Book two of the Folk of the Air trilogy, and the one where the tension between Jude and Cardan gets even sharper. Jude is holding power she fought hard for, Cardan is bound to her in ways neither of them trusts, and the faerie court is full of people who want her gone. Slow-burn romantasy with teeth. Start with The Cruel Prince if you are new to the series.
The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince finds Jude in a fight for power as a human within the Faerie world.
You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.
The first lesson is to make yourself strong.
After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.
When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.
