tiktok made me buy this series

The Cruel Prince – Holly Black

Fairies, sisters, orphans, princes, courts, courtiers, young adult, fantasy, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Jude and her sisters were taken away from the human world and witnessed someone kill her parents at a young age. This person takes care of them out of respect and care for the young girls as well as keeping them away from the human world by keeping them in Elfhame. She goes to school with the rest of the nobles’ children. Often, she gets bullied by the princes and princess. She is approached by Prince Dain who wants her to become his spy and in exchange protection. Jude pledges herself to him. Her work begins with spying on Prince Balekin and she learns an awful a lot. Jude will learn that being a spy was more than she had thought she made a deal with. This comes with a lot of revelations and a dangerous road ahead for Jude and Cardon.

I saw this on TikTok and wanted to give it a read. I am so glad that I had done so. I enjoyed reading this novel and somewhat understand the hype. Also, the fact that this is different than the usual young adult fiction I read was a fresh breath of air. The idea of a human living in the faery world and being a part of something life altering was intriguing. It would make sense for the human to be a spy in the faery court. She is unseen and seen as unimportant so no one will think nothing less. I do love the author’s thought process and how she beautifully developed the world as well as the characters. A lot of thought went into creating this and there are so many twists that are subtle yet shocking.

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orphan gets revenge

Ash Princess – Laura Sebastian

Princesses, courts, courtiers, kings, queens, rulers, prisoners, fantasy, young adult, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Theodosia witnessed her mother murdered before her eyes as well as her entire family. For years the invading Kaiser had Theo as a keepsake and put on display. Occasionally whipping her for any sort of uprising with her people, Astrans, they also suffer with becoming slaves. One day, she reached her boiling point and realized she does not have anyone to save her, she can only save herself. She works with the enslaved remaining Astrans that work in the palace. They form a plan to enact revenge and escape. The Prinz gets close to her and reveals to her the horrid actions he had done upon her people as well as told her what is being done to her people. This only fuels the fire of anger Theodosia has and wants revenge even more so now.

I wondered why and how this novel was trending. I read it and understand how it became so popular. I really enjoyed this novel and I was binging through the rest of the novel. The plot was so juicy, and I was really expecting for one outcome to happen but got a plot twist. There are a lot in this book and as the plot unfolded, I found myself fully invested. I cannot wait to read the next book of this series. I do recommend this novel. I only wished it were longer to develop the world, but I guess that the sequel will unfold more of this world. One of the best young adult fiction I have read that wasn’t so clingy with clichés.