The Cruel Prince - Holly Black

It is so wonderful to be back in Holly Black's faerie worlds. Probably the first faerie books I ever read as a young adult were her Tithe series. I bought the first one on holiday and immediately had to buy the rest of the trilogy, just in case I couldn't find them back home. They still have pride of place on my shelves.

But back to The Cruel Prince... This is such a twisty & scheming tale, set in a fascinating and thrilling world. I couldn't guess what was going to happen, it was captivating all the way through. The ending is satisfying but I was still left eagerly anticipating more.

As a young girl, Jude saw her parents killed by the man who has now become like a father to her, her twin sister, and her older half sister. All three girls were taken back with him to Faerie, where they grew up living like royalty, but Jude and Taryn are still treated as inferior for being human. Mocked and laughed at, despite their father's high position in the royal guard.

Vivi is half faerie but shuns the life and her father and can't wait for a chance to go back to the human world. Meanwhile, Jude can't resist the beauty and magic and longs for a place among the faeries. She knows that to fit in she has to become just like them, and to truly belong she must be even worse than them. She takes her lessons seriously and learns as much as possible about strategy, swordfighting, politics and deception from her adopted father. Using all her knowledge and cunning, she comes up with a treacherous and dangerous plan that could cost her everything if it goes wrong. And there are far too many ways it could go wrong.

I usually shudder at the thought of my favourite books being turned into movies but I think this one could actually be amazing and I look forward to seeing how it is done.

The blood red wine drunk by the faeries reminded me of mulled wine. There are plenty of places you can buy it at Christmas but it's fairly easy to make too. All you need is some red wine, cinnamon sticks, lemon or orange zest, star anise and cloves. Put everything in a pan and warm up gently without letting it boil. Add a little sugar to taste. For variations you can add some sloe gin or orange juice.

Here We Are Now - Jasmine Warga

Taliah has never known her father, but she suspects she knows who he is. After spending three years writing to him and getting no response, Julian Oliver, rock star, just shows up on her doorstep and wants to take her to meet the rest of her family. Through the book, Julian tells Tal his side of the story of his relationship with Lena, Tal's mother.

The Lena in Julian's stories seems very different to her mother and Tal finds it hard to reconcile the two sides but eventually realises everyone has multiple selves, including herself. She has always thought her mother and her best friend Harlow were enough for her, but while meeting various members of her extended family, Tal learns how to open up and grow.

I found the short descriptions of Jordan full of warmth and emotion. Even though they were so brief, the author managed to put a lot of feeling into them. However, the character development could have done with a lot more. For example, people kept telling Tal that she was too closed off but that just made me feel a bit defensive for her as there wasn't really much evidence of this. I loved the way the parents' story was told in installments by Julian, almost like a separate story within a story.

This book goes perfectly with a Rockstar Martini. Combine 1 shot of raspberry vodka with 1/2 shot each of Apple Sourz, blue curacao and lemon juice. Add a dash of sugar syrup and shake with ice. Pour into a martini glass garnished with pop rocks or sherbert.