The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air, #1)

by Holly Black

"Lush, dangerous, a dark jewel of a book . . . intoxicating" - Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered in front of them. The terrifying assassin abducts all three girls to the world of Faerie, where Jude is installed in the royal court but mocked and tormented by the Faerie royalty for being mortal.

As Jude grows older, she realises that she will need to take part in the dangerous deceptions of the fey to ever truly belong.

But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the infuriating, arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan . . .

Enter the dramatic and thrilling world of the Folk of the Air, brimful of magic and romance from New York Times bestselling author Holly Black.

• ISBN10: 1471406458
• ISBN13: 9781471406454
• Publish Date: 2 January 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 12 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hot Key Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[KitsuneBae]

Actual: 4.5 stars

Holly molly. This is surprisingly good.

[Cocktails and Books]

Well...this was a different spin on the Fae. The story dragged a bit, but it picked up towards the end.

[ellieroth]

so.
fucking.
good.

[Beth C.]

Review to come on vampirebookclub.net - I will say I recommend it!

[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

If you want to read a comprehensive review from someone who really liked this one, Amber @ Du Livre points out a lot of the good points about this one. If you just want to know what I thought, well here we are. I was bored, okay? I assume it is at least in small part to my perma-slump, but I just had a really hard time getting into this one. It wasn't anything in particular; it was just a complete disconnect. I have liked the author's other books too, so I don't think that had anything to do with it. And that is why this is a super short "review": because it isn't one. It's just... I felt pretty apathetic about the whole thing.

[Ashley]

Wooow this book was pretty awesome. I didn't love the first half but I'm SO glad I stuck around because it got amazeballs. And murdery.

[nightingalereads]

While The Coldest Girl in Coldtown remains my favorite Holly Black book, I did wind up loving this. The way the author blends together faerie myth with a modern perspective is just really unique and interesting. Definitely anticipating book 2!