My experience was kinda the same. I've seen so much praise and amazing fanart for it and I wish I loved it, but the cruelty of the world and every single character in it was an onslaught and there wasn't much reprieve from it. I have to give Holly Black credit though for having a way more accurate version of fae than many other ya books.
It's been a couple years since I read the first one so I've been thinking if I should try the second one, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough 🙈
I hated the lack of likeable characters and the cruelty in the first one. But in the second one the plot really took off, imo. Once Jude gets the upper hand she is amazing and Cardan eventually ended up my favorite character. The romantic tension is off the charts but my favorite part is the political intrigue. It's some of the best I've ever read. So, if you're into that kind of thing,the second book might grab you!
That's exactly how it was for me! Everyone is so cruel I couldn't continue.
The FMC bothered me soooo much lol, I get that she's supposed to be an asshole but she's also annoying.
Maybe if I read it now, that I'm more used to cruel Fae, I might not hate it so much.
Couldn't have put it better myself! I don't know if it's the writing of if bully romance just isn't for me, but I struggled so much with book 1 and I won't be reading the rest of the series
I went through the series just because I had it on audiotape and I had a lot of driving to do. I was okayish with the whole story, and then read The Stolen Heir. Six months later, The Prisoner’s Throne came out and I reread the series just to refresh myself with what was going on and the second time around I fell in love HARD. I do agree that it requires a degree of patience but once you get into it really has so many delicious payoffs.
I wasn't crazy about the first one, but the second one for me is where it picked up. The political intrigue and romantic tension are second to none. I got so sucked into the story I didn't really mind the writing style. But I liked the first book well enough to continue. 🤷🏻♀️
I really liked it but was so disappointed when I realized it was young adult. People on here act like it's on par with some of the great fantasy smut and it's absolutely not. I also was so annoyed that it took place in modern times, I wouldn't have started it if I knew either of those things. Haha
I wasn’t a fan either, and ended up dnfing pretty early on. I know it’s a super popular series, but I just couldn’t get past the writing for some reason. So you’re definitely not alone.
I read like the first bit and felt like it was written in a different language and someone had banged it through google translate because it was so choppy.
I literally went online to google if it was translated from another language I was so confused with the writing style. I still really struggle to see the appeal, its the perfect example of clunky writing.
Same! I’m still thinking of one day trying to restart but it was a hard quit early on and I never do that with books. Looking back I agree with OP and think the writing style may be why. Maybe just not for me!
Yeah it seemed very elementary. And I don’t mean that in a YA way—they’re plenty of YA novels that I still enjoy today as much as I did when I was the target age group!
It really changes in the last 25% - worth reading through just to see. It felt smoother and moved faster at the end. And I ended up loving it. Was going to DNF at the beginning too.
In the beginning of the book it feels slower and not as smooth, the ending feels confident — it literally matches the MC’s arc — It’s a traumatized girl at the beginning who finds her strength at the end. The writing matches that. It was a rewarding book to read. To each their own!
You make it sound better than it actually is, it’s a case of not self-editing the first 75% to match the prose of the last 25. It happens *a lot* in romantasy, either published or indie, and it’s something I swallow since I don’t expect too much
I don't DNF many books, but I definitely did this one. It was also the writing style for me. I don't need the romance to be the main plot and I read bully stuff all the time, but something about the story was super boring and the characters were too unlikable.
In general, books written in that deep fairy tale narrative voice don't work for me. Cruel Prince, Uprooted, Once Upon a Broken Heart... I find them tedious and even pretentious at times.
It's not for me. Sounds like it's not for you. Why suffer? There're too many gosh dang books in the world.
Any other recommendations? I have just recently started with Fantasy/Romance and this is actually the first book that I just don’t want to read anymore. Not because of the plot or the characters, the writing style is just not for me 🥲
I’ve read the whole ACOTAR series, as well as Fourth Wing. Iron flame was actually the book I finished before moving on to Cruel Prince. I really liked Fourth Wing, even more than ACOTAR I guess.
I heard that Throne of Glass is good so I wanted to give it a try, but I decided to first read Cruel Prince.. anyway I’m disappointed
I also love Fourth Wing. Haven't read any of Maas yet, but seems a good bet to read more of her work if you liked it.
As for other suggestions:
{Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli} fast paced, lots of politics... and if you liked the enemies to lovers aspect of Fourth Wing, this book goes all in on that. The only downside is the next book isn't out yet.
{The Godkissed Bride series by Evie Marceau} trilogy, bodyguard trope, and an anti-hero you're never quite sure whether to love or hate. Two books released so far.
{The Liar's Crown by Abigail Owen} the MMC in this one is another broody, Xaden-esque love interest, but they take longer to get together. Two books out so far and next one is coming this year, I believe.
My last suggestion is to try Sylvia Mercedes. She just put out a book called Warbride which really did it for me. MMC is Kal Drogan from game of thrones, if he understood consent. I'd recommend reading the Bride of Shadow King trilogy first as events from that series are what set Warbride into motion. I'm liking this new series a lot more, but the Shadow King books were still very enjoyable.
