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Inhaling the Folk of the Air (trilogy)
- Jul 30, 2021
- 6 min read
Updated: Jul 31, 2021
It’s Fiction Friday! Let’s Talk… Holly Black’s Folk of the Air trilogy – the thrilling fantasy series from the bestselling author about a mortal girl who finds herself caught in a dangerous web of royal faerie intrigue. So, let’s talk about the winner of the Goodreads YA Best Fantasy in 2019 and 2020…
Synopsis
Jude was seven 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.
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.
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. The Cruel Prince, the Folk of the Air trilogy, Holly Black
Reviews
The Cruel Prince was a finalist for the Lodestar Award, took second place in the Locus Awards, and won the Inky Award in 2019.
4.09 stars on Goodreads with 352,836 ratings and 39,373 reviews.
Amazon Customer Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars for the box set
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
28 in Dark Fantasy for Young Adults
315 in Fantasy & Magic for Children
1,396 in Literature & Fiction for Children
“This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.” – Kirkus Review
“Black is a master at world-building, conveying integral details without that inofrmation ever seeming tedious or encyclopedic, whether you’re well versed in faerie or a newcomer to the genre…the experience of reading a novel like this is something like being surrounded by magic.” – New York Times Book Review
“Lush, dangerous, a dark jewel of a book. Black’s world is intoxicating, imbued with a relentless sense of peril that kept me riveted through every chapter of Jude’s journey. And Jude! She is a heroine to love – brave but pragmatic, utterly human. This delicious story will seduce you and leave you desperate for just one more page.” – Leigh Bardugo, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom
“Breathtaking set pieces, fully developed supporting characters, and a beguiling, tough-as-nails heroine enhance an intricate, intelligent plot that crescendos to a jaw-dropping third-act twist.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Another fantastic, deeply engaging, and all-consuming work from Black that belongs on all YA shelves.” – School Library Journal, starred review
“Jude, who struggles with a world she both loves and hates and would rather be powerful and safe than good, is a compelling narrator. Whatever a reader is looking for – heart-in-throat action, deadly romance, double-crossing, moral complexity – this is one heck of a ride.” – Booklist, starred review
“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.” The Cruel Prince, the Folk of the Air, Holly Black
My Review
The Cruel Prince was a very interesting take on the world of the faeries. Full of unique creatures that are beautifully different and plot twists that you cannot see coming, I read the series in just under a week, unable to put it down. There is so much to explore in Jude’s world, with each character adding to the plot, rather than just ‘filler’ characters to support the world-building. The story is deep and filled with emotional complexity – loving your parents’ murderer for example – and is strongly set up in a way that this world could very well be real and we humans are not aware of it. As I find with most fantasy YA novels, the writing, character development and plot progression grows stronger and better with each book, mostly because the world-building has already been established in the earlier books. I would sometimes have to look up fan-art to properly visualise these creatures and would enjoy a sort of encyclopaedia of the characters and the world to compliment the books. If you are after something refreshing in the world of YA fantasy, I recommend Black’s Folk of the Air trilogy as the plot twists will have your heart racing and your mind blown.
“I love my parents’ murderer; I suppose I could love anyone.” The Cruel Prince, the Folk of the Air, Holly Black
Author
Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Her titles include the Spiderwick Chronicles(with Tony DiTerlizzi), The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the Magisterium series (with Cassandra Clare) and the Folk of the Air series, which begins with The Cruel Prince in 2018, nominated for the CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019, and winner of the Silver Inky for best International YA book. Her new book, How The King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories published in 2020. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award, and the recipient of the Andre Norton Award, the Mythopoeic Award and a Newbery Honor. She lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret door.
To discover more about Holly and her books, follow her on Instagram @HollyBlack or visit her website here.
“He’s flint, you’re tinder.” The Cruel Prince, the Folk of the Air, Holly Black
Publication Information:
Publication Date: 2nd January 2018
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Author: Holly Black
Format: Hardback
Pagination: 384 pages
Reading Age: 16 years and up
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fantasy Fiction
Read The Series:
The Cruel Prince
Book 1
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 . . .
The Lost Sisters
Book 1.5
Sometimes the difference between a love story and a horror story is where the ending comes…
While Jude fought for power in the Court of Elfhame against the cruel Prince Cardan, her sister Taryn began to fall in love with the trickster, Locke.Half-apology and half-explanation, it turns out that Taryn has some secrets of her own to reveal.The Lost Sisters is a companion e-novella to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince, by master writer Holly Black.
The Wicked King
Book 2
Jude has tricked Cardan onto the throne, binding him to her for a year and a day. But the new High King does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her, even as his fascination with her remains undimmed. Meanwhile, a traitor in the court is scheming against her. Jude must fight for her life and the lives of those she loves, all while battling her own complicated feelings for Cardan. Now a year and a day seems like no time at all . . .
The Queen of Nothing
Book 3
After being pronounced Queen of Faerie and then abruptly exiled by the Wicked King Cardan, Jude finds herself unmoored, the queen of nothing. She spends her time with Vivi and Oak, watching reality television, and doing odd jobs, including squaring up to a cannibalistic faerie. When her twin sister Taryn shows up asking a favour, Jude jumps at the chance to return to the Faerie world, even if it means facing Cardan, who she loves despite his betrayal.
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories
Book 3.5
Once upon a time there was a boy with a wicked tongue…
Before Cardan was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone. In this sumptuously illustrated tale, Holly Black reveals a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame’s enigmatic high king. This tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar but pivotal moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan’s perspective.
This new instalment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humour and drama that enchanted readers everywhere.
Buy now:
Amazon – box set
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