Holly Black Books in Order: The Complete Guide

New to Holly Black beyond The Cruel Prince? Here's her complete bibliography organized by series, plus where to start.

8/10/20262 min read

Holly Black Books in Order: The Complete Guide

With Amazon's Folk of the Air adaptation putting Holly Black back in the spotlight, this is a good moment to look at how much more there is beyond The Cruel Prince — she's been building interconnected faerie worlds since 2002, plus a growing adult fiction catalog. Here's the complete picture.

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Start Here If You Want the Broadest View: Modern Faerie Tales

This is Black's original faerie trilogy, published starting in 2002, and it's technically the earliest entry point into her wider faerie-world storytelling — though it follows a different cast than Folk of the Air.

  1. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale

  2. Valiant

  3. Ironside

Amazon link: Modern Faerie Tales trilogy

If You Just Want Jude and Cardan: Folk of the Air

You don't need to read Modern Faerie Tales first — if Jude and Cardan are what you're here for, start directly with The Cruel Prince. Full breakdown of this series in my Cruel Prince review.

  1. The Cruel Prince

  2. The Wicked King

  3. The Queen of Nothing

  4. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (companion novella)

The Elfhame Universe Continues: The Stolen Heir Duology

A newer duology set in the same Elfhame world, following different protagonists, published 2023-2024.

  1. The Stolen Heir

  2. The Prisoner's Throne

Amazon link: The Stolen Heir duology

Coming Soon: A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters

Releasing November 3, 2026, this illustrated collection gathers six tales spanning Modern Faerie Tales and Elfhame, including stories featuring Madoc and Cardan, plus two previously unpublished tales. Treat it as an optional companion piece best read after you've finished the Novels of Elfhame, not as a numbered entry in either series.

If You Want a Standalone Fantasy

The Darkest Part of the Forest and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown are both standalone (or loosely connected) YA fantasy novels outside her main faerie series — good options if you want to sample her writing without committing to a multi-book series.

Amazon link: The Darkest Part of the Forest

If You Want Her Adult Fiction

Book of Night, released in 2022, marked Black's first adult fiction release — a shift into darker, more explicitly adult urban fantasy involving shadow magic. If you're specifically looking to expand into her adult catalog beyond Elfhame, this is the entry point.

Amazon link: Book of Night by Holly Black

If You Want Middle Grade (For Younger Readers, or Nostalgia)

The Spiderwick Chronicles, co-created with Tony DiTerlizzi, is Black's biggest middle-grade hit — five books following the Grace family's discovery of a hidden magical world. It's been adapted twice: a 2008 film and a 2023 TV series. The Curse Workers trilogy and Doll Bones are other notable middle-grade/younger-YA entries in her catalog.

Amazon link: The Spiderwick Chronicles box set

The Simplest Path If You're Overwhelmed

  1. Start with The Cruel Prince if you want the series everyone's currently talking about because of the Amazon adaptation

  2. If you love it, read the rest of Folk of the Air, then The Stolen Heir duology

  3. Loop back to Tithe and the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy for the earlier corner of her faerie universe

  4. Branch into Book of Night if you want her adult fiction, or The Spiderwick Chronicles for middle-grade nostalgia

Final Thoughts

Holly Black's bibliography goes far deeper than The Cruel Prince alone — over two decades of interconnected faerie storytelling, plus a growing adult fiction catalog and middle-grade classics. With the Amazon adaptation bringing new attention to Elfhame, now's a good time to explore how much more of her world is actually out there.