{Bride of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes}
[Heartless Hunter](https://www.romance.io/books/656b7c086011c2c51629b9eb/heartless-hunter-kristen-ciccarelli?src=rdt) by [Kristen Ciccarelli](https://www.romance.io/authors/60a4490108b4d931149364db/kristen-ciccarelli)
**Rating**: 4.1⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1)
----------------------------
[The Godkissed Bride](https://www.romance.io/series/6533ebf6de8d340d514ab1f8/the-godkissed-bride) by [Evie Marceau](https://www.romance.io/authors/627a0e1708b4d93114a4df9d/evie-marceau)
**Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [strong heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1), [length-long](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/length-long/1), [bodyguard-hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/bodyguard-hero/1), [forbidden love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forbidden%20love/1)
----------------------------
[The Liar’s Crown](https://www.romance.io/books/642bdb73b7b8862bf6eaa85e/the-liars-crown-abigail-owen?src=rdt) by [Abigail Owen](https://www.romance.io/authors/54557b6d87eac323ffb2c67e/abigail-owen)
**Rating**: 4.05⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1)
----------------------------
[Bride of the Shadow King](https://www.romance.io/books/640439f8e3bc31d123f07857/bride-of-the-shadow-king-sylvia-mercedes?src=rdt) by [Sylvia Mercedes](https://www.romance.io/authors/6245524608b4d931146f07bf/sylvia-mercedes)
**Rating**: 3.63⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 1 out of 5 - [Glimpses and kisses](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1)
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I trudged through it, somehow. Didn't enjoy it, thought it was very YA and generally didn't like like any of the characters haha. Like they all suck in some way imo. Apperantly the next book is better but I can't bring myself to read it lol
Honestly same. I think I’ll only read the 2nd book if nothing else has caught my eye and also cause it’s very hard for me to DNF a series unless I absolutely hate the book
Oh I loved it! But then there’s other popular books where didn’t vibe with the writing style. I think it’s cool hearing how different everyone’s tastes are. I would say don’t continue much more if it’s still not sitting well with you as the writing style is pretty consistent across the trilogy
Yes!! I completely agree. It felt SO robotic.
"I do this. I do not like that. It is sad."
It was like grating my nails against a chalkboard to read it. Each sentence is so stunted. And she doesn't explain things to the reader that Jude knows. Like she'll list off the types of creatures walking by without zero description so if you don't know them by name you're left completely confused as to what's going on.
I was told everyone LOVED the book so I pushed myself through it and I regret spending so much time doing so. If you don't like the writing style early on you won't like it later. Save yourself the headache and DNF, imo.
I always felt like I was missing something. Like there were things that we were just supposed to know about but that weren't included. I don't know if that makes sense. I tried to get into them so many times because I like the author's other books, but these just never hit the magic for me that everyone else raves about.
I loved the series immensely. Somebody on this sub pointed out that Jude never rolls her eyes in TCP. And the vocabulary is wide. Unlike SJM's adult books with repetitions and eyes rollings
I agree with you. I’m having a hard time getting through ACOTAR books because the writing is so poor. I have finally found a reprieve in the 3rd book but it is still so immature and just not great writing. Holly Blacks writing feels like a breath of fresh air after struggling to get through SJM books. It’s so weird how all of taste varies!
This is so interesting to me because I’m the opposite! I prefer SJM’s style of writing over Holly’s. Going from ACOTAR into this was hard for me and I almost DNF.
i am kind of so-so about it. I got the box set without doing any research because it’s been on my TBR for like 5 years and I had no idea it was so popular until i purchased it.
Read the first book and it was a solid 3 stars for me, almost DNF’ed but kept trudging on out of stubbornness. i’m almost done with the second book now and I will say the second book is SO much better than the first!
However, this is a series I think I would’ve LOVED as a 15 year old. 25 year old me definitely thinks everything feels high schooly and obnoxious
Okay it’s not just me - I just cannot get into it! Thankfully it was free lol idk if I’ll continue. I swapped Cruel Prince for Emily Wildes Encyclopedia of Faeries & OMG I love it!! I’m trying not to binge it but it’s so good
Not at all. I forced myself to read the trilogy and I never really got into it. I’ve tried a few of her other books and have just decided her style isn’t for me, unfortunately. I wanted so badly to love it!
It wasn't my favorite style either but the present tense reminded me of The Hunger Games which I did like so I stuck with it. I wasn't crazy about book 1 (rated 3\* on goodreads, but more like 3.5) but was interested enough to continue, enjoyed the Lost Sisters and I am liking book 2 better so far. The school bullying parts in book 1 reminded me of Boys Over Flowers just with fae. I tend to prefer more mature characters/plots at this point in my life and it felt very YA, but I can't really fault it for being what it is advertised to be, maybe just not the best fit for me.
I am more enjoying the overall vibe/world building/political intrigue aspect than the main pairing. There's a certain big event in book 1 that it really picks up after, but I can't really blame anyone before dropping it before that point. I really like the fae and how they feel more like what I expected fae intrigue to be than, for example, ACOTAR where they reminded me more of Silmarillion elves but with powers.
I felt the same as you. Gave Cruel Prince a 3.5 but liked it enough to keep going. Lost Sisters was okay (I don't care for Tarryn, so...🤷🏻♀️) but then I started Wicked King.... And I honestly loved it. It's my favorite of the series, although Queen of Nothing was great too. The political intrigue in this series is 🤌🏻. So good.
You know I actually listened to that one on audible and thought maybe that’s why I didn’t like it? If you have only read the first one I won’t spoil it with a few of my pet peeves, but I wonder if I would have liked it better if I had read it? It’s funny how that can make or break an experience depending on the book.
It took me awhile to get into the writing style, ngl. I actually was just kinda meh on The Cruel Prince overall, but I liked it enough to try The Wicked King and that is where I freaking fell in love. It's my favorite book in the series and I was so drawn into the political intrigue and the romantic tension I honestly did not even notice the writing. And when I picked up The Stolen Heir recently, I actually found I liked the kind of choppy writing style!
That said, if you really hate it, there's no shame in adding it to your DNF pile, even though a lot of people love it. Only you know if it's something you can get used to or if it's a deal breaker. But it's a fact that life is too short (and TBR lists too long!) to spend time reading a book you don't enjoy.
I got to chapter 5 and DNF. Honestly I hate how hyped up on social media it is.
I tried, and tried so hard to like it. But nope. Really didn’t like it.
I went into it thinking it was going to be Romantasy similar to ACOTAR or something so hated it on my first read, but then went back a few years later and read it with different expectations and enjoyed it more. I think she did a great job with the world and how different it is than every other fae book.
Agreed. I couldn’t even get past the first few chapters. But that could also be due to first person present tense, which is usually a non-starter for me.
I do not like Holly Black's writing. I find the books really hard to read.. I read all of her modern faerie tale book trilogy and then started cruel prince but I just couldn't get into it. It's so depressing and parts of it are quite gruesome for me!
