Jude never should have stayed in the land of the Folk. It was toxic that she kept allowing for people to belittle and harm her. All the side characters were more interesting than she was. She was like plain toast with an affinity to get burned.
I think the biggest issue for me was his like root reason he hated Jude and it was because he was jealous she had a dad or whatever.. a dad that killed her parents. So I’m like he’s.. jealous of that? I wish he had a better valid reason of hating her like her dad killing someone close to him and he’s angry idk. I felt like his hatred for her was not believable and kinda dumb.
I’m so glad you mentioned how a lot of Cardan’s “sweet” moments to Jude were only when he was drunk or poisoned… Like I just couldn’t get into them at all idk why so many people think they’re like the superior book couple lmao. Also the whole “bullying you(trying to drown you???) because I like you” thing is so juvenile and gross and they turned him from horrible to nice guy way too quickly
What kills me is that there are reasons why most of the questionable things happen (why taryn is terrible, and some of cardans thought processes) but to get it you HAVE to read the novallas and I don’t want to have to read side books to get main plot points lol but i still love this series
Trust me, you should read the last novella and know about cardan's backstory, plus it has a really fun bonus plot, i really loved it. No need to read lost sisters, Taryn is basically a bitch, that it.
PLEASE read Holly Black's Coldest Girl in Coldtown. It's a standalone and it's just a girl being absolutely unhinged in a dangerous magical place and making the dangerous magical people go "bro what the fuck" about it. Basically all the good parts of TFOTA slammed into a standalone.
I loved that book!! I think I've even re read it once or twice over the years. I was not a fan on Holly blacks fae oriented works (just not for me 🤷♀️) but I loved her other works
The Folk of the Air tries to be everything at once yet doesn't commit to anything in order to be the perfect cash grab escapism. I expected to be underwhelmed but ended up binging the entire trilogy and both novellas in less than a week. I gave all books 5 stars because they were sooooo addicting. The addicting part is the wasted potential and not the story itself though. I still love it but it's just frustrating since Holly Black could've created an amazing dualogy with this concept if she committed to the wickedness of fairyland resulting Jude to end up actually betrayed and permanently in the human world.
This is one of those series that is definitely not amazing but it was entertaining and something about it kept me reading and for some reason I can’t not love it lol
I haven’t read a book since 2021 and I was just rereading the Harry Potter series. I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a new book. This video made me go out and buy the Cruel Prince and I’m 270 pages in and it has brought my love for reading back after years. As dumb as it is, I’m eating it up. I missed that feeling and I missed reading. Thank you for making these videos.
I'm definitely biased because while i didnt love the first and third books, the second one was great and by the end of the trilogy I'd gotten attached. BUT i have to say, i feel like the faeries in this are distinguished enough from humans (cardan has a tail lmao) that it's not entirely fair to judge them by human morals. Also, from the beginning, Jude talks (in her inner monolog) about how Madoc murdered her parents but also read her to sleep, raised her, and that she does love him but (in her words) it's a complicated kind of love. that is also how she feels about Elfhame/Faerieland and, eventually, Cardan.
So glad to hear somone else not like cruel prince. I remember reading it and being so mad at how shitty Carden is to Jude and that I'm expected to root for their romance when he has been nothing but abusive.
@@kittyhawke2701 there are ways to make Carden cruel and still have their romance be believable but as it is it’s just another story of excusing the abusive love interest and I’m also just tired of the oh he’s mean to you because he likes you. Let’s stop tell women and girls to put up with shitty behavior “because he likes you.”
I actually liked the trilogy(and the cameos from characters from other folk of air books were fun) but one thing I never really understood was Cardan and Jude’s romance. Like, I love a good enemies-to-lovers but I didn’t really understand how they got to the “lovers” part? Like there were so few times where they interacted where they genuinely seemed to both like and respect each other and when there were, they were few and far between. Idk, maybe the build-up went over my head, but I was really surprised that Jude was *that* concerned for Cardan when he turned into a snake.
What stuck with me in the beginning wasn't the fish sticks but the microwave!! As soon as I read that I was like "oh a microwave??? This is urban fantasy???? Not reading it" eventually I listened to the audiobook while I was on holiday with my friends and kept reading the others with a friend that had already read the first one. I like the folklore around faerie so I liked it and I like how Holly Black can vividly write these little scenes that keep you interested even while you're waiting for things to happen (like Dulcamara in the tent with the ladies in the first book and Jude being dresses by the merfolk in the second one) but both my friend and I were disappointed by how tame Jude was in acting on her anger for someone who is the daughter of a general and proclaims she wants to be "so much worse" than those hurting her. (spelling edit)
I recently read this series and I felt largely nothing, I kept wanting to read it in the middle of the book but always felt the endings were fumbled and boring. It was just frustrating getting invested only to be hugely let down at the ends
Giving wicked king 5 stars is so relatable I like it the most among the others Here is my personal rating Cruel prince 3/5 Wicked king 4.5/5 The queen of nothing 2/5
It finaly happened Rachel shitting on something that I love and while I am afraid to notice something that will make not like it anymore because of you I will watch it anyway 😌 LOVE THE TARYN SLANDER
I'm afraid to watch it too because I love TCP and I don't want to have Rachel ruin it for me by being right (I agree with everything else she says) buuuut it's my book she's recommending at the end, so...? XD
@@katemacdonald3765 gonna print this cause damn it's not everyday an author answers your comment. I'm soo excited to read your book, I'm a sucker for fae worlds
@@bruuh0_0 awesome! I hope you enjoy it. Not every day I see someone so excited to read! I've written a LOT of fae world books. Got another coming out in September which is basically if King Arthur, Holly Black and Miraculous Ladybug had a baby... XD
@@katemacdonald3765 you had me at fae world, but damn the hold you got when you said miraculous ladybug. My poor friends can barely stand me as it is with the book obssessions and then you drop this. Looks like time to break my agreement to not buy books for a while ps. dear lord just went to check the price of the kindle version and you wrote SO MUCH STUFF, I'm screwed if I like Forest of Dreams and Whispers cause if I like one author's book I always buy the rest
i hardly remember anything from book 1 besides the climax scene where they crown the lil kid and the scene where jude is like high on fairy food and gets naked. book two, omg i was literally LIVING for the entire book, the scene at the end where carden tells that sea princess whats what 😌chefs kiss. and book three i remember being okay with until the ending WHICH FELT SO RUSHED AND ANTICLIMACTIC I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED, i rly have never read anything so mediocre
Oh my god I have the same reaction as you on first book ending! I couldnt put into words why I love the series but not at the same time. You put them into words for me and I relate 110%!
