Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

"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—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.”

I thoroughly enjoyed The Iron King. The imagery was gorgeous as Julie leads us through each new land she’s created. I loved the take that she had on iron. As anyone who has a read anything about faeries knows, faeries don’t handle iron well; so the idea that there is an entire world made of iron beginning to emerge is a frightening one to all of faerie kind, Seelie or Unseelie courts. This was catastrophic. But Meghan is willing to face anything and everything to save her kidnapped brother, Ethan.

Meghan developed beautifully throughout the book. From the scared and terrified teenage girl who is struggling to accept and believe in the faerie world, to a strong woman who knows what she wants and is determined to make it happen.  

All of the characters were so defined and unique, some taken after Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. My favorite character was Grimalkin. I loved his responses to questions, “Because I am a cat.” He was always weaving in and out of situations. I wasn’t sure that he would be a main character through everything, but I was pretty happy when Grim ended up staying around.  But, let’s be honest, I’m a sucker for cats. My only complaint was that until about halfway through the second section (the book is set up in three parts) I found the book kind of slow. Although I understand why when you stop to think that you had to set everything up... As for the teams of Ash or Puck… while I loved Puck for his sarcastic humor, Ash’s dark, brooding self was quite sexy and lovable. It’s much too hard to make a final decision at this point.

If you’re looking for an unpredictable, action-packed fantasy novel, this is the book for you.

My rating for this book:

To see our Feature Friday post about her book signing in Lousiville, click here.

Julie Kagawa is a writer from Sacramento, California who spent her years working at bookstores to get by. Now as a published author she lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband and many pets. She is most famous for The Iron Fey series.

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