• How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

  • The Folk of the Air
  • By: Holly Black
  • Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
  • Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (46 ratings)

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How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories  By  cover art

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

By: Holly Black
Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
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Publisher's summary

An irresistible return to the captivating world of Elfhame from best-selling Folk of the Air author Holly Black. 

Once upon a time, there was a boy with a wicked tongue.

Before Cardan was a cruel prince or a wicked king, he was a faerie child with a heart of stone. In this sumptuously illustrated tale, Holly Black reveals a deeper look into the dramatic life of Elfhame's enigmatic high king. This tale includes delicious details of life before The Cruel Prince, an adventure beyond The Queen of Nothing, and familiar but pivotal moments from The Folk of the Air trilogy, told wholly from Cardan's perspective.

This new instalment in the Folk of the Air series is a return to the heart-racing romance, danger, humour and drama that enchanted listeners everywhere.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Holly Black (P)2020 Bonnier Books UK

What listeners say about How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories

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I want more

The only thing that would have improved this book would have been more of it! I love Holly Black and in particular this series . I can’t wait to read more!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A lovely tale

The story of Beloved King Cardan is lovely and sad as the character himself. Love to hear little more about Cardan’s adventures and childhood, also, see inside his mind and a bit more about Jude and Cardan relationship.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

disappointed

iam obsessed with jude and cardan and the cruel prince trioligy the told stories are just sooo small soo small and some are dull that I really donot care about i wished Holly focused on more significant points in the triology jude and cardan moments barely exist ok the illustrations are beautiful but I expected waaaay more waaay more so the only thing that made these 2 hours and 48 minutes bearable is the narrator who deserves an Oscar for the whole performance through out the series so thank you caitlin u r the best of the best .......

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  • Tasha Ní Mhiacháin
  • 03-31-21

Physical read & audio review

“Some might think of him as a strong draught, burning the back of one's throat, but invigorating all the same.
You might beg to differ.
So long as you’re begging, he doesn’t mind a bit.”

I had a stack of books I planned / hoped to read this month, and because I completely forgot about pre-ordering this book it was not on my list.

Did I ditch my entire tbr the moment it arrived? Yes, yes I did!

Holly has a way of captivating me completely. I zoned out and devoured this in one quick sitting.

I loved the flow and the direction the story went in. It was nice to get an insight into Cardan, not just as he is now but as he was growing up.

I didn’t think it was possible to fall even more in love with Cardan, but alas, it has happened.

I loved everything - and the illustrations added an extra touch of magic to this beautiful story.
I’m so glad I own a copy of this book, it will definitely be one I reread often.

“You didn’t hear the story I told,” he goes on. “A shame. It featured a handsome boy with a heart of stone and a natural aptitude for villainy. Everything you could like.”

Reread: April 1st

"A heart of stone can still be broken."

I decided to give the audio a try after a recommendation and I'm so glad I did. I absolutely love how it was read, it added a little something extra to something I was already familiar with, and I love that.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Carla MM
  • 09-08-21

A good little add on

Good Narrator and a good little story. It is very short so I wouldn't recommend to spend a token on this one. But I listened to this through the included catalogue so it made it worth it.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • 🌟Jen🌟
  • 12-27-22

Nice

Nice little collection of stories. Shame it wasn't longer and that there wasn't much depth to each tale. A missed opportunity here I feel.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Aileen
  • 07-03-22

Short and sweet

Nice mini tale from Cardens point of view. Feels like bonus content- which is great now that I have finished the main 3 books

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  • Sista Soliman
  • 05-27-22

🤍

I love the series so much & it is always great.. but this novella in my own opinion sounded very repetitive except for the last chapter.
I believe it could have been added to the *queen of nothing* & it would have been great.
I will always enjoy anything related to these characters, but this is merely repeating what we know about cardan & Jude + what happened after they became rulers. I really expected more details about his character than this.

the narrator is great as usual💕

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Fluff
  • 04-18-22

Perfect bedtime story

I love the Folk of the Air series and this little book is a welcomed bonus. Caitlin is definetly one of my all time narrators and her voice is perfect for such a magical series. Both Jude and Cardan sound exactly how I 've imagined they would

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 03-21-22

Great!

