Hint at future Faerie spin-offs
Black reveals that readers will be able to tell what her next project in the world of Faerie is by the conclusion of the duology, teasing that we will find out who would win in a fight between Jude and Wren.
Holly Black
American
Born 1971
Holly Black is an American writer and editor best known for her children's and young adult fiction. Her most recent work is the New York Times bestselling young adult Folk of the Air series. She is also well known for The Spiderwick Chronicles, a series of children's fantasy books she created with writer and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, and her debut trilogy of young adult novels officially called the Modern Faerie Tales. Black has won a Nebula Award and a Newbery Honor. The Spiderwick Chronicles was adapted into a 2008 film and into a 2023 television series, for which Black received a nomination for the Children's and Family Emmy Award for Outstanding Young Teen Series.
On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed 2 of Holly Black's books, including The Wicked King and The Cruel Prince.
2
Books ReviewedIn Holly Black's own words
Holly Black discusses the creation of Elfhame, her writing process, and her favorite characters to write.
Uploaded by Hot Key Books, 2023 · Watch on YouTube ·
Severe sleep deprivation writing The Wicked King
Black recalls that finishing The Wicked King over the summer was so grueling that she practically stopped sleeping, causing her friends to worry about her arriving at writing dates exhausted.
Channeling 'bad dad' advice for Madoc
Madoc is Black's favorite character to write because she enjoys dishing out terrible elder guidance and finding the voice of a villainous father figure.
Why The Stolen Heir is a duology
Black structured the duology around dual perspectives, dedicating the first book to Wren and the second to Oak so that Oak's story can reframe secrets and events from the first volume.
Holly Black books in order
2 books, 1 series; 2 reviewed on LuvemBooks. Dates and covers from Amazon.
Folk of the Air2 books
#12018Our review →
#22019Our review →
The Wicked King
4.5/5
reader rating · 56,946 ratingsThe Wicked King, the second book in Holly Black's Folk of the Air trilogy, plunges protagonist Jude Duarte deeper into the treacherous politics of Elfhame as she fights to maintain her grip on power — and on the bound faerie king she now controls. Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers in 2019, it is a YA fantasy built around deceit, court intrigue, and the volatile dynamic between Jude and Cardan, with reviewers consistently noting its unpredictable plotting and strong momentum for a middle installment.
Reviewed Aug 26, 2026
The Cruel Prince
4.3/5
reader rating · 75,857 ratingsThe Cruel Prince, the first Folk of the Air book by Holly Black, follows mortal Jude in the High Court of Faerie as she defies Prince Cardan. Reviewers praise its twisting court intrigue and Jude, while some find the first part slow.
Reviewed Jun 28, 2026
Ask LuvemBooks about Holly Black
Holly Black is an American writer best known for children's and young adult fiction, and LuvemBooks has reviewed 2 of their novels — both from the Folk of the Air storyline. What stands out across The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King is a consistent engine: a mortal protagonist, Jude Duarte, clawing for power inside Faerie's treacherous courts through deceit and political maneuvering rather than magic of her own. Both carry strong reader ratings on Amazon — 4.3/5 from over 71,000 ratings for the series opener and 4.5/5 from nearly 57,000 for the sequel.
- Where should I start?
- Start with The Cruel Prince, the first Folk of the Air book we've reviewed. It launches the storyline with a mortal girl's dangerous bid for power inside the courts of Faerie, so it sets up the world and characters that The Wicked King builds on. It's also the most widely rated of the two, with a 4.3/5 reader rating from over 71,000 Amazon ratings.
- What's their writing style?
- Based on the 2 books we've reviewed, Holly Black writes YA fantasy driven by political tension rather than action spectacle. Their hallmarks are deceit as a plot engine, court intrigue, and volatile power dynamics — exemplified by the relationship between Jude Duarte and the faerie king she controls in The Wicked King. The plotting is described as relentlessly unpredictable, with characters who are complex rather than cleanly heroic.
- Books we've reviewed
- We've reviewed 2 Holly Black books, both from the Folk of the Air storyline. The Cruel Prince (4.3/5 reader rating from 71,800 Amazon ratings) opens the series with a mortal girl's bid for power in Faerie, delivering royal intrigue and an unpredictable plot. The Wicked King (4.5/5 from 56,946 ratings) deepens Jude Duarte's fight to hold power in Elfhame, built around deceit, court intrigue, and her volatile dynamic with the bound faerie king.
- How do their books compare?
- The two books we've reviewed form a direct sequence rather than standalone stories. The Cruel Prince establishes the premise — a mortal girl making a dangerous bid for power in the treacherous courts of Faerie — while The Wicked King escalates it, with Jude Duarte fighting to maintain her grip on power and on the faerie king she now controls. Readers rate the sequel slightly higher: 4.5/5 versus 4.3/5, both from large Amazon rating pools.
- What genre do they write?
- Holly Black writes children's and young adult fiction. Both books we've reviewed fall squarely in the Young Adult category — specifically YA fantasy set in the faerie realm, with court politics, royal intrigue, and complex characters at the center.
- What should I read after The Cruel Prince?
- The natural next step is The Wicked King, the second Folk of the Air book, which continues Jude Duarte's story as she fights to keep her hold on Elfhame. It's the only other Holly Black title we've reviewed, and its 4.5/5 reader rating from nearly 57,000 Amazon ratings suggests readers who started the series were satisfied with the continuation.
Who is Holly Black?
Where should I start?
What's their writing style?
Books we've reviewed
How do their books compare?
What genre do they write?
What should I read after The Cruel Prince?
Who is Holly Black?
Holly Black is an American writer and editor best known for their children's and young adult fiction. Their notable works include The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Wrath of Mulgarath, Book 5, and their books hold an average reader rating of 4.4/5 on Amazon. On LuvemBooks, we've reviewed 2 of their YA fantasy novels, The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King.
Follow up
What is Holly Black best known for?
How well received are Holly Black's books?
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Authors Like Holly Black
Stephanie Garber
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Fiction
Fantasy
Stephanie Garber's The Ballad of Never After shares Black's treacherous court atmosphere, featuring a lush magical world, a romance built on distrust, and a heroine outmaneuvering powerful enemies.
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Tahereh Mafi
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Fiction
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Tahereh Mafi’s Defy Me delivers a volatile enemies-to-lovers dynamic, matching the high-stakes power struggles and emotional whiplash found in Holly Black's fiction.
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Ransom Riggs
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Ransom Riggs’s Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children thrusts a mortal protagonist into a dangerous hidden supernatural world filled with genuinely threatening creatures.
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Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Young Adult
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Jennifer Lynn Barnes's The Inheritance Games shares Holly Black's focus on political scheming, dangerous worlds, and a protagonist who fights back on her own terms.
3 books reviewed
E. Lockhart
Politics & Society
Young Adult
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E. Lockhart's We Were Liars offers the same twist-heavy plotting and unreliable perspective found in Holly Black's court intrigue, shifted to a tight, grounded contemporary setting.
1 book reviewed
Cassandra Clare
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Cassandra Clare is the author of *The Mortal Instruments* series, which begins with *City of Bones*, a dark fantasy novel set in contemporary New York that follows a teenage girl drawn into the hidden world of demon-hunting Shadowhunters. The series combi
1 book reviewed