The Cruel Prince Archives - ReignOfReads

The Stolen Heir – The First of the Newest Duology by Holly Black

Kellie Robinson — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to Elfame! We welcome Holly Black‘s new novel in the fantastical universe: The Stolen Heir: A Novel of Elfhame.

We’re no stranger to Holly Black, and we hope you aren’t either! With bestselling series stemming from the hit sensation The Cruel Prince – it comes to the delight of her fans that The Stolen Heir is the first stop in a new Duology following the Folk of the Air series!

Table of Contents [CLICK HERE TO OPEN]

Book of Night Holly Black: A Realistic Gritty Urban Fantasy

Kellie Robinson — Tue, 18 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black makes her stunning adult debut with Book of Night, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies in the vein of Ninth House and The Night Circus

We’re no stranger to Holly Black, and we hope you aren’t either! With bestselling series stemming from the hit sensation The Cruel Prince – it comes to the delight of her fans that Book of Night Holly Black is her new adult debut. Did you binge her other young adult series and need more? Keep reading to find out all about Book of Night Holly Black.

Table of Contents [CLICK HERE TO OPEN]

All Holly Black Books & Series In Order

Kellie Robinson — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Did you read The Folk and Air trilogy and can’t get enough? Or maybe you read one of Black’s standalone and want to delve in deeper. Either way, we’ve collected all Holly Black books for you so you don’t have ... Click Here To Read more

The post All Holly Black Books & Series In Order appeared first on ReignOfReads.

The Cruel Prince Characters We Can’t Get Enough Of

Kellie Robinson — Tue, 04 Oct 2022 09:00:00 +0000

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.

It’s no secret that a part of what makes this book so great is the compelling and addicting characters! Luckily for you, we’ve compiled all our personal favourites and bundled together all the information you could need for a quick introduction to each character!

Characters (Spoilers for The Wicked King & The Queen of Nothing ahead!)

Jude Duarte

“If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”
Jude Duarte, The Cruel Prince

Jude is a human and the High Queen of Elfame. Twin sister of Taryn, and wife of Cardan Greenbriar, Jude is our fearless protagonist of The Folk and Air series.

Described as having softer features to the fae, Jude is a brunette and brown-eyed mortal beauty unlike which the fae have encountered. The top of her ring finger is missing where it was bitten off as a child. This seems fitting for such a stubborn and adventurous mortal, traversing the difficult world despite her being human. She is cunning, clever and tries to bury her vulnerable side to remain cold.

Jude is hard working and has perfected her fighting skills in various areas, especially sword fighting. She has a thirst for blood and will not stop until she has fully proved herself and protected her loved ones, no matter the cost.

Jude is the younger twin between her and Taryn.

According to Holly Black, she has some Latin ancestry.

The author confirmed on Twitter, in a since-deleted tweet, that Jude kept her maiden name after marriage, as name changing was not faerie custom. Furthermore, in The Queen of Nothing, Baphen calls her Jude Duarte during her coronation.

Taryn Duarte

“Nice things don’t happen in storybooks… Or when they do happen, something bad happens next. Because otherwise the story would be boring, and no one would read it.”
Taryn Duarte, The Cruel Prince

Identical twin sister of Jude, Taryn too was bullied and faced adversities for being human in the magic realm. Her and her sister are fairly different in terms of their approach to the fae. Taryn wishes not to challenge the folk and believes they will ignore her if she ignores them. She wishes to fall in love with a fae and marry into the Court.

A little meek and submissive, Taryn can turn wicked and ruthless when her place in Faerie is threatened.

Her wickedness and opposing nature with her sister lead them both into butting heads numerous times, but ultimately family will always run deep in their veins.

According to Holly Black, she has some Latin ancestry.

Taryn is the older twin between her and Jude.

Cardan Greenbriar

“You don’t think monster girls and wicked boys deserve love?”
Cardan Greenbriar, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

Also known as High King Cardan (previously Prince Cardan) , he is the current High King of Elfame.

With iridescent black hair and black gilded eyes, his beauty is that of the otherworldish fae. Lean and thin, Cardan is said to have a number of scars on his back from his abusive older brother Prince Balekin. His slim tail is tucked away in the back of his shirt.

