20 books like The Cruel Prince every bookworm will love

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Recently updated on July 14th, 2024 at 11:22 am

Looking for books like The Cruel Prince? Here are the best books like Folk of Air

This post contains affiliate links. That said, I won’t ever recommend a book I haven’t read and loved myself.

Enemies-to-lovers, court intrigue and Fae. The Cruel Prince series leaves you on the edge of your seat.

If you’re anything like me you probably had the worst book hangover after finishing the series. That’s why I’ve compiled the best fantasy books like The Cruel Prince. Here are 20 books all Prince Carden fans need to read immediately.

Here are my top picks for books like The Cruel Prince

What books should I read if I like the Cruel Prince?

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

If you’re a Cruel Prince fan and haven’t read the Court of Thorns and roses series – then you need to immediately.

It’s a beauty and the beast retelling featuring fae. We follow Feyre. She has to hunt to feed her family and survive. But one day she kills something she shouldn’t have. And she is forced to live in a magical kingdom away from her family.

The Cruel Prince fans will love the intrigue, faerie folk and excellent romance. If you’re after books like Folk of Air t I highly recommend checking this series out!

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Angsty romance
• Strong female main character

2. A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth

  An urban fantasy, with fae, queer main characters and a wlw romance.

A series of gruesome murders threatens to expose the faerie world to humans.  Four queer teens – Nausicaä, Arlo, Vehan, and Aurelian – each hold a piece of the truth. And they must track down the mysterious killer.

Did you enjoy the mythical creatures and fae? Searching for a twisty plot? Then you’ll love A Dark and Hollow Star series. It features warring courts, mysteries and romance.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Romance
• Strong female main character

3. A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

If you love a strong female lead and fantasy romance books you should read  A Curse So Dark and Lonely. This incredible YA fantasy book features a badass heroine with Cerebral Palsy

A Curse So Dark And Lonely is a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Prince Rhen, Heir of Emberfall, needs to make a girl fall in love with him to break the curse.

This has a badass female heroine. And I’m confident Jude fans will love her. It also has an excellent enemies to lovers romance. An excellent choice if you want books like Folk of Air

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Enemies to lovers romance
• Hidden world
• Strong female main character

4. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

An Enchantment of Ravens would also be a great pick for Holly Black fans.

Isobel creates stunning portraits for the dangerous fair folk. One day she creates a portrait of the Autumn Prince. But she makes a deadly mistake.

I’ve chosen this because I think Jude and Carden fans will love the romance. It has an enemies-to-lovers romance. And I also love how ruthless the fae are.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Enemies to lovers romance
• Strong female main character

5. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Sarah J Maas is very similar in style to The Cruel Prince. Throne of Glass has a badass female protagonist, faerie folk and an enemies-to-lovers romance.

Celaena Sardothien, an assassin, is imprisoned in Endovier prison. The Prince summons her to fight in a competition. The winner will become the king’s assassin.

I imagine Celaena and Jude being friends. They have much in common. A tough upbringing, morally grey and a thirst to survive no matter what. Also tons of sass.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Romance
• Strong female main character

6. The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Each year in the churchyard, Blue watches her psychic mother see those who are going to die that year. Blue never actually sees them herself. Until this year. When she speaks directly to a boy.

He is called Gansey and is a student at Aglionby school. The students there are known locally as Raven Boys.

If you liked the friendships between Jude, Carden and The Bomb – then you’ll love this series. The banter and friendships between the character sell this book.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Romance
• Friendships
• Strong female main character

7. Ash by Malinda Lo

Searching for fae and woodland/cottagecore worldbuilding? Then you’ll enjoy Ash. The forest worldbuilding is stunning.

Ash is a lesbian Cinderella retelling. We follow Ash, she is dealing with the grief of losing her parents. She falls in love with the king’s huntress.

If you’re looking for romance-heavy books, you won’t enjoy this. Mental health is the focus and the romance is a sub-plot. A cosy read offering great escapism. Plus you can easily read this in one sitting.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Romance
• Woodland worldbuilding

8. Bitter Frost by Kalin Gow

Bitter Frost is an amazing book featuring memory loss, beautiful forest imagery and Fae. We follow Breena. She has always dreamed of fairies as though she lived among them.

In her dreams, there was always a handsome but dangerous Prince named Kian. But when she turns sixteen she starts seeing strange creatures. And her best friend Logan becomes very protective.

This is a captivating fae book. The twists are incredible and the pacing is perfect. Plus, it was a huge success – winning awards and selling over 4 million copies.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Enemies to lovers romance
• Strong female main character

9. The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King is an incredible YA Fantasy with fae, a hate to love romance and a strong female lead. Fans of Holly Black should read it.

We follow 16-year-old Meghan Chase. Her father disappeared mysteriously when she was six years old. And ever since, something has been off.

But things start to change drastically. And Meghan will have to learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Hate to love romance
• Hidden world

10. A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair

Searching for books with fae and a strong, morally grey main character? You’ll love A Broken Blade.

