r/thecruelprince

So most of the fae we’ve seen have been nobles in the high court or lower courts, or solitary fae that live in the mortal lands. But I’m wondering how regular fae live in general.

Like, is there fae towns? I’m wondering where or how Tiernen and Hyacinth grew up, because neither of them are nobles. And Tiernen mentions going to a banquet or something that “Wasn’t one of the noble ones.” Like they behaved differently than at court.

I know there is lower class fae, I’m just wondering where they all live, I doubt they just live in the forest or in mortal areas. And it seems like Elfhame is mostly full of noble estates, or small houses for people serving the court. Maybe it’s talked about more in Holly’s other books.

Wren… what was that ending??

I spent the entire book rooting for Wren. She was traumatized, she was interesting, she was finally getting some agency after spending years being controlled. Then the second she realizes she has real power… she turns around and puts the bridle on Oak.

Oak’s crime was… not telling her that her heart belonged to Mellith. He didn’t imprison her. He didn’t torture her. He wasn’t planning on using the bridle on her. In fact, he promised that he never would and gave it to her willingly. So why is her immediate response to magically enslave him, throw him in the dungeons, possessively call him “mine,” and leave the bridle on long enough that she’s worried it’ll scar his face??

The worst part is that Wren knows exactly what that bridle represents. She spent years being abused with it. She knows how violating and dehumanizing it is, and then she does the exact same thing to someone who’s spent the entire book protecting her. I just couldn’t get behind that decision at all.

It felt like Holly Black went, “Things are going too well. Time to put the male love interest in magical captivity again.” I’m sorry, but why is this such a recurring thing??

The second Wren bridled Oak and threw him in the dungeon, all I could think was, “Please don’t tell me we’re doing this again.”

I'm on book 2 and although they have chemistry I can't ignore the fact that they seem super toxic. In the first book he got her almost killed twice and even though it was Valerian he didn't attempt to help? That time she was eating that Faerie apple he also requested for her to kiss his foot? He ripped someone's wing off and honestly I feel like after Cardan's abuse was established to us his actions changed as well. Like afterward none of the things he has done before is done again? Cardan was torturing Jude because he was jealous and that's okay? I know he suffers and stuff but I don't think that's an excuse. He wasn't even just torturing Jude. And Jude betrayed Cardan and I felt bad for him. In the second book they slept together which I find super baffling. They've kissed 2 times overall before sleeping together. I know they both suffer from trauma and have secret desire for each other but I don't know this is so hard to read without me cringing at their relationship.

Hiiii,

I finished TFOTA this year and I honestly didn’t expect it to stay in my mind this much. I think what I loved the most was the atmosphere, the morally grey characters, the tension and chemistry, and the feeling that the world was actually unpredictable. Great FMC too, Jude being beautifully written (as every character of TFOTA actually).

I’m curious: what do you usually read outside of Holly Black’s books? What are your favorite genres, authors, or “comfort reads”?

I’m asking because I feel like I’ve become a very picky reader. I don’t read a lot of fantasy, because I can very easily feel overwhelmed.

I’ve been trying but I found myself being struggling with the genre. I feel like a lot of fantasy books are starting to feel very similar: the same tropes, the same character dynamics, the same type of romance… and instead of being exciting, it’s becoming a little overwhelming because I’m constantly looking for something that feels fresh.

The Cruel Prince was one of those rare books where I felt completely immersed, and it’s honestly difficult to find something that gives me the same feeling.
I’d love to know what kinds of books you enjoy (outside of fantasy too)! Maybe your usual reading habits will help me discover something new?

Anyway I’d love to discuss about it and know what you think, if I’m the only one feeling like this or not! 🤗

I don't know why but I always laugh a little when Cardan chastises Jude in QoN for assuming that he wouldn't be able to tell her apart from Taryn -- when that literally was how he ended up giving away half of his army at the end of the previous book. I get that he was recovering from being poisoned so I don't blame him but I just think it's a really funny lack of self awareness and I wish Jude had thrown it in his face "Well that would have been a useful skill to have developed BEFORE giving Madoc half of Faerie's army, wouldn't it?" 😂

https://preview.redd.it/y0f4muk105eh1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=15a4571ef70112e301f72d4d21b5786ee531f17a

For anyone wondering what the other stories are!
Most of these are already releaased, but it is nice to know you can finally get them all in one place!

So, I have some doubts about the ending chapters of the prisoner's throne.

I begin to recap... And at some point I find that some things don't actually make sense to me:

After Cardan is stabbed and Oak kills most of the people in that tent, I assume Cardan is already standing thanks to the same thing that happened when Jude was stabbed by Madoc in QoN, thanks to their connection with the earth.

So Oak goes to resolve the situation, without a clear plan in mind. He is then able to speak with Wren and understand what to do. He finds Bex. Bogdana arrives and while Bex is being delivered to Wren, Oak and Bogdana are about to fight. Then Oak offers to surrender in order to get sooner to Wren. I'm not sure why Bogdana accepts it, maybe because she hoped to replace Bex with him. Let's say that's it, when they get to Jude and Wren, and interrupt them before they actually fight, Oak freely speaks to Wren and Bogdana tries to manipulate what he's saying to keep Wren on her side. At this point Jude begins to play her bluffs, "Cardan is hurt, he is in that tent. Whoever nears it has to be killed" is the first. But at this moment *I don't get what Bogdana has in mind, what does she want?* Then the second bluff by Jude "I and Oak are not on the same side".

Oak is confused but Jude wants to talk to him, so uses another bluff offering Oak's head instead of Cardan's... *But why?* I know it was meant to have a chance to speak with Oak, and to assure that he was sure about Wren being on his side (like Cardan explained later), but *why does Bogdana accept that?* Does Bogdana want Cardan's head more than Jude's? She now has to deal with her and Oak, that is ⅔ of the Greenbriar lineage. Knowing that Cardan is hurt she could keep him for later. *The point is that I don't even fully understand what Wren's role in Bogdana's plan is.* She then destroyed her, and if Bogdana wanted her by her side she had to use someone as leverage, but she wasn't really using Oak. Plus how is Bogdana thinking to make Suren queen if she accepts to risk Oak being killed by Jude?

*And I can't figure out what Jude had in mind before effectively seeing Oak, what was she already planning? what was improvisation?*

Plus with her offer Jude is practically giving Bogdana a lot of simple insights like the fact that if Cardan was hurt (as Bogdana believed at that point) he wasn't a priority, compared to the other two Greenbriar and Wren whom she had in front of her at that moment.

Help, I'm so confused now. I hope some of it is quite understandable 😅. Summing it up, can someone please summarize the resolution of the plots in the finale and everyone's intentions in the "battle"? Thanks in advance.

Hi i’m still reading the books but will there be an adaption possible like official one by holly black ? or has she mentioned anything about it

I could have SWORN that at the end of the Queen of nothing, there was a scene with Cardan and Jude in the moral world where they were in bed and Jude was worried about the size of the bed being too small for Cardans liking. Am I missing something? Was this in another book?

Balekin is interesting to me because we get the cruel side of his personality but he’s also this partier? He’s the head of the court of debauchery and he canonically went to burning man to take humans?

How does he know about burning man? Who told him about this? Does he go to Coachella too? Lollapoolza? How’s he getting there? Portals? A car? Plane? Does Balekin have a damn passport!?

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine Balekin as a partier because of how we usually see him. Which says a lot about hollys writing and making multifaceted characters. But it’s funny as hell to think about.

Also I know fae don’t care about people but damn do you think they see all the humans Balekin has and think “damn how he got so many?”