ARC Review: The Iron Knight

Title: The Iron Knight
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: October 25th


Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice. --Goodreads


Thank you, NetGalley and HarlequinTeen, for the amazing opportunity to read this galley! Also a big thank you to Julie Kagawa for The Iron Fey series-- for giving readers this beautiful world and astounding characters.

I cried. I laughed. I smiled. My heart fluttered at times. And I cried some more. The Iron Knight went above and beyond everything I had hoped for. I knew it would. I just absolutely adore this series for everything it is. The romance and action. The characters. The amazing fantasy and world of Nevernever.

I became very sentimental knowing that this was the last installment of the series. I wasn’t ready for Meghan and Ash’s story to end, to see Puck and Grimalkin leave the pages, and even slowly watch Queen Mab fade away in the words. Yes, I’m a fan of Queen Mab, no matter how “evil” her character may be. I’m a huge Shakespeare fan, and her character has always been a favorite in all things. Of course, she didn’t make an appearance in this installment. Her name was mentioned a few times. I missed her here.

Grimalkin. Where do I begin here? Oh, you crazy, totally sarcastic loveable cat. You’d be perfect for me. I wish you were here. You would be great with conversation. Then again… you might get annoyed easily and disappear. After all, you’re a cat. A very smart one. ;) Grimalkin has been special to me since the beginning. He gave me a lot of laugh-out-loud moments. Never have I loved another cat character as much since Cheshire Cat.

Puck will always have a special place in my heart. He’s hilarious, sarcastic, and fun. Also very loyal. No matter how much him and Ash fought and threatened each other, he stuck around. That’s because deep down, Puck cared and it shows completely through every action he makes. Speaking of Puck, here’s some Puck-Love as well. I’m “Team Ash”, but he’s dear to me also. I love, love, love the cover of this installment. It features both Ash and Puck. Ash on the front (pictured at the top of the review), and Puck on the back. Here:

The Iron Knight brought on some new- very unlikely and shocking- characters. It was a great journey full of laughs and tears. I don’t want to go into too much detail for fear of spoilers. Let’s just say that if you have read this series, you will not be disappointed in this one at all. I absolutely loved Ash’s POV. The romance was enchanting. The writing was elegant and beautiful.

I could get lost in the world of Nevernever constantly. The Iron Fey series will most definitely be one I reread over and over. A top five favorite. The hardcopy will be purchased come release date to complete my series and proudly displayed in full on my shelf.

If you haven’t yet read this series, read it! It’s an incredible journey that I‘m sure you won‘t regret!

5 stars!








Which court would you choose if you were a part of the Nevernever?

The Iron Realm
Unseelie
Summer

I think I would choose The Iron Realm. I’m too addicted to technology at this point in my life. Haha. But, I also really like the appeal of Unseelie for some reason. Summer is usually too hot weather for my tastes.

Review: The Iron Queen

Title: The Iron Queen (Book 3 of The Iron Fey Series)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA Fantasy


My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back. --Goodreads



The Iron Queen is the third installment in the Iron Fey series and perhaps so far the most mind-blowing. Ms. Kagawa has continue to weave a fantastical world of characters and rich descriptions that I was left absolutely breathless.

This installment was my favorite by far. It was filled with more adventure and new characters, along with some of my favorite returning characters that were developed even deeper. Emotions ran high in this one, too. I cried my eyes out so much! And it really means a lot when a book can impact me that much on an emotional level... when I connect with the characters that much.

It's powerful, beautiful, fun, and romantic.

If you haven't read this series yet, you're missing out!

5 stars!

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!