The Cruel Prince
A Visit to the Impossible Lands
Book 1 of The Folk of the Air
Ranked #22 in 100 Most Popular BookTok and Bookstagram Books
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About The Cruel Prince
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 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. As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal 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"-- Dust jacket.
Reader guide at a glance
Use these edition facts and spoiler-light notes to decide whether this book fits your mood, time, and preferred reading experience.
- Audience
- Young adult
- Commitment
- Part of the The Folk of the Air series
- Estimated reading time
- 10.0 hours at about 40 pages per hour
- Length
- Standard-length read
- Best for
- Readers seeking coming of age, enemies to lovers, monster romance, morally grey mc
- POV
- First person
- Romance heat
- Low; romance is secondary to court politics
- Content notes
- Violence, bullying, family abuse, and coercion
Why readers are finding The Cruel Prince
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, published in 2018, is a 390-page book for readers who prefer to browse by the experience of a story, not only by its sales category. Its strongest discovery signals include Coming of Age, Enemies to Lovers, Monster Romance, Morally Grey MC.
This edition also appears at number 22 in our researched social reading top 100, reflecting current discussion across BookTok and Bookstagram alongside longer-running reader interest. The ranking uses one verified English-language print ISBN per work so retailer links, cover metadata, and search results point to a real edition rather than a workbook, translation, or duplicate collector version.
- Print ISBN
- 978-0-316-48020-8
- Audio ISBN
- 978-1-478-92374-9
- Published
- 2018
- Pages
- 390
- Series
- The Folk of the Air #1