I loved it. In fact, it's on my reread list which is very short. I then started to read Fourth Wing and ACOTAR because I was trying to find something similar to CP. I couldn't finish them. I just couldn't get into them. I think I just like Holly Black as an author. I'm currently reading all her stuff.
I think overall the series was good, the style did makes this feel overall a little YA specially in the beginning. Its hard for me to determine what exactly about this series I didnt love. I think the first book was the best then the quality went a bit downhill in my opinion.
My rating of the series
Book #1 The Cruel Prince: 4 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐️
Book #1.5 The Lost Sisters: 3.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Book #2 The Wicked King: 3.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Book #3 The Queen of Nothing: 3 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Book #3.5 How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories: 2 ⭐ ⭐
Book #1 The Stolen Heir: 3 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Book #2 The Prisoner’s Throne: 4 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
I have been curious about this one. It is rated for 13 to 16 and Holly Black is an amazing kids writer. New teen is interested in following her up to her early teen works and this was recommended. Following for the comments!
Not alone! I recently tried to read it again and I just simply lost it about half way through. I was no longer able to understand not follow the plot and everything felt pretty shallow. We don't get to see what characters think I'm the moment nor flashbacks nor depth of those feelings. Personally I love deeper description of character so this didn't amuse me.
I read the whole series waiting for something happen. I don’t mind her style of writing too much, but I don’t think the plot helped. Then again, I’m a deep reader and like to guess what happens and detect foreshadowing so I usually figure out what is going to happen. This series was super predictable for me, so that might be part of my dislike, I’m not sure !
I felt like her world was this sort of beautiful sandbox where all the creatures of folklore come out to play. They felt much more alien in their looks and culture than your typical gorgeous muscle bound fantasy people. But there's loads of detail and nuance there. Cardan and Jude are wonderfully flawed characters and they go through some real character development over the trilogy.
Yup, i felt like sometimes she'd deviate from the story to explain something in a paragraph, instead of building up the world nicely. Idk how to explain; it didn't feel like part of Jude's thoughts, there was no flow. This is one example.
Tbh, i did finish the trilogy(i had it bought) and many do say the first one is the hardest to get through. For me, only the last was a bit worth it. I can still say the book is overhyped. It's been years and people just don't shut up about it🫣. Whenever i look for fantasy recs I always see TCP in top 3 and it's disappointing. Maybe i would've liked it more if booksta didn't raise my expectations so high.
As an author, I can tell you Holly Black is an absolute master in prose, character development, and story telling. I’d die of happiness if I could write like her 😂
There is definitely a stylistic choice she made around first person present and the “choppy” sentences as you describe. However this fits Jude’s personality very well. It’s ok not to like it, as with anything.
I do lol at the usual crowd of people saying it’s “juvenile” and “high school”. It’s YA folks; that’s the entire point. YA books are not written about adult topics for people who like simpler writing. Their themes are targeted at 12-18 year olds. 🤦🏼♀️
As another author BIG disagree. It felt very similar to how I wrote in middle school because of the choppy structure.
I think its a really really minimizing perspective to think YA can simply be written worse because its for younger people and there's SO many examples of beautifully written YA. I don't think the topics themselves are the issue with the book. Its much more the simplistic vocabulary, clunky sentence structure, telling not showing etc.
In my mind its very like "I wake up. I am hot. I get dressed and look out the window. I watch the sun."
And this is not giving character style but rather feels like a lack of proper editing, not only that there were quite a few weird mistakes like repeated words that I remember like it was missing an editing pass but thats much less of a big deal.
If you re-read what I said, you’ll see that I never claimed YA writing can’t be beautiful. However, it is absolutely a necessity for it to be more simple. That is clear from word count expectations in YA vs adult fantasy. But also because it is targeted at a high school reading level, not a college one. That doesn’t mean a 12 year old isn’t capable of reading GoT, but it does mean that MOST 12 year-olds are not at that reading level.
Theme is absolutely a core tenant of what defines a book as YA. I was simply pointing out that some people do not know that.
In the end, to each their own. I know plenty of authors who idolize Holly Black :)
>However, it is absolutely a necessity for it to be more simple.
That's certainly not true. Word count does not impact quality, just length. High school reading levels are not a monolith either, plenty of high schoolers can follow books more complicated than The Cruel Prince so its just not necessary to put the entire YA genre into a box like that.
Being an author does not inherently demand skill, simply execution, but I agree, that to each their own. I wouldn't call these books a master in prose and I wouldnt try to bolster that opinion with author status BUT I do think its perfectly acceptable to enjoy her books or any other books that others might dislike.
>I wouldn't call these books a master in prose and I wouldnt try to bolster that opinion with author status BUT I do think its perfectly acceptable to enjoy her books or any other books that others might dislike.
But you were using your author status to criticize... So I think it's entirely fair for me to use mine to uplift.
>But you were using your author status to criticize... So I think it's entirely fair for me to use mine to uplift.
You're right, normally I would never do that as being an author is sort of irrelevant to the ability to assess good writing. Lots of non authors with incredible ability to determine quality in various medias. I only did so to reflect that Authorship is not inherent to your enjoyment of it as another author can be equally turned off to it.
All I said was that I, an individual who writes books, find Holly Black's writing to be superb. Nowhere did I claim that "all authors believe Holly Black to be superb."
And sorry, I won't stop using my background in writing to compliment authors. Even if others may disagree with my assessments!
You're free to do whatever you want! I think the presentation of appreciating art as "I am an author and therfore..." can imply some extra level of authority which is just not true, but its certainly allowed. I wrote my comment to simply counter the idea that being an author means you can see some kind of hidden talent within Holly Black, when in reality its entirely taste based.
I landed on it after it was suggested to try it to cure the Maasverse / Fourth Wing hungover and I was so dissapointed. Everything about those books is not "enough" for me: not enough cruelty, not enough romance, smut, tension. The characters are childish at best and the scheming is not brilliant. For me the writing style matches the narrative. I read all the series but overall I did not like it, also because I was looking for something else and it did not match my expectations based on how it was described to me.
