The Iron King (Iron Fey, #1)

by Julie Kagawa

Enter a fantastical world of dangerous faeries, wicked princes and one half-human girl who discovers her entire life is a lie.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared when she was six. Ten years later, when her little brother also goes missing, Meghan learns the truth--she is the secret daughter of a mythical faery king and a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she loves, 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.

Books and novellas in the Iron Fey series:
The Iron King (special edition includes "Winter's Passage"* ebook novella)
The Iron Daughter (special edition includes the "Guide to the Iron Fey"*)
The Iron Queen (special edition includes "Summer's Crossing"* ebook novella)
The Iron Knight (special edition includes "Iron's Prophecy"* ebook novella)
The Lost Prince
The Iron Traitor
The Iron Warrior

*Also available in The Iron Legends anthology

Books in the Iron Fey: Evenfall series:
The Iron Raven

• ISBN10: 0373210086
• ISBN13: 9780373210084
• Publish Date: 26 January 2010 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Mills & Boon
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[notajammiedodger]

I didn't love this book all that much. It was kind of a disappointment. It sounded so interesting and the series is so popular that I had to give it a go, and then I finally got the first one.

I didn't love it when I had finished it and it took me about a week or so to figure out what it actually was, I just felt as though it was missing something. I just didn't fall in love with the characters. That caring and worrying about what was going to happen to them was absent for me. I am quite sure why. I had been deciding whether or not to continue the series and see where it goes for a while. I just got the e-books for the next two on my kindle, so I am going to read them and see how I go. Hopefully I start liking it because I absolutely adore books are faeries.

[Amanda]

Original review: http://onabookbender.com/2011/09/02/review-the-iron-king-by-julie-kagawa/

Perhaps that I had been warned it might take time before I got into the book better prepared me than if I hadn’t known. It did take a bit before I settled into the story, but the aforementioned knowledge and a nasty case of cramps (TMI? sorry; reading keeps my mind off the pain) kept me pushing forward. Also, I was slightly weirded out by the names at the very beginning because Kyle has a sister-in-law named Meghann and a brother named Luke. And I’ve got a friend whose son — who is 4 — is named Ethan. Coincidences are fun, no? Maybe it is for this reason many fictional characters have such unique names. Anyway. The Iron King was the first book (I think) I’ve read set in the fae world and about them as well. Other books have features fae characters, either as enemies or very uneasy and untrustworthy allies, so this was an interesting change of pace.

Meghan struck me as naive and somewhat annoying at the beginning of The Iron King. A couple times I had to roll my eyes at what she got into. It was probably necessary for the story to move forward, but it still made me roll my eyes. Once Puck, Ash, Meghan and Grim all got together on their adventure, I started getting pulled into the story. I really enjoyed the four of these characters together, and the relationship (or lack thereof?) between Puck and Ash promise to make the next books in this series good ones.

I’m trying to decide whether the end would be considered a cliffhanger or not. To me, it’s a logical conclusion of the story while at the same time indicating that Meghan’s story isn’t over yet. And when you consider that The Iron King is the beginning of the series, it’s obvious Meghan’s story is far from being complete. And I will definitely pick up the next books, especially since they are supposed to get better from here. But I don’t feel forced to do this, like I did with other series that will remain nameless. *cough*feverseries*cough*

[inlibrisveritas]

I thought this to be a wonderful and fun book to both listen to on audiobook and actually read. I simply must give props to the reader for the audiobook, she has a lovely voice and does each character wonderfully. Her voice for Grimalkin made me think of a more prim and proper Cheshire Cat, more like the Cheshire from American McGee's Alice. And of course Kagawa made the Fae world so vibrant and real, her choice of wording really helped to bolster the story as well.

I found that this is one of those young adult novels that while it clearly has some themes a lot of people don't really want to expose to their teens (gang rape...no it doesn't happen but it is mentioned twice or the gore involved) it is done is such a way that while horrible, or somewhat explicit in nature it doesn't come off as over done or smutty. It's done in a rather tasteful way. Where as other young adult novels like to make things very pretty and erotic, or absolutely dirty and terrible. There is no nice medium. There is also a large vocabulary involved, which to me is surprising considering the target audience. I know it's wrong to say that those reading the young adult genre tend to fare best on the same ol' language but that's exactly what you find in most YA books. The same drab and simple language, this book actual gives you variety and made me feel better for it. Also the Fae are not "dumbed" down either, they are still the rather dark and yet mystifying beings they are portrayed to be in lore.

