An instant bestseller!By #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue. 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 … 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.
Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.
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3.5 stars. Pretty good story but all the characters are so unlikeable. I listened to it on audiobook and it was engaging enough to keep listening. I will probably listen to the sequel too. Don’t understand the hype of this series though..
The Cruel Prince is a unique story that will have you holding your breath one minute while shouting ‘about damn time’ the next. This is a YA story with a more adult theme due to the violence and sensual connotations. It’s an interesting and entertaining story and has the promise to have much more in book 2.
Holy Hell!! Where has Holly Black been all my life? Can we please have book 2 and 3 right now?? Is that too much to ask??
The Cruel Prince was the first book that I have read by Holly Black, and I was not disappointed. I could not put the book down the moment I began to read it, and when I wasn’t reading the book, I couldn’t get my mind off of the book. I think that this book would be very interesting for people who love to read AND for those who claim they do not. I think this because it is not too descriptive, being very straight to the point, and I do not think that the diction is hard to understand. I also think that the story moves rather quickly, and when it isn’t, there is some sort of action that will keep you engaged. Although there were not many detailed descriptions, I was still able to use my imagination and picture the scene that I was in the middle of reading. Overall, I actually really enjoyed reading this book and I am so glad that I decided to read it, I just wish that I waited until the next book came out so that I wouldn’t have to wait.
It’s very predictable to what happens next in the book.
As an adult reading this book I felt a bit biased. I had a hard time getting into it and relating to the main character. This is partially because the main character is a 16 year old girl. I like the fact that she decides to take matters into her own hands and finds a way to relate to the person who has tormented her in the past. However, the build up felt flat, leading to a revelation that was unsurprising at best.
Definitely a favorite!
I was in a reading slump and this book pulled me out. I didn’t want something with a lot of romance and this was right up there. I was drawn into the story from the first page. This book is full of danger, intrigue and surprises. From the start you see how treacherous the fae are and the lengths they go to. The heroine is a human living in faerie and she grows more like them every day. She will do whatever it takes to fit in. I loved that she was ferocious and cunning. She’s definitely not a weakling.
Prince Carden got on my nerves quite a bit with his cruelty and lack of feeling but as you get farther into the story, you understand him more.
I really enjoyed this book and it was a breath of fresh air for me. This was my first book by Holly black and it won’t be my last!
I loved this book! Everything about it!
If you’re a fan of young adult fantasy with a biting romance, check out Holly Black’s latest! It’ll keep you at the edge of your seat.
This book was absolutely amazing. It was, at first, a little hard to follow and it ends on a cliffhanger. I’ve read several of Holly Blacks works and I can definitely say this is one of my favorites. I loved it!
Looking for a YA Fantasy? Looking to read a new series with great world-building? I recommend this book. Fairies. Humans. And everyone is a bit vicious. There’s even a couple of mysteries and plenty of teen angst. I had such a fun time reading this book.
Unpredictable with a different fantasy twist.
Haven’t enjoyed a young adult fantasy novel in a while until The Cruel Prince came along and gave me new hope for the genre. Black does an excellent job recreating a theme that has been done to death in the last few years. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy.
The best YA book I’ve read in a decade. I like the way Jude is NOT so many things.
She is not girly, she doesn’t care about pleasing others, and best of all she doesn’t buy into all the bullshit society feeds women today. However, she is a determined strategist who acts fast to change events in the Seelie court. If you love stories that are gloriously twisted, as well as soaked in blood and magic –this book is for you. Brilliant. Best Holly Black book I’ve read — one of my top five favorite fantasy books ever.
I must start by saying it has been a very long time since I read an epic fantasy book that grabbed my attention and held it like The Cruel Prince by Holly Black!
As an author of epic fantasy myself, I tend to over analyze and over think the plot of a book I’m reading, so much so that I can’t just enjoy the read. Well, I didn’t have that problem at all as I read The Cruel Prince. Black sets us up from the get go, showing us Jude, our main protagonist’s world, in which her parents have been killed by her mother’s Ex, when she was seven, and she and her twin sister have been taken from Earth to Fairie so the Ex can be the chivalrous guardian of she and her sister who he just made orphans. Now if that isn’t a warped start to a brilliant fantasy, I don’t know what is. LOL!
