The characters. The ending. Oh my goodness I need more!

In Faerie, it is up to the husband to take care of the children of his wife, even if the wife runs away with someone else. Madoc kills both of Jude's parents in order to get his daughter Vivi back, but he also takes Jude and her twin sister Tarynn, the bastard children of his wife. Jude grows up in Faerie, and even though she should hate the world and the man who stole her, she doesn't. Jude wants nothing more than to fit in, and be respected, even though no one respects mortals in Faerie. She has no power, she can die of old age, and she isn't as beautiful as the other fae. When Prince Cardan starts picking on Jude and Tarynn, Jude cant control herself any longer, she decides to fight back, even though it just might get her killed.

This book had a very slow beginning. It was a bit confusing at first, and there wasn't much action till about a third into the book. But once you pass the first third of the book, it really picks up, and I couldn't put the book down after that.

Jude is such an amazing main character. You can easily tell that she's the underdog in the story, but she never gives up, she fights for her rights and those of other humans. She works hard at being better and actually ends up being able to use her skills for a better cause. Her character development was truly amazing. You can see that she battles the good and evil inside her, she's determined to get what she wants, and she will do whatever it takes to get her there.

I wasn't a huge fan of the other characters. Jude's sister Tarynn just seemed really weak and boring to me, sure she makes her own decisions, but she choses the easy way out rather than fighting for what she believes in. Jude's other sister Vivi was alright, even though she is fae and will live forever, she does not accept the world that her father brought her into and would do anything to go back to the human world. Cardan and his group of friends were really interesting, they were all very different and it was nice to see their character development as well, and what was the reason behind them acting the way they did.

The plot of the story was fantastic, although the beginning could be improved a bit. There was enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader engaged in the book. And there was the perfect balance between "I knew that was going to happen" and "No way, I didn't see that coming." It was really well written. The world that Mrs. Black created was breathtaking.

The ending was really creative and well written. While it doesn't leave you with a cliffhanger, it is the type of ending that will make you want to pick up the next book right away.

Overall, this book was amazing. It was definitely worth getting past the slow beginning. The plot, characters and the writing were all fantastic. I cant wait to read the next book in this series.

This was a delightful and engaging book and sucked me in quickly. Jude's sister is half faerie. Jude's parents are murdered by her half faerie sister's father and all of the sisters are ferried away to faerie. The environment they grow up in is less than kind to human children. This takes some of the usual faerie tropes I've read in other books and twists them enough to make the book feel original. This is the beginning of a series, so be warned if that's not your thing. Overall, and interesting story and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Jude Duarte is a human, but she has lived in Faerie since the age of seven with her twin sister and their half-fey older sister, whose father brought them back from the mortal world. Being human, Jude has never felt like she belonged, but lately things have gotten worse with her tormenters at school. The spoiled, arrogant Prince Cardan appears to love nothing more than making Jude's life miserable. When Jude starts fighting back however, she discovers the faerie royal family may not be entirely what it seems. How far will Jude be willing to go to protect the ones she loves?
The Cruel Prince is a great start to a new YA trilogy that promises intrigue, cunning, badass women, and sacrifice in spades. I look forward to the next installment!

As small children Jude and her sisters witness the murder of their mother and father. They are kidnapped and forced to live with the man that killed their parents. Jude and her twin sister learn to live in the faerie world, while their older sister does everything in her power to make her father's (the man that killed her mother and stepfather) life miserable. Holly Black does it again with this first book in the "Folk in the Air" series. I really enjoyed the character Jude. Without trying to give anyway the story, Jude becomes a strong individual that does not need rescuing.

When Jude and Taryn were seven years old, a man who wasn’t a man came to their door and killed their parents. After murdering their parents, the man who was not a man but a fairy, secreted Jude, Taryn and their sister Viv away to Faerie, where they were raised as if they were fairies themselves (nevermind the inconvenient fact that fairies hate mortals). After ten years of living with fairies, Jude wants nothing so badly as to be as beautiful, powerful and immortal. But Jude is a human, so she’s ugly and weak and mortal and has been bullied by her peers who are not her peers her whole life. So when a chance to gain power comes, Jude grasps it with both hands, not knowing that the opportunity will embroil her in the dangerous machinations of power-hungry mad fairies. But even if she had known, Jude wouldn’t have cared. Because she doesn’t just want to be a fairy. She wants to best them all.

This was one of my favorite books of the year. After a crazy fast and brutal start (the book does, in fact, start with a seven year old witnessing the brutal murder of her two parents), the book skips ahead 10 years and seriously slows down to do some worldbuilding. As I’m familiar with the typical rules surrounding the fey, I didn’t find this part to be terribly compelling, but understand why it was necessary. And to be fair, these parts are still at least somewhat interesting – Jude is constantly struggling with love and hate for her adopted father, Madoc, who did kill her parents. Her fairy schoolmates are cruel to the point of not being scared of killing Jude or her sister. There’s a bit of romance (although, as is often the case, it annoyed me). The groundwork for future court intrigue is laid.

