The Cruel Prince (2018)
1.5 The Lost Sisters (2018) – novella, companion to The Cruel Prince
The Wicked King (2019)
The Queen of Nothing (2019)
3.5 How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (2020) – illustrated novella;
⚡ Pace: fast · 🎭 Emotions: dark, intense · 🚪 Entry threshold: low · ⭐ Why read: sharp intrigue, compelling romance
Jude Duarte has spent her whole life knowing she doesn’t belong. A mortal girl raised in the glittering and cruel High Court of Faerie – the very realm where her parents were murdered – she refuses to be anyone’s prey. Faeries are beautiful, immortal, and vicious; they feed on weakness like wine. Jude has only her ambition and a talent for lying, fighting, and refusing to bow. If the Folk see mortals as toys, then she will be the one who learns how to break the rules of the game.
At court, every smile hides a blade. The princes of Elfhame are the worst of all – especially Cardan, with his wicked grin and poisoned tongue. Their rivalry burns hot enough to scorch anyone who stands too close. But power in Faerie shifts like the tide: alliances snap, betrayals bloom, and crowns are stolen as easily as kisses. To survive, Jude must embrace the part of herself she fears most – the part that wants power not just to live, but to win.
“The Folk of the Air” (5 books including two novellas) is Holly Black’s intoxicating saga of politics edged with fairy glamour and teeth. It begins with The Cruel Prince, as Jude steps onto the chessboard where love is a weapon and truth is always barbed. Across The Wicked King and The Queen of Nothing, lies and loyalties twist into a story of desire, revenge, and the cost of claiming a throne. Even in the companion tales, we see how stories themselves can wound – and why the king learned to hate them.
This is a fantasy where court intrigue becomes a daredevil sport, where tenderness feels like trespassing, and where a mortal girl demands a place in a world determined to spit her out. In Faerie, nothing is fair – and that’s exactly why Jude intends to take everything.
📚 Did you know 📖
The novel debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Although Black often draws on Celtic mythology, in this series she deliberately invented entirely new traditions and rules for her world.
The book caused huge excitement in the fandom – with thousands of fan-arts and theories appearing even before its release.
Fans joked that on forums people discussed not only the plot but also cupcake recipes the characters shared with each other, and these recipes even made it into fan collections.
Separate duology in the same universe: The Stolen Heir (2023) – Book 1 of the duology; The Prisoner’s Throne (2024) – Book 2.
Legend has it: Black admitted she comes up with plot twists while sitting in her garden, watching crows – “the darker their cawing, the better the story.”