Jude Duarte was kidnapped from her home at seven-years-old after the murder of both of her parents. She was taken to Elfhame, a place full of magic and wonder, where mortals aren’t meant to survive, leaving her with no choice but to adapt.

The 2018 young adult book “Cruel Prince” by Holly Black has become a staple in BookTok, a TikTok page dedicated to people reviewing and talking about their love of books, for its ability to draw in adult and teenage readers alike.

The book follows a 17-year-old human girl named Jude, who lived among the fae with her stepfather and stepmother. She wants nothing more than power and to belong. Jude has no choice but to prove her worthiness, but she has a problem– she’s mortal, and if there is one thing that faes hate, it’s humans. There’s one fae who hates her more than anyone else, Carden, the cruel prince of Elfhame, and he will stop at nothing to make her life as miserable as possible. Jude then has to use nothing but her wit to grab the power she so desperately needs.

Reading “Cruel Prince” left me in awe. I was so invested in the storyline that the book was impossible to put down. The writing was so whimsical to read, with the use of words that truly showed the intelligence of the fae, but not so complicated you couldn’t understand, and the entire story made me feel like I was right alongside Jude, experiencing everything with her. The world building, the plot, the characters, everything was explained and evolved so well. I especially liked Carden’s character arc and how he developed over the book, because I feel the author did a great job giving him an arc, but not overdoing it.

Freshman Emily Saumenig conveys her love of character building.

“The character arcs were very intriguing…,” Saumenig said. “I feel like Holly Black did a great job giving the characters realistic arcs that fit the story line.”

Sophomore Riggin Householder also had praise for the book.

“It was a very good book,” Householder said. “ I loved the slow burn romance between Jude and Carden.”

While the story was written beautifully and developed well, some think the story progressed too slowly.

Freshman Ariana Barlos thought the story took too long to get to the main plot.

“The book started out slow,” Barlos said. “It was hard to follow, and I lost interest.”

Overall, while the story was a bit slow at times, it didn’t deter me from the beautiful story being written nor the enjoyable plot. The slow parts were necessary in order to keep the story flowing at a normal pace and not from jumping from one action scene to another. Overall, this book will be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys reading fantasy books.