Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
First in the Iron Fey Series
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've wanted to read this series for the longest time. I love faery books and almost everyone I talked to had read it and loved it and gave me crap about not reading it yet. I had a strong feeling I was going to love it too. I was right. I wasn't very far into it before I realized this series was probably going to be my new obsession. Luckily all the books are already out. I forgot what it's like to read a book and know that the next one is at the bookstore just waiting for you to buy it. It's almost as bad as having to wait for it to be out. Sadly I don't have the next one but I'm absolutely dying to read it.

Meghan's life is a little dull. Her dad disappeared when she was little, and despite living it a tiny swamp town everyone seems to forget her except for her best friend Robbie. When her normally sweet little brother Ethan starts acting strange, a handsome and mysterious guy keeps showing up and Robbie seems to know more than he lets on her life gets a little too exciting. It turns out that Robbie is really Puck (yeah the A Midsummer Night's Dream one) who is a faery and so is she plus the daughter of a faery king. On top of that the reason her brother is acting so different is because it's not him at all. He's been replaced by a changeling and evil little one at that and to get him back she has to go the Never Never. The faery world with lots of scary rules.

Meghan was too impulsive at times and that got her into all sorts of trouble in a world she didn't know. She was just trying to do everything she could to save her brother and I loved how protective she was of those she cared about. Puck was hilarious the famous trickster and all. His story was really interesting. His feud with Ash wasn't explained right away and I was dying to know what made these two guys who obviously used to be really close hate each other so much. Speaking of Ash (the handsome and mysterious guy) I adored him. At first he acted like the Ice Prince he is but as Meghan got to know him better he started melting and showed the real him underneath. I kept rooting for him and Meghan to get together and when they did they were so adorable. Of course like almost all hero's in YA he has the 'superhero complex' meaning he has to be all "No go on I'll just sacrifice myself so you can live no big deal right?" which caused me too rant very loudly all by myself because of a part towards the end. I looked crazy. But seriously guys you can be selfish at least once. Who knows maybe both of you will survive. I though Grimalkin was adorable despite his cranky-ness. I love it when there's a animal side-kick. I want to get a cat and name it that.

I loved reading about the setting. Never Never was creepy but beautiful at the same time. As always I can never decide weather I would rather be in the Summer court or the Winter court. I like both. I love how Julie Kagawa intertwined her fae with little things from other stories like Peter Pan or A Midsummer Night's Dream or Narnia but kept her story original at the same time. There was so many different creatures some familiar and some not and I loved learning about them. The villain was especially interesting. Besides being evil and all I thought he was really cool.

Overall I think Julie Kagawa created an original, fascinating world that I can't wait to be expanded on and love-able characters I can't wait to learn more about. I need the The Iron Daughter like now. Maybe I'll have to steal it from Jasmine.
5/5 stars

-Marissa