The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black had been on my TBR list for ages when I finally started to read it during the summer. It’s one of those cases where you close your book and wonder “what is wrong with me that I waited for so long to dive into this”. As of the start, these characters dug their claws into my heart and held on long after the end of the final book.
Attention: I will be reviewing all books in this series in this post, but everything except the first book will be hidden so that you do not read any spoilers unless you want to.
Book 1: The Cruel Prince
The Cruel Prince
When she was a little girl, Jude saw how her parents were murdered by a Faerie who turned out to be the biological father of her older sister. Whisked away to the Faerie realm, Jude and her sisters need to learn how to navigate the dangerous world of the Faerie court. You might be tempted to trust those who cannot lie, but Jude learns quite early on that telling the truth and being honest are two totally different things. Now seventeen, Jude is desperate to belong to this magical world, even though she knows she will never truly fit in. Especially not if Prince Cardan has any say in the matter. Devastatingly handsome and even more wicked, Cardan is set on showing Jude exactly why she doesn’t belong in his world.
The perfect story
This book really has everything I love. A magical world filled with wicked and witty characters, a dangerous prince, spies, assassins, and courtly politics. I’ve often heard people complain that this series is not a love story. I will never understand that. It’s often said that “romance is only a subplot” but honestly, the tension and passion can be felt in every sentence. The whole story feels like a chess game, played by two very tactical and desperate players, every move resonating with their complex emotions.
I’m also not quite sure why people tend to agree with Cardans nickname as “the cruel prince”. Honestly, if I would label one of them as cruel, it would be Jude most of the time. He’s certainly wicked but I’m not convinced that it is not Jude who is cold to the bone instead.
The beginning of the story surprised me a little. I got strong Peter Pan vibes from the first chapter and then suddenly, things escalated rather quickly. Just take a look at the last sentence of chapter 0, chapter 1, and the first sentence of chapter 2. You’ll see what I mean 😉
I loved this story so much that I immediately bought all versions I could find. Oops? My favourite is either the second Fairyloot version (my perfect boyfriend bought the set as our anniversary gift <3 <3) or the Dutch Limited edition version with the lovely pictures. I have to say though, even the normal paperback is very pretty. There are lovely fairytale-like drawings and poems in it that really help to transport the reader into this magical world.
It will not surprise you that I gave this first book 5 out of 5 gemstones:
Book 1.5: The Lost Sisters
Summary & Evaluation (click here)
Jude’s twin sister Taryn makes a couple of decisions in book 1 that can be considered quite un-sisterlike to say the least. In this accompanying eNovella, Holly Black gives Taryn the chance to voice her side of the story. It turns out, things are not as black and white as they might appear.
Interesting extra information, but not crucial
While this story does help to get Taryn’s point of view, I have to admit I didn’t really care for it. Honestly, I’m not that fond of Jude but Taryn is worse and she did not manage to convince me otherwise with her explanation. Would I recommend it? Sure, if you are just as crazy as me about this world. Do I think it’s crucial to understand book 2? Not at all.
Book 2: The Wicked King
Summary & Evaluation (click here)
At the end of book 1, Jude manages not only to trick Cardan into becoming the new king, she also binds him to her for a year and a day. As the new seneschal, she’ll have to acquire the skills and power to protect herself, her family, and Faerie as a whole. But the deadline is nearing and a traitor schemes against her. To make everything even more complicated, it becomes increasingly difficult to deny her feelings for her old enemy.
A strong sequel
I loved this second part of the series as much – if not more – as I did the first. Cardan’s character development is fascinating (still not convinced by Jude though), the story is adventurous, and the romantic tension is beautifully written. I was blown away by the final chapters, but I’ll let you discover that for yourself.
Book 3: The Queen of Nothing
Summary & Evaluation (click here)
Crowned Queen of Faerie and exiled almost in the same breath, Jude finds herself lost in the mortal world. Doing some odd Faerie jobs here and there, she cannot wait to return to her kingdom and confront Cardan with his betrayal. Out of the blue, Taryn shows up asking a favour. Although the events of the previous books have left a serious strain on their relationship, Jude is not going to pass up her one chance to return home. But the land is not as she left it: a dark curse threatens to upset the very roots of the world she loves so much.
A worthwhile finale
I was not at all sure how this book would end, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The character arcs continue to be developed nicely and while Jude’s actions remain absurd half of the time, I loved their relationship intensely.
Please write more, Holly Black?
PS: Cardan’s letters are included in the Barnes & Noble edition. They are definitely worth it!
An amazing end: 5 gemstones out of 5.
