The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The titular Cruel Prince is Cardan Greenbriar-- the youngest heir to the Faerie throne, and the least likely ever to inherit it. It's a good thing he's not favored by the folk or the royals themselves to sit on the throne-- he's a spoiled bully and cruel to the human protagonist Jude for being a mortal girl living among faeries.

Cruelty runs rampant in the royal family, however. 

"If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse."

Identical twin sisters Jude & Taryn Duarte have known their place in the faerie kingdom since they were very young-- and that their ordinary mortality is viewed with contempt. As regular mortals girls living amongst royalty, nobles, and beautiful immortal folk, they haven't exactly had an easy time with the locals. But while Taryn would rather work harder to fit in, Jude can't help but meet their contempt with her own rage and disdain. 

And Jude hates the beautiful faerie prince Cardan Greenbriar and his friends most of all.

But when the Greenbriar royal family politics turn Targaryen, the games Jude had to play to maintain her dignity suddenly become a matter of pure survival. Taryn might be comfortable as a pawn in this faerie Game of Thrones, but Jude realizes she could do so much more to reset the game board-- and make the land of Faeries accept her as more than some misplaced mortal of blood and dirt. Faeries can't lie, but Jude can. She can deceive, and use her anger to help her reshape the land so she'd never have to endure smugness or contempt ever again. Even as her hatred and ambitions grow, there's just something about Cardan that makes her... almost... irrationally angry....

Intrigue, tension, and betrayal. There's a little something for everyone in this fun, exciting first book in Holly Black's YA faerie trilogy. Jude's an angry character with many flaws, but her ruthless rage and ambition in the face of overwhelming odds is exactly what makes her exciting. I'll mention Game of Thrones again-- because make no mistake, this IS a Game of Thrones-type trilogy for the YA set--  and compare Jude to an early season Daenerys Targaryan. She'll take what's hers with fire and blood, and despite everything, she'll retain the reader's sympathy. That's a tough line to walk, but that's why complex characters are so much fun when done well. Deception is a fun, gray-area superpower.

Her evolving relationships are layered and complicated-- no one is who they seem to be, and trust is something that ends up being forced instead of earned. But that's the complications of a mortal growing up in a world of warped perceptions.

Speaking of the world-- if for no other reason, you should pick this book up because the world-building is masterful. The setting's impact on this character has transformed what would be an ordinary girl into something fierce and angry. The setting, then, is properly weighty and complicated.

And, of course, so is the gorgeous Cardan Greenbriar.

I wouldn't want to believe in this set of faeries, but the characters in The Cruel Prince don't need anyone to clap their hands and believe. Go to your library and check it out-- you won't be disappointed!