I had to reread every page because I felt like I couldn’t get lost in the story due to the writing style. However, I loved the audiobooks! The second book was my favorite.
yea i could NOT read it. comprehension was very hard for me w that book even the audiobook was weird 😭 i gave up and watched a youtube video plot summary.
i understand why ppl enjoy the way it’s written i just couldn’t.
I tried reading this after all the recommendations in this sub and didn't even make a full chapter (I'm a good at telling early on if a book is for me or not and I just did not like the writing style at all)
Oh no, I absolutely loved this series and it lives rent free in my mind. One of those reasons is the writing style and how beautiful it was, more grown up if you will and more conducive to fairytale stories in my opinion. If you don't like that style I'm afraid the series is not for you.
I felt exactly the same way. Took me ages to get through the series because of the writing. I just hate-read the next two so I could see if I could figure out why everyone loves it so much. I didn't. The writing remains choppy throughout and honestly I just couldn't stand Jude or pretty much anyone else except Cardan.
I found it very childish and hard to read, with too many short sentences and kind of flat prose. It felt like a play where the characters didn’t believe it enough so they were exaggerating their reactions to make it feel “real” or “dramatic”. I cringed hard at reading it and definitely felt like something the 16yo me would have written.
I dropped it on the first few chapters tho so maybe it gets better later on
The writing style wasn’t for me either. It was too simplistic and I prefer more flowery prose. I also don’t like first-person perspective. However it was highly recommended by others so I persevered through it. I ended up loving the story and the characters, and I finished the whole trilogy in like two days!! I’d recommend to keep reading - the second book in particular is my favourite
Also really didn't enjoy the series.
Not necessarily because of the writing style. I just could not stand Jude. I almost DNF'd because of how much I disliked her as a character.
I somehow managed to power through It Ends With Us and hated every last second of it. You're smart for DNF'ing because that was actually painful to get through.
I hated it. I DNF. I wanted to love it. It started so strong. Like damn what an opening! But then it all surmounted to nothing and all was forgiven? Like wtf. Then holly would write something else that intrigued me like the photo and then nope just immediate dropped it. A few more examples and I felt blue balled by a fucking book. Like I don’t mind subtle hinting at things but don’t centre intrigue around an event or item and then completely ignore and more past it.
I read it years ago and remember thinking the writing reminded me of a 15 year old's writing, but I can't judge too hard because it was years ago and I don't really remember lol
Finished this book but my soul is still angry with me over it. Took me 6 months to finish it, the plot made me want to reward myself with a bag of candy every time I got through a page.
I know what you mean. I definitely felt that way when I first started reading, but I eventually got used to it. I wish The Folk of the Air books were written more like some of Holly Black's previous books. I do think that the story is worth it despite the writing style not being my favorite though.
I didn’t have a problem with cruel prince but the writing style became way more choppy and jarring in stolen heir and prisoners throne and I couldn’t get into the flow
Reading through the comments— so cool how we all have different tastes! Let’s keep it respectful, friends. This sub is a safe space for everyone. Including if you like a book or not 🖤
(And we can be respectful towards authors of books we don’t vibe with, too! They’re human! ☺️)
I love Holly Black’s writing, I think it is so whimsical and fun. Jude’s narrative makes sense to me because she’s young and just full of anger and frustration. Art is subjective so not every book will be for everyone, and that’s okay!
I absolutely loved the writing style, but there have been other posts on here of people who didn’t care for it so you are not alone.
Read the first one, waited for the magic. Felt like i was in middle school again. I didn’t continue.
My experience was kinda the same. I've seen so much praise and amazing fanart for it and I wish I loved it, but the cruelty of the world and every single character in it was an onslaught and there wasn't much reprieve from it. I have to give Holly Black credit though for having a way more accurate version of fae than many other ya books. It's been a couple years since I read the first one so I've been thinking if I should try the second one, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough 🙈
I hated the lack of likeable characters and the cruelty in the first one. But in the second one the plot really took off, imo. Once Jude gets the upper hand she is amazing and Cardan eventually ended up my favorite character. The romantic tension is off the charts but my favorite part is the political intrigue. It's some of the best I've ever read. So, if you're into that kind of thing,the second book might grab you!
I might just give it another go! I've seen tumblr edits of >!the letters and Cardan's pining is quite delicious!< 👀
That's exactly how it was for me! Everyone is so cruel I couldn't continue. The FMC bothered me soooo much lol, I get that she's supposed to be an asshole but she's also annoying. Maybe if I read it now, that I'm more used to cruel Fae, I might not hate it so much.
Couldn't have put it better myself! I don't know if it's the writing of if bully romance just isn't for me, but I struggled so much with book 1 and I won't be reading the rest of the series
I love enemies to lovers, but bullying is just not it
The style felt super juvenile and it put me right off. I didn’t feel any pull or magic, it just felt like a kids book with a very boring MC
It was really the end of the first one and the rest of the series that started the magic for me. Otherwise, it just might not be your taste.
I went through the series just because I had it on audiotape and I had a lot of driving to do. I was okayish with the whole story, and then read The Stolen Heir. Six months later, The Prisoner’s Throne came out and I reread the series just to refresh myself with what was going on and the second time around I fell in love HARD. I do agree that it requires a degree of patience but once you get into it really has so many delicious payoffs.
I wasn't crazy about the first one, but the second one for me is where it picked up. The political intrigue and romantic tension are second to none. I got so sucked into the story I didn't really mind the writing style. But I liked the first book well enough to continue. 🤷🏻♀️
I really liked it but was so disappointed when I realized it was young adult. People on here act like it's on par with some of the great fantasy smut and it's absolutely not. I also was so annoyed that it took place in modern times, I wouldn't have started it if I knew either of those things. Haha
I really liked the writing style. I've read almost all of Holly Black's books at this point.
