Review: The Iron King

Title: The Iron King (Book 1 of The Iron Fey Series)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA Fantasy




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. - Goodreads



A modern Fae novel mingles with Shakespearean characters?

Say "Hello" to one new series obsession of mine!

From the first page of The Iron King, I was enthralled and thrown right into the book. Maybe it is indeed magical.

I've always been a fanatic with fae stories. One of my all-time favorites being the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. Perhaps it's my Irish heritiage shining through... or just simply that the creatures are truly some of the most amazing legends to learn about. There are so many types... such a wide range of different species of Fae that it's completely mind-blowing.

See. There I go. Getting a bit off-topic because, well, the story revolves around a huge topic that I've always been addicted to.

I liked Meghan's character. She had her strong points and weak points. Flaws and traits that stood out to make her seem real. She was a bit stubborn at times, casual, loyal, and brave.
But, her driving loyalty and bravery became her weaknesses. Other points that made her feel as if she were real. These are traits that are found in people in the everyday real-world, and I quite enjoyed that. I wasn't reading flat, fake characters... or characters of people that were "just too good to be true".

Prince Ash. Well, I would be lying if I said I didn't think fondly of him. I distinctly remember calling him: "literary eye-candy".
There were a few times, though, were I felt both his and Meghan's "feelings" were a little rushed maybe- but this tends to happen a lot in books as of recently and I've started getting to a point where I think that if the romance is done well, then I might not mind the rushing as much. It just depends, I guess. However, other authors/novels who take more time with their characters get more bonus points from me.
I was happy to see there was nothing real major as far as romance- not a huge rush- and I don't want to spoil anything, of course, but glad to see that there's plenty of room for development for the coming installments that I still have yet to read.

I was a little disappointed, admittedly, that Queen Mab didn't get to play a larger role. I hope to see her more later in the series. Adored Puck, though! And if you didn't know by now, I am a HUGE Shakespeare geek. Haha!

Grimalkin. Now, who did he remind me of? Ah.. yes. Cheshire. How could I not love that cat? I want Grimalkin. I want him to come live with me right now. :)

The details put into this were obviously done with great care and style. There were such rich descriptions- beautiful and vivid- I could practically imagine everything as if it were right in front of me. It was action-packed and emotional. Compelling and heart-stopping.
There really are no amount of other words to say other than: I loved this book!

I certainly will be continuing on with this series and can't wait to read more!

4.5 stars!