The only really goodish fae based book that I really liked is the standalone YA/teen book is An Enchantment of Ravens where the fae are very weird and inhuman, which sometimes leads to cruelty due to not understanding humans are very mortal, need to eat actual food, and dislike being tormented to death. The main dude love interest is centuries old with a 17 year girl, but the book does an okay job of not making it feel icky and awful to read.
@@ReadswithRachel Haha, no! I think it's just me XD When there are too many names I just mind-blank. I just thought it was funny of like ".... omg I still have no idea what she's talking about"
The worst part is, all of her Endings Suck. Everytime i read a Book from Holly Black the beginnings are okay, the middle is the best and the ending ruins it. this series could have been so good because the world was a really great idea, even the scenario. I'm glad that i learned my lesson about her a long ago and only got the book borrowed from my local library
It has been quite a while since I actually read it, but feel like my overall enjoyment and thoughts on the trilogy were absolutely related to my pre-existing attachment to Holly’s entire Faerie universe, which began when I was about 12 (and probably should not have been reading Tithe). If I remember correctly, the books, especially the third book(??) spent a lot of time placing the trilogy into an even larger game of faery politics she has established across multiple books and series that couldn’t possibly have been fully explained with so little time. On top of that, it did feel like a lot of it didn’t need to be there at all, even if you knew why she might have thrown it in. The significance of certain characters’ appearances and involvement was certainly lessened if you didn’t already know who they were. So much of the time spent on tie-ins with books and series that casual readers of the books might not even be aware of could have been better spent just focusing on the elaborate plot and huge cast of characters already present.
I read the first book and had no interest of continuing. Even with all the death and betrayals in the end i was like "oh okay" and moved on so props to you for finishing the series
I hate bully romances but I loved The Cruel Prince for some reason. I think it had to do with the fact that most if not all the fae were horrible and it was in their nature (I think?). If a human were to behave the way they did I'd be livid. In the end, the character I ended up hating the most was Taryn 🤣 The second book was also fun but I was really disappointed in the third one. Thank you for making the video. I had fun watching. And thank you for the book recommendation!
This is always one of those books I know is super popular amongst people but I've never had the interest in reading. And somehow I've never heard someone describe what it's about or why they like it? Which always struck me as strange.
I love the end of cruel prince and the entirety of wicked King, but holly black lost me with the queen of nothing. It's the worst one. And he was like "you could have come back whenever." But Jude already thought of a way he could deny her. It was dumb. Worst book in the trilogy. The mean girl reference is meme-able, but doesn't fix the book.
omg i'm glad i banned holly black from my personal shelves lmao 🤣 after the mess that was 'tithe' and her messy livejournal saga with cassie claire, i swore her off. never again.
I read the first book when it came out (while I was still in my major fantasy phase) and I was so, so bored. By the end I was just angry. But while I was reading it, I kept thinking that the book wasn't written for people who have no idea about any fae/fairy terminology and at some point I got fed up with trying to google all the terms I didn't understand. I hated Jude, she was so insanely boring, I found that she is just good at everything, seemingly without even REALLY trying (again, I read this years ago, but that's what I remember thinking). It all just seemed to work out for her. She was the best at everything, a jack of all trades and master of all vibe. I didn't even bother reading the synopsis for the second when that came out.
I read the Cruel Prince series on the recommendation of a friend, and I wish I could have loved it... it disappointed me. However, I found the stand-alone stealth spin off Darkest Part of the Forest really good though, so I fully agree if CP was a single book it could've been great. Holly just needed to condense and streamline, cut out the crap that leads to nowhere- which is a lot.
I've never read The Cruel Prince, but when I listened to your description, it reminded me of Prince of the Sorrows by Kellen Graves. It's dark and emotional (and gay) and made me cry several times.
Don't wanna be one of those "you just don't get it" girls so let's just say I had different interpretations of a lot of this lol. I grew up on holly black's takes on fae things though, so I knew what she was doing with the culture/vibe. I reread them just last month actually and the romance was mostly a comedy to me. The last book reminded me of folk tales like Janet and Tam Lin, which is my favorite tale
I got into this series with low expectations and I ended up loving them. These books took me out of my reading slump of years! My two main concerns with them are mainly the following: 1. While I enjoyed the third book it felt incomplete like it needed more pages. 2. Love Jude and Cardan dynamics I lot of people argue that is a bully to romance but I disagree. However I feel like the transition from enemies to lovers could have been better.
so I haven't read very many books in the past like, decade, and I had no idea where to start to break back into the fantasy meta, so I ended up going by general chatter and started with ACOTAR and 1/2 of ACOMAF (the dinner table introductions are *excruciatingly* long on audiobook, and I got bored with the fetch quests), which paved my expectations exactly where they needed to be to have fun reading Cruel Prince right after lmfao. going from one book with a red-haired fox themed secondary man character who was my sassy third wheel fav, to the next where the red-haired fox themed secondary man character was teased as a love triangle option, only to turn out to be ACTUALLY THE WORST ONE? absolutely delightful one-two punch, took great satisfaction in his ending. I do have my complaints, but the stuff that was great was more than enough to keep me sticking through it. I thought the bullysquad characterization in the very beginning was weak (it came off like, kinda silly teen movie drama before the Actual Attempted Murder kicked in lol), and I wish the ending was a bit more complicated (we KNOW what her decision was going to be, so it was kind of boring just waiting for it through the last chapter, and also there was a huge missed opportunity for a proper Lindworm skin shedding fairy tale reference instead of just a head lop, but that's just what I wanted 😂). my personal biggest crit is with how much time Jude and Carden spent apart in book 3, it really killed the believability of then overcoming that last hate to love emotional hurdle to me? like, Jude getting mer-napped and coming back to Carden, who had clearly gone though a whole emotional journey OFF SCREEN that she was still a bit too in denial to clock, was disappointing and a little annoying? it solved all the fun hate-tension from his side, so all that was left was for Jude to catch on and finally reciprocate. which, she had pretty good character reasons to not be quick on that draw, but the one-sided tension felt like an early deflation after how good it had been up to that point. overall I'd probably give it like a 4, if for no other reason it was solid and enjoyable enough to get me to finish the series lol (I'm terrible at follow through)
I'm glad I'm not only one who read ACOTAR and ACOMAF before reading this series and being so disappointed by the political stuff that the bar was low so I enjoyed this series. Also I agree that dinner scene where everyone is introduced is annoying to get through but I was reading it and not listening to it.
i was so exited to read it and ended up being disappointed. there are still some parts that I liked and I would agree the second was the best. edit: I went in blind cardan wasa so cruel that I actually didn't think he was the love interest I was shocked when they kissed
i read the first book and felt mightily disappointed. even after giving it a second chance, i still thought it was really bad. i have no desire to finish the other books.
