The Cruel Prince is the first book in Holly Black’s Folk of the Air series. but you may be wondering where to go from there. there are a few ways you can experience the cruel prince series in order and this article will let you know about the different ways you can read these books.
The story begins with Jude and her two sisters. when they were children, her parents were killed and taken to live in the high court of fairies. now almost an adult, jude desperately wants to belong there despite being human.
You are reading: How many books are in the cruel prince series
To win a place at court, Jude must challenge Prince Cardan, the High King’s youngest son. As he does so, Jude becomes entangled in a web of intrigue and deception. To save his sisters, and even the fairies themselves, Jude must risk his life in a dangerous alliance.
if you like to read stories about magic, intrigue, fairies and some romance thrown in for good measure, you should watch the cruel prince series in order.
who is holly black?
holly black is the author of more than 30 contemporary fantasy novels for children and adolescents. Black, a New York Times bestselling author, has also won several awards, including the Mytopoeic Award, Nebula, and Newbery. She has also been a finalist for an Eisner Award and a Lodestar Award.
His books have been translated into 32 languages.
black might have been best known for his spiderwick chronicles series, but the cruel prince took the book world by storm. it delivers on being a slow-paced epic fantasy romance from enemies to lovers with a morally gray hero and, of course, fairies.
do i need to read the lost sisters?
Before we dive into the Cruel Prince series in order, there are two exceptions that may influence your chosen reading order. these exceptions come in the form of a novel, the lost sisters, and a small collection of short stories that takes place after the conclusion of the trilogy, how the king of elfhame learned to hate tales.
First let’s talk about the lost sisters.
This companion novel is slim at just 50 digital pages, so it really isn’t much of a chore to add to your reading of the folk of the air series.
This book is meant to be read between the cruel prince and the wicked king. While you can return to this novel after finishing the three main books in the series, you should not start the series with this reading.
the lost sisters will contain spoilers for the events that take place in the cruel prince, and will also make little sense if you haven’t read that book first.
This book recounts some of the same events as The Cruel Prince, but from the perspective of Jude’s sister, Taryn. Black promises that it will be part apology and part explanation as she reveals some of the secrets Taryn has been hiding.
It’s available exclusively as an e-book, but if you fell in love with the cruel prince characters, or if you want to know everything there is to know about the court of elfhame, you should definitely read it.
should i read how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories?
The other exception to the cruel prince series’ chronological timeline in order is how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories.
Published a year after the final installment of the trilogy, the queen of nothing, many in bookish social media circles scorned this little collection of short stories from the perspective of the enigmatic character cardan.
Told exclusively from his perspective, it pulls back the curtain on events in elfhame from before the cruel prince’s timeline while also venturing beyond the queen of nothing’s end.
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This book is published with beautiful illustrations that add to your reading experience and make you feel like you’re back in elfhame.
This is arguably a standalone read, but the best way to appreciate cardan’s perspective is to read this at the end of the trilogy. If he intends to read the three main books of the cruel prince series in order, he should save this book until the end unless he wants to read spoilers for all three books.
again, this is a limited read with the digital version of the book being around 200 pages.
is the darkest part of the forest connected to the cruel prince?
Lastly, before we dive into Cruel Prince’s reading order, you may be wondering if this series is related to Holly Black’s 2015 novel The Darkest Part of the Forest. the answer is yes, both books are set in the same world.
however, the darkest part of the forest was written as a stand-alone novel and can still be read as such. Although it takes place in the same world as the cruel prince, it follows different characters and a different story.
but characters from his modern fairy tale series and folk of the air series do appear. severin is a character in the cruel prince, and also cameos in the darkest part of the forest.
#1 the cruel prince series in order (books only)
technically you don’t need to read the novels. if you are looking for a shorter series, or prefer to consume your reading in trilogy sets, then you can read the three main books located within the cruel prince series in order.
- the cruel prince (2018)
- the evil king (2019)
- the queen of nothing (2019)
#2 the cruel prince series in order (with novellas)
However, if you want to fully understand the nuances of the characters and the building of the entire world as the author intended, you should put the novels on your reading list. This is our recommended reading order of the cruel prince series in order, complete with the novellas.