Book 3.5: How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
Summary & Evaluation (click here)
This story takes place after the end of the final book, although most of it are flashbacks to Cardan’s childhood and youth. It’s the only time we get to hear his part of the story and honestly, I LOVED it. The illustrations are wonderful and the whole story feels like a fairytale. As the title already suggests, the novella describes a chain of events that explains why Cardan isn’t too fond of stories later on in life. Although this story is not a part of the trilogy, I would definitely highly recommend it to those who would like to fully understand the series. PS: There are so many pretty versions of this novella! They really do look amazing put together. You have the normal white one, the black Barnes & Noble Exclusive edition or the Waterstones Exclusive edition, the purple Fairyloot edition, and the green Owlcrate edition. A cute little story for those who are not ready to let these characters go: 4 gemstones out of 5.
Age Category: Young adults, but also suitable for an older audience.
Trigger Warnings (click here, may contain spoilers)
Very mild. Warnings for bullying, parental death, humiliation & child abuseDo you want to discover more?
If my review inspired you to pick up the book, don’t hesitate to check it out at Goodreads or at the below online stores. If you decide to buy it via one of the following links, I will receive a small percentage at no extra charge for you!
Amazon.nl: English Paperback Edition of The Cruel Prince
Amazon.nl: English eBook Edition of The Lost Sisters
Amazon.nl: English Paperback Edition of the trilogy
Amazon.nl: English Hardcover Edition of How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
Would you like to read and discuss the first book with your book club or class? Then you are in luck! The publisher has created a book club guide that can be downloaded for free here.
Or would you prefer to first listen to an excerpt before purchasing The Cruel Prince? That’s possible too! Click here. (audio file provided by the publisher).
There are also some stunning special edition sets available on the second-hand market. Careful though, special editions of this series tend to be quite costly! Litjoy has an officially licensed The Cruel Prince Collection, consisting of products (e.g. bookshelf alley, mug, socks, pin) and special editions in a box set. This box set contains all four books, which have new covers, tip-in art pages (only in the three main novels), handwritten annotations by the author, digital signatures, and gilded edges. Furthermore, the novella has bonus content, all the books are printed on acid-free paper, and the slipcase is fully illustrated. As you can imagine, this set is very, VERY expensive to buy second-hand.
Fairyloot, too, published some beautiful special editions of this series. Back in January 2018, they included a normal hardcover of book 1 (with bookplate) in their Young Adult book box. Later on, they published special editions of all four books (three of which were sold separately, while book three was sold as part of a Special Edition Box with goodies. The trilogy was also once sold as a set). All of these have exclusive covers with foil, stenciled sprayed edges, ribbon bookmarks, and the set came with two signed bookplates.
Similar to this
If you are also sold to the magical worlds created by Holly Black, you can rejoice! She wrote another series that takes place in Faerie, namely the Modern Faerie Tales. Book one, Tithe, introduces us to Kaye, a modern nomad. Traveling with her mother’s rock band, Kaye is forced to return to her childhood home when tragedy strikes. But nothing is as it seems: suddenly, she’s in the midst of a war between two rival faerie kingdoms. I have to admit I can barely wait to start exploring this story too! My review will follow in the coming months!
Jude somehow also reminded me of two other great fantasy series that I read long ago. On the one hand, I kept thinking about the Queen of Fantasy, Robin Hobb and her amazing Farseer Trilogy. On the other hand, I was also reminded of Luck in the Shadows, the first book in the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling. I haven’t got round to reviewing either of these series, but they are simply stunning. If you haven’t read them yet, please do so asap!
Last but not least, the political intrigue also reminded me of the Captive Prince Trilogy by C.S. Pacat. This series is the latest pearl I discovered in the literary sea. I read all books back to back in less than a week. It’s a bit outside of the usual scope of this blog, so it will feature as the Dragon Adventure review of next month. I won’t spoil anything yet, but it’s about two princes of rival countries that find that they are bound together by destiny if they are to survive and claim their rightful thrones. While not at all as spicy as the summary of the first book might suggest, these books are without a doubt written for an adult audience! Update: my review is now online!
WOW! What a great full series review. I’ve seen a lot of Jude and Cardon fan art, and I’ve been wanting to read these books for quite some time. I love how you let the reader click on each book review to see (or not see) your summary. The ‘discover more’ and ‘similar to this’ sections are also fabulously done. Thank you!
Thank you! It was my first series review so I’m glad you liked it. I was worried about spoilers so I hope that this way, nobody got to read anything they didn’t want to 🙂 Happy Halloween!