The Cruel Prince Series Order: Complete Folk of the Air Guide

Trying to figure out the The Cruel Prince series order can get confusing once you realize The Cruel Prince is only the beginning of a bigger story. Between the main trilogy, related novellas, and Holly Black’s wider Elfhame books, it’s not always obvious what to read next or what’s actually essential.

This guide breaks down the The Cruel Prince series order in a clear, easy-to-follow list so you can start in the right place and keep going without second-guessing yourself. Whether you’re brand new to Jude and Cardan or coming back for a reread, you’ll find the best reading order here.

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The Cruel Prince Series Order (Books Only)
Complete Cruel Prince Series Order (with Novellas)
The Stolen Heir Duology
Who is Holly Black?

The Cruel Prince Series Order (Books Only)

You don’t technically need to read the novellas. If you’re looking for a shorter series, or prefer to consume your reading in sets of trilogies, then you can read the three main books set within The Cruel Prince series.

Complete Cruel Prince Series Order (with Novellas)

However, if you want to fully understand the nuance of the characters and the complete world-building as the author intended, you really should put the novellas on your reading list. This is our recommended reading order of The Cruel Prince series, complete with the novellas.

The Cruel Prince (2018)
The Lost Sisters (2018) (Novella)
The Wicked King (2019)
The Queen of Nothing (2019)
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (2020) (Novella)

Do I Need to Read The Lost Sisters?

Before we dive into The Cruel Prince series in order, there are two exceptions that can influence your chosen reading order. These exceptions come in the form of a novella, The Lost Sisters, and a slim collection of short stories that takes place after the conclusion of the trilogy, How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories.

First let’s discuss The Lost Sisters.

This companion novella is slim at only 50 digital pages, so it really isn’t a massive undertaking to add this to your reading of The Folk of the Air series.

This book is intended to be read between The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King. While you can round back to this novella after finishing the main three books in the series, you absolutely shouldn’t start the series with this read.

The Lost Sisters will contain spoilers for events that take place in The Cruel Prince, and also won’t make much sense if you haven’t read that book first.

This book recounts some of the same events of The Cruel Prince, but from the perspective of Jude’s sister Taryn. Black promises that it will be part-apology and part-explanation as it reveals some of the secrets Taryn has been hiding.

It is exclusively available as an ebook, but if you fell in love with the characters from The Cruel Prince – or want to know all there is to know about the Court of Elfhame – you absolutely should pick this up.

Should I Read How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories?

The other exception to the chronological timeline of The Cruel Prince series in order is How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories.

Published one year after the final installment of the trilogy, The Queen of Nothing, many in bookish circles on social media were dismissive of this slim collection of short stories from the perspective of the enigmatic character of Cardan.

It is told exclusively from his perspective and peels back the curtain on events in Elfhame from before the timeline of The Cruel Prince while also venturing past the ending of The Queen of Nothing.

This book is published with beautiful illustrations that add to your reading experience and will make you feel as if you are right back in Elfhame.

This can arguably be read as a standalone, but the best way to appreciate Cardan’s perspective is to read this upon completion of the trilogy. If you intend to read the three main books in The Cruel Prince series in order, you must save this book until the end unless you want to read spoilers for all three books.

Again, this is a slim read with the digital version of the book coming in at around 200 pages.

Is The Darkest Part of the Forest Connected to The Cruel Prince?

You might be asking yourself if The Cruel Prince is connected to Holly Black’s 2015 novel, The Darkest Part of the Forest. The answer is yes, both books are set within the same world.

However, The Darkest Part of the Forest was written as a standalone novel and can still be read as such. Whilst it is set within the same world as The Cruel Prince it follows different characters and a different storyline.

But characters from her Modern Faerie Tales series and The Folk of the Air series do make an appearance. Severin is a character in The Cruel Prince, and also cameos in The Darkest Part of the Forest.

The Stolen Heir Duology

The Stolen Heir duology is Holly Black’s return to Elfhame after The Folk of the Air trilogy, but it follows Oak and Suren (Wren) instead of Jude and Cardan. It connects to the earlier books while telling its own story, with a new central romance and a darker fairy tale feel. You’ll get the most out of it after finishing the main trilogy first.

The Stolen Heir (2023)
The Prisoner’s Throne (2024)

Who is Holly Black?

Holly Black is the author of more than 30 contemporary fantasy novels for kids and teens. A New York Times bestselling author Black has also won multiple awards, including the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. She has also been a finalist for an Eisner Award and a Lodestar Award.

Her books have been translated into 32 languages.

Black might have been most well known for her Spiderwick Chronicles series, but The Cruel Prince caught the book world by storm. It delivers on being an epic slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance with a morally grey hero and, of course, faeries.

Looking for more books in order?

If you want more fantasy authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Fantasy Books in Order index.