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The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Copy: Review e-book

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:

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.

I loved this book for everything from the beautiful cover to the great story line. This is the first book in Julie Kagawa’s young adult series The Iron Fey Series. I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to get onto the next: The Iron Princess (out this month). The final book in the trilogy is released in Feb. 2011. This is fantasy and adventure, with a touch of romance – everything you need for a great read.

The star of the story is Meghan Chase, a girl who didn’t fit in well at school. She did however have a good friend: Robbie. Her life changes when she discovers her little brother Ethan has been kidnapped and replaced by a monster. Suddenly she finds herself on a mission: rescue Ethan. This opens up a whole new world for her, the Nevernever world. Unbeknownst to her, this is the world she belongs in, as does Robbie. He turns out to be Puck, and he had been guarding her for the Summer King. Whilst in the King’s court she meets Ash, the Winter prince sent to kill her, but sparks start to fly. And then when they discover it is a new enemy trying to take over Nevernever and is holding Ethan hostage Ash and Puck have to put their differences aside, Ash has to stop trying to kill Meghan and together, with the help of Grim the cat, they have to defeat the new Iron King.

This book is full of imagination, adventure and I cannot think of one bad thing to report. Right from the start I was interested. The faery land mischief starts in the human land when Meghan turns 16. From there she meets all kinds of interesting characters. Kagawa has an amazing imagination and what she creates is great to read. She has taken normal fantasy creatures and evolved them, she has given power to normal animals, such as cats and she has created new monsters. All this wrapped together makes for excellent reading.

I finished the book as definitely Team Ash! Of course that might change with the reading of the new book, but he was strong and handsome, and prepared to put his needs aside. Of course to start with Meghan had to bargain with him but as the story progressed you could see him softening. Puck, or Robbie was a great character too, but I the girl in me preferred the hero Ash! Puck made me laugh with his humour and tricks, but I think I liked Grim the most. I’m not a cat person but this was a wonderfully written character – smooth and cool, and just down-right entertaining. Meghan was a strong-willed girl and the love for her brother drove her on, which was lovely to see.

Overall, I can easily give this top marks, and I am itching to get onto the next in the series, and to read the novella, Winter’s Passage. I’m glad I discovered this series, and if you like young adult books or fantasy, this is well worth reading.