Eventually, Jude gets recruited to be a spy for the likely heir to the throne of Faerie and the book goes from pretty good to freakin’ great. The story and character development pick up, and all of sudden it’s all evil machinations, twists, power grabs, allies-turned-enemies and enemies-turned-allies. Jude herself is a very interesting character – she’s not a nice or even necessarily good person, but you will find yourself rooting for despite her willingness to kill or do some seriously shady stuff. Actually, there isn’t one character that you would single out as being “good”, and I have to admit, I loved that. It made an already delightfully twisty read a bit twistier. The second half of the book also brings us some fresh developments on the romance horizon, and I definitely did not hate them. I can’t wait to see where that goes. I can’t wait to see where any of it goes – the ending will definitely leave you waiting for more.

If you’ve read and enjoyed any of Black’s other books, you’ll like this one. She’s known as the “Queen of Faerie” and with this book, she’s earned her title. I buy a fairly small percentage of the books I read, but I’ll be buying this one. It was AWESOME. 5 stars.

The Cruel Prince will be available on 02 January 2018. Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me with an advance electronic copy for review consideration.

Jude and Taryn are born to mortal parents after their parents escaped from Faerie with their older sister, Vivienne. Vivienne is the daughter of the Faerie High King's General, Madoc. Years later, Madoc discovers his daughter in the mortal world and quickly kills the parents to take Vivienne back to the Fae. He feels duty-bound to take the other girls, daughters of his first wife, back to Faerie. He becomes quite fond of the mortal girls and offers them his protection. Vivienne is old enough to remember the mortal world and schemes to return. However, Taryn and Jude are determined to find a place for themselves with the Fae despite continual torment from their Fae classmates. The cruelest tormentor is the youngest prince, Cardan. Jude excels in pushing his buttons far past any boundary of safety.

Jude wants to be a warrior and attracts the attention of the Crown Prince, Dain. He enlists her into his network of spies and Jude sees this as her ticket to belonging. But it is only the beginning of Jude's introduction to court intrigue, politics, and murder. While the fae are immortal, compared to humans, they can be killed. This is my favorite from the magnificent Holly Black. There are so many twists and turns, I applaud the author's cunning. Highly recommend!

I read Holly Black's modern faerie tale books years ago and remember enjoying them. She really knows how to invent a magical world that hints of the old elements of fairy tales but set in modern times. Black transports us once again into a world of faerie that exists parallel to our modern world. It is a world of opulence, of exotic characters, but at the same time this world is not as lovely as it may sound. It is a dangerous world, especially for those who do not belong.

Jude is 7 when her parents are killed by her mother's ex-faerie lover and taken away, along with her two sisters, to live in this other world where she doesn't fit in as a mortal. She longs to be a part of this world but is constantly reminded of her inferior and weak human qualities, especially from Prince Cardan, who takes delight in humiliating and torturing her.

This first book in a series leaves the reader on a cliffhanger and believe me, I can not wait to read the next one! It is like Game of Thrones that takes place in the world of the fae! Love it!

Wow, I’m sort of at a loss for words on what to say about this book. It was brilliant and yet still deeply disturbing and dark. It was all I usually expect from Holly Black, but much more. The characters are all deeply flawed, and the main character, Judd is the most flawed of all of them and definitely an anti-hero. I’m pretty sure the Prince of the title is Cardan, but there are many princes in this world and all of them are cruel and vicious when it comes to humans and even each other.

There is not one character from this book that I can honestly say I liked, and by this I mean someone that I would like to spend time with. I found every character unlikable and some I would want to avoid at any cost. The only one that maybe I liked was Jude’s older sister, Vivienne, she seemed to be the most sane and the only one who at least wanted to leave the Fae world and never look back. But I didn’t like that she didn’t try harder to help or protect her sisters from this world that she at least fit into by blood. I have a hard time understanding why Jude and her sister Taryn want to stay. Neither of them are treated very kindly by anyone, but yet they seem to have a twisted love for the ‘father’ who raised them and for the world itself. The fae that Jude encounters throughout the book are mostly cruel to her and her sister. Some even try to kill her. Jude is definitely a character with moral dilemmas and a warped understanding between right and wrong. Her relationship with her family is also warped, especially considering how things work out between her and her twin. Wow, I’m stunned to the depths they both go to in order to get what they want.

Prince Cardan was an interesting character that I had a lot of mixed feelings about. Like Jude I found him fascinating, but in a dark and warped way. Just how evil and cruel can one person be? Very in his case. Of course some of this is explained in the context of the whole story, but still a very interesting character and his relationship with Jude will only get worse before it maybe gets better.