Cardan struggles to understand his emotions and as a result, comes across as cruel, prideful and sarcastic. He’s especially manipulative and can slyly escape danger with charm and wit – his attractiveness helping a lot too.

He initially was repulsed at himself for falling for a human, but he allows himself to fall for Jude. He shows Jude a tender side to him, in which he reveals he has no real interest in the crown.

Dain Greenbriar

“I forbid you from speaking aloud about your service to me. I forbid you from putting it into writing or into song. You will never tell anyone of the Roach. You will never tell anyone of any of my spies. ...So long as I live, you will obey this.”
Dain Greenbriar, The Cruel Prince

Also known as Prince Dain, he is a faerie and the brother to Cardan.

Polar opposite to his brother, Dain is described as having golden curls and silver-grey eyes. From his torso down he bears the hind legs of a deer and boasts small horns atop his head.

Initially, Dain appeared to be kind and generous, especially toward Jude. He was later revealed to be horribly manipulative and violent, prioritizing power over all else. When an affair became pregnant, Dain was worried the unborn child’s prophecy would become true, such that he tried to kill both mother and child. The child was unharmed and is known as Oak, who we see in the series.

Dain also lead what was known as the Circle of Falcons, alongside the undercover Court of Shadows.

Locke

“Because you’re like a story that hasn’t happened yet. Because I want to see what you will do. I want to be part of the unfolding of the tale.”
Locke, The Cruel Prince

Son of Liriope, Locke is the half brother of Oak and husband of Taryn. He is described as having red hair and feline-like eyes. His fox-like appearance matches his slyness. He shows a caring side, but much like other characters in the story, Locke can be very manipulative and loved drama. He has an incurable appetite for stories and would not be ashamed to create some drama if he was feeling a hunger for it.

His mother once took him to the human world. She told him that they needed both the fae and the human realm in order to live well. His mother died at age 10 and Locke had been living in his family’s estate on his own ever since.

Oak

7 years old, young Oak is technically a Prince of Elfhame as he is the son of Dain Greenbriar and Liriope. He has deer legs like his father and horns growing from his skull.

He is a normal faerie child. A little spoilt due to over-coddling by Oriana, he gets very upset when things don’t go his way.

Oak will take his place of High King once he becomes of age. His uncle Cardan will rule in the mean time. He is taken to the human world to live with Vivienne and her girlfriend Heather.

He is seen as much more forgiving and caring than his cohorts and has repeatedly expressed his disenchantment with becoming High King.

Vivienne

“There’s always something left to lose.”
Vivienne, The Cruel Prince

The daughter of half-faerie and half-human, she is the daughter of Madoc and Eva Duarte making her the half-sister of twins Taryn and Jude and foster sister to Oak.

Vivi has a cat-like features, with golden slit-eyed pupils and pointed furry ears.

After Madoc murdered her mother and step-father, Vivienne become deadset on hatred and making Madoc’s life as difficult as possible. Often this is shown with Vivi misbehaving: screaming, raging, hurting her sisters, and sneaking out of Faerie to see her girlfriend.

Her anger has pointed her away from the fae and she holds a grudge against the fae. The only thing keeping her in Faerie is the twins; she loves them dearly and she worries for their safety.

She is described as fun to be around, although the fun is rooted in her cheerfully selfish nature.

Madoc

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold on to.
Madoc, The Cruel Prince

Madoc is a faerie and former Grand General of Elfhame. He is the father of Vivienne, foster father to Taryn, Jude, and Oak, and husband to Oriana.

Described as having greenish skin, catlike eyes and being tall and burly, it comes as no surprise that this tank of a fae is very protective of his family. Undercurrinting that is a side which is ambitious, ruthless and he has a thirst for bloodshed. War is a part of his nature. His love is violent in nature – he takes Jude and Taryn despite the conflict it may cause.

Madoc was born in a battlefield. His bother sliced the umbilical cord with her blade. He was born and bred in bloodshed. Madoc’s first human love ran away while pregnant. She staged her and her unborn baby’s death to cover her escape.

Madoc trains Jude in sword fighting, and it is no wonder how Jude became so skilled.

Oriana

Faerie Oriana is the stepmother to Vivienne and foster mother of Taryn, Jude, and Oak.

