The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa + Extra

Title: The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) Author: Julie Kagawa Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Adventure Published: February 2010 My Rating: 5/5 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.

Yes, I know I’ve been making a lot of posts about books, but what can I say? I really love reading and I’ve had a little bit more time this summer to do so. So, about the book… Not long ago I found the Iron Fey series and it really caught my attention, I’m a sucker for fairies, mermaids, dragons and all that kind of stuff, so how could I just not give this a try?

First of all, the creatures from this world are not exactly how you imagine them; they’re not just a bunch of pretty little Tinkerbells happily flying around being nice to each other… Nope. They’re mean and cruel, if one of those creatures lets their guard down, they’ll just end up being eaten or tortured or whatever the attacker wants to do with them. And not just that, but just saying the words ‘thank you’ might get you into more trouble than you know.

But our main character does not live in that world, actually. Meghan Chase is your typical teenage girl trying to get through high school, but she’s pretty much invisible to others though, even her family. Her dad mysteriously disappeared when she was six years old and she never heard from him again. One day her little brother is kidnapped and replaced by a little creature, one that looks exactly like him, but that behaves itself like a little demon. Her best friend, Robbie Goodfell (actually Robin Goodfellow or Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream), knows how to get the little boy back, but that decision could change Meghan’s life forever; she must go to the Nevernever, the land of the fey, where she would have to face death in every corner in order to take her brother back home.

Now this is an entertaining book! It kept me on the edge of my seat all the time, poor Meghan was so often getting close to being killed! And apparently she possesses an incredible power - but she doesn’t know how to use it yet – so both the Unseelie and the Seelie Court (who hate each other) want her on their side. Did I mention she’s supposed to be Oberon’s daughter? Yeah, you know, that Oberon.

This book had pretty much everything: adventure, action, romance, humor… Parts where I would’ve probably fainted or gotten a heart attack being in that same situation because those creatures are pretty damn scary... The main characters were all very lovable, except for Oberon and Titania. Man, were they annoying… The romance is pretty much flawless, there’s a little something going on between Meghan and the Winter Prince, Ash; although I do have to say that that first kiss could’ve been a little bit more romantic but I still liked it though; and here we can also find a little love triangle… Well, at least that’s what I think it was, because one of them wasn’t very much involved, poor thing; maybe in the next books.

I also really enjoyed all the references there were to the real world; they mention books, musicians and even movies, making it a little bit more believable… well, if that’s possible. And I know I can’t be the only one who spent most part of the book being all ‘Omg the Iron King is her father who went away, he must be!!!... Isn’t he? Hmm no, he’s not… Or is he?’ Hahaha :P. I found this book to be a little bit unpredictable sometimes, I liked that.

And Kagawa does an incredible job at describing every little thing; seriously, it’s not hard to imagine all the places and characters, at all. She also has a very refreshing writing style, I don’t think I’ve come across another author like her, there were a lot of words I had to look up and also a lot of expressions she would use that I’d never seen any other person use before.

I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

EXTRA:

Julie Kagawa apparently wasn’t happy with just a few books, oh no, she released a bunch of stories in-between, too… And I love her very much for that :). After the first book, there are these two stories that you should read before jumping to the second volume:

The First Kiss (The Iron Fey #1.25):

This is the story of the first kiss between Meghan and one of her love interests, from the guy’s POV. It was nice, but like I said, I wasn’t a huge fan of that part, I think it just happened and I wasn’t sure what was going on, or why, or how, or whyyy theeere?? And at that moment? Really, Ash?? Haha.

Winter’s Passage (The Iron Fey #1.5):

This one takes place after The Iron King, Ash goes to Meghan’s house in the real world to take her to the Winter Court, like she promised, and she asks him to go see Puck before they leave too, but there are some problems along the way of course. It’s not necessary to read this if you plan on reading The Iron Daughter, but if you’re a fan of AshxMeghan, you should consider getting this.

Have you read this book? Do you know of other similar series?

Thank you for reading! Bye-Bye! ♥