"The odd thing about ambition is this: You can acquire it like a fever, but it is not so easy to shed."

Holly Black created a magnificent world. It was very easy to forget about the real world and get transported into the woods of Fairie. I was able to see it, but not feel it. I love feeling things while I'm reading, feeling cold even though I'm warm, tasting food, and feeling the character's emotions. That was missing for me. I was not able to connect with Black’s writing as much as I would have liked to, which is one of the reasons for it to not be a 5-star book for me.
As for the characters, I enjoyed them but none of them stood out enough to say they are my favourite ones. Jude is a great protagonist. She’s fierce, manipulative, scared, impulsive and determined to get what she wants, no matter what. She’s the combination of good and bad. Making her a human in a fairy world makes this story interesting, as seeing the way she moves through a world she doesn’t completely belong to is the most important aspect of this story. The Fairies are self-centred, manipulative and overall cruel. I liked their concept but their personalities tended to merge into one, making them quite similar to one another. I can barely point out a trait that differentiates them.
Something that I loved about this book was that it was not a romance. There are hints of romance here and there, but the plot was centred around politics. I was fascinated by the interactions between fairies and humans and how the monarchy of this world works. At the same time, there weren’t lots of things that surprised me when it came to decisions being made. The fae became easier to read after the first few chapters, so their decisions rarely came as a surprise and Jude is quite predictable as well.
Holly Black managed to create a beautiful world with an interesting and very dark story, it kept me entertained and interested enough to want to continue the series and I just hope the next book will have whatever it is that was missing for me so that I can give this series the five stars I wish it had.