Cover of The Cruel Prince

The Cruel Prince

  • 2018 first published
  • 378 pages
  • ★ 4.0 (167 ratings)
  • 18 editions

The Cruel Prince is a 2018 dark fantasy and romantasy novel by Holly Black. It deals with fairies, sisters, orphans and princes.

Open Library readers give it an average of 4.0 out of 5 from 167 ratings, and 5,191 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 18 editions across 3 languages. It appeared on the New York Times Young Adult Hardcover bestseller list in 2018.

It runs to roughly 378 pages — 6–7 hours of reading at an average pace.

About The Cruel Prince

**GUARD YOUR MORTAL HEART.** 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 tricker 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. From #1 *New York Times* bestselling author Holly Black comes the first book in a stunning new trilogy filled with twists and enchantment, as one girl learns the meaning of true power when she finds herself caught in a web of royal faerie intrigue. This description comes from the publisher. *The Cruel Prince* is the first book of the Folk of the Air trilogy.
Description from Open Library

Awards & lists

  • ✦Locus Awards 2019 — Best Young Adult Book (nominee)
  • 📰New York Times bestseller list — Young Adult Hardcover, 2018

Themes, setting & tropes

Genres

Tropes

Subjects

  • Fairies
  • Sisters
  • Orphans
  • Princes
  • Courts and courtiers
  • Fantasy
  • Fantasy fiction
  • Children's fiction
  • Paranormal romance
  • Young Adult Fiction
  • Romance
  • Young adult fiction, fantasy, dark fantasy
  • Young adult fiction, royalty
  • Young adult fiction, social themes, bullying
  • Young adult fiction, fantasy, romance

Quick answers

Who wrote The Cruel Prince?

The Cruel Prince was written by Holly Black and first published in 2018.

What genre is The Cruel Prince?

It is usually shelved as Dark Fantasy, Romantasy, Paranormal Romance and Fae & Fairy Fiction.

How long is The Cruel Prince?

The median edition has 378 pages, about 6–7 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.

What books are similar to The Cruel Prince?

Readers who like it often enjoy The Ballad of Never After, House of Earth and Blood and Shadow and Bone.

More by Holly Black

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