Described as beautifully unnerving to look at, Oriana lives a cautious life. Once a consort to the High King, Oriana was a loyal friend to the late Liriope and was entrusted with her son Oak. She takes great pride in good etiquette and image and is talented at moving unpleasant situations into a kinder, softer topic.

She married Madoc as she knew the man could bring protection to both her and Oak – and Oak is her priority.

The post The Cruel Prince Characters We Can’t Get Enough Of appeared first on ReignOfReads.

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black: A Must-read!

Kellie Robinson — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 09:00:00 +0000

The Queen of Nothing, by Holly Black, is a young adult fantasy novel that brings mythology and folklore to a contemporary audience. It is the final novel in the Folk of Air trilogy, following The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King.

The intoxicating and bloodthirsty finale to the Folk of Air trilogy, The Queen of Nothing is another outstanding addition to the YA fantasy genre which once again raises the bar. With complex relationships, nail-biting battle scenes, and a realm of faerie politics, it’s no surprise that The Queen of Nothing was voted Goodreads Best Fantast YA 2020. Want to know more? Keep reading, we’ve got all the details.

About The Queen of Nothing

The Queen of Nothing – Holly Black

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, watches her fair share of reality television, and does the odd job or two, including trying to convince a cannibalistic faerie from hunting her own in the mortal world.

When her twin sister Taryn shows up asking of a favor, Jude jumps at the chance to return to the Faerie world, even if it means facing Cardan, who she loves despite his betrayal.

When a dark curse is unveiled, Jude must become the first mortal Queen of Faerie and uncover how to break the curse, or risk upsetting the balance of the whole Faerie world.

Click Here to view on Amazon

Full Synopsis

He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…

Detailed Description

The Queen of Nothing starts where we left off in The Wicked King. Jude is in the mortal world where she was exiled from the faerie. She lives with her older sister Viviene and her brother Oak, who will be the future high king despite not wanting the position. Jude gets a job to stop a faerie cannibal from eating her kind in the mortal world. She successfully beats the faerie in a duel.

When she returns home, her twin sister Taryn is there. Taryn asks a favour – her husband Locke has been murdered.

The high king Cardan has put a trial to question people for the murder. Taryn is going to be questions. If the high king uses magic to force her to tell the truth, it will be revealed that she murdered him so she comes to ask Jude to pretend to be Taryn. Despite Vivienne telling Jude it is too dangerous, Jude accepts. She wants to go back to the magic realm, and since she is not affected by magic, she will be fine.

Jude then goes to trial. Cardan had immediately figured out that it was Jude and not Taryn but he didn’t call the guards. However, suddenly Jude is taken by Jude’s foster father who came in hopes of rescuing Taryn. Jude maintains her disguise and finds out that Madoc and his armies are planning to go against Cardan and make Madoc king.

During her escape, Jude hears a scream from a cave and can’t help but investigate. In the cave is one of the court of shadow’s original members. Jude finds out that he did not betray them, Locke had his full name and therefore had full control over him. Jude helps the ghost escape so she goes back to where she meets her foster mother, who realised that it was Jude and not Taryn. Nonetheless, Oriana agrees to help.

A few days later Jude is rescued by the high king and his roach.

Jude is still wanting to save the ghost, so she goes with Cardan and the roach to retrieve the keys to his chains. They get caught in traps and the roach is hit with an unknown poison. Cardan and the roach go back to get medical aid but Jude carries on. However, when she gets there, the ghost is nowhere to be seen. Instead stood Madoc, who had also figured out Jude’s secret. They duel and it was clear that Jude was not going to win. Jude is left with a grave injury.

Taryn stitches Jude’s wounds, but it is clear that the reason Jude lives is because the land had healed her as the rightful queen of the faeries.

When she returns for the high castle, Cardan announces that Jude is the rightful queen of the faerie. Jude helps the high court with the upcoming battle with Madoc’s army and gives them all the information she has. One day Taryn calls Jude and Cardan to the Hallow hall. Surprisingly the ghost is there. His charges were not to attack Cardan, but to attack the queen of the undersea. Taryn found him and because she knew his full name, was able to stop the attack.