I didn't want to invest money so I checked out the first book from the library. I was so frustrated reading this that I tossed the book into the back of the car and left it there. I read it until the end and then returned it to the library, largely unimpressed and largely disappointed lmfao. Will I ever finish the series? No, I'm good. I'll just take everyone else's word on how they feel about it and go with that.
A books I certainly liked more was Forest of Dreams and Whispers by Katherine MacDonald. It has a similar initial I-love-you-but-hate-that chemistry and banter (definitely more banter) but without the toxicity of their relationship. Plus it's basically a standalone.
Okay we are on the same page on this one! I could barely finish the cruel prince and I own the other two books but I cannot bring myself to finish and I’m a completionist at heart. Finding out she’s a Cassie Claire friend
Never been interested in this series cause it was overhyped. Normally overhyped books--especially when all the reviewers talk about is just the main romance (and nothing else) makes me NOT want to read it.
I really liked The Stolen Heir, the first of a duology that follows a grown-up Oak and Suren (the little girl with the bridle from the Court of Teeth). I felt like Holly took everything that worked about the Carden/Jude trilogy and made and it better. 2nd book doesn’t come out till March of next year though 😢
Was it worth reading now tho? Or maybe i should wait for the series to be completed? I am quite hesitant about this, and i want the series to come out before reading them. 😭 I’m just so attached to the first series that I’m scared to begin that new one.
I literally just started this and have so many questions! I figured the protagonist is going to end up with Carden (the bully). Why?! I’m halfway through and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
The bullying is so over the top a part of me kinda wished she killed him at the end of queen of nothing for it like “ha, that’s for making me kiss your shoe”
I loved this trilogy, read it recently and the first book in the sequel series, but all valid points in your review. Will read the book you recommended, so thanks for that! It sounds good.
Every time I watch a video about a series I don't know with a crap ton of characters, I feel like there should be some kind of family tree connecting everyone who is necessary to the plot
This book was soo bad, i tried to force myself to read it TWICE because of all the hype and couldn’t get past the moment where she finds the acorn because it made the rest of the story so obvious - acorns come from OAK trees and it was just sooooooooo easy to figure everything out from there. You knew the message was about her brother and it wasn’t hard to guess why that would be important to the plot. I mean, I really wasn’t enjoying the book at all before that point but when that happened I just couldn’t anymore. Like she couldn’t have chosen a more subtle clue?
@@ReadswithRachel don’t worry, I only caught it the second time I tried to read it. I’m kinda fan girling over the fact I just blew your mind a little bit though ;)
I was going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to read these and you’ve helped my decision for sure. These books sound like an absolute blast of the same tier as ACOTAR, so I will be adding them to my TBR
I have so much love for this series and 90% of it comes from the end of The Cruel Prince and the whole The Wicked King (we don't talk about queen of nothing)
Honestly I just love letting you spoil things for me, even if it's books on my TBR. I've only read TCP and I keep putting the other two books off because I'm SOOO wary of books I see floating around booktwt, booktok, etc. and always put them off because I'm afraid to be disappointed.
I loved the series tbh but the end of book 2 made me laugh as well because that loophole was SO OBVIOUS, then the start of book 3 pissed me off SO BAD when she didn't get it, I spent the whole book going "YOU IDIOT, USE THE LOOPHOLE" I actually, personally, would have liked it if Cardan had actually died at the end, it would have fit pretty well with the rest of the story. If Holly Black really wanted him to live, I feel like there were different ways she could have gone with it, though I'm happy enough with the way she did (To be clear: I do ship them but I like it when characters die lol)
Dain didn’t find out that she killed the prince’s friend, she harmed him and punished her for that by making her stab her own hand. She killed him after.
Started reading the first book, was bored, switched to audio, HUGE mistake: the narrator is as apathetic as Jude read 🙈 I'm also laughing at the faerie bullies. iirc Cardan tears off the wings of a faerie, but when it comes to Jude he and his clique... kick dirt into her food? Pull her hair? Classic bullying for human standards, but these are magical, immortal beings that have been living for hundreds of years. They are all so childish. The same gose for prince Dain. He chooses a human teenager to spy for him???? What???? I'm glad he didn't become king, he would've made a terrible job. Clues have to literally fall into Jude's pockets for something to happen 🤦🏾♀️ The most interesting thing was the relationship between Jude and Madoc... pity it wasn't explored. The only thing she thinks is "I love him like a father but it's so wrong" over and over and that's it until he turns into the main antagonist. Jude in book 3 loses every ounce of brain she had in book 1 (which weren't many ounces to begin with) 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
So, I'm always interested in hit pieces about overhyped books since I rarely read based on what everyone is talking about, but girl, Booktok is going to come after you between this and Fourth Wing XD
i recently read the first book and felt like i was going crazy so many times because i just did not get the hype AT ALL. seriously multiple times i had to turn off my kindle and check the physical book to make sure i wasn’t missing any parts because it felt so … lackluster? it felt like i was missing a whole book in between and we were just skipping from scene to scene. this was the first series i actually didn’t continue reading, after the first book i had no intention of even thinking about the rest of them. however when you said some people “turn their brains off” and read it really started to make sense to me bc that’s honestly the only way i can see people actually loving it so much lol
I had a bit of FOMO after finishing the first book. After listening to your review, I feel better about moving on to other books on my TBR list. Thank you!
I had a realization a few months ago that I have to stop reading her books just because of nostalgia. She was my favorite author since age twelve (I'm thirty two now) and that was the only reason I supported her for so long. I read the whole trilogy because my best friend loved it - I even went to a couple of signings with her for these books (we also live in MA) but I just felt absolutely nothing throughout (and felt guilty about it... ). The same way I felt nothing reading The Iron Trials. I haven't truly enjoyed her work since The Darkest Part of the Forest. It was hard but necessary decision to move on.
I’ve had Cruel Prince sitting in my kindle library for months and haven’t brought myself to start it - excited to check out your recommendation instead. That’s what I want, a one and done fantasy book. Thanks for the rec!
