Her growth involves confidence and cunning as well as a choice about loyalties. She starts out as naive but brave, and then she gathers her wits about her for the long-term game of survival. Jude’s growth is as surprising and satisfying as the plot. The intrigues remind of Game of Thrones for all that is going through others’ minds and the political maneuverings that can make you lose everything. As Jude learns more about everyone around her, their motivations become clearer, and it’s amazing how all of their choices have affected everything in the High Court. I love that it isn’t clear where the story is going or if you’re approaching the climax of the story until you’re almost there. The Cruel Prince is surprisingly character-driven and doesn’t follow an obvious plot. I think this connection was hugely helped by me reading it over three months. When that happened, I started to love Kelly’s narration, and that is also when I could connect her voice to Jude’s. At first, I didn’t like her performance, but Jude’s story became so interesting that I soon forgot that I was listening to an audiobook. Except for one instant that described differences in handwriting, listening to the book instead of physically reading it made me invest myself more in Jude’s adventures.Ĭaitlin Kelly’s voice grew on me as she read the book. It’s been a long time since I loved a faery book, and this one had the right balance of cruelty and royal politics to hold my interest. I was surprised by how good it was because I didn’t like one of the books Black co-authored.

I went for one of the audiobook editions because I’ve read several great audiobooks in the last year. The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black, is an intriguing book about finding out where you belong and using your wits to survive.Īfter seeing so many praise-filled reviews of The Cruel Prince and after wanting to read and love a Holly Black book, I checked it out from the library. As she gets involved in the political games of the fey, she finds that she’ll have to use her own cunning to survive. This brings fey cruelty down on her head. She tries different paths so that she can belong, and that often means defying the nobility, especially Prince Cardan.

She wishes she was like the fey so that she can belong, but she lacks immortality, unlike her oldest sister. Jude Duarte is trying to find a place for herself in the High Court of Faerie, where she grew up after her parents were murdered.

The cruel prince audio book