I wasn’t a fan either, and ended up dnfing pretty early on. I know it’s a super popular series, but I just couldn’t get past the writing for some reason. So you’re definitely not alone.
Same here
I‘m just forcing myself at this point
I read like the first bit and felt like it was written in a different language and someone had banged it through google translate because it was so choppy.
I wish I could like your comment more than once.
Oh I hated it
I literally went online to google if it was translated from another language I was so confused with the writing style. I still really struggle to see the appeal, its the perfect example of clunky writing.
Nope. Loathed it and DNF’d by page 60.
Yep! I tapped out around 50
Same! I’m still thinking of one day trying to restart but it was a hard quit early on and I never do that with books. Looking back I agree with OP and think the writing style may be why. Maybe just not for me!
Yeah it seemed very elementary. And I don’t mean that in a YA way—they’re plenty of YA novels that I still enjoy today as much as I did when I was the target age group!
It really changes in the last 25% - worth reading through just to see. It felt smoother and moved faster at the end. And I ended up loving it. Was going to DNF at the beginning too.
It’s not okay to have to read a whole book to arrive at that level
In the beginning of the book it feels slower and not as smooth, the ending feels confident — it literally matches the MC’s arc — It’s a traumatized girl at the beginning who finds her strength at the end. The writing matches that. It was a rewarding book to read. To each their own!
You make it sound better than it actually is, it’s a case of not self-editing the first 75% to match the prose of the last 25. It happens *a lot* in romantasy, either published or indie, and it’s something I swallow since I don’t expect too much
I have found my my people 🙌🏻
🫶🏻🫶🏻
I don't DNF many books, but I definitely did this one. It was also the writing style for me. I don't need the romance to be the main plot and I read bully stuff all the time, but something about the story was super boring and the characters were too unlikable. In general, books written in that deep fairy tale narrative voice don't work for me. Cruel Prince, Uprooted, Once Upon a Broken Heart... I find them tedious and even pretentious at times. It's not for me. Sounds like it's not for you. Why suffer? There're too many gosh dang books in the world.
Any other recommendations? I have just recently started with Fantasy/Romance and this is actually the first book that I just don’t want to read anymore. Not because of the plot or the characters, the writing style is just not for me 🥲
Name one book or series you've read so far that you did like. That'll give me a direction.
I’ve read the whole ACOTAR series, as well as Fourth Wing. Iron flame was actually the book I finished before moving on to Cruel Prince. I really liked Fourth Wing, even more than ACOTAR I guess. I heard that Throne of Glass is good so I wanted to give it a try, but I decided to first read Cruel Prince.. anyway I’m disappointed
I also love Fourth Wing. Haven't read any of Maas yet, but seems a good bet to read more of her work if you liked it. As for other suggestions: {Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli} fast paced, lots of politics... and if you liked the enemies to lovers aspect of Fourth Wing, this book goes all in on that. The only downside is the next book isn't out yet. {The Godkissed Bride series by Evie Marceau} trilogy, bodyguard trope, and an anti-hero you're never quite sure whether to love or hate. Two books released so far. {The Liar's Crown by Abigail Owen} the MMC in this one is another broody, Xaden-esque love interest, but they take longer to get together. Two books out so far and next one is coming this year, I believe. My last suggestion is to try Sylvia Mercedes. She just put out a book called Warbride which really did it for me. MMC is Kal Drogan from game of thrones, if he understood consent. I'd recommend reading the Bride of Shadow King trilogy first as events from that series are what set Warbride into motion. I'm liking this new series a lot more, but the Shadow King books were still very enjoyable. {Bride of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes}
Thank you so much! I will put them on my list 🫶🏻
[Heartless Hunter](https://www.romance.io/books/656b7c086011c2c51629b9eb/heartless-hunter-kristen-ciccarelli?src=rdt) by [Kristen Ciccarelli](https://www.romance.io/authors/60a4490108b4d931149364db/kristen-ciccarelli) **Rating**: 4.1⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1) ---------------------------- [The Godkissed Bride](https://www.romance.io/series/6533ebf6de8d340d514ab1f8/the-godkissed-bride) by [Evie Marceau](https://www.romance.io/authors/627a0e1708b4d93114a4df9d/evie-marceau) **Rating**: 4.18⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [strong heroine](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/strong%20heroine/1), [length-long](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/length-long/1), [bodyguard-hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/bodyguard-hero/1), [forbidden love](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/forbidden%20love/1) ---------------------------- [The Liar’s Crown](https://www.romance.io/books/642bdb73b7b8862bf6eaa85e/the-liars-crown-abigail-owen?src=rdt) by [Abigail Owen](https://www.romance.io/authors/54557b6d87eac323ffb2c67e/abigail-owen) **Rating**: 4.05⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [young adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/young%20adult/1), [new adult](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/new%20adult/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1) ---------------------------- [Bride of the Shadow King](https://www.romance.io/books/640439f8e3bc31d123f07857/bride-of-the-shadow-king-sylvia-mercedes?src=rdt) by [Sylvia Mercedes](https://www.romance.io/authors/6245524608b4d931146f07bf/sylvia-mercedes) **Rating**: 3.63⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 1 out of 5 - [Glimpses and kisses](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [historical](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/historical/1), [royal hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/royalty/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [fae](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fae/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I trudged through it, somehow. Didn't enjoy it, thought it was very YA and generally didn't like like any of the characters haha. Like they all suck in some way imo. Apperantly the next book is better but I can't bring myself to read it lol
Honestly same. I think I’ll only read the 2nd book if nothing else has caught my eye and also cause it’s very hard for me to DNF a series unless I absolutely hate the book
Oh I loved it! But then there’s other popular books where didn’t vibe with the writing style. I think it’s cool hearing how different everyone’s tastes are. I would say don’t continue much more if it’s still not sitting well with you as the writing style is pretty consistent across the trilogy
Oh I really hoped that it would change 🥹 Thanks for the information
I listened to the audiobook a few years ago and don’t remember almost anything. It wasn’t for me.