THANK YOU! SOMEONE WHO AGREES IT'S NOT THE BEST! This book made me so mad and the romance itself... Wow. Not great. I love fae lore, but this one wasn't my cup of tea. A lot of fae books aren't. But I am so glad you recommended Katherine MacDonald's book! Now THAT is my cup of tea, and I cannot stop thinking about it after reading it. Hooked onto that book now.
my biggest issue with this series was, first of all, that it was MARKETED AS A ROMANCE?!?! which it is NOT. i also was annoyed that she wanted to stay in the fairy land or whatever they called it because everyone was sooooo mean and hateful to her? i could barely focus on any of the storyline because i couldn't even believe that she wanted to stay
Tbh, in order to love Holly Black, you have to love Holly Black. Meaning, I've been watching her write variations of these characters since I was 12 and got my hands on Tithe. Despite usually being really critical of books, I can love and accept the flaws of a Black book. I dont think she always does it well, but I personally think her characters are fairly nuanced. But again, I've been indoctrinated at an early age. Lol Also. Read Coldest Girl in Cold Town. Its, imo, the best of her books but no one talks about it.
My two cent bias: I love stories that flip between the magical world and the real world, Inkheart and Inkspell are some of my favorite books of all time. But when you name drop Converse, JcPenny and Apple I’m smacked in the head with the fact I need to take my iPad in to get fixed next week. And the “black and mint polka dot underwear” is going to haunt me. It still haunts me. This is perhaps too much information, and makes me think of 2012 a little too viscerally. It’s more real than the fantasy world the author has slaved over. I hate it.
Girl, you and me both. When I first *attempted* to read the cruel prince, the only thing I remembered about the beginning is that Jude was eating fish sticks she made in the microwave, and that she had heart shaped lips. Like, seriously, Holly Black. Of all the unimportant things to tell us...
The only book from Holly Black that I had read was Book Of Night. I think that it's going to be a Duology, but absolutely no worries to read it now since I know that you have so many commissions to read, but I personally enjoyed it.
@@ReadswithRachel I feel like it's more of a New Adult than an Adult book, but I feel like things might potentially change when the sequel comes out which wouldn't surprise me at all.
i remember thinking this would be a dark romance when I read the first book. (I saw it on tik tok and it's how I learned never to trust booktok's opinions lol) But it was like....more of a childhood bully who kicks your sand castle over?? Carden bored me honestly. I thought he was meant to be actually scary. It was all so promising and I expected some kind of messed up story but it fell short imo of what it promised. He wasn't interesting, he wasn't complicated and nuanced enough to make anything that he did interesting either. I didn't buy his love for her nor his cruelty. The side characters were more interesting but not even by much? I read the entire first book, waiting for the punch, waiting for the oomph of the story because SO many people love the series and I was left disappointed. It felt juvenile and unfinished. But in the books defense, YA is so hard to write dark romance for. Even the dark romance I've read for older audiences tend to miss the mark for me (I'm trying to read Haunting Adeline rn and I just CAN'T I CAN'T DO ITTTTT). I don't know if I'm just extremely picky or if the book is just out of my age range now. There were cool ideas and I liked the premise of the story, but it just didn't do it for me. I want the decay of morals for the mc and the death spiral of mutual obsession, I guess. Still trying to figure out what I'm looking for. Possibly something more akin to Hannigram.
@ReadswithRachel I like listening to it every so often. Most recently, I've been listening to it while doing my crafting. My husband, however, hates it lol
Side note: I have the series in audiobook form (that's the only way I can "read" anymore) and I can't remember if I liked it or nit. I -do- know there were a lot of eye roll moments...
I was overhyped about these books for a while but then lost all interest in reading them after finding out the author ''approved' Cassandra Clare's incest fanfic about the Weasley siblings lmao
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I missed this last time, it would've been perfect for the recent Taylor Swift concert I went to lol
Jude never should have stayed in the land of the Folk. It was toxic that she kept allowing for people to belittle and harm her. All the side characters were more interesting than she was. She was like plain toast with an affinity to get burned.
Facts
@@whiteraven562adds “wings of ebony” to my TBR
Wings of ebony is staring at me from my desk right now 👀
I can say in confidence that Jude is literally the most boring mc i’ve ever had to read about
Jude looking at someone like, 'Hey, man, these hands are rated E for everyone."
FACT
I think the biggest issue for me was his like root reason he hated Jude and it was because he was jealous she had a dad or whatever.. a dad that killed her parents. So I’m like he’s.. jealous of that? I wish he had a better valid reason of hating her like her dad killing someone close to him and he’s angry idk. I felt like his hatred for her was not believable and kinda dumb.
It absolutely was
I’m so glad you mentioned how a lot of Cardan’s “sweet” moments to Jude were only when he was drunk or poisoned… Like I just couldn’t get into them at all idk why so many people think they’re like the superior book couple lmao. Also the whole “bullying you(trying to drown you???) because I like you” thing is so juvenile and gross and they turned him from horrible to nice guy way too quickly
What kills me is that there are reasons why most of the questionable things happen (why taryn is terrible, and some of cardans thought processes) but to get it you HAVE to read the novallas and I don’t want to have to read side books to get main plot points lol but i still love this series
Trust me, you should read the last novella and know about cardan's backstory, plus it has a really fun bonus plot, i really loved it. No need to read lost sisters, Taryn is basically a bitch, that it.
@@Abonti-hc6oci loved it, but i couldn’t sit through the novella of jude’s sister she makes me so mad
PLEASE read Holly Black's Coldest Girl in Coldtown. It's a standalone and it's just a girl being absolutely unhinged in a dangerous magical place and making the dangerous magical people go "bro what the fuck" about it. Basically all the good parts of TFOTA slammed into a standalone.
I loved that book!
I loved that book!! I think I've even re read it once or twice over the years. I was not a fan on Holly blacks fae oriented works (just not for me 🤷♀️) but I loved her other works
P
i’m gonna read it ty for the record
that book it's like a fun wild silly ride. love if fr.
"aw shit, people are gonna wanna marry me now, gross" mood man
The Folk of the Air tries to be everything at once yet doesn't commit to anything in order to be the perfect cash grab escapism.
I expected to be underwhelmed but ended up binging the entire trilogy and both novellas in less than a week. I gave all books 5 stars because they were sooooo addicting.
The addicting part is the wasted potential and not the story itself though. I still love it but it's just frustrating since Holly Black could've created an amazing dualogy with this concept if she committed to the wickedness of fairyland resulting Jude to end up actually betrayed and permanently in the human world.
oh man... i think you're right. I think i wouldve been fine if it had just ended at book two. leaving her betrayed forever wouldve been hilarious.
This is one of those series that is definitely not amazing but it was entertaining and something about it kept me reading and for some reason I can’t not love it lol
I haven’t read a book since 2021 and I was just rereading the Harry Potter series. I can’t remember the last time I’ve read a new book. This video made me go out and buy the Cruel Prince and I’m 270 pages in and it has brought my love for reading back after years. As dumb as it is, I’m eating it up. I missed that feeling and I missed reading. Thank you for making these videos.
