A Conspiracy of Charming Monsters: Illustrated Tales from Elfhame

The Folk of the Air

by Holly Black, Solenne Songer (Illustrator)

From the brilliant mind of #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes a collection of short stories, gorgeously illustrated in full color and set in the Faerie world, where beauty can be monstrous and love can be capricious….

A reluctant king is thrown into turmoil when the girl he loves to hate is stolen by the Undersea.

An exiled redcap, trapped in the mortal world, must rediscover his inner monster.

A mortal girl sacrifices the other half of herself for an unworthy faerie lover.

A tiny sprite’s determination to prove herself puts the entire High Court in danger.

In this collection, #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black combines her signature wit and lush world-building with stunning full-color art by Frostbite Studios in six irresistible tales that return readers to the world of the Modern Faerie Tales and Elfhame, including two never-before-seen stories: one revealing the interior life of Madoc while in exile and the other featuring the moment that High King Cardan realizes what he most desires.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romantasy, Fae, Romance, Short Stories, Young Adult Fantasy

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 3, 2026

About the author

Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over thirty fantasy novels for kids and teens. She has been a finalist for an Eisner Award and the Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic Award, a Nebula, and a Newbery Honor. Her books have been translated into 32 languages worldwide and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library.

Reviews

[levi (starboy) (s.ia)]

Saw this on my fyp. The cover is so pretty whaaa

[èvieane]

ㅤ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ᯓ ᯽ ‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍pre-release ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ
update: Oh my god, we have a cover and it is ✨SO GORGEOUS✨🫠🫠

ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ
EXCUSE ME???? MISS HOLLY BLACK WHAT IS THIS????

[hater ★]

yup yup yup it’s ouuuuuuut

i love the coverrrrrrr

[Ss]

|𝐏𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 ❨𖦹 ₊˚ ୭
𝖬𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖤𝗅𝖿𝗁𝖺𝗆𝖾? 𝖸𝖾𝗌 𝗉𝗅𝖾𝖺𝗌𝖾.
𝖢𝖺𝗇'𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝗈𝗎𝗍 🫠🫠

[ellie]

CAN. YOU. HEAR. MY. EXCITEMENT?!! yet another anticipated release to add to my shelves. being a reader never gets old 🫂i get to return to my day ones !!!

[ray ৎ ⊹ ࣪ ˖]

⊹ oh my gosh i knew rereading this trilogy this month was a good idea bc ofc the week after i finish “queen of nothing” gets announced!!

⊹ also can we talk ab how THE frostbite studios illustrated this?? im a firm believer that frostbite makes THE best tcp art 🥹💕

⊹ AND WE GET A CARDAN POV WHAT????? i alr know that that short story is js gonna be him yearning the whole time 🤭

[Saranya [mostly ia]]

update: Okay, WOW! I have been thinking about what Cardan was thinking and feeling while Jude was held captive by Orlagh. AND WE ARE FINALLY GETTING CARDAN'S POV FROM THEN!! OMG! Best birthday evaaa!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

pre-release

I think I am going to cry because what do you mean- Holly Black is collaborating with Frostbite Studios which makes the best ever fanarts for this fandom! I'm going feral. I am SCREAMING! OMG!

Also, are you telling me that this gets released on my birthday this year? OH MY GOD.

[Lea ★]

i need this more then passing grade on my next exam. 😔

TWO NEW STORIES, ONE MADOCS FROM WHEN HE WAS IN EXILE AND OTHER FROM CARDANS POV IN TWK WHEN JUDE WAS STOLEN BY THE BITCH ORLAGH

temptation to put 5 stars so the goodreads rating would be 5.00 😭🥀 on serious note tho frosbite studios art is SO AMAZING. prob the best ive EVER seen (not joking mona lisa ah level) so PLEASE check them out (lovelovelove them)!!! i really need to get my hands on the card game cuz the art is stunning.

i think im gonna cry.. im so ready for baby jurdan (holly if cardan isnt a girl dad and jude a boy mom imma poison you with fairy fruit.. 😍) to celebrate this i feel like i need a 13th reread of the series!

