Book Title: The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)
Genre: YA Fantasy
Pages: 368
Author: Julie Kagawa
Date Published: 19 January 2010
Synopsis:
MEGHAN CHASE HAS A SECRET DESTINY—ONE SHE COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED…
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth.
For Meghan is the daughter of a mythical faery king…and a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.
Review:
The Iron King by Julie KagawaMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is the first book in The Iron Fey series. I absolutely loved it!
Meghan Chase is a wonderful character. I really liked her. She's a typical sixteen year old, full of angst and a bit of a tom boy. However, all is not what it seems and when her four year old brother gets kidnapped, she finds herself on a deadly mission to rescue him. Along the way, she finds out that she's not a normal teen after all. She's the daughter to Oberon, the Faery King of the Seelie court of Summer.
I have been in a reading slump for a while and have struggled to find a book with which to fall in love with reading again. Browsing through my bookshelf, looking for inspiration, I saw this book that I had swapped in a book club but never had a chance to read. I decided to try it and I am glad I did, because I haven't been so excited about a book for quite some time.
I started to read this book and I got so caught up in the tale that I forgot that I was sitting in my lounge! This story captured my imagination and held me enthralled right up until the end.
As the story unfolds we get to meet Meghan's brother, Ethan whom I absolutely adore. He's cute and reminded me of my nephews' at that age. Robbie Goodfell is Meghan's best friend and is a bit of a clown, but he's also hiding a secret. He's not exactly human and is known as Robin Goodfellow or Puck to those in Faery. I really liked this character. He is the witty, outspoken mischief maker of the Summer faery court and has been appointed by Oberon to keep an eye on Meghan.
We are also introduced to a Cait Sith called Grimalkin, who reminds me a little of The Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, and to Prince Ash, the third son of Queen Mab of the Unseelie court of Winter. I wasn't too sure if I would like Ash at first, but I would have to say that I fell for him myself. He's a complex character, with a depth to him that I enjoyed getting to know. I know it sounds weird, but I also enjoyed his and Puck's feud. Although they clashed physically in fights, there was a respect and deep friendship hidden amongst the heartbreak caused by a tragic accident.
I fell in love with this story as it is full of action, adventure and danger, as well as romance. Meghan goes on an amazingly dangerous journey that will test her strength and determination to the fullest. It is a coming of age story that left me breathless in it's complexity. The descriptions of the faery world and creatures living within it were vivid and felt real. As I sat reading, I could picture every scene in my mind's eye with ease. The way the author has incorporated the myths of the Summer and Winter faery courts with modern technology to create a whole new court under the rule of The Iron King intrigues me. In our modern day lives, we use technology for everything. If the land of faery was made from peoples hopes, dreams and fears in olden times, then the technology we use today would definitely have an impact on it. The author explores this concept with frightening detail. The only thing I was worried about in this book was a love triangle, as I am not overly fond of those. However, I needn't have worried. Some readers have become fans of Puck and others Ash. I must admit that I fall into the Ash camp. But Puck is an intriguing character too, though his mischievous nature makes him a little irresponsible at times.
I reached the end of the book and thought "Wow, what a ride!". I am now looking forward to reading the next book, The Iron Daughter as soon as possible.
Julie Kagawa has written a fantastic Young Adult series. I love her writing style, which is fast paced and exciting. The flow was also wonderful, as each scene moved effortlessly into the next. There may have been a few continuity issues, but it didn't affect my enjoyment. This is the first book I have read by this author, but she has found a fan in me and I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.
Although there are no scenes of a sensual nature, there are scenes that are violent or a little gory. Therefore, I do not recommend this to readers under 15. However, I highly recommend this book if you love YA fantasy or paranormal romances. - Lynn Worton
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About The Author:
Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn't getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.
When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time (okay, at least the illustrations did), but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a
real job.
To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dog trainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full time.
Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, an obnoxious cat, an Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and a hyper-active Papillion.
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