When Madoc’s army attacks, he is surprised that Jude is alive. Madoc’s battle is a losing one. The role of king is a choice of the people, not the archaic overthrow like Madoc is planning. Cardan then breaks the blood crown, but there is a curse on it which then caused Cardan to turn into a serpent.

Jude takes control. Eventually, she and Madoc make a truce; the court of teeth in exchange for a way to turn Cardan back before his giant snake form destroys all of elfhame.

The method to turn Cardan back turned out to be a trick from the court of teeth. In a fit of desperation, Jude cuts off his head. From the inside crawls out Cardan. In the end, Madoc, his army, and the court of teeth got their punishment.

Our Review

This is a strong and exciting ending to an already exciting trilogy. Our hearts lie in the characters. The characters have a 4-dimensional feeling when we regard relationships. The characters are able to express love for each other whilst still harbouring an amount of hatred. This shocked us initially, since novels rarely write about relationships in this way but it is extremely realistic. Most people have dynamic relationships with people – all the more realistic in this high-pressure fantasy setting!

Jude has grown amazingly through the series. We knew that she would get stronger and smarter and more badass, but this book really highlighted her vulnerable side. It really makes her feel more human, despite being raised in a world of faerie.

With betrayls from the previous book being ironed out unconventionally and family ties taking a pretty hefty (and realistic) stake in decision-making, The Queen of Nothing was everything we expected and more from the final book in The Folk of Air series.

Our Rating: ★★★★★

The post The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black: A Must-read! appeared first on ReignOfReads.

The Wicked King by Holly Black: Our Review

Kellie Robinson — Thu, 15 Sep 2022 09:00:00 +0000

The Wicked King, by Holly Black, is a young adult fantasy novel that brings mythology and folklore to a contemporary audience. It is the second novel in the Folk of Air trilogy, following The Cruel Prince and preceding The Queen of Nothing. The Wicked King was a finalist for both the Lodestar Award and the Locus Award in 2020 and won the Goodreads Best Book Award for Young Adult Fantasy in 2019.

A much-beloved series can be daunting to approach. With The Wicked King boasting such complex characters and a core fantasy element wrought with lies and deception, it might be difficult to get to the bottom of it. Luckily, we’re here to tell you everything you need to know about The Wicked King!

About The Wicked King

The Wicked King – Holly Black

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.

Click Here to view on Amazon

Full Synopsis

Five months after engineering a coup, human teen Jude is starting to feel the strain of secretly controlling King Cardan and running his Faerie kingdom. Jude’s self-loathing and anger at the traumatic events of her childhood (her Faerie “dad” killed her parents, and Faerie is not a particularly easy place even for the best-adjusted human) drive her ambition, which is tempered by her desire to make the world she loves and hates a little fairer.

Much of the story revolves around plotting (the Queen of the Undersea wants the throne; Jude’s Faerie father wants power; Jude’s twin, Taryn, wants her Faerie betrothed by her side), but the underlying tension—sexual and political—between Jude and Cardan also takes some unexpected twists. Black’s writing is both contemporary and classic; her world is, at this point, intensely well-realized, so that some plot twists seem almost inevitable. Faerie is a strange place where immortal, multihued, multiformed denizens can’t lie but can twist everything; Jude—who can lie—is an outlier, and her first-person, present-tense narration reveals more than she would choose. With curly dark brown hair, Jude and Taryn are never identified by race in human terms. (-Kirkus Review)

Detailed Description

Cardan, the High King of Faerie, acclimatizes to his new role. He makes his friend Locke his Master of Revels. His advisor, Jude, goes to see Caran’s brother in prison and they discuss his messages for Cardan which have been intercepted by Jude. Jude then meets in the Court of Shadows and interrogates one of the prison guards. Taryn, Jude’s twin sister, invites Jude to her wedding.

Jude then learns that Cardan has been attacked. She follows clues that lead to his ex, Nicasia, who wanted to kill his new lover. Nicasia confessed that her mother, the Queen of the Undersea, wants Cardan and Nicasia to get married. Jude then goes to a council meeting with her foster father and other councilmen. They ignore her when she warns them of the Queen’s plans.