As for the story, I found it very original and refreshing. I could tell a lot of thought went into this and I want nothing more then to gush about all the little details involved but I won't because I'm sure I'd spoil things for you. The main character, Meghan, is almost your typical girl but she feels a little fresher, and of course there is seemingly a love triangle involved but thankfully it's not at the forefront as it is in so many other novels. It's important, yes, but it's not sooo important that it's ll that matters. Puck is as fun as you'd expect him to be if you're familiar with Midsummer Night's Dream, and Ash is the dark and dreamy guy who seems typical but as with Meghan feels a bit fresher. I loved the way Kagawa incorperated the Fae into 'our' world, and how they affect each other.

Overall this was a really thought and enjoyable book. I definitely recommend this to those who enjoy YA paranormal books, as well as those that enjoy Fae fiction. I'm really glad I had the chance to read this.

[Hixxup]

pretty damn good book, if I had the money I would buy the rest of the series that is out currently

[Linda]

This sure was a very different fairy book. It was good, but a little strange. If I could have given half stars, I'd have given it 3.5 but I rounded it up to four.
I am curioius about what's up next though, and will read the next book very soon :)

[Jo]

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. From Amazon US

I was really looking forward to reading this book! It sounded so good, and I was so excited to read it! Then after I read Sophie’s review over on So Many Books, So Little Time, I decided The Iron King would be the next book I would read. I finished it yesterday, and it took me eleven days to read – pretty long, even for me. Did I like the book? I just don’t know. Before I go into to whether I enjoyed it or not, let’s look at the positives.

I loved how this book was inspired by A Midsummer’s Night Dream! King and Queen of the Seelie Court? Oberon and Titania. Puck is an important secondary character. It’s mythology in this story is really cool; the fey are born from the dreams and imaginations of humans, when the dreams and belief fade away, so do the fey. According to this book, Shakespeare was inspired by Oberon, Titania, and Puck, and because his work is so well known, those fey are able to live on without fading. The idea that Shakespeare has kept these fey alive is just so cool, like it could be true.

There are a few things in Sophie’s review I have to agree with. Firstly, I’ve never read The Spiderwick Chronicles, but I have seen the film, and I agree that in some instances, what is described in the book has a similar feel to the movie version of Holly Black’s The Spiderwick Chronicles; the type of fey and what they looked like. This only happened a few times, the rest of the book was what I would call “standard fey”, the type of fey I’m now used to reading about; the sinister and scary, but beautiful and elegant fey. Another point I agree with Sophie about is that Grimaulkin, a talking fey cat, is so similar to the Cheshire Cat, just minus some of the creepiness. I actually really quite liked him, despite finding him annoying at first. His unbothered and arrogant ways, along with his dry wit, make him really amusing, his parts in the novel were some of the most enjoyable.

The plot was pretty unique, and fairly unpredictable, though I would say this is mainly because the book consists of a series of events that flow well into each other, and you just didn’t know what would happen next, rather than you didn’t know the general direction the book was taking. I’m not an expert on folklore, so I could be wrong, but it didn’t feel like much of the story was based on actual folklore – being called The Iron King and being inspired by Shakespear, you would kind of guess that, but I’m not entirely sure if the other elements of the story were all that folklore based. Compared to some other fey books I’ve read, it didn’t feel it, it felt like it was pretty much imagined, which adds to the uniqueness of the story; you’re not sure how this fey story is going to go, because it’s different to the others. It was refreshing.

Now to the negatives that make me unsure. It’s always going to depend on the type of book whether or not I like it when a lot is going on in a book. With this book, it put me off. As I said, the series of events do flow, but it felt at times like there was just obstacle after obstacle, and that Meghan wasn’t finding out anything helpful for her for the reason she was in the Nevernever – Faeryland – in the first place. At times it just didn’t feel like it was getting anywhere, which is why it took me so long to read; it just didn’t grab me.

Meghan is one of those characters who just seems to keep making bad decisions or choices. People have commented in their own reviews before about characters like this in books I’ve loved, but I feel this was a little extreme. I just wanted to shake her sometimes. However, her heart was in the right place, and she was very selfless. Robbie was a pretty nice guy, and I grew to like Puck, but at first he was just too much with his jokes about situations that were just unnecessary. Ash, I don’t really know what to say. Ok, he was gorgeous, but I didn’t feel there was much personality. I also didn’t feel there was much chemistry between Meghan and him either. When they danced was the only time I felt it.

I didn’t completely dislike the book, there is much about the book I did enjoy, it was just that the book didn’t hook me in and that the characters were a little flat and annoying, in my opinion. I will definitely be reading the next in the series, The Iron Daughter, which comes out in August, I want to find out what’s going to happen next, because this plot is just so unique. Hopefully there will be a little more depth to the characters in the next one.

Please read some other reviews before making a decision. Don’t write the book off because my review wasn’t glowing, it may be your cup of tea.

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog