Book Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Fey #1

Published by: Harlequin Teen
Rating: 3.5/5

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.

This book was quite enjoyable and if it weren't for a few flaws it could've been a 4.5/5. The plot was very intriguing and was pulled off quite well. The fae is not a race that is common in YA PNL at the moment (compatred to vampires and angels). So for me this felt new and fresh even if the faery lore stuck within it's pre-existing lore, which I will add I liked. In particular I liked the A Midsummer Night's Dream influences that were peppered throughout the book. What I found most interesting was the idea that the faery only exist as long as people remember them. It is an element I look forward to exploring more in the other books in the series. I must also raise my glass to Kagawa for not being afraid to swear. In the real world people swaer, teenagers swear, to completely ignore this in factor of life in books just because your're writing YA is silly and I appreciated Kagawa for using it as a tool in her book for bringing the characters to life without overdoing it.

Meghan and I had a love/hate relationship. I loved how much sass she had and how she continually persisted but mostly I loved how she wasn't a Bella clone who's shy, clumsy, suposedly smart, and well you get the gist. But as much as I loved her I hater her too. I get that when she first gets to Nevernever she doens't know the rules, mistakes will be made but when you're told specifically what not to do ie make deals with faery do not continually make deals with them. That's just dumb! It's also very frustrating for the reader becuase I just wnated to bang my head against the wall in frustration. Use your brain and find a different way. There were also times she came across as ungrateful but I will conceded on this in that she is a sixteen-year-old girl there's bound to be this kind of behaviour and thought at that age.

While I wasn't sold on Meghan I loved all the other characters, especially Puck. He was just so sweet and charming and loveable and funny. He reminded me of that silly lovable guy friend who has a bog heart. I really felt for him when Meghan didn't get the hint, and do I oh so wish she did becuase I feel that I may be a shipper. Compared to the jester best friend Ash is the bad boy. He cold, calculating and threated to kill Meghan more than once, usually a big tick in the shipper status but not this time. Yes, there were moments where they were together and it was sweet but I wasn't sold. Maybe in the following books this will change but for now I'm Meghan/Puck all the way. And then there's Grimalkin. Oh how I loved him!  His motives kept me guessing and he was a bit of fun. The only downside was that all I could see was the Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland and despite trying to find any difference that would make him stand out above his predecesor there was none.

I certainly look forward to reading the next installment in this series.