The Cruel Prince took the reading community head-on in 2018, Winning the title of a New York Times bestseller and my infatuation. Nothing is better than an exceptional enemies to lovers story. 

   Jude Duarte and her sisters watch their parent’s murder. Subsequently, the murderer whisks them away to a realm called Elfhame, so Jude is stuck proving herself to a different race that hates her, especially the youngest Prince, Cardan.

   I mostly use TikTok as a way to find a book to read. One in particular continuously showed up. The school library had the entire series at the time on the shelf. I gave the book a chance and never regretted it.

   The monarchy displayed added so much to the story. Mentions of other kingdoms and rulers brought the story to life. It was complex and easy to understand, with the map providing the placement of every kingdom.

   The Cruel Prince homed so many different characters, some belonging to different kingdoms , and of varied species. They had unique personalities, surprising backstories, and clear motivations.

   One of my motivations to keep on reading became the ongoing romance drama occurring. It became hard for me to  not choose certain characters’ sides. It brought me closer to the characters and made each scene more entertaining. 

   Every scene was written to perfection and there was a vast amount of detail. I could imagine myself in every setting depicted. It made me want to keep reading each time.

   Besides all the good, there is always a little bit of bad in a book. Despite how well written each character is, I wanted to skip every page Taryn, Judes twin sister was on.

   Although Taryn had a similar goal to Jude, the way both tried to achieve their goals were different. Taryn was a backstabbing character, who was not afraid to hurt her own sister for her goals. I hate nothing more in a character that does something wrong and believe they’ve done nothing wrong. 

   The main character Jude had issues of their own. She was the stereotypical female lead, who was not like other girls. Especially when compared to her twin.

   All together this story and all four sequels hold a place in my heart. The fourth one came out just this year, and will surely be my new obsession. It certainly should be yours as well.