The Cruel Prince cover art

The Cruel Prince

The Folk of the Air, Book 1

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The Cruel Prince

By: Holly Black
Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
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About this listen

The start of a thrilling new fantasy series from best-selling author Holly Black about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a dangerous web of royal faerie intrigue.

Of course I want to be like them. They're beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

One terrible morning, Jude and her sisters see their parents murdered in front of them. The terrifying assassin abducts all three girls to the world of Faerie, where Jude is installed in the royal court but mocked and tormented by the Faerie royalty for being mortal. As Jude grows older, she realises that she will need to take part in the dangerous deceptions of the fey to ever truly belong. But the stairway to power is fraught with shadows and betrayal. And looming over all is the infuriating, arrogant and charismatic Prince Cardan.

Dramatic and thrilling fantasy blends seamlessly with enthralling storytelling to create a fully realised and seductive world, brim-full of magic and romance.

©2018 Holly Black (P)2018 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Royalty Science Fiction & Fantasy

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Beautifully narrated, absolutely wonderful book. it's taken me far too long to get round to reading this but so worth it. The descriptions of Faerie are just magnificent and the author captures all their whims and laws and wickedness and beauty just perfectly. A gem!

Clever, enchanting, wicked

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I have to say that I love the music and rhythm at the start. It drew me in immediately. Looking forward to this. Hope it's good.

just started.

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Loved this book, good character development plot and tempo. Looking forward to the next one now.

Great listen

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Great overall plot for the story, good courtly intrigue, but the romantic sub plot was dire.

Good and Bad

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Loved it! The reader is fantastic and the story although for teen is catchy! More romance than expected but who doesn't love a bit of it! ;)

Great!

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You have to be cunning and cruel to survive around faeries.

I was pleasantly surprised by this story.
When the 3 sisters are taken from the human world against their will they have to adapt to survive.

It was not the Protagonist I expected. I totally assumed Vivi, the eldest daughter would be the obvious choice for the story. but no, it is Jude, the youngest. Who is smart and just but not really the hero type.
The obvious villan from the first chapter is also not the main villain of the tale.

The characters are more complicated and many are morally grey making everyone in the tale very unpredictable. I look forward to seeing what happens next in book 2.

Something a bit different

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This book has been highly recommended and to b honest i wasn’t thinking much off it but i was taken aback by the first page! Starting off with a what i can only say is a confusing turning dark opening i really enjoyed!

Really got me intrigued

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What a series! Captivates you from the very start. Would definitely recommend the entire series.

Amazing!

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Kept me entertained and some interesting twists and turns. I really enjoyed the last quarter when things sped up and started happening but it felt a bit slow up to that point.

Interesting YA/fairie fiction, a bit slow

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A brilliant story and a brilliant performance! I cannot recommend this book enough. Bring on book 2

A must read!

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