The book starts with the murder of her parents and Jude and her sister’s kidnapping. We then are transported 10 years into the future and the horrors that the sister’s now endure as humans in the fae world. They have escaped the worst fate that most humans endure in that world, but it really isn’t any better. The plot is fascinating and keeps you on the edge of your seat, although it is slow at times. The last third of the book is the best with all of the court intrigue and then that ending is not to be believed. Many of the twists and turns were totally unexpected and I did not see coming at all. Although in retrospect it all makes perfect sense in the end, the pieces are all there, you just needed to put them together and recognize their importance.

This book is not to be missed. It is a master stroke of genius and a glimpse at a very dark and cruel version of the fairy world.

Generally positive reviews abound for Holly Black's THE CRUEL PRINCE, first in a planned trilogy. I am genuinely sorry to have missed a chance to read the ARC but the download deadline has passed. Starred reviews from Booklist, Publisher's Weekly and School Library Journal (which said "belongs on all YA shelves").

Fierce and determined Jude is the highlight of this incredibly engaging novel. The Cruel Prince is unputdownable and you’ll be desperate for book two after finishing.

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For a more in-depth review watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHM2s...

Jude was seven when her half-sister's faerie father appeared on her doorstep and murdered her parents. In that moment Jude and her twin sister were drawn into the dark and dangerous world of faerie where they were raised as part of the faerie nobility. Now, seventeen year old Jude is trying to win her place in the court where every one has an agenda and no one is safe.

This was a well written, dark, and (at times) twisted story. The story quickly draws you into the world of faerie and you are immersed in the seductive world of palace intrigue, violent encounters and betrayal. The minor lacking of the book was that I never felt truly connected to Jude which will hopefully be resolved in future books.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Instead of being afraid, I will become something to fear."

This fantasy novel has excellent world building. I loved watching Jude and Cardan interact, especially since I am anticipating he is not what he seems. There is a fair amount of violence, just FYI.

Now, when can I read book 2??

The book is set in a violent fantasy world that could be an offshoot Cassandre Clare’s Shadowhunters series, but set in the faery world. The plot twists and turns, but many of these are predictable. The unnecessary cruelty is, at times, hard to take, however it pushes the main character into the role she assumes.

I’ll admit, when I first read the synopsis I may have scoffed, just a hair. It just sounded so familiar. Girl ends up in fairy realm, girl meets snobby and mean fairy prince who terrorizes her, intrigue and fairy politics ensue. And while, yes, this story does have all of those things, I still really enjoyed it. I think that’s due large and part to Black’s writing. There’s just something about her storytelling that is so compelling that it just keeps you reading. No joke – she is truly the Queen of the fae story. I honestly don’t know what else to say except that I’m really excited for the next book in the series to see how everything plays out. I also think that die hard Holly Black fans will revel in this new novel and those new to the author will enjoy this captivating introduction.

This was a very interesting world and I really liked Jude as the main narrator. There were a lot of twists that made things hard to predict and this first book did a great job of setting up future books in the series.

Wonderful characters and story about a mortal girl who grows up with the Gentry in faerie, defies her faerie father and takes her destiny and others into her own hands. Can’t wait for the second book.

Wow, I was so totally immersed in this tale that I was beginning to forget it was fiction. I loved the characters both human and faery. Their emotions, love, hate and jealousy made them seem real.

Jude has spent the past ten years trying to fit in and make herself be accepted by the faery. Her two sisters seem to have found their places and made some sort of peace with General Madoc, the faery who murdered their parents, abducted them and then continued to raise them as his own beloved children. Jude still struggles against his boundaries and the cruelty of her classmates, particularly that of Price Cardan. Things take a drastic turn when she finally decides to stand up for herself.

The play off between the faery and humans kept me guessing at what would happen next. I quickly suspected that the motivation of these actions varied from faery to faery, though why seemed very personal to each. Madoc's second wife, Oriana was a surprisingly wonderful addition to the cast. It was hard to determine whether she was the classic wicked step-mother or something else entirely.

Author Holly Black wove a wonderful tale that took the reader far beyond it's dramatic beginning. She never let up on the appeal to the emotions of her readers until the last words were read. I couldn't help but cheer on Jude in her antics and urge her sisters to both grow more of a backbone. I look forward to reading more about these characters in book two of The Folk of the Air.

The Cruel Prince is the best book that I have read this year. I love the vibrant world that Holly Black weaves. The characters are as complex and interesting as their environment. Full of twists and as magical as its setting, this is a fantasy book that will be beloved throughout the ages. This is a must read for fantasy lovers but also a must read for everyone who loves a good adventure.

World creation, characters, plot, intrigue. This book has it all. Also a satisfying conclusion since we'll have to wait forever for part two. I loved it.

Once again Holly Black does not disappoint! Jude and her sister, Taryn, have lived in the faerie realm since their parents were murdered and have tried to make their own way in a environment that is critical and oftentimes downright dangerous to humans. Jude is a complicated young woman who doesn't want to secure a place in through romance, and instead resorts to less-than-wholesome skill set to manipulate those around her. I appreciated her ambition and her willingness to mimic the faeries around her to secure her fate and protect her family.