I'm so glad! This is great news!
I'm definitely biased because while i didnt love the first and third books, the second one was great and by the end of the trilogy I'd gotten attached. BUT i have to say, i feel like the faeries in this are distinguished enough from humans (cardan has a tail lmao) that it's not entirely fair to judge them by human morals. Also, from the beginning, Jude talks (in her inner monolog) about how Madoc murdered her parents but also read her to sleep, raised her, and that she does love him but (in her words) it's a complicated kind of love. that is also how she feels about Elfhame/Faerieland and, eventually, Cardan.
I loved the second one too. I wish she would write something like that again.
So glad to hear somone else not like cruel prince. I remember reading it and being so mad at how shitty Carden is to Jude and that I'm expected to root for their romance when he has been nothing but abusive.
She should’ve probably just killed him in the end tbh
@@ReadswithRachel yesss I love a good sacrificial death for the greater good ending trope tbh lol
i'm sorry but the book is literally titled 'the cruel prince', if y'all didn't go into it expecting the prince to be cruel idk what to tell you lol
@@kittyhawke2701 there are ways to make Carden cruel and still have their romance be believable but as it is it’s just another story of excusing the abusive love interest and I’m also just tired of the oh he’s mean to you because he likes you. Let’s stop tell women and girls to put up with shitty behavior “because he likes you.”
people when enemies to lovers involves them being … enemies: 😡😡😡
I actually liked the trilogy(and the cameos from characters from other folk of air books were fun) but one thing I never really understood was Cardan and Jude’s romance. Like, I love a good enemies-to-lovers but I didn’t really understand how they got to the “lovers” part? Like there were so few times where they interacted where they genuinely seemed to both like and respect each other and when there were, they were few and far between.
Idk, maybe the build-up went over my head, but I was really surprised that Jude was *that* concerned for Cardan when he turned into a snake.
As a writer myself watching bad book reviews is an educational experience. It helps me avoid the lack of quality to my book attempt
I only read the first book. When I started "a cruel prince" I had no idea that it would be a bully romance, which is a huge ick for me.
SO MANY THINGS ANNOYED ME ABOUT THIS SERIES. I buddies read all three with a friend and she was loving it while I was just seething over it
What stuck with me in the beginning wasn't the fish sticks but the microwave!! As soon as I read that I was like "oh a microwave??? This is urban fantasy???? Not reading it" eventually I listened to the audiobook while I was on holiday with my friends and kept reading the others with a friend that had already read the first one. I like the folklore around faerie so I liked it and I like how Holly Black can vividly write these little scenes that keep you interested even while you're waiting for things to happen (like Dulcamara in the tent with the ladies in the first book and Jude being dresses by the merfolk in the second one) but both my friend and I were disappointed by how tame Jude was in acting on her anger for someone who is the daughter of a general and proclaims she wants to be "so much worse" than those hurting her.
(spelling edit)
I recently read this series and I felt largely nothing, I kept wanting to read it in the middle of the book but always felt the endings were fumbled and boring. It was just frustrating getting invested only to be hugely let down at the ends
I was seething by the end of book three Holly black really wasted my time
@@ReadswithRachel It was wild seeing them prepare for a war only for it to end anticlimactically lol
It’s like when you set up a bottle rocket and then nothing happens and you just stand there… waiting. For nothing.
@@ReadswithRachel god that’s too true
24:27 CC transliterates Grima Mog as "screaming mom" and I'm dying.
Giving wicked king 5 stars is so relatable I like it the most among the others
Here is my personal rating
Cruel prince 3/5
Wicked king 4.5/5
The queen of nothing 2/5
I gave the whole trilogy two stars; I can see the appeal but I wanted a lot more from the characters, plot and the world.
It finaly happened
Rachel shitting on something that I love and while I am afraid to notice something that will make not like it anymore because of you I will watch it anyway 😌
LOVE THE TARYN SLANDER
I'm afraid to watch it too because I love TCP and I don't want to have Rachel ruin it for me by being right (I agree with everything else she says) buuuut it's my book she's recommending at the end, so...? XD
@@katemacdonald3765 gonna print this cause damn it's not everyday an author answers your comment. I'm soo excited to read your book, I'm a sucker for fae worlds
@@bruuh0_0 awesome! I hope you enjoy it. Not every day I see someone so excited to read!
I've written a LOT of fae world books. Got another coming out in September which is basically if King Arthur, Holly Black and Miraculous Ladybug had a baby... XD
@@katemacdonald3765 you had me at fae world, but damn the hold you got when you said miraculous ladybug. My poor friends can barely stand me as it is with the book obssessions and then you drop this. Looks like time to break my agreement to not buy books for a while
ps. dear lord just went to check the price of the kindle version and you wrote SO MUCH STUFF, I'm screwed if I like Forest of Dreams and Whispers cause if I like one author's book I always buy the rest
i hardly remember anything from book 1 besides the climax scene where they crown the lil kid and the scene where jude is like high on fairy food and gets naked.
book two, omg i was literally LIVING for the entire book, the scene at the end where carden tells that sea princess whats what 😌chefs kiss.
and book three i remember being okay with until the ending WHICH FELT SO RUSHED AND ANTICLIMACTIC I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED, i rly have never read anything so mediocre
Oh my god I have the same reaction as you on first book ending! I couldnt put into words why I love the series but not at the same time. You put them into words for me and I relate 110%!
I’m so glad someone gets me 😭
The only really goodish fae based book that I really liked is the standalone YA/teen book is An Enchantment of Ravens where the fae are very weird and inhuman, which sometimes leads to cruelty due to not understanding humans are very mortal, need to eat actual food, and dislike being tormented to death. The main dude love interest is centuries old with a 17 year girl, but the book does an okay job of not making it feel icky and awful to read.
You: *summarizing*
Me: *Wii Music* I legit have no idea what's going on no matter how many times I listen lmao
I’m so sorry! 😭 I will try better next time
@@ReadswithRachel Haha, no! I think it's just me XD When there are too many names I just mind-blank. I just thought it was funny of like ".... omg I still have no idea what she's talking about"
The worst part is, all of her Endings Suck. Everytime i read a Book from Holly Black the beginnings are okay, the middle is the best and the ending ruins it. this series could have been so good because the world was a really great idea, even the scenario. I'm glad that i learned my lesson about her a long ago and only got the book borrowed from my local library
I was overhyped for book 1, found it really disappointing, and then never kept reading
We lived the same life bc I finished the book said Okay and did not continue
Fair
I read 50% of bk one and stopped
every time you said "lock" i was like oh yeah john locke from lost
I thought of Locke Lamora from the Gentleman Bastards series.
