416 pages
Published Dec. 4, 2018 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Jude was seven 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.
As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal 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.
It started a bit slow, introducing world and main characters but around two thirds of the book it took a very story defining turning point and the pace went up heavily. I enjoyed especially the last part and will be continuing with the other books of the series.
NO SPOILERS // 3.5 // What a ride
ACOTAR meets Assassin's Apprentice
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes:
- Fast paced books
- Morally grey protagonists
- Political intrigue
- Female-led fantasy where romance is barely present
I overall enjoyed my time with this book, especially around the halfway mark and onwards where things really started to pick up. None of the characters are likeable, but that's kind of the point. Horrible people doing horrible things to each other in an entertaining fashion.
The biggest let down was that the stakes and my level interest were so low for roughly the first half of the book. First instalments usually need time to introduce stuff, but that wasn't my problem. It was more that what the characters were dealing with just wasn't interesting, especially when you contrast it to the second half of the book. I definitely think the …
NO SPOILERS // 3.5 // What a ride
ACOTAR meets Assassin's Apprentice
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes:
- Fast paced books
- Morally grey protagonists
- Political intrigue
- Female-led fantasy where romance is barely present
I overall enjoyed my time with this book, especially around the halfway mark and onwards where things really started to pick up. None of the characters are likeable, but that's kind of the point. Horrible people doing horrible things to each other in an entertaining fashion.
The biggest let down was that the stakes and my level interest were so low for roughly the first half of the book. First instalments usually need time to introduce stuff, but that wasn't my problem. It was more that what the characters were dealing with just wasn't interesting, especially when you contrast it to the second half of the book. I definitely think the first half could have been a little more compact with he middle section a bit more expanded and the book would have been better for it. The only other thing that stopped me from rating it higher was that I found the world-building a little lacklustre. I don't think it was suuuper important for this story, but it would have helped in making the world feel more real and immersive.
Overall it was a fun quick read that I had trouble putting down so I'd definitely recommend it.
