The Cruel Prince Audiobook By Holly Black 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

By number-one New York Times best-selling author Holly Black, the first book in a stunning new series about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a 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.

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 nothing more than 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.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war 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.

©2018 Holly Black (P)2018 Hachette Audio
Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Romance Royalty Science Fiction & Fantasy Series Essentials

Featured Article: The top 100 series of all time


The feeling of discovering that your favorite new listen is actually the start of a series is euphoric. That you can immediately hit play and re-enter a beloved new world, or love story, or era from history is a gift to the devoted listener. But how to pick just 100 of these unique and immersive listening journeys? We defined a series as having a minimum of three books, and—after some debate—we decided the titles had to be anchored in fiction. From YA to horror to historical fiction, from fresh voices to seminal tales, hours of discovery await.

Unexpected Plot Twists • Complex Characters • Rich Worldbuilding • Political Intrigue • Captivating Ending
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I remember reading Holly Black’s books in high school and really loving them, this was middle of the line. The story was good - the characters were a bit unbelievable (and not because they were fairies).

The main character is arrogant but also self conscious of everything around her and even though the story is told through her perspective you can easily see the other characters motivations from the very beginning. (Again this is targeted for a younger audience so complexity wasn’t exactly what I was expecting).

Overall the book itself was fine - I think it suffered from the narration. Black writes in a very flowery language so there’s not much need for embellishment. The narrator however delivered every line line it was the climax of a Shakespearean soliloquy.

Overall I’d say 6/10.

I wanted to love it...

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I listen to a lot of audio books. I get that it's hours upon hours of work and you have to take breaks and such. unfortunately the editing of this audio book was poor. Sentences chopped up with different intimations that were crazy obvious. single words sliced into sentences with different room tone. not their best work.

I loved the story and the reader.

great story, so so recording

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Oh my gosh, The Cruel Prince will have you hooked like a fish on a line! I'm not even kidding; I DEVOURED this book! Holly Black's magical world-building was so real, I could practically feel the grass between my toes. But what really blew me away was how she made me feel everything that Jude Duarte went through. Every emotion, every fear, every thrill, I was right there with her! This book is bursting with a power-hungry court, first-time love, backstabbing, and sneaky plot twists that'll make you gasp. If you're into fantasy, vindictive nobles, snarky faeries, and espionage, then you gotta read this book.

beginning of a bad ass

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Tragic
between
Mortal
and
Faerie

Magic
between
mortal
and
Faerie

This audibook is cruelly interesting and I love to explore the magic in fairyland.

Who will won the battle?
Cardan Greenbriar or Jude Duarte


spellbinding

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This book is truly one that will take you from being slightly enthralled to ravenously excited to know what comes next. Definitely worth a credit.

Pleasant YA Surprise

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The book was awesome! hard to follow along with all the characters names at first but I got it down for the most part. im all for multiple narrators but why were there multiple narrators for one character? back and forth? it would switch the main characters voice every so often through out the book. i loved the book and the narrators were really good. i would give it 5 stars for preformance if multiple voices weren't used for one person. one voice per character would have been preferable but it was really well done. loved it!

different narrator's?

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good story flow and decent writing. some parts did feel choppy and gappy like it was rushed and you needed a bit more story for full transition or smoother flow but overall it was entertaining ( and I don't like the "fairy" stories ). The story got my interest as it went on and made me invest in the character.

pretty good

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I was first introduced to Holly Black's deliciously dark world of fae many years ago through her novel Tithe. A story about a faerie who grows up in the mortal world, not knowing what she truly is. It swept me away and took me from my dreaded high school halls into a world where impossible things existed. I fell in love with the story, with Kaye and Roiben and the world of fae. Tithe ignited my imagination, and now, many years later, The Cruel Prince is doing the same thing. I am being swept away into this gorgeous and horrifying world of fae, and turns out, I'm still in love with it.

The Cruel Prince sets up the world I fell in love with as a teen, but this time around, it feels more like a living, breathing thing. Jude Duarte is a protagonist I've never read before. I love her ambition, which can be ugly and unfair just as much as it is earned and rightful. I love her violence, which is just and at times, shocking. I love her conflict, which is true and immediate. I love everything about her, and she is my new favorite character.

The bond between Cardan and Jude is also unlike anything I've ever read before. It is complex and awful, but also enchanting and almost beautiful. I can't wait to see how the rest of their story will unfold.

I'm hooked. Thanks, Holly Black.

A dizzying and beautiful tale of magic & violence

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This book was amazing. I could not put it down. I love the beautiful creative world and Characters in this book. I just purchased book 2.

amazing plot twist!!!

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Such good EVERYTHING! GET IT!! Don't be dumb and think about it, just get it. The story, the world building, the tensions and the conflict. Nailed it all! THIS is good storytelling! And the narrator was GOLD!

Daaaammmnnnn

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