@@hannahbrennan2131oh man, I love locke lamora. I live in constant agony waiting for a status update on Thorn of Emberlain :’)
@@cur1ouscatf1sh Same. I really hope it actually gets finished.
your makeup and shirt look so good together, love the makeup all around tho
Thank you so much!!
It has been quite a while since I actually read it, but feel like my overall enjoyment and thoughts on the trilogy were absolutely related to my pre-existing attachment to Holly’s entire Faerie universe, which began when I was about 12 (and probably should not have been reading Tithe). If I remember correctly, the books, especially the third book(??) spent a lot of time placing the trilogy into an even larger game of faery politics she has established across multiple books and series that couldn’t possibly have been fully explained with so little time. On top of that, it did feel like a lot of it didn’t need to be there at all, even if you knew why she might have thrown it in. The significance of certain characters’ appearances and involvement was certainly lessened if you didn’t already know who they were. So much of the time spent on tie-ins with books and series that casual readers of the books might not even be aware of could have been better spent just focusing on the elaborate plot and huge cast of characters already present.
I read the first book and had no interest of continuing. Even with all the death and betrayals in the end i was like "oh okay" and moved on so props to you for finishing the series
What’s wild is the last book had no death??? Like WHY? Absolutely mediocre
I hate bully romances but I loved The Cruel Prince for some reason. I think it had to do with the fact that most if not all the fae were horrible and it was in their nature (I think?). If a human were to behave the way they did I'd be livid. In the end, the character I ended up hating the most was Taryn 🤣 The second book was also fun but I was really disappointed in the third one.
Thank you for making the video. I had fun watching. And thank you for the book recommendation!
same, taryn makes me so mad. Also i loved the whole series and i read it twice.
@@nitebreak yeah I think this series is very re-readable! Especially on audio. It's so much fun to listen to
Here for the Shots by Sophia appreciation, she is so goddamned talented. Love her page!
This is always one of those books I know is super popular amongst people but I've never had the interest in reading. And somehow I've never heard someone describe what it's about or why they like it? Which always struck me as strange.
Forest of Dreams and Whispers is the best! Highly recommend it and every single one of Katherine Macdonald's other books too tbh
I love the end of cruel prince and the entirety of wicked King, but holly black lost me with the queen of nothing. It's the worst one. And he was like "you could have come back whenever." But Jude already thought of a way he could deny her. It was dumb. Worst book in the trilogy. The mean girl reference is meme-able, but doesn't fix the book.
omg i'm glad i banned holly black from my personal shelves lmao 🤣 after the mess that was 'tithe' and her messy livejournal saga with cassie claire, i swore her off. never again.
Loved the sandwich analogy 😂
I read the first book when it came out (while I was still in my major fantasy phase) and I was so, so bored. By the end I was just angry. But while I was reading it, I kept thinking that the book wasn't written for people who have no idea about any fae/fairy terminology and at some point I got fed up with trying to google all the terms I didn't understand. I hated Jude, she was so insanely boring, I found that she is just good at everything, seemingly without even REALLY trying (again, I read this years ago, but that's what I remember thinking). It all just seemed to work out for her. She was the best at everything, a jack of all trades and master of all vibe. I didn't even bother reading the synopsis for the second when that came out.
I read the Cruel Prince series on the recommendation of a friend, and I wish I could have loved it... it disappointed me. However, I found the stand-alone stealth spin off Darkest Part of the Forest really good though, so I fully agree if CP was a single book it could've been great. Holly just needed to condense and streamline, cut out the crap that leads to nowhere- which is a lot.
I've never read The Cruel Prince, but when I listened to your description, it reminded me of Prince of the Sorrows by Kellen Graves. It's dark and emotional (and gay) and made me cry several times.
Don't wanna be one of those "you just don't get it" girls so let's just say I had different interpretations of a lot of this lol. I grew up on holly black's takes on fae things though, so I knew what she was doing with the culture/vibe. I reread them just last month actually and the romance was mostly a comedy to me. The last book reminded me of folk tales like Janet and Tam Lin, which is my favorite tale
I also Loved the second book so much. The third one didn’t live up to it and the first was was…fine.
The third one was so stupid and a waste of my time. Holly owes us for that.
Yes! Such a let down. I remember some of my friends being devastated at the end of book 2 and I couldn’t understand it. I thought it was great.
@@AramiHeartillyit was hilarious and I remember it fondly
I liked her Tithe series when I was a high schooler. Makes me want to re-read them.
I got into this series with low expectations and I ended up loving them. These books took me out of my reading slump of years! My two main concerns with them are mainly the following:
1. While I enjoyed the third book it felt incomplete like it needed more pages.
2. Love Jude and Cardan dynamics I lot of people argue that is a bully to romance but I disagree. However I feel like the transition from enemies to lovers could have been better.
I'm really learning that book 2 colored my perspective of 1 & 3 in ways I did not even realize. Truly the best one in the series
so I haven't read very many books in the past like, decade, and I had no idea where to start to break back into the fantasy meta, so I ended up going by general chatter and started with ACOTAR and 1/2 of ACOMAF (the dinner table introductions are *excruciatingly* long on audiobook, and I got bored with the fetch quests), which paved my expectations exactly where they needed to be to have fun reading Cruel Prince right after lmfao. going from one book with a red-haired fox themed secondary man character who was my sassy third wheel fav, to the next where the red-haired fox themed secondary man character was teased as a love triangle option, only to turn out to be ACTUALLY THE WORST ONE? absolutely delightful one-two punch, took great satisfaction in his ending.
