The Cruel Prince cover art

The Cruel Prince

The Folk of the Air, Book 1

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The Cruel Prince

By: Holly Black
Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
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About this listen

The start of a thrilling new fantasy series from best-selling author Holly Black about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a dangerous 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 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.

Dramatic and thrilling fantasy blends seamlessly with enthralling storytelling to create a fully realised and seductive world, brim-full of magic and romance.

©2018 Holly Black (P)2018 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Romantasy Royalty Science Fiction & Fantasy
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A fascinating take on faeries and it's court, this a point if view of a mortal girl who is forced to grew up in faery kingdom and it's politics. The world and character building is brilliant and as for the narrative is excellent.

***Exceptional***

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For a story about teenagers, albeit in a magical land, there was a refreshing lack of typical teenage drama. Everything felt edged with danger, and I enjoyed how thorough and entertaining Holly Black’s fae lore was. I loved this book and anyone who enjoys fantasy likely will too! It has good pacing and interesting characters, and approaches an old mythos in a new way.

Fae, magic, and...a surprising lack of teenage drama

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This is a solid story, with good world building. The plot is a little uneven and the character motivations don’t always make a whole lot of sense.
The narrator does a great job of distinguishing the different characters voices and injecting real emotion into them, but sometimes the main character comes across as a bit too breathy and anxious when it seems like she’s meant to be a bit more badass.

Decent story, a bit slow

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One of the best narrations I have listened to. Great story, lots of twists and delicious mechanations. I'm off to read book 2 .

Absolutely amazing from start to finish.

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I really loved this, its been sitting in my library for some time. I was scared it wouldn't live up to its hype / be a rip-off of ACOTAR but it was a very original story with fun twists and turns

why have I waited so long to listen to this?

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Another re read.
First read of 2023 and had to go in with an all time favourite.
This will forever be one of my favourite series! First time listening to the audio book, and still just as good!

Always amazing!

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Loved this audio the first time and the second time. If you love fantasy then this is the book for you. 5/5 ⭐️

The Cruel Prince

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I loved that there were so many twists and surprises that were hard to see coming. Very enjoyable.

Twists and Surprises

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The character arc of Jude, how she starts as powerless and to become a major player in faerie world was so satisfying. Now her claws are out, and how! Cardan drew interest, but most of his personality is hidden as of now… interesting to see it slowly unravel in next books.

Faerie court politics at best!

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This book gets better every time I reread it. Just magnificent. Great storytelling! Highly recommend!

Perfect

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