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title: "The Cruel Prince: Collector's Edition (Folk of the Air, 1)"
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# The Cruel Prince: Collector's Edition (Folk of the Air, 1)

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desertcart.com: The Cruel Prince: Collector's Edition (Folk of the Air, 1): 9780316461252: Black, Holly: Books

Review: so I have been exposed to her writing style before and have enjoyed her stories - Rating: 4.75/5 Stars Title: The Cruel Prince Author: Holly Black Synopsis: 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. Initial thoughts: I have read a few of Holly Black’s work when I was younger and I’m currently reading the Magisterium series she is writing with Cassandra Clare as they come out, so I have been exposed to her writing style before and have enjoyed her stories. This one I started a little late though because I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the characters as one of them is openly ‘cruel’. I decided to finally pick it up because there are so many people who have said that they enjoyed the story that was written. Excited for a new story involving magic and fae, I felt that I should give it a chance even if there was a chance I wouldn’t like the characters. Plot: What I liked: The main focus wasn't on the romance. Of course there was some romance (if you can actually call the toxic manipulation through emotions romance), but the main focus of this story seemed to be political and world building through the character’s actions which was something I really enjoyed. Jude was also a character that surprised me. I liked her characters a lot and how she handled situations based on her prior experiences learning from past mistakes. I also liked how Black made every character unique in personality and appearance. What I didn't like: I didn't really understand how Jude was so invested in a world that truly only hurt her and why she didn't want to leave. That seemed to be the only thing I had real issue with in this book. Characters: Jude: I liked her and how scheming she was. She was clever and used her skills to her advantage. She was stubborn and stuck to her goals trying to plan ahead even when things didn't always work out. Taryn: She was very selfish and only really thought about how things would affect her. She didn't seem to care about hurting others that trusted her so long as she got what she wanted. She was very similar to Jude in this way. Vivienne: I loved her! She was such a fun character and really cared about her family (other than her father) and was willing to get into trouble for them. Madoc: He was a very interesting character that played father figure and teacher, but also a warlord general. I enjoyed him and the way that he thought throughout the book. Valerian and Nicasia: They were horrible and I kind of hated them throughout the entire book. They were fantastic antagonists, but they really pushing boundaries when it came to what it was that they desired verses what their path toward it was. Prince Cardan: I think that he was the one who surprised me the most through this book. I didn't like him and I didn't hate him either. I hope he continues to surprise me. Oriana and Oak: I didn't like Oriana at first, but she grew on me pretty quickly. And Oak is just precious. Such a cute kid. Prince Dain: It felt almost wrong to like him. I liked him, but didn't trust him as far as I could throw him which isn't very far. The Court of Shadows: I loved each and every one of them! They were fantastic and willing to include which I found endearing to their characters. Overall: I really enjoyed this book and how it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time and pulled plot twists that actually surprised me. I will be starting the second book when it comes out and look forward to seeing how Black handles the plot that she set up in the cliffhanger she had at the end of the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a gripping and dark fairytale.
Review: Dark, addictive, and impossible to put down - This book completely deserves the hype. The Cruel Prince pulls you into a cruel, political, and morally gray fae world from the very first chapters. The atmosphere is dark, tense, and emotionally charged, and the power dynamics between characters are constantly shifting. Nothing feels safe, and that’s exactly what makes it so addictive. Jude is a strong and complex main character. She’s not perfect, not soft, and definitely not naive. Her ambition, anger, and determination make her feel real, especially in a world that constantly reminds her she doesn’t belong. The writing is sharp, the pacing is excellent, and the court politics keep you hooked without feeling overwhelming. I won’t go into spoilers, but if you like fantasy with enemies to lovers tension, ruthless politics, morally questionable characters, and a dark fairy tale vibe, this book is absolutely worth reading. It’s one of those stories that makes you immediately want to grab the next book in the series.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #27,495 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #5 in Teen & Young Adult Dark Fantasy #11 in Teen & Young Adult Sword & Sorcery Fantasy #13 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Bullying (Books) |
| Book 1 of 3  | The Folk of the Air |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (67,441) |
| Dimensions  | 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.6 inches |
| Edition  | Collectors |
| Grade level  | 9 and up |
| ISBN-10  | 0316461253 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0316461252 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 400 pages |
| Publication date  | October 24, 2023 |
| Publisher  | Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
| Reading age  | 15+ years, from customers |