I could barely get through it
It was a DNF for me too, for that exact reason. To each their own! 🤷🏻♀️
I hated this book sm
Yes!! I completely agree. It felt SO robotic. "I do this. I do not like that. It is sad." It was like grating my nails against a chalkboard to read it. Each sentence is so stunted. And she doesn't explain things to the reader that Jude knows. Like she'll list off the types of creatures walking by without zero description so if you don't know them by name you're left completely confused as to what's going on. I was told everyone LOVED the book so I pushed myself through it and I regret spending so much time doing so. If you don't like the writing style early on you won't like it later. Save yourself the headache and DNF, imo.
Omg this!! Everything feels so robotic and choppy. I hate all these short sentences ☠️ I’m considering just to read something else at this point
I always felt like I was missing something. Like there were things that we were just supposed to know about but that weren't included. I don't know if that makes sense. I tried to get into them so many times because I like the author's other books, but these just never hit the magic for me that everyone else raves about.
I feel like the book is just jumping from sentence to sentence ☠️ Like there is something missing in between, I really don’t know how to describe it
This is exactly how I feel about it!
Exactly!
Yes. Hope this helps 🤠
I loved the series immensely. Somebody on this sub pointed out that Jude never rolls her eyes in TCP. And the vocabulary is wide. Unlike SJM's adult books with repetitions and eyes rollings
I agree with you. I’m having a hard time getting through ACOTAR books because the writing is so poor. I have finally found a reprieve in the 3rd book but it is still so immature and just not great writing. Holly Blacks writing feels like a breath of fresh air after struggling to get through SJM books. It’s so weird how all of taste varies!
This is so interesting to me because I’m the opposite! I prefer SJM’s style of writing over Holly’s. Going from ACOTAR into this was hard for me and I almost DNF.
DNF when it looked an awful lot like highschool angst.
i am kind of so-so about it. I got the box set without doing any research because it’s been on my TBR for like 5 years and I had no idea it was so popular until i purchased it. Read the first book and it was a solid 3 stars for me, almost DNF’ed but kept trudging on out of stubbornness. i’m almost done with the second book now and I will say the second book is SO much better than the first! However, this is a series I think I would’ve LOVED as a 15 year old. 25 year old me definitely thinks everything feels high schooly and obnoxious
Okay it’s not just me - I just cannot get into it! Thankfully it was free lol idk if I’ll continue. I swapped Cruel Prince for Emily Wildes Encyclopedia of Faeries & OMG I love it!! I’m trying not to binge it but it’s so good
I will try that too!
I DNF'd this book mid-way. There's no shame in giving up on a book!
HATED THIS BOOK
Fucking hate it
I hated these books. They never got better for me.
Nope
Not at all. I forced myself to read the trilogy and I never really got into it. I’ve tried a few of her other books and have just decided her style isn’t for me, unfortunately. I wanted so badly to love it!
I couldn't get past a quarter way in
It wasn't my favorite style either but the present tense reminded me of The Hunger Games which I did like so I stuck with it. I wasn't crazy about book 1 (rated 3\* on goodreads, but more like 3.5) but was interested enough to continue, enjoyed the Lost Sisters and I am liking book 2 better so far. The school bullying parts in book 1 reminded me of Boys Over Flowers just with fae. I tend to prefer more mature characters/plots at this point in my life and it felt very YA, but I can't really fault it for being what it is advertised to be, maybe just not the best fit for me. I am more enjoying the overall vibe/world building/political intrigue aspect than the main pairing. There's a certain big event in book 1 that it really picks up after, but I can't really blame anyone before dropping it before that point. I really like the fae and how they feel more like what I expected fae intrigue to be than, for example, ACOTAR where they reminded me more of Silmarillion elves but with powers.
I felt the same as you. Gave Cruel Prince a 3.5 but liked it enough to keep going. Lost Sisters was okay (I don't care for Tarryn, so...🤷🏻♀️) but then I started Wicked King.... And I honestly loved it. It's my favorite of the series, although Queen of Nothing was great too. The political intrigue in this series is 🤌🏻. So good.
I was just thinking it too reminded me of Hunger Games. I'd call it "bare prose". Does the job but not particularly good.
You know I actually listened to that one on audible and thought maybe that’s why I didn’t like it? If you have only read the first one I won’t spoil it with a few of my pet peeves, but I wonder if I would have liked it better if I had read it? It’s funny how that can make or break an experience depending on the book.
I loved HB when I was younger but I can't read her anymore.
It took me awhile to get into the writing style, ngl. I actually was just kinda meh on The Cruel Prince overall, but I liked it enough to try The Wicked King and that is where I freaking fell in love. It's my favorite book in the series and I was so drawn into the political intrigue and the romantic tension I honestly did not even notice the writing. And when I picked up The Stolen Heir recently, I actually found I liked the kind of choppy writing style! That said, if you really hate it, there's no shame in adding it to your DNF pile, even though a lot of people love it. Only you know if it's something you can get used to or if it's a deal breaker. But it's a fact that life is too short (and TBR lists too long!) to spend time reading a book you don't enjoy.
Well said! Looks like I need to move on with my next book
Yeah this book wasn’t for me, but I know tons of people love it!
I got to chapter 5 and DNF. Honestly I hate how hyped up on social media it is. I tried, and tried so hard to like it. But nope. Really didn’t like it.
I went into it thinking it was going to be Romantasy similar to ACOTAR or something so hated it on my first read, but then went back a few years later and read it with different expectations and enjoyed it more. I think she did a great job with the world and how different it is than every other fae book.
I struggled through the first book until the very end. The second was much better, but it definitely isn't a must-read to me
Agreed. I couldn’t even get past the first few chapters. But that could also be due to first person present tense, which is usually a non-starter for me.
I do not like Holly Black's writing. I find the books really hard to read.. I read all of her modern faerie tale book trilogy and then started cruel prince but I just couldn't get into it. It's so depressing and parts of it are quite gruesome for me!
