The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Release Date: February 1, 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 363
Review Source: Library

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series.

My Thoughts:
I had heard a lot about this book prior to picking it up, and had read a lot of different reviews on it which judged it all the way from 'okay' to 'absolutely amazing', so I think I came into it with a pretty open mind. I'm glad I did, because I was really swept away in the story. Meghan is a likeable character, I think mainly because of her deep devotion to her little brother. I really loved Robbie/Robin Goodfellow/Puck (does the guy have any more names I forgot about?), and I wish we had seen more of him. I suppose he was conveniently missing to play up the romance between Meghan and Ash, although I have to say that their relationship wasn't my favourite part of the book. I'm not against it or anything, but I've seen the "I threatened to kill you once, but I love you" story play out too many times in fiction. I think their relationship changed too quickly, but that's one of the only big downsides I found in the book.

I'm a major cat person, so I really loved Grimalkin. His line of "I'm a cat" to explain why he could get away with anything and that he knew everything was just perfect. All the fantastical faery elements of the story were wonderful, and I liked that they took place alongside the "normal" world. I haven't really read any faery books before, but I liked the mythology and the history that was given about their species without it becoming too dry. As I mentioned, I was very swept away in the story, and that's because the book is filled with action. There are also a lot of descriptions of the setting, which a lot of fantasy readers would probably appreciate. Overall, I really enjoyed this one, and despite my reservations about Meghan/Ash, I look forward to seeing how their romance can survive in the next book.

Rating:


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