Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publication: Harlequin Young Adult
Release Date: February 1st 2010
Pages: 363
Spoilers: Maybe some small ones.
I never have really talked about my obsession with this series, so I guess it’s good to tell you guys about my first fictional crush, one of my first book obsessions and me finding out that cats are actually the funniest animals on earth (“I’m a cat. So that explains.”) The Iron Fey series is written by talented Julia Kagawa and the first book in the series, The Iron King, was released exactly 4 years ago today, so it feels good to review the book today. The series contains 4 books; 3 of them are from the POV of Meghan, 1 of them is from the POV of Ash *blushes*. Yep, these books got me all emotional.
The stories starts by introducing our main character called Meghan Chase. She lives in what she calls a swamp and has to go to school by walking and by bus. Her father disappeared when Meghan was younger and her mom got a new boyfriend, Luke. Her mom and Luke got a baby, Ethan, and moved to the so called swamp. Meghan’s best friend, Robin, always knows how to make her laugh, even though she’s poor and she struggles with fitting in at school. One day, Meghan starts seeing things. Things that are like… scary and unrealistic. She thinks she’s having a breakdown, while actually she’s finally able to see what she always belonged to see; faeries.
I was like: wut? What’s happening. I didn’t like Meghan because she was complaining and didn’t actually take good care of herself. I didn’t like the way she was acting all innocent and maybe, just maybe, a bit witty. The moment Robin revealed his true nature to her and her little brother gets abducted by fearies, Meghan is taken to Nevernever by Robin. Robin Goodfellow. Puck. THE Puck. Luckily, it doesn’t cost her too much time to adjust to that. In Nevernever, she encounters the scariest and weirdest animals she’s ever seen. More determenid to get her brother, she meets her REAL father. Coincidence: Lord Oberon of the Summer Court is her father. She’s a half blood. And as usual, half bloods aren’t very popular.
Oberon doesn’t really like Meghan and is still mad at Puck – Robin – Puck, for not taking good care of Meghan, which has been his job since the day Meghan was born. They fight (verbally) and finally Meghan has to stay at the Summer Court, waiting for the Elysium. The Winter Court will visit the Summer Court, to discuss the peace treaty. Meghan struggles with staying at her father’s place, because she still has to find her brother. According to Puck, he could be anywhere.
Until then, I found the story very entertaining, but it wasn’t something I would like to read forever. It was okay, but it just kept dragging on. During the second part of the book, after the Elysium, everything gets SO MUCH BETTER.
Ash.
Prince Ash.
Finally he’s here, and even though he’s from the Winter Court, he asks Meghan to dance. They dance forever, until another monster emerges from out of nowhere. Winter and Summer fight against the monster, which ends up in a discussion about who got the monster in at the Elysium. Meghan sees her chance, after being saved by Ash, and gets away from Summer Court, together with the amazing Cait Sith, better known as Grimalkin. He’s the kinda cat you don’t want to have against you. He’s also the smartest animal in whole Nevernever, so Meghan is actually lucky to have him with her. At the other hand, he’s more sarcastic than anybody I’ve ever met or read about.
Meghan leaves Nevernever and goes off with Grimalkin to find a trod to Tir Na Nog: the place where all winter fae live. Meghan thinks Mab, queen of Winter and mother of Ash, has taken her little brother to some how impress her biological father, Lord Oberon. Grimalkin takes her to the trod, but they get in a LOT of trouble. Finally, Puck is back again, and they get into Tir Na Nog, facing a person Meghan though they didn’t really know. Ash promised to kill Puck (since… forever) but also promised to take Meghan to Queen Mab, who has the reputation of painfully killing anybody that stands in her way… .
Again, damn it. Ash’s sexiness just blurts from every page and I can’t believe how amazing he is. He’s like… perfect. I know it is totally cliche, but I LOVE him and his looks and EVERYTHING.
I’m not gonna spoil anything on the plot anymore, but DAMN. I get what Julie did in the beginning of the book: introducing Meghan, Nevernever and ofcourse the rivalry between the two courts. But I just really wanted to say this, because I know from my sister that she put down the book because she had trouble getting into it. But it is soooo worth it! Really! I just can’t believe how much I love the series. But this review is only about the first book – back to business.
Even though the first part of the book is slow paced, the second part of the book will make you wanna hold your breath until the very last page. It is sexy, mysterious, funny but also very exciting and sometimes a bit dark. Grimalkin is the funniest character in the book and all I can say is: “Bow down for the cat.” Also, I think Lord Oberon is put down in the book very carefully and I totally get him. All I can say about Ash is “PERFFF” and I can’t describe him any other way #sorrynotsorry. Puck, oh my dear Puck. The odds really never are in your favor, aren’t they? And Meghan? Well… Meghan actually goes trough some major changes and I even found myself liking her at three quarters of the book.
The ending is just AMAZING and also heartbreaking, but you’ll have to find out by yourself whether Meghan is going to find back her brother, or whether she will lose him – and other friends – forever.
P.s.: this bookseries is soooo underrated. So GO read it. GO GO GO. Also, tell your friends to read it. Tell everybody to read it! Even tell them to buy the series because the cover is so beautiful <3
– Review of book two in the series “The Iron Daughter” will be published a.s.a.p.! –