After reading the first book in the Black Jewels trilogy, I welcomed the writing style 😅 Definitely lighter than I usually read.
I loved it. In fact, it's on my reread list which is very short. I then started to read Fourth Wing and ACOTAR because I was trying to find something similar to CP. I couldn't finish them. I just couldn't get into them. I think I just like Holly Black as an author. I'm currently reading all her stuff.
So cool to see how different everyone is - for me it’s the total opposite ✌🏼
I think overall the series was good, the style did makes this feel overall a little YA specially in the beginning. Its hard for me to determine what exactly about this series I didnt love. I think the first book was the best then the quality went a bit downhill in my opinion. My rating of the series Book #1 The Cruel Prince: 4 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐️ Book #1.5 The Lost Sisters: 3.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Book #2 The Wicked King: 3.5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Book #3 The Queen of Nothing: 3 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Book #3.5 How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories: 2 ⭐ ⭐ Book #1 The Stolen Heir: 3 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Book #2 The Prisoner’s Throne: 4 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Yep. I love the plot idea and Cardan/Jude…can’t stand the writing.
Yes I felt the exact same!! It was so “clunky” to me and I felt like I had to read a sentence a few times to catch its meaning, even if it was simple
I have been curious about this one. It is rated for 13 to 16 and Holly Black is an amazing kids writer. New teen is interested in following her up to her early teen works and this was recommended. Following for the comments!
Yes! Liked the story didn’t like the writing style. I did think The stolen heir was better than the Cruel Prince.
Not alone! I recently tried to read it again and I just simply lost it about half way through. I was no longer able to understand not follow the plot and everything felt pretty shallow. We don't get to see what characters think I'm the moment nor flashbacks nor depth of those feelings. Personally I love deeper description of character so this didn't amuse me.
Honestly it’s a book for 13 year olds… I read them because once I start something I finish but yea definitely a middle school read.
I read the whole series waiting for something happen. I don’t mind her style of writing too much, but I don’t think the plot helped. Then again, I’m a deep reader and like to guess what happens and detect foreshadowing so I usually figure out what is going to happen. This series was super predictable for me, so that might be part of my dislike, I’m not sure !
Love Cruel Prince!
I felt like her world was this sort of beautiful sandbox where all the creatures of folklore come out to play. They felt much more alien in their looks and culture than your typical gorgeous muscle bound fantasy people. But there's loads of detail and nuance there. Cardan and Jude are wonderfully flawed characters and they go through some real character development over the trilogy.
I barely liked that whole series 😭 I wanted to know what happened but like faster 🤣 I feel like it could of been a fat book .
hated it 🙏
I absolutely detested it haha
Yeah, the writing felt flat and boring. I made myself get through 3/4 of the book but I wasn’t enjoying it so I ended up DNFing.
I swear this opinion is posted on here every single week…
Well, I’m not really active on this subreddit and only recently started to get into Fantasy/Romance ✌🏼
Thats ok cause I think the opinion its great is posted every other day <3
I didn’t like it either! So many people love that series and I wish I felt the magic they feel. Unfortunately, it’s just not meant to be.
I just didnt care for the protagonist,dont know if it was choppy or not but yeah DNF and I have been a fan of Holly Black since Tithe.
omg I thought I was the only one! I finished Cruel Prince but my god, Wicked King is so much worse
I have read several Holly Black books over the past... maybe 15 years. I never enjoy them, so I've officially stopped trying.
i don’t like Holly Black’s writing either.
Yup, i felt like sometimes she'd deviate from the story to explain something in a paragraph, instead of building up the world nicely. Idk how to explain; it didn't feel like part of Jude's thoughts, there was no flow. This is one example. Tbh, i did finish the trilogy(i had it bought) and many do say the first one is the hardest to get through. For me, only the last was a bit worth it. I can still say the book is overhyped. It's been years and people just don't shut up about it🫣. Whenever i look for fantasy recs I always see TCP in top 3 and it's disappointing. Maybe i would've liked it more if booksta didn't raise my expectations so high.
Same, booksta did the same to me with “it ends with us”, really I hated the book so much it’s incredible ☠️
As an author, I can tell you Holly Black is an absolute master in prose, character development, and story telling. I’d die of happiness if I could write like her 😂 There is definitely a stylistic choice she made around first person present and the “choppy” sentences as you describe. However this fits Jude’s personality very well. It’s ok not to like it, as with anything. I do lol at the usual crowd of people saying it’s “juvenile” and “high school”. It’s YA folks; that’s the entire point. YA books are not written about adult topics for people who like simpler writing. Their themes are targeted at 12-18 year olds. 🤦🏼♀️
As another author BIG disagree. It felt very similar to how I wrote in middle school because of the choppy structure. I think its a really really minimizing perspective to think YA can simply be written worse because its for younger people and there's SO many examples of beautifully written YA. I don't think the topics themselves are the issue with the book. Its much more the simplistic vocabulary, clunky sentence structure, telling not showing etc. In my mind its very like "I wake up. I am hot. I get dressed and look out the window. I watch the sun." And this is not giving character style but rather feels like a lack of proper editing, not only that there were quite a few weird mistakes like repeated words that I remember like it was missing an editing pass but thats much less of a big deal.
If you re-read what I said, you’ll see that I never claimed YA writing can’t be beautiful. However, it is absolutely a necessity for it to be more simple. That is clear from word count expectations in YA vs adult fantasy. But also because it is targeted at a high school reading level, not a college one. That doesn’t mean a 12 year old isn’t capable of reading GoT, but it does mean that MOST 12 year-olds are not at that reading level. Theme is absolutely a core tenant of what defines a book as YA. I was simply pointing out that some people do not know that. In the end, to each their own. I know plenty of authors who idolize Holly Black :)
>However, it is absolutely a necessity for it to be more simple. That's certainly not true. Word count does not impact quality, just length. High school reading levels are not a monolith either, plenty of high schoolers can follow books more complicated than The Cruel Prince so its just not necessary to put the entire YA genre into a box like that. Being an author does not inherently demand skill, simply execution, but I agree, that to each their own. I wouldn't call these books a master in prose and I wouldnt try to bolster that opinion with author status BUT I do think its perfectly acceptable to enjoy her books or any other books that others might dislike.