- the cruel prince (2018)
- the lost sisters (2018) (novel)
- the wicked king (2019)
- the queen you’re welcome (2019)
- how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories (2020) (novel)
#3 the duology of the stolen heir
holly black’s latest entry into the world of elfhame is a new duology. Not much is known about this series, but we’re here for it!
- the stolen heir (expected: Jan 3, 2023)
cruel prince series summary in order
Our recommendation on how to read The Cruel Prince series in order is the second option, which offers a more nuanced reading experience. if you want to take your journey through elfhame in this order, here are the summaries of all five readings in order.
If you’re wary of spoilers, be careful reading beyond the cruel prince synopsis.
the cruel prince
jude hates cardan with a passion that surpasses his hatred for the rest of the fairies. she hates him so much that when she looks at him, she can hardly breathe.
jude was only seven years old when her parents were murdered; she and her two sisters were later stolen to live in the treacherous high court of the fairies. A decade has passed and now Jude wants nothing more than to belong to this world despite her mortality.
but many of the fairies despise humans. most especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and most evil son of the High King. If Jude wants to win a place at court, he must challenge him and face the consequences.
In doing so, Jude finds herself embroiled in palace intrigue and deception as she discovers her own ability to shed blood. civil war threatens to drown the fairy courts in violence. Now Jude must risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters and the fairy himself.
the lost sisters
as mentioned, the lost sisters is a companion digital novel to the folk of the air trilogy.
It’s part apology and part explanation from the perspective of Jude’s sister, Taryn, as she reveals some of her own secrets.
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While Jude fought for power in the court of Elfhame against the cruel Prince Cardan, Taryn began to fall for the trickster, Locke. And sometimes the difference between a love story and a horror story is in the ending.
the evil king
The cruel prince sequel begins with the startling revelation that the oak is the heir to the fairies. Now, Jude must fight to keep his brother safe, too. To do so, he has bound the now evil king, Cardan, to her and asserted himself as the power behind the throne.
It would be quite difficult to navigate the fae’s ever-changing political alliances even if cardan were easy to control. but he does everything in her power to humiliate and undermine her even as her fascination with him remains intact.
then it becomes clear that someone close to jude wants to betray her. Her life, and that of everyone she loves, hangs in the balance. Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan if she wishes to maintain control as a mortal in a world of fairies.
the queen of nothing
The final installment of the air people trilogy brings with it the warning that it will be the destruction of the crown and the ruin of the throne.
Jude has learned that power is much easier to acquire than it is to maintain. Like when he released his control over the evil king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power. She is now the exiled mortal queen of the fairies, powerless and reeling from Cardan’s betrayal.
She awaits her moment determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Such an opportunity arises when her deceitful twin sister, Taryn, discovers that her mortal life is in danger. If Jude wishes to save her sister from her, she must risk venturing back into the treacherous court of fairies and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan.
but elfhame is not how she left it. war is brewing. As Jude slips deep behind enemy lines, she becomes caught up in the bloody politics of the conflict.
then a latent but powerful curse is unleashed, and panic spreads across the land. Jude is forced to choose between her ambition and her humanity.
how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories
This illustrated collection of short stories is a return to the captivating world of elfhame.
It begins as all stories begin: once upon a time.
Once there was a boy with a wicked tongue.
This boy with an evil tongue would one day become a cruel prince and an evil king. but before all that he was a fairy boy with a heart of stone. Black pulls back the curtain on Cardan’s childhood and dramatic life in the latest installment of the Folk of the Air series.
In addition to including details that take place chronologically before the cruel prince, black also includes moments that take place after the conclusion of the queen of nothing. how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories also recounts familiar moments within the main trilogy, but told exclusively from cardan’s perspective.
This is the perfect collector’s item for fans of elfhame as each chapter is paired with full color art.
final thoughts on the cruel prince series in order
There you have it. This is our recommendation on how you should read the cruel prince series in order. the addition of the lost sisters and how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories won’t add much more reading to your plate, but your interpretation of the series will be greatly enhanced.
As you read the companion works, you’ll experience rich character development and enjoy a glimpse into their perspectives. by reading these additional works, your understanding of the world and the characters will only improve.
black has said that how the king of elfhame learned to hate stories will not be the last he writes set in the world of elfhame. but she has not released any further information. make sure you’re aware of all her works set in elfhame before that announcement arrives.
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