Review: The Prince by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Book: The Prince
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Wicked 3.5
Release: August 14, 2018

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes a new story in her Wicked series… 

She’s everything he wants…. 

Cold. Heartless. Deadly. Whispers of his name alone bring fear to fae and mortals alike. The Prince. There is nothing in the mortal world more dangerous than him. Haunted by a past he couldn’t control, all Caden desires is revenge against those who’d wronged him, trapping him in never-ending nightmare. And there is one person he knows can help him. 

She’s everything he can’t have… 

Raised within the Order, Brighton Jussier knows just how dangerous the Prince is, reformed or not. She’d seen firsthand what atrocities he could be capable of. The last thing she wants to do is help him, but he leaves her little choice. Forced to work alongside him, she begins to see the man under the bitter ice. Yearning for him feels like the definition of insanity, but there’s no denying the heat in his touch and the wicked promise is his stare. 

She’s everything he’ll take…. 

But there’s someone out there who wants to return the Prince to his former self. A walking, breathing nightmare that is hell bent on destroying the world and everyone close to him. The last thing either of them needs is a distraction, but with the attraction growing between them each now, the one thing he wants more than anything may be the one thing that will be his undoing. 

She’s everything he’d die for…. 

**Every 1001 Dark Nights novella is a standalone story. For new readers, it’s an introduction to an author’s world. And for fans, it’s a bonus book in the author’s series. We hope you'll enjoy each one as much as we do.** 

I finished this in a matter of hours. Which is to say that I loved it, and honestly wished it was a full novel length of a book instead of a mere novella.

This book focuses on Brighton, picking up one week after the events of the final book to the Wicked Trilogy. Right off the bat, something major happens to her, and then we find ourselves fast-forwarding to two years later to observe how Brighton is handling the aftermath. Within those two years, Brighton's personality has changed a lot, a fact that she's painfully aware of. We also get to see the consequences of how the Order views her ever since her mother, Merle, was overwhelmed by a fae attack and her mind scrambled. It's not pretty, and downright unfair how little everyone seems to think of Brighton, especially since none of it is her fault.

Now, Caden was definitely the most fascinating character of the novella. I loved him so much, and just found him interesting. Unlike Armentrout's other trademark sassy male protagonists (all which I love), Caden didn't have a chip on his shoulder the size of a continent. He didn't do the typical smart comments one would expect from Armentrout, nor did he pull any jerk moves. He was quietly suffering, and the sheer contrast from all the other purposefully obnoxious males characters really made Caden stand out to me. He had nothing to prove, expect that he was trying really hard to be a good person, despite how the world itself was set up against him. It just made him so lovable!

For a novella, this was action-packed with a very compelling plot line. There was very little of the sitting-and-waiting-and-thinking, with Brighton literally being up and out at all times. Caden and her paths also keep crossing, and it is adorable how both are trying to be the good guys in the relationship. Also, because it's in the same world, we get mentions of Ivy and Ren, which I am totally 100% fine with. Though we didn't really get to see much of them in this book, I'm certain they'll have a more direct role in the next ones! Also, the ending, which was a cliffhanger--ahhh, now I seriously need to read the next one, stat!!!