The Cruel Prince

· Hachette UK
24 reviews
Ebook
384
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

By #1 New York Times bestselling 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.
By #1 New York Times bestselling 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 Card...

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Ratings and reviews

24 reviews
Evelyn Menil
March 6, 2025
Now THIS is the book I've looked for REAL fairy tales unlike Sarah J Maas anti-fairy-tales-classic-Game of thrones/Fifty Shade of Grey-pornography-version! The world building inside of this book, Holly Black brought me nostalgic childhood dreams that we imagine, from The Legend 1985 to William Shakespeare Nightingale movie to Disney Peter Pan and Tinkerbell solo films to Neverland starring Jhonny Depp movie and so on and forth. And from a children's storybook fairytale classic to THIS YA book! Less romance more political conflict-betrayal story. We need THIS kind of storyline why didn't people see it coming... I am NOW a four year old version of me!
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Neriah Sky Palicte
December 9, 2025
I just LOVE this book so much, Jude's cunning and Cardan's arrogant personality just speaks to me. I love The Cruel Prince and no matter how many times I reread it, it never fails to immerse me.
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Angie Salazar
February 10, 2025
amazing
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About the author

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy books, including the novels of Elfhame, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the Spiderwick Chronicles, her adult debut, Book of Night, as well as an Arthurian picture book called Sir Morien. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into thirty-two languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library. She invites you to visit her online at blackholly.com.
Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy books, including the novels of Elfhame, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the Spiderwick Chronicles, her adult debut, Book of Night, as well as an Arthurian picture book called Sir Morien. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award a...

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