It was nice to have a little insight back with the characters, I had missed them. Also I love stories.

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  • Lyndsey
  • 03-05-22

Gorgeous addition to the series

I loved The Folk of the Air series, and this novella is a really fun extra for fans of the main series. Great narration as always, and a nice insight into Cardan.

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  • Carla Aston
  • 01-01-22

Nice addition to the series

Really enjoyed reading some of the story from Cardens POV. It made a nice addition and also a little glimpse into their future after the war.

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 12-08-21

Great short book

It has the same enchanted fairy tale like tone as the other books in the series, more so actually as we follow Cardan from childhood and get to understand a little better why he was the way he was. Loved it. Great performance, Caitlin is exceptionally talented at narrating fairy tales.

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  • Yve James
  • 10-10-21

Carmen and Jude are such an intriguing 💑 couple

This is a fun novella from Carden's point of view Fabulous narration, can tell which character is which, life and emotion throughout. A great quick listen. I love Holly's take on faeries!

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  • Caitlyn
  • 11-30-20

Holly and Kelly slay

Holly Black and Caitlin Kelly are both masters of story telling. Holly Black draws the reader back into the beautiful, wicked world of Elfhame with these stunning new tales that give new depth to our beloved King and Queen. And Caitlin Kelly! she could narrate a recipe book and turn it into an epic read that I would happily devour. Her voice breathes life into the words. 10/10

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  • Lily
  • 05-04-23

Average book. Series much better

Love the series, wasn’t a huge fan of this story. Quite boring and not worth using a credit.
Recommend the three-part series, just not this book.

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  • Imee-B
  • 07-01-22

***WOW I WANT MORE***

It's fantastic to catched up with all our fav characters well mainly the high King and Jude the high queen. It's great to have a peek on what happened to the cruel prince who became the high king of elfhame and how he thought of Jude. Thanks Holly for that snippet. Caitlyn Kelly you are brilliant as always thank you x

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  • Alex
  • 03-15-22

Great expansion and lovely narration

Really enjoyed the expansion of the universe and I really enjoyed the narration. The voices were well done and easily distinguishable.

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  • Trubs
  • 01-11-22

Another great little story

I really love the King of Elfame series. I have thoroughly enjoyed this Holly Black series and the voice of Caitlin Kelly.
I have listened to this whole series a couple of times now and love it everytime.

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  • Jane Krauss
  • 11-25-21

This was great

Having really enjoyed the The Folk of the Air series, I knew that this would be a safe bet of a good book. I wasn't wrong. I especially loved how the art of storytelling is portrayed and how much it plays into the overall narrative.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 11-09-21

Lacklustre in parts but Caitlin Kelly made it enjoyable.

I didn't like Cardan's backstory much. I felt like there could have been more details, it was saddening that the book was lacklustre. The ending was the only saving grace for the book in my opinion.
Now, I do understand why fans love this story but at the end of the day, I had a different expectation going into it.
Not a bad book at all, but it doesn't add much to the Folk of the Air series.
I would have dnf this book if I didn’t listen to it.

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  • Kindle Customer
  • 10-09-21

Excellent YA fantasy book

Excellent narration

A captivating and original book. Interesting main characters with a good balance of strengths and flaws.

Good worldbuilding, a detailed plot with unexpected twists, and refreshing characters that don't follow traditional YA tropes.

Less romance than expected but it set up brilliantly for an organic enemies to lovers plot in the next book.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 12-26-20

Such good stories - such little time

I love this book, really, I do. However, unfortunately, its not as long as I want it to be. I suggest that, if you want it, get it. I love it. Beautiful illustrations, and the narration, well, someone give Caitlin a prize! It's a delightful listenm and does give some nice input on Cardans past, and how he grew up the way he grew up to be. Yes, there are less Jude and Carden stories than some wanted, but I do think that its definatly still worth the listen, or read.

So its up to you, really.

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