I really enjoyed the first book in the Folk of the Air series! The Cruel Prince is told from the perspective of Jude who is a human living in the land of Faerie. Cardan and his friends torment her but as she dives deeper into the world of Faerie she learns that Cardan may be the least of her worries.
It was a little difficult for me to get into the book at the beginning. Despite the cruel and action packed beginning, the one sentence chapter 2 and the excessive telling in some of the chapters after really put me off. Plus, I found some of Holly Black’s writing style a bit jarring in the way she would word things. However, as the story became more complex, I found myself getting more and more into it.
Her descriptions in the book are amazing and really draw you into the world. The world is complex and mixes modern and old classic style elements. Despite the rough start, Holly Black does a great job of drawing you into the story with her awesome descriptions and your curiosity of what is going to happen next. The pacing and suspense are very well done.
The characters are unique and distinct. Jude is tough and Prince Cardan isn’t as terrible as she always imagined. It was fun to see them begin to interact with each other and interesting to follow Jude through her tough choices.
I found this book to be a very compelling read and I can’t wait to read book 2! If you are into a dark fantasy story filled with bloodthirsty and dangerous faeries, then check out The Cruel Prince.
To check out more of Holly Black’s writing, click here.
JA Curtis 