[Melanie (meltotheany)]

feeling blessed, feeling thankful ;___;

1.) The Cruel Prince ★★★★★
1.5) The Lost Sisters ★★★★★
2.) The Wicked King ★★★★★
3.) The Queen of Nothing ★★★★★
3.5) How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories ★★★★★

[ishraq ★ (slowly coming back)]

౿ 🪾 ⌗ prerelease ⊹

I'm freaking shaking, the cruel prince was my first ever book and its basically build me. IM YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN HOLLY BLACK PLEASE I KNOW YOU'LL EAT WITH THIS BOOK NO MATTER WHAT PLEASE PLEASE DELIVER

I’m shaking screaming ILLUSTRATED ART? I’m sorry dear parents but you WILL be giving me money so I can responsibly spend it on this. (Why will I not use my own money? Because why should I when I have such lovely parents with such lovely money?)

AND AHHH FROSTBITE STUDIOS ART? STOP MY FAVORITE ARTIST YDYDUJDJSKSOS

The monster I will become when this is published is not a joke. My dear friends I advise you to stay away from me on November 3 because I fear of the animal I’ll turn into.

[Bea27x · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

No thoughts, just Cardan thoughts

For the rest of the extremely dull wedding, Cardan doesn’t see Jude. Which is fine since he spends that time coming up with absolutely devastating remarks for when their paths do inevitably cross.

And what reason could she have to think better of him? He tormented her at the palace school, was cruel for the sake of cruelty. Everything about her, from her skill with the sword to her quick mind to her being adored by her terrible father, highlighted Cardan’s failures. She was better than him and he knew it.
And if he hadn’t been so awful, perhaps she’d have known it, too.

So what would she tell him to do? Probably to pretend that he doesn’t care about her. Pretend that losing her won’t destroy him. Pretend that he won’t give Queen Orlagh anything, anything at all, just to have her back.

All he can think of is Jude.
Jude, Jude, Jude, the drumbeat of his heart.

As days turn to weeks, the strangest thing becomes clear—as exhausted and panicked and snappish as he is, Cardan is skilled at ruling. He has a knack for being just mean enough to keep people in line and just charming enough to keep them from one another’s throats.
He wonders if Jude will be impressed. And sometimes he wonders if she knew he had that skill all along.

How could he have failed to notice that he loved her?

[lost in epilogue | ཐི༏ཋྀ​​݁ ₊ ݁ .]

cardan crashout era is going to be the most deliciously angsty yearning we read all year

[elena🕷️]

Frostbite studio and holly black making a book together was not on my 2026 bingo card. BUT I DONT FUCKING CARE CUS IM SOOOOOOO EXCITED, LETSSSS GOOOOO

[Freefall]

FROSTBITE STUDIOS BETTER TITHE TO THE FEY THAT I DON'T FIND THEM AND TORTURE THEM UNTIL THEY GIVE ME ALL THEIR ART—

—i mean, i love the folk of the air franchise as well as frostbite's artstyle. i am merely craning my neck a bit to peer at the release date. i'm nonchalant.

[anzhelika ୨ৎ]

GUYS WE'RE GOING BACK TO ELFHAME. i am beyond ready and excited for this, november can't come soon enough. this is now one of my most anticipated releases this year.

[maliareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

“All he can think of is Jude. Jude, Jude, Jude, the drumbeat of his heart.”

INFINITY STARS ♾️⭐️

Cardan and Jude. My babies. My heart and soul. The sustenance that fuels me. My Roman Empire. The couple that no one can ever, or will ever, beat. I am disgustingly, sickeningly obsessed with them, and have been since I was first introduced to them in 2022. I have never stopped thinking about them.

I was absolutely not prepared for Cardan’s POV. It sent me into absolute orbit - I was hyperventilating in excitement and screaming audibly every single second of his chapter. He is the yearner of the year, and I cannot be convinced otherwise.

I know this novella also contained other stories (which I really enjoyed, especially Madoc’s!) but I was sat for the Cardan and Jude snippets and oh, we were fed. These two ignited my love for reading, and oh, how I yearn for them everyday. I consume Cardan and Jude content like an addict looking for their next fix. I’m not over them. They are such a well-written couple - the layers and complexity that they both have? Oh, sedate me now and put me into an asylum. I cannot apologise for the person this book has caused me to become.

Cardan and Jude are the legendary lovers (in my opinion!) and a very sensitive topic for me. If I see hate on them, I will cry because they mean that much to me and yes, it is that serious and no, I’m not being dramatic. I am very serious about these two. Don’t even get me started. I can probably write a whole damn book or two or three on why I love these two so much.

