The Cruel Prince Audiobook By Holly Black cover art

The Cruel Prince

The Folk of the Air, Book 1

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The Cruel Prince

By: Holly Black
Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
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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.

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Featured Article: The top 100 series of all time


The feeling of discovering that your favorite new listen is actually the start of a series is euphoric. That you can immediately hit play and re-enter a beloved new world, or love story, or era from history is a gift to the devoted listener. But how to pick just 100 of these unique and immersive listening journeys? We defined a series as having a minimum of three books, and—after some debate—we decided the titles had to be anchored in fiction. From YA to horror to historical fiction, from fresh voices to seminal tales, hours of discovery await.

Featured Article The top 100 series of all time
Unexpected Plot Twists • Complex Political Intrigue • Distinct Character Voices • Rich World-building • Emotional Range

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I remember reading Holly Black’s books in high school and really loving them, this was middle of the line. The story was good - the characters were a bit unbelievable (and not because they were fairies).

The main character is arrogant but also self conscious of everything around her and even though the story is told through her perspective you can easily see the other characters motivations from the very beginning. (Again this is targeted for a younger audience so complexity wasn’t exactly what I was expecting).

Overall the book itself was fine - I think it suffered from the narration. Black writes in a very flowery language so there’s not much need for embellishment. The narrator however delivered every line line it was the climax of a Shakespearean soliloquy.

Overall I’d say 6/10.

I wanted to love it...

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I listen to a lot of audio books. I get that it's hours upon hours of work and you have to take breaks and such. unfortunately the editing of this audio book was poor. Sentences chopped up with different intimations that were crazy obvious. single words sliced into sentences with different room tone. not their best work.

I loved the story and the reader.

great story, so so recording

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Oh my gosh, The Cruel Prince will have you hooked like a fish on a line! I'm not even kidding; I DEVOURED this book! Holly Black's magical world-building was so real, I could practically feel the grass between my toes. But what really blew me away was how she made me feel everything that Jude Duarte went through. Every emotion, every fear, every thrill, I was right there with her! This book is bursting with a power-hungry court, first-time love, backstabbing, and sneaky plot twists that'll make you gasp. If you're into fantasy, vindictive nobles, snarky faeries, and espionage, then you gotta read this book.

beginning of a bad ass

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Tragic
between
Mortal
and
Faerie

Magic
between
mortal
and
Faerie

This audibook is cruelly interesting and I love to explore the magic in fairyland.

Who will won the battle?
Cardan Greenbriar or Jude Duarte


spellbinding

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This book is truly one that will take you from being slightly enthralled to ravenously excited to know what comes next. Definitely worth a credit.

Pleasant YA Surprise

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