My daughter has been begging me to read Holly Black's Folk Air Series and after a summer spent reading nothing but romance novels, I finally gave in and read the first book in that series "The Cruel Prince." I was not disappointed. I love a good fantasy novel. From Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series to the queen, Sara J. Maas, fantasy has quickly become my favorite genre of literature.
The Cruel Prince follows the story of Jude. After the death of her parents, Jude and her sisters Taryn and Vivian are taken to the fae lands where they are raised by Vivian's father, Madoc. Jude and Taryn acclimate well to fairy since they were very young when they were taken by Madoc. Vivian, the only one of the sisters who is actually part fae, does not like or want to live in fairy and will do anything to get back to the mortal world. While Jude has been accustomed to the world of fairy, she is not as amenable as her sister Taryn much to the ire of high fae Prince Cardan. Something about Jude's very existence in fairy makes Cardan despise Jude and he and his group of friends begin to bully her incessantly. Even though Taryn begs Jude to back down and not fan the flames of Cardans anger, Jude refuses to. Between her intelligence, strength and human ability to lie, Jude is dragged in the fairy world of politics when she becomes a spy for the high prince Dain. Dain is destined to take the title of king now that his father as decided it is time for him to step down. Through her spy work, Jude uncovers a plot that may destroy the world of fairy and must work with her enemy, Prince Cardan, to hopefully save the throne.
Holly Black has crafted a beautiful world of fairy with her characters in The Cruel Prince. Jude is a strong female character, who refuses to back down and show any sign of weakness. She longs to be one of the fae since she has no real memories of her mortal life. I love Jude's strength and determination. Even in the face of her bullies and humiliation, she never lets anyone know how much her mistreatment affects her. I think Jude's strength is what draws Cardan to her. Much as he thinks he despises Jude; he can't seem to stay away from her. This is a classic enemies to lovers story. While the two only exchange a few heated kisses, you can tell that Jude and Cardan are destined for each other. Cardan tries to protect Jude, even if he does so while also bullying her. He can't let his guard down amongst his group of friends and let anyone know of his feeling for Jude. The push and pull between these characters is a fun ride for the reader to be on. This book is full of espionage and intrigue. I think what I truly like about this story was the lack of romance. Maybe it's because I've spent my summer reading romance novels, but I enjoyed watching Jude's journey of self-discovery and her growth from the beginning of her story to the where we end in the book ending. I'm looking forward to what comes next in "The Wicked King."