## Images

![The Cruel Prince: Collector's Edition (Folk of the Air, 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Go97OVERL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ so I have been exposed to her writing style before and have enjoyed her stories
*by D***H on July 12, 2018*

Rating: 4.75/5 Stars Title: The Cruel Prince Author: Holly Black Synopsis: 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. Initial thoughts: I have read a few of Holly Black’s work when I was younger and I’m currently reading the Magisterium series she is writing with Cassandra Clare as they come out, so I have been exposed to her writing style before and have enjoyed her stories. This one I started a little late though because I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the characters as one of them is openly ‘cruel’. I decided to finally pick it up because there are so many people who have said that they enjoyed the story that was written. Excited for a new story involving magic and fae, I felt that I should give it a chance even if there was a chance I wouldn’t like the characters. Plot: What I liked: The main focus wasn't on the romance. Of course there was some romance (if you can actually call the toxic manipulation through emotions romance), but the main focus of this story seemed to be political and world building through the character’s actions which was something I really enjoyed. Jude was also a character that surprised me. I liked her characters a lot and how she handled situations based on her prior experiences learning from past mistakes. I also liked how Black made every character unique in personality and appearance. What I didn't like: I didn't really understand how Jude was so invested in a world that truly only hurt her and why she didn't want to leave. That seemed to be the only thing I had real issue with in this book. Characters: Jude: I liked her and how scheming she was. She was clever and used her skills to her advantage. She was stubborn and stuck to her goals trying to plan ahead even when things didn't always work out. Taryn: She was very selfish and only really thought about how things would affect her. She didn't seem to care about hurting others that trusted her so long as she got what she wanted. She was very similar to Jude in this way. Vivienne: I loved her! She was such a fun character and really cared about her family (other than her father) and was willing to get into trouble for them. Madoc: He was a very interesting character that played father figure and teacher, but also a warlord general. I enjoyed him and the way that he thought throughout the book. Valerian and Nicasia: They were horrible and I kind of hated them throughout the entire book. They were fantastic antagonists, but they really pushing boundaries when it came to what it was that they desired verses what their path toward it was. Prince Cardan: I think that he was the one who surprised me the most through this book. I didn't like him and I didn't hate him either. I hope he continues to surprise me. Oriana and Oak: I didn't like Oriana at first, but she grew on me pretty quickly. And Oak is just precious. Such a cute kid. Prince Dain: It felt almost wrong to like him. I liked him, but didn't trust him as far as I could throw him which isn't very far. The Court of Shadows: I loved each and every one of them! They were fantastic and willing to include which I found endearing to their characters. Overall: I really enjoyed this book and how it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time and pulled plot twists that actually surprised me. I will be starting the second book when it comes out and look forward to seeing how Black handles the plot that she set up in the cliffhanger she had at the end of the book. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a gripping and dark fairytale.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dark, addictive, and impossible to put down
*by M***A on December 18, 2025*

This book completely deserves the hype. The Cruel Prince pulls you into a cruel, political, and morally gray fae world from the very first chapters. The atmosphere is dark, tense, and emotionally charged, and the power dynamics between characters are constantly shifting. Nothing feels safe, and that’s exactly what makes it so addictive. Jude is a strong and complex main character. She’s not perfect, not soft, and definitely not naive. Her ambition, anger, and determination make her feel real, especially in a world that constantly reminds her she doesn’t belong. The writing is sharp, the pacing is excellent, and the court politics keep you hooked without feeling overwhelming. I won’t go into spoilers, but if you like fantasy with enemies to lovers tension, ruthless politics, morally questionable characters, and a dark fairy tale vibe, this book is absolutely worth reading. It’s one of those stories that makes you immediately want to grab the next book in the series.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ THE GOOD The world
*by T***S on May 7, 2018*