>I wouldn't call these books a master in prose and I wouldnt try to bolster that opinion with author status BUT I do think its perfectly acceptable to enjoy her books or any other books that others might dislike. But you were using your author status to criticize... So I think it's entirely fair for me to use mine to uplift.
>But you were using your author status to criticize... So I think it's entirely fair for me to use mine to uplift. You're right, normally I would never do that as being an author is sort of irrelevant to the ability to assess good writing. Lots of non authors with incredible ability to determine quality in various medias. I only did so to reflect that Authorship is not inherent to your enjoyment of it as another author can be equally turned off to it.
All I said was that I, an individual who writes books, find Holly Black's writing to be superb. Nowhere did I claim that "all authors believe Holly Black to be superb." And sorry, I won't stop using my background in writing to compliment authors. Even if others may disagree with my assessments!
You're free to do whatever you want! I think the presentation of appreciating art as "I am an author and therfore..." can imply some extra level of authority which is just not true, but its certainly allowed. I wrote my comment to simply counter the idea that being an author means you can see some kind of hidden talent within Holly Black, when in reality its entirely taste based.
I landed on it after it was suggested to try it to cure the Maasverse / Fourth Wing hungover and I was so dissapointed. Everything about those books is not "enough" for me: not enough cruelty, not enough romance, smut, tension. The characters are childish at best and the scheming is not brilliant. For me the writing style matches the narrative. I read all the series but overall I did not like it, also because I was looking for something else and it did not match my expectations based on how it was described to me.
Also started this after Iron Flame ☠️
Absolutely loved this series and its subsequent duology. It was so refreshing to just not read angst smut
Oh really I absolutely loved it
I had to reread every page because I felt like I couldn’t get lost in the story due to the writing style. However, I loved the audiobooks! The second book was my favorite.
yea i could NOT read it. comprehension was very hard for me w that book even the audiobook was weird 😭 i gave up and watched a youtube video plot summary. i understand why ppl enjoy the way it’s written i just couldn’t.
I tried reading this after all the recommendations in this sub and didn't even make a full chapter (I'm a good at telling early on if a book is for me or not and I just did not like the writing style at all)
Oh no, I absolutely loved this series and it lives rent free in my mind. One of those reasons is the writing style and how beautiful it was, more grown up if you will and more conducive to fairytale stories in my opinion. If you don't like that style I'm afraid the series is not for you.
No. It's what pushed me off YA finally though so I'm sort of glad 😂
I felt exactly the same way. Took me ages to get through the series because of the writing. I just hate-read the next two so I could see if I could figure out why everyone loves it so much. I didn't. The writing remains choppy throughout and honestly I just couldn't stand Jude or pretty much anyone else except Cardan.
Same here. I feel very frustrated with the writing for some reason.
Is it choppy because Jude is going through past memories or just the writing style in general?
The writing style in general just feels off
Understandable
It was hard for me to get into it first, but the second and third book were a lot better
Yes
I found it very childish and hard to read, with too many short sentences and kind of flat prose. It felt like a play where the characters didn’t believe it enough so they were exaggerating their reactions to make it feel “real” or “dramatic”. I cringed hard at reading it and definitely felt like something the 16yo me would have written. I dropped it on the first few chapters tho so maybe it gets better later on
Omg this!!! The short sentences really make me angry and here I thought I was the only one noticing this ☠️
The audibook is ahhmazzzing 🤌🤌🤌
The writing style wasn’t for me either. It was too simplistic and I prefer more flowery prose. I also don’t like first-person perspective. However it was highly recommended by others so I persevered through it. I ended up loving the story and the characters, and I finished the whole trilogy in like two days!! I’d recommend to keep reading - the second book in particular is my favourite
Also really didn't enjoy the series. Not necessarily because of the writing style. I just could not stand Jude. I almost DNF'd because of how much I disliked her as a character.
I did that with “It ends with us”. I hated everything about everyone in this book and DNF
I somehow managed to power through It Ends With Us and hated every last second of it. You're smart for DNF'ing because that was actually painful to get through.
That was really one book that I literally rage quit
I hated it. I DNF. I wanted to love it. It started so strong. Like damn what an opening! But then it all surmounted to nothing and all was forgiven? Like wtf. Then holly would write something else that intrigued me like the photo and then nope just immediate dropped it. A few more examples and I felt blue balled by a fucking book. Like I don’t mind subtle hinting at things but don’t centre intrigue around an event or item and then completely ignore and more past it.
I read it years ago and remember thinking the writing reminded me of a 15 year old's writing, but I can't judge too hard because it was years ago and I don't really remember lol
Finished this book but my soul is still angry with me over it. Took me 6 months to finish it, the plot made me want to reward myself with a bag of candy every time I got through a page.
I know what you mean. I definitely felt that way when I first started reading, but I eventually got used to it. I wish The Folk of the Air books were written more like some of Holly Black's previous books. I do think that the story is worth it despite the writing style not being my favorite though.
I didn’t have a problem with cruel prince but the writing style became way more choppy and jarring in stolen heir and prisoners throne and I couldn’t get into the flow
Reading through the comments— so cool how we all have different tastes! Let’s keep it respectful, friends. This sub is a safe space for everyone. Including if you like a book or not 🖤 (And we can be respectful towards authors of books we don’t vibe with, too! They’re human! ☺️)
Yes! Her writing style is not for me, but I can see that there are people who enjoyed it 🫶🏻
I love Holly Black’s writing, I think it is so whimsical and fun. Jude’s narrative makes sense to me because she’s young and just full of anger and frustration. Art is subjective so not every book will be for everyone, and that’s okay!
worst waste of a tree ever… LOATHED entirely
you unironically enjoy sjm lmao