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We also get to see so much of Cardan’s perspective during The Cruel Prince, much like we did with Tarryn in The Lost Sisters, and it was everything. He pretends to have a heart of stone and is bewildered by attachment, but needs someone to love him anyway. There are so many great lines, I wish I could record them all but then I’d just end up spoiling the entire book. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor.
He is a Cruel Prince because he has been raised up in it, instructed in its nuances, honed through its application. Black continues to build an ever expanding mythos with her Faerie stories, and while this volume requires prior knowledge of The Folk of the Air trilogy, it offers new delights along with familiar moments retold. I mean, I can think of at least three scenes from the first book I wanted to see in his perspective. He was dismissed repeatedly, even as a child, and endured years of abuse before learning how to build a facade. But I'm hoping this is Holly's secret way of telling us that there will be more Cardan short stories (WITH JUDE) in the future.All of our books are 100% brand new, unread and purchased directly from the publishers in bulk allowing us to pass the huge savings on to you! This illustrated novella is not one story, but multiple—an interconnected collection of Cardan’s memories before, during, and after the events of the trilogy, in both the mortal realm and the land of faerie. And yes, I am aware that this is less of a review of the book, and more of an insight to my Cardan obsession nobody asked for. The accompanying illustrations are beautiful and it was really nice to see the words depicted on the pages. Her fae stories are what first got me into YA when I was young, and it really changed me as a reader and probably a human as well.
Getting to see parts of the stories already written throughout The Folk of the Air from Cardan’s perspective adds so much more depth to the overarching plot lines. There are parts from before the start of the series, a few scenes from during the series, and a story that’s set after Queen of Nothing. There were moments where I stopped reading just to admire the beauty of the illustrations, letting them pull me deeper like Jude being dragged to the Undersea. I know most of you know that 2020 has been a hard year for everyone and everything, very much including my reading, so being able to curl up and read about my emotional support fae, from my emotional support author, just meant a lot to me. Overall, this was an amazing addition to the series and I just wish it was longer because I didn’t want to finish it!
This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life. Woven throughout are three iterations of a story, initially told to a young Cardan, each version different in specifics and moral but all centered on a boy with a heart of stone and a monstrous, cursed bride. I am thrilled to finally get to tell you a bit more about the sullen, annoying, and enigmatic High King of Elfhame and I am especially excited to be partnering with Rovina Cai, whose artwork is witty and atmospheric and absolutely perfect to go with this tale. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.
This story takes you back into the world of The Folk of the Air series and brings a new story to life, filled with beautiful illustrations and great storytelling.
The sound that left me when I opened this book and realized we were going to get present day with Jude from Cardan’s POV… be still, my hopes and dreams and heart. A prince of Faerie who once slept in the hay of the stables listening to the sounds of faerie steeds, of deer and elk, and even the croaks of great riding toads, who listened to the stories of Aslog of the West. None of them will leave me wishing that i was the one who wrote that book because this entire series has everything i could ever want in a book. While I loved every page of this, Holly Black also managed to exclude every scene that I wanted to see. Illustrator Rovina Ca did such an amazing job of capturing his likeness and personality in her work.
Our team is made up of book lovers who are dedicated to sourcing and providing the best books for kids. I also liked getting to know just what happened for the relationship to end and why Cardan stopped caring for her. Although not pivotal to the main plot and story it gives it an edge that it didn’t have before reading this.
We get to see Locke, and his empty house and even emptier heart, teach Cardan the word “cruel” on every page. repressed trauma incandescent rage JUDE JUDE JUDE JUDE self-loathing more incandescent rage JUDE JUDE JUDE JUDE JUDE JUDE revenge more repressed trauma must get drunk JUDE JUDE JUDE JUDE JUDE so no head? This tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar but pivotal moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan's perspective.
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