The Cruel Prince (The folk of the Air Book 1)

From the Publisher:

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him--and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

My thoughts:

Damn, damn, damn!

I hate when a hyped book turns out to be hype worthy. Not because I don't enjoy reading it. No. More because it takes me longer to get a hold of the next one. 

This might be a good movie, but the movies for books have been so disappointing because of casting (Mortal Instruments, Hunger Games, Divergent) and/or what they do to the original writing (Cirque du Freak being the most disappointing). I think the series needs to play out before I really know if I want to see this made.

For now, this is what is hype worthy about this book:

• Jude is a flawed protagonist who is both clever, stubborn, brave and unsure of herself. She watches her parents get murdered by her half sister's father (fey), is taken in by him (along with her half sister and her twin). This is enough to cause teen angst and rage. And yet Jude is complicated. She feels more comfortable in this world than the mortal world. She both hates her step father and craves his acceptance. Love, sisterhood, romance, familial love, friendship. . . everything is so juicily complicated. 
• Cardan is cruel but not deadly. He is both conniving and charming, hurtful and being hurt. Unlike other princes in stories, he is horrible as a warrior, more drunk than strong. Again, complicated.
• No one, can be trusted. Like Aelin from the Throne of Glass series, no one really knows what Jude is planning until she does it. She is the ultimate liar.  I am not sure at this point if she craves power or she really wants to protect people. Complicated.

Next book (with still a 2 week wait from my library) The Wicked King.