I do have my complaints, but the stuff that was great was more than enough to keep me sticking through it. I thought the bullysquad characterization in the very beginning was weak (it came off like, kinda silly teen movie drama before the Actual Attempted Murder kicked in lol), and I wish the ending was a bit more complicated (we KNOW what her decision was going to be, so it was kind of boring just waiting for it through the last chapter, and also there was a huge missed opportunity for a proper Lindworm skin shedding fairy tale reference instead of just a head lop, but that's just what I wanted 😂).
my personal biggest crit is with how much time Jude and Carden spent apart in book 3, it really killed the believability of then overcoming that last hate to love emotional hurdle to me? like, Jude getting mer-napped and coming back to Carden, who had clearly gone though a whole emotional journey OFF SCREEN that she was still a bit too in denial to clock, was disappointing and a little annoying? it solved all the fun hate-tension from his side, so all that was left was for Jude to catch on and finally reciprocate. which, she had pretty good character reasons to not be quick on that draw, but the one-sided tension felt like an early deflation after how good it had been up to that point.
overall I'd probably give it like a 4, if for no other reason it was solid and enjoyable enough to get me to finish the series lol (I'm terrible at follow through)
I'm glad I'm not only one who read ACOTAR and ACOMAF before reading this series and being so disappointed by the political stuff that the bar was low so I enjoyed this series. Also I agree that dinner scene where everyone is introduced is annoying to get through but I was reading it and not listening to it.
i really appreciate this video, as someone who felt like they were one of the only ones that this series didn’t completely work for me lol
i was so exited to read it and ended up being disappointed. there are still some parts that I liked and I would agree the second was the best.
edit: I went in blind cardan wasa so cruel that I actually didn't think he was the love interest I was shocked when they kissed
13:20 maybe i heard it wrong, but the spies being named roach and ghost is either a really wild reference or a crazy coincidence
i read the first book and felt mightily disappointed. even after giving it a second chance, i still thought it was really bad. i have no desire to finish the other books.
Fair, don’t waste your time
I didn't want to invest money so I checked out the first book from the library. I was so frustrated reading this that I tossed the book into the back of the car and left it there. I read it until the end and then returned it to the library, largely unimpressed and largely disappointed lmfao. Will I ever finish the series? No, I'm good. I'll just take everyone else's word on how they feel about it and go with that.
A books I certainly liked more was Forest of Dreams and Whispers by Katherine MacDonald. It has a similar initial I-love-you-but-hate-that chemistry and banter (definitely more banter) but without the toxicity of their relationship. Plus it's basically a standalone.
yep i actually talk about that book at the end of the video!
Okay we are on the same page on this one! I could barely finish the cruel prince and I own the other two books but I cannot bring myself to finish and I’m a completionist at heart. Finding out she’s a Cassie Claire friend
Like the last bits and twists were good but I couldn’t deal with their relationship
Never been interested in this series cause it was overhyped. Normally overhyped books--especially when all the reviewers talk about is just the main romance (and nothing else) makes me NOT want to read it.
The middle book was so fun with the politicking but it’s not worth reading just for the middle book. I’d skip it.
28:35 no because this NEEDS an audiobook version
I really liked The Stolen Heir, the first of a duology that follows a grown-up Oak and Suren (the little girl with the bridle from the Court of Teeth). I felt like Holly took everything that worked about the Carden/Jude trilogy and made and it better. 2nd book doesn’t come out till March of next year though 😢
Was it worth reading now tho? Or maybe i should wait for the series to be completed? I am quite hesitant about this, and i want the series to come out before reading them. 😭
I’m just so attached to the first series that I’m scared to begin that new one.
I literally just started this and have so many questions! I figured the protagonist is going to end up with Carden (the bully). Why?! I’m halfway through and I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
The bullying is so over the top a part of me kinda wished she killed him at the end of queen of nothing for it like “ha, that’s for making me kiss your shoe”
I loved this trilogy, read it recently and the first book in the sequel series, but all valid points in your review. Will read the book you recommended, so thanks for that! It sounds good.
Every time I watch a video about a series I don't know with a crap ton of characters, I feel like there should be some kind of family tree connecting everyone who is necessary to the plot
I'm gonna do this next time!
This book was soo bad, i tried to force myself to read it TWICE because of all the hype and couldn’t get past the moment where she finds the acorn because it made the rest of the story so obvious - acorns come from OAK trees and it was just sooooooooo easy to figure everything out from there. You knew the message was about her brother and it wasn’t hard to guess why that would be important to the plot. I mean, I really wasn’t enjoying the book at all before that point but when that happened I just couldn’t anymore. Like she couldn’t have chosen a more subtle clue?
That went right over my head oh my god, I am the biggest idiot
@@ReadswithRachel don’t worry, I only caught it the second time I tried to read it. I’m kinda fan girling over the fact I just blew your mind a little bit though ;)
This video is making me want to read book 2 as a standalone with absolutely no context 🤣
Chaos. I love it.
I was going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to read these and you’ve helped my decision for sure. These books sound like an absolute blast of the same tier as ACOTAR, so I will be adding them to my TBR
I have so much love for this series and 90% of it comes from the end of The Cruel Prince and the whole The Wicked King (we don't talk about queen of nothing)
4:38 I'm all for eating sandwich innards like a little chaos goblin. (Eat it like a chaos goblin!--great t-shirt idea.)
Honestly I just love letting you spoil things for me, even if it's books on my TBR. I've only read TCP and I keep putting the other two books off because I'm SOOO wary of books I see floating around booktwt, booktok, etc. and always put them off because I'm afraid to be disappointed.
Love your eye makeup and takes!
I loved the series tbh but the end of book 2 made me laugh as well because that loophole was SO OBVIOUS, then the start of book 3 pissed me off SO BAD when she didn't get it, I spent the whole book going "YOU IDIOT, USE THE LOOPHOLE"
I actually, personally, would have liked it if Cardan had actually died at the end, it would have fit pretty well with the rest of the story.
If Holly Black really wanted him to live, I feel like there were different ways she could have gone with it, though I'm happy enough with the way she did
(To be clear: I do ship them but I like it when characters die lol)
I haven't read The Cruel Prince, but I honestly can't recommend A Forest of Dreams and Whispers enough. It's one of my favorite's of Macdonald's!
The reason the folk of air was made into a Trilogy is probably good ol fashun money grubbin
Dain didn’t find out that she killed the prince’s friend, she harmed him and punished her for that by making her stab her own hand. She killed him after.
Started reading the first book, was bored, switched to audio, HUGE mistake: the narrator is as apathetic as Jude read 🙈
I'm also laughing at the faerie bullies. iirc Cardan tears off the wings of a faerie, but when it comes to Jude he and his clique... kick dirt into her food? Pull her hair? Classic bullying for human standards, but these are magical, immortal beings that have been living for hundreds of years. They are all so childish.
The same gose for prince Dain. He chooses a human teenager to spy for him???? What???? I'm glad he didn't become king, he would've made a terrible job. Clues have to literally fall into Jude's pockets for something to happen 🤦🏾♀️
The most interesting thing was the relationship between Jude and Madoc... pity it wasn't explored. The only thing she thinks is "I love him like a father but it's so wrong" over and over and that's it until he turns into the main antagonist.
