about it, it deserves more!
Madoc continues to disappoint me from beginning to end, as being a horrendous person and father comes so easily to him. Taryn, Jude's twin sister, has me wanting to shove my hands into the pages and shake her by the shoulders, so that she may gain some common sense. You can understand her hesitation when Jude instigates fights with Cardan and the rest of his little gaggle of friends, but over the course of the story, she only becomes more irritating and illogical.
The Cruel Prince is full of political intrigue, sprinkled with some romance subplots that do not overshadow what this book is meant to focus on -- the line of succession and the cruelness of our dear Prince Cardan. The action was great and truly had me turning the pages as fast as I could, with complex characters who have -- you guessed it -- tragic backstories. Maybe it is because I have not dived into a fantasy series in a while, but the rush this book gave me was something I have not had in a long time.
The series of emotions I went through during the last few chapters was exhilarating, and I will definitely be continuing with the series. I would recommend this series to fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas and The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker. Let it be known, this book is less enemies to lovers and more about political intrigue, but captivates you in a way that you will find yourself involved in political espionage.
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