Monday, November 19, 2012

Review: The Iron King by Julia Kagawa


Hi! Welcome to Dani's infatuation/obsession/addiction to the IRON FEY SERIES!
As promised, here is my review of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa! This was Mrs. Kagawa's debut novel and it led to a whole franchise of iron fey books and other products! She is one of my favorite authors and definitely my favorite YA author. The way she manipulates words to paint grand scenery, her imagination, her wonderful characters....are only some of the things that makes her writing unforgettable. You can find more information about the Iron Fey series here: http://www.theironfey.com/
Follow Mrs. Kagawa's blog for insight into her writing, books, and more! http://juliekagawa.blogspot.com/

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa Reviewed by Dani

Dani’s rating:5 stars Steph’s rating: 4.5 stars Average: 4.75 stars

Goodreads 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 - 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.


Review:
First of all, I’d like to say that the Iron Fey series is my ALL-TIME FAVORITE YA BOOK SERIES. Julie Kagawa has concepted a unique idea that NO OTHER WRITER has ever thought of before: The Iron fey. So, we’ve all heard or read about Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Night Dream and the various spin-off series inspired by that timeless story. This book involves several of the characters from A Midsummer’s Night Dream, including Oberon, Titania, Mab, and of course, the famous prankster Puck. Ms. Kagawa’s splendid idea was, if faeries were born from human thoughts and ideas, then what if there were faeries born from human advancements in technology? What kind of faeries would be created? The iron fey!
The Iron King’s plot was absolutely amazing. There were so many moments that left me shocked and eager to read what happens next. This was another one of those books that made me pull an all-nighter to finish reading it! Puck will cause you to burst out laughing with his hilarious jokes and flippant yet serious manner. Ash’s quiet soulfulness will make you long to crack the icy shell around his heart. Grimalkin, a certain furry guide who you may have heard of from other Shakespeare stories, will make you shake your head in exasperation each time he says the phrase “I am a cat.”
Ahh...Ash. Ash is my FAVORITE YA crush. He’s one of those broken-hearted and tormented boys that every girl is dying to put back together. When Meghan first meets Ash, he is trying to kill her. Yes, I know, an unlikely romance. But isn’t every relationship surprising in its own way?

“Then, through the woods, I saw him, a lean figure on a huge black horse.The boy from my dream, the one I saw from the bus that day. His cruel, angelic face wore a smile as he drew back a large bow, an arrow glistening at the tip.”
-Meghan’s first real encounter with Ash (her glimpse of him from the bus does not count)

Now, note that this is Ash before he has fallen in love with Meghan. He is the third son of Mab, the Queen of Winter. His heart is like a chunk of ice and his exterior shows that he is a true winter prince. What kind of creature wouldn’t be stoic and aloof if he had lost his true love? Ash blames Puck for causing the death of Ariella, a winter fey who Ash fell head over heels for. Meghan begins to thaw Ash’s frozen heart and shows him that life is still worth living even without his beloved Ariella.
Meghan is one of the strongest YA heroines I have ever read about. She somehow copes with the loss of her brother and being thrown into a strange, dangerous faery world known as the Nevernever. In the midst of all these obstacles, she manages to strike a deal with a dark, mysterious faery, someone who one does not want to mess with. She manages to force Ash to help her rescue her brother, and in turn, she has to relinquish something of her own to Ash. What does she give to Ash in return? Who are these iron fey? Will Meghan choose Puck, the best friend (who happens to be a faery) she has known all of her life, or Ash, the new, dark and enigmatic stranger?


“‘I would have gotten you there!’ Puck roared. ‘Me! You don’t need his help! Don’t you trust me to keep you safe? I would’ve given everything for you. Why didn’t you think I’d be enough?’”
-A glimpse of Puck’s outburst caused by Ash and Meghan’s deal...Is this feeling, perhaps, jealousy?

I won’t give you a teaser of an Ash and Meghan moment because I am leaving it up to YOU to read it in The Iron King!

You can never spend too much time looking at a Team Ash banner and rereading the quote on it from The Iron Queen (Iron Fey #3)


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