Jude in book 3 loses every ounce of brain she had in book 1 (which weren't many ounces to begin with) 🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
It was so boring until the end when everyone was getting stabby lmao
So, I'm always interested in hit pieces about overhyped books since I rarely read based on what everyone is talking about, but girl, Booktok is going to come after you between this and Fourth Wing XD
I loved these books, I need to re-read them ❤ Jude is a badass 🗡💫
And your makeup is gorgeous!
Thank you!!
i recently read the first book and felt like i was going crazy so many times because i just did not get the hype AT ALL. seriously multiple times i had to turn off my kindle and check the physical book to make sure i wasn’t missing any parts because it felt so … lackluster? it felt like i was missing a whole book in between and we were just skipping from scene to scene. this was the first series i actually didn’t continue reading, after the first book i had no intention of even thinking about the rest of them. however when you said some people “turn their brains off” and read it really started to make sense to me bc that’s honestly the only way i can see people actually loving it so much lol
I had a bit of FOMO after finishing the first book. After listening to your review, I feel better about moving on to other books on my TBR list. Thank you!
Yay! Just in time for my shift I can listen thank you !!
Yay! Thanks for being here
I had a realization a few months ago that I have to stop reading her books just because of nostalgia. She was my favorite author since age twelve (I'm thirty two now) and that was the only reason I supported her for so long. I read the whole trilogy because my best friend loved it - I even went to a couple of signings with her for these books (we also live in MA) but I just felt absolutely nothing throughout (and felt guilty about it... ). The same way I felt nothing reading The Iron Trials. I haven't truly enjoyed her work since The Darkest Part of the Forest. It was hard but necessary decision to move on.
I’ve had Cruel Prince sitting in my kindle library for months and haven’t brought myself to start it - excited to check out your recommendation instead. That’s what I want, a one and done fantasy book. Thanks for the rec!
I haven't even watched this video yet and i already love it. I feel the same way.
I love Forest of Dreams and Whispers!
Love your makeup!! 🖤💚
Thank you so much!
THANK YOU! SOMEONE WHO AGREES IT'S NOT THE BEST! This book made me so mad and the romance itself... Wow. Not great. I love fae lore, but this one wasn't my cup of tea. A lot of fae books aren't. But I am so glad you recommended Katherine MacDonald's book! Now THAT is my cup of tea, and I cannot stop thinking about it after reading it. Hooked onto that book now.
Omg I’m so happy to hear this!!!
my biggest issue with this series was, first of all, that it was MARKETED AS A ROMANCE?!?! which it is NOT. i also was annoyed that she wanted to stay in the fairy land or whatever they called it because everyone was sooooo mean and hateful to her? i could barely focus on any of the storyline because i couldn't even believe that she wanted to stay
I tried reading this for the first time this year, couldn’t get past the first book. I didn’t care for Jude as a character.
Tbh, in order to love Holly Black, you have to love Holly Black. Meaning, I've been watching her write variations of these characters since I was 12 and got my hands on Tithe. Despite usually being really critical of books, I can love and accept the flaws of a Black book. I dont think she always does it well, but I personally think her characters are fairly nuanced. But again, I've been indoctrinated at an early age. Lol
Also. Read Coldest Girl in Cold Town. Its, imo, the best of her books but no one talks about it.
I have been waiting for you to review holly black! I’m so curious can’t wait to watch!
My two cent bias: I love stories that flip between the magical world and the real world, Inkheart and Inkspell are some of my favorite books of all time. But when you name drop Converse, JcPenny and Apple I’m smacked in the head with the fact I need to take my iPad in to get fixed next week. And the “black and mint polka dot underwear” is going to haunt me. It still haunts me. This is perhaps too much information, and makes me think of 2012 a little too viscerally. It’s more real than the fantasy world the author has slaved over. I hate it.
Girl, you and me both. When I first *attempted* to read the cruel prince, the only thing I remembered about the beginning is that Jude was eating fish sticks she made in the microwave, and that she had heart shaped lips. Like, seriously, Holly Black. Of all the unimportant things to tell us...
This series was on my list to read solely because I really love The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, but this doesn't sound like my kind of thing at all tbh
The only book from Holly Black that I had read was Book Of Night. I think that it's going to be a Duology, but absolutely no worries to read it now since I know that you have so many commissions to read, but I personally enjoyed it.
I’m very interested in it!
@@ReadswithRachel I feel like it's more of a New Adult than an Adult book, but I feel like things might potentially change when the sequel comes out which wouldn't surprise me at all.
I found the scene in which Jude and Cardan make out for the first time to be dubious consent at best and I didn't really appreciate how it was framed.
i remember thinking this would be a dark romance when I read the first book. (I saw it on tik tok and it's how I learned never to trust booktok's opinions lol) But it was like....more of a childhood bully who kicks your sand castle over?? Carden bored me honestly. I thought he was meant to be actually scary. It was all so promising and I expected some kind of messed up story but it fell short imo of what it promised. He wasn't interesting, he wasn't complicated and nuanced enough to make anything that he did interesting either. I didn't buy his love for her nor his cruelty.
The side characters were more interesting but not even by much? I read the entire first book, waiting for the punch, waiting for the oomph of the story because SO many people love the series and I was left disappointed. It felt juvenile and unfinished.
But in the books defense, YA is so hard to write dark romance for. Even the dark romance I've read for older audiences tend to miss the mark for me (I'm trying to read Haunting Adeline rn and I just CAN'T I CAN'T DO ITTTTT). I don't know if I'm just extremely picky or if the book is just out of my age range now. There were cool ideas and I liked the premise of the story, but it just didn't do it for me. I want the decay of morals for the mc and the death spiral of mutual obsession, I guess. Still trying to figure out what I'm looking for. Possibly something more akin to Hannigram.
Honestly the way you described book 2 was so fun, and I just DNFed book 1 in the middle cause I was bored to death lol
Surprisingly I liked the first book but didn't enjoy the third book the second book was nice
I needed a new video. Thank you 😅
Hope you enjoyed it!
@@ReadswithRachel always, babe!
I highly recommend "The Bone Witch" series by Rin Chupeco. It's really good in audiobook form.
I’ve actually read this one! It was a few years ago, but I remember it was very unique
@ReadswithRachel I like listening to it every so often. Most recently, I've been listening to it while doing my crafting. My husband, however, hates it lol
Side note: I have the series in audiobook form (that's the only way I can "read" anymore) and I can't remember if I liked it or nit. I -do- know there were a lot of eye roll moments...
I was overhyped about these books for a while but then lost all interest in reading them after finding out the author ''approved' Cassandra Clare's incest fanfic about the Weasley siblings lmao
Yeah she is gross for that