The Cruel Prince (Volume 1) (The Folk of the Air, 1)

I'm conflicted about rating this book. I realize I'm an outlier, but I find it to be a little overhyped. It was extremely well written. I love all of the imaginative fae creatures and the plot was definitely compelling. I was, however, a little bored the entire time. I like fantasy books with political intrigue and world building, but I like a good mix of character driven and plot driven books. I felt that the characters were underdeveloped, maybe because the plot/politics were so developed, but they lacked depth. The relationships between everyone felt sort of one dimensional and I wanted more out of them. I found the setting interesting, with Faerie existing alongside the mortal world, but I was not expecting that going in so it threw me off- not in a bad way, I was just surprised. I will definitely continue with the series though, because I have a feeling the books get better over time, and I am interested to see what happens after that ending.

This was a book I honestly never would’ve picked up if my friend hadn’t asked me to read it with her. I never thought I would like a book about faeries. Mermaids? Sure. Attractive guys with pointy ears and a possible tail? Not so much. But here I am.
I was honestly hooked from the Prologue and it managed to pique my interest a strong majority of the time. Any book that can throw in a a few twists while throwing me off its trail, is a plus.
The only part that didn’t interest me is the political schemes. I’m not one to care for books that are heavily politically based, but this book had a pretty good balance.
Although, at this point now I’m kind of mad that my friend introduced me to this book, now I have to wait six months for the next book to come out. If you are reading this Lisa, I blame you. Haha!

Reread: Jan 2019
So, I wasn’t as obsessed with this book when I reread it this time... but that’s because I only read it for the first time five months ago... so the story was still really fresh in my mind. I decided to reread it to prepare for the second book to come out. (I finished the reread the day Wicked King was released) It’s still a great story and I’m so excited for the second book, I just wasn’t as blown away by the twists this time, for obvious reasons. Plus the first time I read it, I physically read it and this time I listened to the audio. I really enjoyed the narrator, there’s just something of a disconnect whenever I listen to an audio.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 Format: Paperback This one was a rough one to rate... I truly wanted to give it a 3 at first but then I find myself wanting to know what happens next to some of the characters and thought a 4... drawing me to read book two....Bravo lol. Plot was okay. Definitely alot of interesting characters and their personalities and back stories kind of threw me off. Especially the unlikely "allies". Some things you shouldn't overlook or accept in my opinion but to each their own. Not alot of romance and spice but a decent fantasy. Looking forward to seeing if the 2nd book with bring what I felt was missing from this one. #hollyblack #fantasy #fiction #bookworm #booktok #bookstagram #realityescapeartist777

Recap: a human girl gets bullied by fairytale characters for 75% of the book until something finally happens, then she bullies them into doing her bidding.
I hope book 2 is better….

Okay so with all the mixed reviews, I was very nervous BUT I'm glad I did! I loved how the book jumped right into to things instead of dragging the story around!! Idk if I wanna read the next book yet, but I liked this one :D Also brought the book for my friend, this seems more her type!