Jude searched Cardan’s rooms for traps. When Jude arrives home, Taryn is in her room. She asks Jude for help to get Locke out of his role of the Master of Revels as she worries that it is tearing the two apart.

Locke tries to embarrass Jude by crowning her the ‘Queen of Mirth’. People from the Undersea arrive at the party to deliver a message which rightfully threatens Cardan’s life if he doesn’t marry Nicasia. After some discussion, the council plan to use Jude’s younger brother, Oak, as bait to lure out the Undersea.

Jude goes to Locke and threatens to take revenge for the whole ‘Queen of Mirth’ stunt. She demands that he collect himself and become a better person. The next day, she goes to the mortal world to pick up her siblings, Oak and Vivi, as well as Vivi’s girlfriend, for the wedding. Vivi and Oak reveal their faerie magic to Heather. Cardan then learns from Nicasia that the Sea Queen will attack during the wedding and Balekin tries to convince Cardan to free him from prison.

Jude is attacked, although she survives she is injured. At the wedding, Jude finds Heather, who has been enchanted and left scared and vulnerable. Jude manages to reverse the spell and Vivi enchants Heather to forget. Jude learns that Locke had something to do with her attack. She feels betrayed and is then taken to the Underworld.

The Queen, Nicasia and Balekin enchant Jude to do whatever they say, not realising she is immune to such spells. Jude plays along to try and get control of the situation. After a month, she is released where she is commanded to kill Cardan. She is given a vial of poison to sneak to Cardan. She sneaks into Cardan’s room to tell him what happened.

At the ball, Jude confronts Locke. Cardan arrives unwell and Jude realises he has been poisoned. Balekin attempts to frame Jude. Balekin offers an antidote in exchange for the crown. Jude meets with him and secures the antitode before killing him. When she returns to Cardan, she realises that her twin sister had pretended to be Jude to ask Cardan to release Madoc from his duties.

The Queen of the Undersea arrives asking for Balekin’s murderer. Cardan uses his magic to subdue him. However, he betrays Jude after asking for her hand in marriage by exiling her to the mortal world for the murder. Jude goes to live with her siblings.

Our Review

Once again, Holly Black proves herself in taking a dark, twisted approach to the YA fantasy genre. The Wicked King is a strong followup from the solid foundation of The Folk of Air series, The Cruel Prince. The titles certainly reflect the book! Jude isn’t the typical heroine, she’s a little scheming, is no stranger to a little manipulation and at times it’s even difficult to root for her entirely. Her character is lovable and hateable – but no matter what side of the fence you’re on, one thing is certain. You’re going to be addicted.

Filled with politics that aren’t too convoluted to follow, twists and turns which aren’t predictable nor entirely out of left field, high fantasy which is just the right amount of magical – The Wicked King is an addictive read. Each character has a mean streak; there is a time in the book for every character where they showcase a dark side to the reader. This act of three-dimensionalising characters is at the core of what makes The Wicked King so great.

If you love characters with depth, anti-heroes and deception at every corner – you’ll love The Wicked King.

The post The Wicked King by Holly Black: Our Review appeared first on ReignOfReads.

The Cruel Prince Series (The Folk Of The Air)

Jasmine Edwards — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 09:00:00 +0000

The Cruel Prince series – or The Folk of the Air series – began in 2018 with The Cruel Prince and was written by Holly Black. The series details Jude’s struggle for power as a mortal in the land of ... Click Here To Read more

The post The Cruel Prince Series (The Folk Of The Air) appeared first on ReignOfReads.

Our Review of The Cruel Prince By Holly Black

Jasmine Edwards — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 09:00:00 +0000

The Cruel Prince is the first installment in a The Folk Of The Air trilogy by Holly Black. The book follows the story of Jude, who is a human changeling, and her twin sister Taryn. The two sisters are sent to live with the faerie royalty where they are to serve as hostages for their parents’ crimes. They quickly learn that there is more than meets the eye with this world and its inhabitants.

The Cruel Prince has been on many best-seller lists since it was published in January 2018. It has been praised by many critics for its originality, writing style, and plot twists. This book has also been promoted as one of the most anticipated books of 2018 by many outlets such as Entertainment Weekly and Buzzfeed News.

Table of Contents [CLICK HERE TO OPEN]