We follow Keera, a killer. As the King’s Blade, she is the most talented spy in the kingdom. And the King’s favoured assassin. When a mysterious figure called the Shadow starts moving against the Crown, Keera is forced to hunt the masked menace down. She crosses into the magical lands of the Fae, trying to discern if her enemy is Mortal, Elf, or a Halfling like her. But the Faeland is not what it seems.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Enemies to lovers romance
• Morally grey characters

11. These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

Searching for fantasy romance books like The Cruel Prince? These Hollow Vows is perfect for Holly Black fans. This thrilling fantasy features trials, fae and a romance.

Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Romance
• Strong female protagonist

12. Dance with the Fae Prince by Elise Kova 

Fans of Holly Black will love Dance with the Fae Prince. This new adult retelling has fae, magic and an angsty romance.

Katria swore she’d never fall in love. She’s seen what “love” means through the cruelty of her family. So when she’s married off to the mysterious Lord Fenwood for a handsome price, all Katria wants is a better life than the one she’s leaving. Feelings are off the table.

But her new husband makes not falling in love difficult.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Romance
• Royalty

13. Fae Games by Karen Lynch

Searching for books with characters like Jude? You need to read Fae Games. This ya fantasy romance series is a hugely underrated urban fantasy.

Jesse James is a normal eighteen-year-old, even if her parents are the best faerie bounty hunters in New York. Jesse’s only concern is how to pay for college, but that changes the night her parents disappear.Equipped with her parents’ weapons and her own smarts, Jesse enters the dangerous world of bounty hunting.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Fae
• Romance
• Strong female protagonist

14. The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

The Prison Healer is ideal if you enjoyed the enemies to lovers romance, found family and twisty trope in The Cruel Prince. Plus, Jude is similar to protagonist in this book.

The Prison Healer is set in a ruthless death prison called Zalindov. We follow Kiva, a prisoner there. As Prison healer, she is charged with keeping the seriously ill Rebel Queen alive long enough to go through the Trial by Ordeal.

Trial by Ordeal is a series of challenges against the torments of air, fire, water and earth. It’s assigned to only the most dangerous criminals.  

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Twisty plot
• Romance
• Morally grey characters

15. Bone Crier’s Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Searching for a more romance-heavy book like The Cruel Prince? Then you’ll enjoy Bone Criers Moon. It features an enemies-to-lovers romance alongside friendships, magic and strong female leads.

We follow Ailesse and Sabine. Ailesse is a bone crier. And Bone Crier’s have a sacred duty – they alone ferry the spirits of the dead. But the Gods demand a promise of dedication. The sacrifice of the Bone Crier’s one true love. 

Ailesse has been preparing for her rite of passage since birth – to kill the boy she’s destined to live.  Bastien’s father was slain by a Bone Crier and he’s been seeking revenge. But now his vengeance must wait, as Ailesse’s ritual has begun and their fates are entwined—in life and in death.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Twisty plot
• Enemies to Lovers romance
• Morally grey characters

16. Powerless by Lauren Roberts

Searching for books with underdogs? Powerless features a sassy main character surviving alongside characters with superpowers.

We follow Paedyn. She lives in the Kingdom of Ilya. Only the exceptional, powered Elites belong in the Kingdom. These powers were gifted to them by the Plague. Those born Ordinary are banished to preserve an Elite society.

When Paeydn unsuspectingly saves one of Ilyas princes, she finds herself thrown into the Purging Trials. The brutal competition exists to showcase the Elites’ powers—the very thing Paedyn lacks.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Underdog character
• Enemies to Lovers romance
• Morally grey characters

17. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

Magic, enemies to lovers romance and morally grey characters. One Dark Window is an excellent gothic fantasy.

In Blunder all magic comes at a price. We follow Elspeth. She touches a magical providence card and is possessed by the Nightmare.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure Blunder from the dark magic infecting it. 

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Magic
• Enemies to Lovers romance
• Morally grey characters

18. The Serpent and The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

Searching for books with an underdog main character? Trying to survive in a dangerous world as a human? Then you’ll love The Serpent and The Wings of Night. It also has an enemies to lovers romance. This is more adult than The Cruel Prince.

We follow Oraya, the adopted daughter of the Nightborn vampire king. She carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Underdog main character
• Enemies to Lovers romance
• Morally grey characters

19. Shatter me by Tahereh Mafi

Searching for books with angsty romance? Then you’ll love Shatter Me.

Shatter me opens with the main character locked up for murder. She is unable to touch anyone. And she falls in love with the first person she is able to touch.

Set in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world. But it’s more of a romance. And an ansgty one at that. There was a definite ‘will they, won’t they vibe.

Similarities with The Cruel Prince

• Enemies to Lovers romance
• Morally grey characters

20. The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

A New Adult fantasy with a badass, warrior princess. Perfect for fans of Jude.

A warrior princess trained in isolation, Lara is driven by two certainties. The first is that King Aren of the Bridge Kingdom is her enemy. And the second is that she’ll be the one to bring him to his knees.

The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom enriches itself and deprives its rivals, including Lara’s homeland. So when she’s sent as a bride under the guise of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture its impenetrable defenses

Similarities to The Cruel Prince:

• Strong female main character
• high fantasy
• Enemies to lovers

Those were my picks for the best books like The Cruel Prince

 I’m off to go and reread The Cruel Prince!

Let me know what you thought of my recommendations and what books like The Cruel Prince you would recommend.

This post was all about books like The Cruel Prince

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