The Cruel Prince Makes Me Unreasonably Mad

The Cruel Prince: Spoiler-Heavy Review

Louis of Louis’s Library gives The Cruel Prince one star. He says it is not the worst book he has read, “but it comes close,” and frames his review as a furious response to becoming fed up with popular romantic fantasy.

Spoilers ahead.

Story and Worldbuilding

The story opens with Jude and her sisters, Taryn and Vivi, witnessing their parents’ murder at the hands of Madoc, a Faerie general who takes the girls to live in Faerie. Louis sees promise in this opening, but quickly questions the book’s worldbuilding. He jokes about the abrupt shift from “fish fingers with ketchup” to a realm without ketchup, and says the categories of fairies, goblins, and other magical beings can be confusing.

He also repeatedly questions the much-praised rule that fairies cannot lie, arguing that it has little effect on the plot.

As Jude grows up, Prince Cardan and his friends bully her, but she refuses to submit. She is also portrayed as a skilled fighter. Louis, however, complains that key action is often skipped over, sometimes reduced to a line like, “then I won the next two rounds.”

Jude eventually joins Prince Dain’s Court of Shadows, a spy network whose name Louis likes. Her ability to lie as a human gives her an advantage. Louis praises a few details, including a goblin’s distinctive nose, but says such moments are buried in clumsy prose and confusing scene-setting.

Political Intrigue and Romance

Jude’s spying uncovers evidence of treachery involving Prince Balekin, while the story’s political crisis builds toward a bloody coronation. Louis finds the twists difficult to follow and argues that the book often skips the action needed to make events convincing.

After the coup, Jude maneuvers to have Cardan crowned king instead of Balekin. Her plan gives her influence over Cardan, while her young half-brother, Oak, is sent back to the human world.

Louis’s greatest objection is the romance. Cardan and his friends repeatedly torment Jude, including throwing her into a river, but Cardan’s attraction to her eventually leads to a kiss. Louis calls this a troubling enemies-to-lovers setup: the book acknowledges the cruelty, he argues, yet still presents the bully’s attraction as romantic and exciting.

He also mocks glowing fan reviews that praise the idea of fairies who cannot lie, joking about the genre’s appeal with the line, “If men can’t lie, sign me up”—especially since he believes the rule barely matters to the story.

Overall Assessment

Louis’s broader criticisms are that the prose feels plain, Jude’s first-person narration can seem oddly detached, and the fantasy elements do not meaningfully shape the plot. He also argues that the book’s elves feel heavily borrowed from Tolkien, without much reinvention.

Still, he concedes that the opening has promise, the Court of Shadows is a compelling idea, and Jude has potential as a clever, determined protagonist.

Louis closes by arguing that romantasy leans too heavily on recycled tropes. He asks viewers to explain what they enjoy about the book and encourages people to keep reading—even if they choose The Cruel Prince.

Personality Appearing

• Louis — the solo reviewer.
• Holly Black is discussed as the author but does not appear.