Author: Holly Black
Series: The Folk of the Air, Book 1
Release date: January 2, 2018
Published by: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars!!!
Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
To win a place at the Court, she must defy him - and face the consequences.
In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself. (Summary from Goodreads.
My thoughts: I feel as though I have waited far too long to write this because all I could think when I was done was..."WOW!" "I must have more!", and "I'm SO excited to have a new fey series to read that's amazing!" Those feelings still haven't changed so I guess I'm going to move on and gush about it...
This book was gripping. Absolutely gripping and I swallowed it whole one day over winter break. I then of course went instantly into withdrawals so to pull myself out I finally tried HBO's Game of Thrones and binged the whole thing. The dark violence of this book alongside the dangerously beautiful world of the fey was perfection. I liked Jude from the blood-soaked beginning but grew to love her as a tough, kick-butt character who wasn't afraid to push the limits that everyone was putting on her for years.
Jude has two sisters, so this was also a sister story in my opinion. One sister is half-faerie and loves the human world while her other sister, like her, is human and seeks desperately to belong in the world of faerie court. Jude wants to belong too, but in a way that assures that she is in charge of herself and possibly even others. She does not want to be at the mercy of the faeries around her anymore. She is a warrior. Maybe that's why I liked her so much. Daenerys Targaryen reminded me of Jude at times. Proud, but fierce and feminine at the same time.
Holly Black writes faeries so darn well in my opinion. They are dangerous, beautiful, horrifying, and immortal. These characteristics bring with them a deep well of possibilities which she manipulates deliciously. The twists and turns along with the court intrigues were fantastic. I still love her Modern Faerie Tale series, and recommend it all the time to kids in the library. This one is going to the top of the fantasy and faerie recommendation list too along with Melissa Marr and Sarah Maas. I cannot wait for more, more, more from this series.
Final thoughts: If you haven't tried this one yet and you are interested in court intrigue, faeries, or maybe even darkness and blood then THIS is for you. Give it a try today! This one lived up to every bit of the hype in my opinion.
What did you think about this one?
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