Starred Review Jude Duarte is no stranger to uneasy alliances. Raised by the man who killed her parents, a liar in a court of faeries compelled to speak only the truth, and recently betrayed, for love, by her twin sister, Jude long ago learned to keep her motivations a secret and her heart safe. In a deft play in The Cruel Prince? (2018), she both allied with and manipulated Cardan, the prince she's always had a dangerous relationship with. To keep her younger brother, the heir of Faerie, safe, Jude placed Cardan on the throne instead; now she and Cardan rule together through their tenuous, volatile partnership. But Faerie is a dangerous world, and Jude has never truly belonged there. Someone is working against her, endangering her life and the lives of her family, and Jude will need every ounce of cunning and every bit of hardness she's learned to make it out intact. This second in a series neatly avoids the second-book slump; readers of the planned trilogy's first volume will be expecting plot twists, so it's even more impressive that this manages to stay one step ahead of its readers. Black expands the reaches of her brutally beautiful world and the depths of her deadly, vulnerable characters, and the employ of yet another cliff-hanger ending will leave readers agonized. A sinister, singular thrill. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Black's practically a household name, the film rights to The Cruel Prince have been sold, and the six-figure marketing campaign for this installment means that the buzz is deafening.

A heady blend of courtly double-crossing, Faerie lore, and toxic attraction swirls together in the sequel to The Cruel Prince (2018).Five months after engineering a coup, human teen Jude is starting to feel the strain of secretly controlling King Cardan and running his Faerie kingdom. Jude's self-loathing and anger at the traumatic events of her childhood (her Faerie "dad" killed her parents, and Faerie is not a particularly easy place even for the best-adjusted human) drive her ambition, which is tempered by her desire to make the world she loves and hates a little fairer. Much of the story revolves around plotting (the Queen of the Undersea wants the throne; Jude's Faerie father wants power; Jude's twin, Taryn, wants her Faerie betrothed by her side), but the underlying tension—sexual and political—between Jude and Cardan also takes some unexpected twists. Black's writing is both contemporary and classic; her world is, at this point, intensely well-realized, so that some plot twists seem almost inevitable. Faerie is a strange place where immortal, multihued, multiformed denizens can't lie but can twist everything; Jude—who can lie—is an outlier, and her first-person, present-tense narration reveals more than she would choose. With curly dark brown hair, Jude and Taryn are never identified by race in human terms.A rare second volume that surpasses the first, with, happily, more intrigue and passion still to come. (map) (Fantasy. 14-adult)

Gr 9 Up-It's been five months since the twist ending of The Cruel Prince . After Jude Duarte betrayed her family, killed her mentor, and tricked Cardan into being her puppet King of Elfhame, Jude has realized that seizing power is much easier than holding onto it. Every relationship feels broken or near to itwith Madoc, her parents' killer-turned-pseudo stepfather, her twin sister who is engaged to the fairy who toyed with Jude's heart, and most certainly Cardan the Crowned King. There's no time for emotion, let alone sleep, as the Queen of the Undersea is ready to make her move for power and Jude learns someone she trusts had already betrayed her. Readers are dropped right into another dark and entrancing tornado of Faerie chaos. Trust, lust, trickery, and deceit swirl through everything as Jude struggles to remain in control of Cardan, the kingdom, and herself. Elfhame is a cruel place but like Jude, teens can't help but be drawn to the flames. Action builds steadily to yet another devilishly cunning twist ending. VERDICT A stunning and compelling sequel that will continue to entice fans of the previous volume and the author. Emily Moore, Camden County Library System, NJ

A heady blend of courtly double-crossing, Faerie lore, and toxic attraction swirls together in the sequel to The Cruel Prince (2018).Five months after engineering a coup, human teen Jude is starting to feel the strain of secretly controlling King Cardan and running his Faerie kingdom. Jude's self-loathing and anger at the traumatic events of her childhood (her Faerie "dad" killed her parents, and Faerie is not a particularly easy place even for the best-adjusted human) drive her ambition, which is tempered by her desire to make the world she loves and hates a little fairer. Much of the story revolves around plotting (the Queen of the Undersea wants the throne; Jude's Faerie father wants power; Jude's twin, Taryn, wants her Faerie betrothed by her side), but the underlying tension—sexual and political—between Jude and Cardan also takes some unexpected twists. Black's writing is both contemporary and classic; her world is, at this point, intensely well-realized, so that some plot twists seem almost inevitable. Faerie is a strange place where immortal, multihued, multiformed denizens can't lie but can twist everything; Jude—who can lie—is an outlier, and her first-person, present-tense narration reveals more than she would choose. With curly dark brown hair, Jude and Taryn are never identified by race in human terms.A rare second volume that surpasses the first, with, happily, more intrigue and passion still to come. (map) (Fantasy. 14-adult)