Aside from the sheer orbit this book sent me into, can we take a minute, or hours, to appreciate the artwork? Absolutely stunning. Solenne Songer (Frostbite Studios) has me in absolute awe. I spent half the time whilst reading this book staring at the artwork because oh my god? My eyes have been blessed.

I will say, I did have to skim some of these short stories as I haven’t read “Modern Faerie Tales” just yet, but you best bet I will be doing so very soon!

All in all, this book made my year. Now all I need is all three books in Cardan’s POV and I’m set for life. I will want for nothing more 🙂‍↔️

[Aqsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How could he have failed to notice that he loved her?"

I love you cardan greenbriar

[Annabella⁷ (henry li’s version)]

BREAKING NEWS: WE'RE SO BACK⋆°🍄🧚‍♂️⋆.ೃ࿔

AND IT'S ILLUSTRATED❗THE COVER IS STUNNING😩
🗣️ THANK YOU HOLLY BLACK, WE ALL SAY IN UNISON

[Madeline]

Pre-read: super excited, frostbite studios did the artwork 😍

[Taylor ౨ৎ (ia uni)]

this was totally not on my 2026 bucket list, but I'll take this gorgeous cover with me to my grave anyways

[niyya نية]

oh prepare to be SICK of me

[𝓷𝓸𝓻𝓪 ⊹ ࣪ ˖]

ahhhhh yes yes yes yes take all my money!!! and frostbite studios art yesssssssss

[Amara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so thrilled to come home from work AND SEE THE PACKAGE CONTAINING THIS BOOK WAITING FOR ME!!! The scream was heard across the neighborhood I swear 😂 I was not expecting this at all so thank you to the publishers for sending it to me!!!

This novella was amazing!!! I was pleasantly surprised at madoc’s story, I was dying laughing and completely gagged. I love it. 5 stars for that one.
And omg. 6 freaking stars for the Cardan novella. Everything I dreamed and more. CARDAN IS SO DOWN BAD I CANT EVEN. This makes me want to reread the series so bad.
The other novellas are where I unfortunately have to subtract a bit. They weren’t poorly written at all! And I loved being back in the world of faerie. It was probably more a fault of mine for not enjoying them as much. I haven’t read the other trilogy in the folk of the air universe, and almost all of the novellas contained only characters from those. I will admit they were interesting and I loved the cameos of the OG trilogy characters (Any time Cardan appeared I screamed LOL). I was just confused by the politics because I don’t even know who any of these people are 😂 it would definitely help for me to come back to these stories another time. I also just didn’t really care for Heather’s story. It wasn’t boring, I just didn’t care.
Let’s talk about the artwork now. OMG. When you think of fan art for the cruel prince, your brain automatically goes to frostbite studios art. So when I heard she would be illustrating this novella I WAS OVER THE MOON! And this did not disappoint. Frostbite studios has outdone herself again and all the artwork was ABSOLUTELY GLORIOUS. It was all amazing, but I gotta admit (I might be biased) that any time Cardan artwork was on page I literally screamed. I took pictures of all of it even though I physically own the book. That’s how good it is. Jude also looked so stunning and I loved seeing all of her outfits 🤭
Overall such a fun novella and it was so nice to be back in the world of elfhame. Cardan and Jude spinoff when?!

Spice: .5 (just some references throughout)
Language: moderate (infrequent)

[kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

being able to step back into the world of elfhame.... LITERAL chills omg i miss them so bad

[Tara]

astronomical day for annoying people (me)

[sarah]

it's like i died and then came back to life again

[juliet♡]

OMG the way i SCREAMED when i saw this announcement, this year is on fire for book releases

[✧Bella✧]

GIMME

[♬★Shivani★♬ {Oh my twitchy, witchy girl}]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I WANT ITTTTT
ALSO FROSTBITE STUDIOS????????!!!!!!!! I CAN'T!!!!!!!!

[Vanya · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Tears in my eyes, this was incredible. Madocs story was extremely fun, i really liked Lutie Loo and i loved seeing more of Heather and her relationship with Vivi. Kayes story was also great i giggled a bit at roiben promising the coronation would be fun and the end was so cute i loved it.

And then of course the star of the show Cardans story when i say i screamed its an understatement. It was incredible, i loved being inside his head and hearing first hand his thoughts on Jude gave me so many butterflies. 11/10 i couldn’t have been better