Jude and her two sisters are taken to Faerie to live with their mother's former Fae War General lover, growing up in a harsh world of magic and unfriendly Folk. Jude hates that she is mortal and covets many things about the fey. Her life becomes dangerously entangled as her desire for respect, power and adventure meets the attention of the royals...especially Cardan, the prince she hates above all. THE GOOD The world, the diversity, the sense of each character--even the side characters. We aren't entrenched in learning only about Jude and her relation to the world as the MC. Instead there is an array of well-developed and independently driven characters who leave little breadcrumbs about what they've been through, where they've been, and who they've been with. Because the Folk can't lie, they craft their sentences in a way that can leave things with a lot of ambiguity, but when it all starts to click...it is one heck of a ride. From the first brutal pages, the author makes no apologies for the blood-driven power of Madoc, the true father of the eldest sister Vivienne, who has come to reclaim his daughter (and her younger sisters) from the mortal world. You can feel the immediate fear and reverence for the immortal. I love the way that Madoc is made; incredibly strong and strict, but also pliable and deferring to his daughters' whims and wills at times. And his family is, as you can imagine, is not a status quo, nuclear unit. His first wife is slain, his new wife is fey and has a son, and then he has Vivienne, Taryn and Jude. He loves, protects and educates all of them, but he is so much more than a father and the image he projects. Faerie and the mortal world. Yes, you get two coinciding worlds in this beauty of a book. Instead of making the worlds geographically separated by a wall or continent or a magic parallel world, these worlds are overlapped the way you may have seen in early fairy tales. Vivi, while she is one of the folk, likes to travel back to the mortal world with her sisters, and by herself at times. Her rebellion against Madoc is to shun Faerie and enjoy all the human joys of malls, a secret human girlfriend, and indulging her sisters with coffee, candy and shopping. One of my favorite moments is when Jude gets to glimpse part of the mortal world while in Faerie. The description was fascinating and gorgeous. It made me feel how close they were, how far they were, and where Jude's real interest was in this world. The royals are equally fascinating. We don't get to intimately understand all of them, however we learn just enough about each, chapter by chapter. The ailing king. The Crown Prince Dain, the "Cruel" Prince Cardan, the power-hungry Prince Balekin, and glimpses of the princesses and others, including royals from other courts. Cardan was by far my favorite, being deliciously complex and...well, I should move him to the next section. THE GREAT “He looks like a faerie lover stepped out of a ballad, the kind where no good comes to the girl who runs away with him.” The anti-love interest. I know I am a huge fan of anti-heroes, but I didn't quite understand the anti-love interest until now. But now I get it. And it's glorious. Cardan is Jude's main source of torment and her favorite thing to hate. So from this first introduction in the quote above, I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but to think of Rhysand from ACOTAR. The acknowledgment of an unworldly beauty that draws someone in, but also compels them in the other direction. They are satellites of each other in this book, much like Rhys and Feyre were in the first book...entangled by circumstance, but that is where the similarities end. Cardan is a tormentor to her. Jude is a disrespectful and unworthy human to him. Hence, their classmate and royal vs. human relationship statues hold magnificent tension. I don't want to spoil anything, but there are a few twists in this book for them. “I love my parents' murderer; I suppose I could love anyone.” Jude. Jude is the other great of this book. I loved her sisters, but I loved Jude the most because she is so incredibly flawed and aware of it. And what's better...she doesn't act like you would expect a heroine to act. Maybe because she isn't going to be a heroine, ultimately. Two more books to figure her out. She has some noble thoughts, but is also a jumble of envy, longing, rapid mood swings, sisterly love, sisterly hate, and a fair dose of scheming. She isn't described as particularly beautiful, which I think made me love her more because we are seeing her through her eyes. Jude comments on noticing things like her height and hips and the heavy weight of her breasts in comparison to the lithe fey bodies around her. She feels nearly gross with humanness, having to deal with things like deodorant and tampons. In short, she felt like a real teenager. My favorite thing about Jude though? She doesn't know exactly what she's capable of. She has a gut-sense of what to do, but mostly she seems to be getting by on her training from school, from Madoc, and instincts. It feels like she could fall off the very narrow blade she walks on at any moment. And that really propelled the story forward. BUY, BORROW OR PASS BUY. Absolutely buy. This series has only started and the rest of the series became an insta-buy for me after the first chapter. Oh Jude, you don't know what you've done. That ending is going to haunt me.

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Cruel Prince: Collector's Edition (Folk of the Air, 1)
- The Wicked King: Collector's Edition
- The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air, 3)

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