But things just get “better” from there. Black addresses the issue of bullying. In this case, fairies consider humans not just beneath them, but scum to be trodden upon. She gives the reader insight into the world of those who are bullied right along with that of those who bully. In this case, she allows us a front row view into the life of the bully as played principally by the crown prince, Cardan—handsome despite his cruelty.
Black is a master Tease, a quality I thoroughly enjoy in all authors *clears throat* (What? Who me?). Her depiction of Jude and Cardan’s interactions definitely left me sensing their relationship, while quasi adversarial at the moment, just might blossom into something more. Granted there will be a long road to have these two characters grow and develop, but based upon how the book ended, I do believe we are in process. *rubs hands* LOL!
So, all of this before I even touch on what I most loved about this book… fairie politics! Be still my heart, the number of plots and subplots and sub sub plots all going on simultaneously is seriously brilliant. Black leads us down one path and gives we mere mortal readers the opportunity to piece the mystery together before revealing enough to have us gasp at the revelation. Over and over again she does this. And not to spoil anything, but the reveal with her half brother was awesome. The pieces all came together, but you didn’t see it until that point.
As I said, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and give it 5-stars. If you’re looking for a great epic fantasy, along with mine of course (Lullaby. LOL!), I highly recommend The Cruel Prince. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!!!
Can one mortal girl change the course of Faerieland? Jude and her twin sister are mortals taken to live in Faerieland by their mother’s murderer and raised among the gentry as his daughters. Instead of staying silent and bowing down to the taunts of Prince Carden, Jude fights to prove she is more than what she appears.
I found the world interesting and frightening. The true gem is the Jude, the main character who is flawed and angry yet longing for something more. Cant wait to read the next one!
I’ve just finished reading Holly Black’s excellent fantasy novel The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1). I’ve rated it 5 stars on Goodreads, because I couldn’t put it down. It’s like George RR Martin, Juliet Marillier, and Paula Hawkins got together to write a completely captivating dark thriller set in Faerie.
By the way, I LOVE the cover.
*warning spoilers*
I became totally absorbed by this story, but also increasingly troubled. I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m wondering if it’s the reflections of domestic violence that are worrying me? Let’s look at the story line:
Our protagonist Jude is kidnapped and taken to Faerie by a violent redcap general called Madoc. Madoc was married to Jude’s mother – she left him, taking their child. So Madoc murders both Jude’s mother and her new partner (Jude’s father), reclaims his own daughter, and takes Jude and her twin for good measure. The three girls are brought up in the dangerous, deceitful Faerie court.
So that’s problematic – being brought up by the man who killed your parents because your mother was once married to him, and failed to make a complete escape.
Then Jude, as a teenager, is bullied and despised by the Faerie court, in particular the friends of the beatutiful and very cruel Prince Cardan (who rips off a fairy’s wing the first time we meet him, for not a good enough reason). The bullying is vicious and relentless, and Jude is effectively isolated from any help – even her twin Taryn betrays her.
I was hoping against hope that this wouldn’t turn out to be a story where the girl falls for the violent, abusive love interest, who, you know, really loves her underneath it all. However as we discover that Cardan himself has been abused, I’m suspecting that he is being transformed from perpetrator to victim and that they may end up as a pair.
Scary. Too real.
What do you think?
I think if you love GOT, you will love this. So that’s most people!
One of the authors I follow recommended this book. And after I read just first few sentences I knew why she liked it:
*On a drowsy Sunday afternoon, a man in a long dark coat hesitated in front of a house on a tree-lined street. He hadn’t parked a car, nor had he come by taxi. No neighbor had seen him strolling along the sidewalk. He simply appeared, as if stepping between one shadow and the next. *
It is cruel, as fairies usually are in stories but at the same time so intriguing. Imagine a world where you need to be so very careful of making any bargain – because in truth we make a lot of those just by socializing. But in the world that Holly created that could mean life or death.
Read it, it is so worth your time!