Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Publication Date: October 25, 2011
by Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: review copy from publisher

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.

Before I say anything, can I just say how absolutely gorgeous this book is?  I mean, on the outside.  The cover is beautiful, the pages are all uneven on the side (which just looks cool).  I truly love it.  And now let's move on to the inside, because we all know you can't judge a book by it's cover (although I do it all the time).

This fourth book in the series was a bit slow to start.  Maybe even a lot slow.  And remembering that I didn't particularly love The Iron Queen, I have to say I wasn't especially excited to get to The Iron Knight.  Especially, and most importantly, because I've never really warmed up to Ash.  This book is dedicated to "Team Ash", and I'm most definitely not Team Ash.

Does that mean I hated the book?  Not really.  Once it picked up, it was quite an adventure.  It seems that the characters are hit with one thing after another, which is really not surprising since this is supposed to be a big quest for Ash to gain a soul.  And almost all I could think about was Spike going in search of a soul in Buffy.  This is not new stuff, for sure.

There were definitely some "huh?" moments throughout the book, but when I try not to think too hard about those, I can enjoy this for the fast-paced (at least the second half) adventure story that it is.  And Ash is very much flawed in the story, which is a nice change from the perfect, flawless boys in a lot of YA.  I think I even grew to like Ash as a character a little more, even though I still would have preferred Meghan ending up with Puck.  Oh well.

If you read and liked the previous three books in this series, it's a pretty sure thing that you'll like this one.  This is definitely not the place to start, though, so pick up The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, and The Iron Queen first.
Grade: B-

Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Publication Date: January 25, 2011
by Harlequin Teen
Genre: YA Fantasy
Source: Library


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.




The plot of The Iron Queen, and the previous two novels in the Iron Fey series, is really interesting to me.  I think it's creative.  The biggest problem, for me, is that Julie Kagawa fails to really bring it home.

The characters feel a bit wooden, especially Ash, who is supposed to be a swoonworthy love interest, and who mostly comes across as boring.  And Meghan.  Oh my, is she rather thick-headed at times.  There was one particular point where Grim (the talking cat) was trying to get her to figure something out, and the wheels were turning so slowly in her head that I think they might have actually been going backwards.  Puck, who was my favorite character in the past, isn't even as interesting.

All that said, I was fairly captivated by the story.  I kept turning pages to find out what would happen, which is always a good thing.  And I'm definitely interested enough to read the next book, which I will be reviewing mid-November.  I guess I just wish there was a little more oomph to the story.  A little more something special.  There's a lot of potential here.  Grade: C+   

The Iron Daughter

Title: The Iron Daughter
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Count: 359
Why I read it: 2nd in series
Grade: C+
Publication Date: August 1, 2010

Synopsis:
Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron Fey, iron-bound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's alone in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

My review:
Oy! I am so insanely tired of these YA fantasies where the girl is completely obsessed with a boy, to the point where she's willing to die for him (or she wants to die because he might not want her). To me, it's not romantic, it's obnoxious. Can't any authors ever just write a story where the focus is something else with a little bit of romance, and not where the romance takes over and everything else in the story becomes unimportant?

I thought Julie Kagawa had a good balance of story and romance in The Iron King, but with this second novel, it became another cliched YA romance. It was predictable, and even though there were times when Meghan wondered if Ash was using fairy glamour to manipulate her feelings, she didn't care. Let me repeat that--she was ready and willing to die for him, even though at times she suspected her feelings for him might have been forced on her. Why do YA authors do this? Can't we ever have strong female leads who don't have to have a boy to live? I don't mind some romance, but I feel like it's getting ridiculous.

I do love the setting, and the rich world that Kagawa has written. Puck is a fantastic character, and my favorite by far. I will continue on with the series, because the writing is good and I want to see where it goes. But I need to read something besides YA for awhile--or find some YA with girls that can stand on their own (like Tamora Pierce's Alanna).

The Iron King

Title: The Iron King
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Count: 363
Why I read it: have the second one for review
Grade: B

Synopsis:
Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series. 

My review:
Reading the description of this one, I really thought it would be the typical "girl finds out she's supernatural and/or meets someone who is supernatural, they fall in love, but the love is doomed." And while there is some love here, that's really not the focus of the book, and for that I'm glad.

Meghan is a strong character who is not afraid to do hard things for the people she cares about. There were really only a small handful of main characters in this quest-like story, but I liked them all. Although there are a lot of the typical fairy story elements here, there is also a lot that is original and new.

I would recommend this one to fans of YA fantasy, and to those who like strong female leads.