The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, 1) Paperback – December 4, 2018

I used to never be a reader who gave into the hype and buzz a new book can sometimes bring along with it. But while Instagram has taken book marketing to an entirely different level, some books are becoming difficult to ignore. Literally thousands upon thousands of readers, reviewers, publicists, and enthusiasts are pushing the free marketing of books attached to hashtags and accompanied by beautiful and creative photography upon Instagram and other social media site purveyors daily. The Cruel Prince was one book that began to saturate my feed as readers latched on to the newest novel by fantasy maven Holly Black; their accolades and insistent cries that the book shattered them caught my interest and I decided to dive in.The opening is brutal. Young Jude and her two sisters are enjoying a quiet afternoon at home, the TV lulling them into a comfortable slumber while their parents tinker about in other parts of their cozy home. Unbeknownst to them, this is the day that everything they have ever known will change, as the man watching their home from across the street decides to finally make his move. The stranger barges into their haven and shatters the idyllic scene by murdering both of Jude's parents in a quick and succinct fashion.Whisked away to the land of Faerie, Jude and her sisters are forced into a life settled firmly on the borders of being outsiders. Her oldest sister, Vivi, being the cause of the disruption in their lives, is ironically the most unhappy with their new situation. She is only Jude's half-sister, the result of their mother faking her own death and spiriting herself and her pregnant belly back to the mortal world, with the help of a secret love. Previously attached to a brutal war general of Faerie, Jude's mother committed the ultimate act of betrayal by hiding the child, and the result was her execution. By the laws vested in Faerie, General Madoc became responsible for the children of his wife the moment she died at his hand, and he takes his responsibilities very seriously.Growing up in Faerie has had its difficulties, almost from day one. Jude is not one of them, not a member of the Fair Folk. She is human: dispensable and fragile; a veritable non-starter. Her saving grace, however, is that she is a member of the upper class and elite. Having been raised by Madoc garners her a touch of reverance. He is a man who commands respect and if he doesn't find it, he takes it by force. Having risen to become the right hand of the Faerie King by hook, crook, and buckets of blood, Jude is afforded a modicum of respect in Madoc's stead. But behind the scenes, she is taunted and ridiculed by her peers, looked at as a pretender, and as a frail human who has no real worth or talent. To say the situation is complicated is an understatement.The worst of those who bully her is Cardan, the beautiful young Prince of Faerie who chooses to amuse himself by taunting her and putting her right onto the cusp of deathly danger before ripping her back. He skulks around the periphery of her life with his band of merry friends, waiting for any opportunity he can find to make her life miserable. Her twin sister Taryn also suffers the same fate of having her life soaked in nasty words and actions . . . but there is something different in the way Cardan treats Jude - almost as if he divines immense pleasure from making her bleed from within, from personally making her feel like less than human . . . and more like an animal.Cardan is cruel, to say the least of it. But Jude has other things on her mind. She has to find a way to solidify her place in Faerie as the impending years of her adulthood begin to creep just over the horizon. She has some ideas on how to do this, but she finds that she's blocked at every turn by her pseudo-father, Madoc. He insists that he has her best interests at heart, and he has always treated her just the same as his true born daughter Vivi, but Jude is cloaked in a blanket of frustration and raw anger. She wants to fight. She's trained for it. So why won't he allow her her chance?She's also finding herself strangely attracted to a member of Cardan's vicious pack, but the man in question seems to have secrets of his own, hidden within the endless depths of his mysterious soul and locked behind the doors of the expansive empty mansion on the outskirts of the forest that he calls home.And then a proposition is brought to Jude, from the most unlikely of characters. The man most believed to become King after the current reign is over comes to her in secret, seeking an alliance. Prince Dain offers Jude her innermost heart's desires, in exchange for information. He wants her to become his spy, part of his Court of Shadows. And Jude must toe the thin line between safety and sure death to get the Prince what he demands.But before Jude can achieve her goal and find her place in Faerie, everything begins to unravel like so much thread from a well-worn sweater. And on an evening that was supposed to be dedicated to a fresh new start, Jude will watch everything burn to the ground, leaving her to pick up the pieces and put them back together all on her own.The Cruel Prince is the first book in the Folk of the Air trilogy, and before I recommend this to you let me say - you will be clamoring for more from the moment you turn the last page. This novel, set in the high-fantasy world of enigmatic Faerie, is sharp and deceptive, taking the reader on a roller coaster ride full of darkness and delight. The writing is masterful and faithful to the fictional world of Faerie as most high-fantasy readers know it. Sometimes YA books can come across as a bit corny, but this one was full of strong female characters and flawed systems. Nothing was obvious, and the plot was well-played. This is one book that lives up to the hype. Appropriate for readers ages 13+, fans of The Cruel Prince would be wise to look into the rest of Black's literary catalogue, as the worlds of her novels have finely tuned connections. Also, the cover art and a sneak peek excerpt has been dropped via Entertainment Weekly - both can be viewed on their website.

