The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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.

Reviewed by Emma (SCR) on

5 of 5 stars

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This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews So, this is one of those books that I saw all over Instagram and I mean ALL over. I had seen so many pictures of this book and quotes and I had merch from book boxes. This book was everywhere so I decided that I needed to know what all the fuss was about. I was surprised to find out I wasn't actually that far behind the curve on this one and it was only released in January. Usually, I suck at keeping up with these sorts of books so I was glad I wasn't years behind. I also saw that book 2, The Wicked King, is released in January so I thought December was a good time to get caught up.

The main character in this book is Jude. Jude is a human growing up in a Fae world. She has a twin sister and an older fae sister. Because she is human a lot of the fae underestimate her. Jude was quite a likeable character. She went through a lot at such a young age and to have to live with the person who murdered your parents has to do something to you. Jude is strong, brave and deeply flawed.

Jude has to put up with the Fae children who endlessly torment her and her twin sister. The leader of the pack is Prince Cardan. Prince Cardan it seems hates Jude but, it's quite obvious he also loves her. He doesn't want to because she is human and he is fae but the heart wants what the heart wants.

The characters in this book are cut throat. While the Fae cannot lie they are very good at telling twisted versions of the truth. The court is full of backstabbers and political wars. This book is no fairytale and some of the actions may shock you.

There were some unexpected twists in this book and I cannot wait to see how it pans out in the Wicked King.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 15 December, 2018: Finished reading
  • 15 December, 2018: Reviewed