The Cruel Prince
2018
- fairies--fiction.
- sisters--fiction.
- orphans--fiction.
- princes--fiction.
- courts and courtiers--fiction.
- fantasy
- princes
- courts and courtiers
- orphans
- fairies
The story
**GUARD YOUR MORTAL HEART.** JUDE WAS SEVEN 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. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for tricker and bloodshed. But as betrayal 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. From #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Holly Black comes the first book in a stunning new trilogy filled with twists and enchantment, as one girl learns the meaning of true power when she finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue. This description comes from the publisher. *The Cruel Prince* is the first book of the Folk of the Air trilogy.
What it’s like
Sharp, glittering court prose: the voice is wry and quick, full of cool palace corridors, gilded halls, wine that tastes of iron, and forests that feel older and more dangerous than any castle. The fey world reads as lush and decadent, with candlelit feasts, sweeping gowns, and an undertone of something rotten beneath the beauty. Its vibe is dark romance with a tart, sardonic edge, the kind of read that suits a late evening alone, a long train ride, or a weekend when you want to be absorbed in a world of schemes and sidelong glances. Pacing is brisk and chapter-driven, with plotting that tightens steadily toward betrayal. Emotionally it runs on prickly rivalry and slow-burn tension, following a mortal girl who wants desperately to belong among people who despise her, and whose hard-won place among them costs her dearly. Violence is present and occasionally brutal, with court cruelty, bloody consequences, and some sexual content and drinking, but it is more intrigue than gore. Suited to readers who love enchanted courts, morally grey characters, and a bit of bite, rather than anyone seeking something gentle.
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