The Cruel Prince, what a fitting title for such a cruel book. Honestly though, this book is one of those that I’ll be thinking about for a long while after I’ve put it down. It’s so much more than just the letters on the page. The depth in the words, the world and the characters really was so wonderful.This Faerie is not the kind from childhood stories. It’s brutal, dark and humans are not treated so kindly. One of the fascinating things about the grittier aspect of the world is the fantastical elements that are mixed throughout, like large toads that can be ridden, creatures that come in every shape, color, size and species (including trees) and objects that have magical properties. There’s something about this subtle juxtaposition of elements, ones that should sound ridiculous with ones that are all too real, that makes this world enchanting.The author seems to like the idea of making things work that really shouldn’t. Take the main heroine, Jude Duarte, for example. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to love her or hate her, but in this book, that dynamic works. Her actions aren’t perfect, neither are her motives at times but her heart always seems to be in the right place. Her fear, rage and contradictory behavior make more sense in light of her vulnerabilities. Having been belittled, abused and told she was lesser for most of her life she’s now trying so hard to prove she can be as devious as those around her by loosing the leash on her more wicked and cunning tendencies. She’s the perfect anti-hero. I wanted her to succeed, even if I didn’t always agree with her.Cardan was so captivating as a character. While at first he came off as the typical useless prince / high school bully, as the book progressed it became clear that there was much more to his character. It’s so subtle though, definitely read between the lines, but that’s part of the narrative, and a compelling part at that. Since the fey can’t lie outwardly they must deceive with wordplay and trickery and that was utilized best with Cardan. It seemed like everything he said and even some of the things he did turned out to have a deeper meaning and likely a better one than thought at first glance.As far as making things work that shouldn’t you could definitely say that about Cardan and Jude. It seems awful to be onboard a ship that’s started the way theirs has, but the chemistry between them is undeniable. For some weird reason, their tension-filled, angry, sarcastic bantering really works for them and makes for the beginnings of a certainly intriguing relationship. Plus, I get the feeling that, like with Cardan, many things between them can be interpreted more than one way. After that ending though I’ll be curious to see where their relationship progresses.With the other characters, I enjoyed that all of them had distinct personalities and stories. They weren’t just cut outs to be there in the larger narrative, they actually had motives and schemes of their own. Madoc, Taryn and Locke were the three standouts though. Madoc was such a fascinating father figure for Jude, although calling him that seems like a stretch, but his role in molding and, purposefully or not, shaping her to be the person she is was both touching and heartbreaking. The twist with Taryn and Locke was a good one and although I suspected Locke a little from the get-go, I would’ve never guessed quite what happened in the end.Overall this was an insightful, fantastical, wickedly delightful read. I’m excited to start the next book but I’m trying not to have lots of expectations because I know I’m probably in for some surprises, especially with the tidbits I’ve seen when spoiling myself on the sequel. What can I say, patience in not my virtue when it comes to books :P

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and complex, the plot was interesting, the pacing was good, and the writing style was enjoyable. Really, this is a good book. I'm looking forward to reading the next one in the series.