I just can’t resist those evil fairy princes! Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince, the first book in her new Folk of the Air series, has been out for well over a year now, but I just recently hopped on the bandwagon. Now I wish I hadn’t waited so long! As I learned from reading her Modern Faerie Tales series over a decade ago, you can always count on Holly Black to create some delightfully degenerate Fair Folk.
Jude’s feelings toward the fairy world are understandably complicated, after having been raised by the bloodthirsty redcap who killed her human parents. But there’s one feeling she’s certain of: she hates Prince Cardan, the arrogant youngest son of the High King of Faerie. She and her sister Taryn have a hard enough time as two mortals trying to keep up with the fairies, without Cardan’s relentless bullying. But when Jude decides to finally fight back and claim some power for her own, she finds herself suddenly in over her head in palace intrigue. As a political coup threatens to change the world of Faerie as she knows it, Jude realizes that Cardan is no longer her biggest problem. In fact, he may be the key to keeping her family safe.
I came for the decadently devilish trash prince, but stayed for the unapologetically ambitious heroine. Jude makes for a great point-of-view character as we watch her evolve from a scared young girl to someone willing to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. Unlike her sister Taryn, who prefers to go along to get along, Jude doesn’t accept the status quo as it is. In her quest to carve out some agency and power in a world where mortals are both despised and at a magical disadvantage, Jude learns to spy, to kill, and to become immune to poisons. She also learns to collaborate with her enemies, and scheme against her loved ones. Jude is a total Slytherin, and I am here for it!
This book also had some rather Gothic plot elements that I really loved—secret affairs, covered-up assassinations, and hidden identities! Unstable family legacies, and the crumbling of a noble dynasty! I can’t go into too much more detail without giving away some major spoilers, so you’ll have to take my word for it that the plot blends classic tropes with unexpected twists and turns.
The second book is already out, and the final part of the trilogy drops this fall, so now is the perfect time to jump in! You can find The Cruel Prince on shelves at your local retailer or purchase it online and support The Gothic Library in the process by clicking on this Bookshop.org affiliate link. If you’ve already read it, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!