In a nutshell: dark, spellbinding fantasy from a master of the form
Holly Black’s new series stars a girl caught between the human and the Faerie worlds. Jude was just a child when she witnessed the murder of her parents by Madoc, a Faerie lord. Madoc took Jude and her sisters back to Elfhame with him and brought them up as his own. Jude is reminded constantly of her position as an outsider and a rivalry with the arrogant Prince Cardan seems to offer the means to prove herself as she desperately wants; instead it leads her into a deadly court intrigue. Jude is a fascinating character, stubborn, brave, defined by her powerlessness and her obsession with finding power, and this is fantasy adventure at its brilliant, intelligent, thought-provoking best.
Readers who enjoy The Cruel Prince must also read Philip Reeve’s Railhead books and Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha series. ~Andrea Reece
Lush, dangerous, a dark jewel of a book . . . intoxicating - Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of CrowsOf 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.
Lush, dangerous, a dark jewel of a book. Black's world is intoxicating, imbued with a relentless sense of peril that kept me riveted through every chapter of Jude's journey. And Jude! She is a heroine to love--brave but pragmatic, utterly human. This delicious story will seduce you and leave you desperate for just one more page -- Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
Whatever a reader is looking for-heart-in-throat action, deadly romance, double-crossing, moral complexity-this is one heck of a ride Booklist
I require book two immediately. Holly Black is the Faerie Queen. Victoria Aveyard
An enjoyable read SFX Magazine
Author
About Holly Black
Holly Black is the co-creator of THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES. A New York Times No. 1 bestselling phenomenon, the series has been described as 'vintage Victorian fantasy' and has been made into a hugely sucessful film. The books have been translated into 32 languages. Holly Black lives with her husband in Massachusetts.
