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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this one, but I haven't decided if I'll read the sequels. Ever since reading Holly Black, I'm a bit partial to fey/faerie stories. Some of the mistakes the MC makes are very painfully obvious, especially just after she enters Nevernever. There are some standard YA components that aren't my favorite but that I could deal with.
I liked the interactions between Meghan and her brother at the beginning of the book and the hints that something isn't quite right. I love Grim as a character, and would definitely want to see more of him in the future books.
I liked the interactions between Meghan and her brother at the beginning of the book and the hints that something isn't quite right. I love Grim as a character, and would definitely want to see more of him in the future books.
I bought The Iron King as an ebook ages ago, but hadn't gotten around to reading it until recently. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. Don't get me wrong, the cover is gorgeous and the premise sounded fun, but as much as I love Shakespeare (and I do love me some Shakespeare) I wasn't sure I wanted a whole story about an American Teen in King Oberon's Court.
Ye who fear Shakespeare, fear not! Kagawa's world building is magnificent - and no stuffiness to be found. (The Bard forgive me.)
Meghan Chase, our heroine, is an average teen girl whose insecurities and difficulties mostly stem from economical and social class issues. Her family is poor, and all her classmates are aware of it. Meghan at points seems to wear it as a badge of honor. She's not a genius, but she's smart. She doesn't think she's the hottest thing since sliced French bread, but she (as far as I remember) doesn't think she's the ugliest stick in the woods either, which I appreciated. I like my lead characters to have some semblance of self-confidence.
For example, after she discovers Robbie's true identity and he does his "trick" with the crows, I especially appreciated her total and complete freak out. It wasn't some ho-hum moment where she knew it all along or wasn't phased because he'd been her best friend forever. It's a legitimate what-the-heck-is-my-life-right-now moment and it's fantastic.
Also fantastic? Puck. He's hilarious and dangerous and is willing to defy his King to assist Meghan in her quest to rescue her little brother. *insert girly sigh here*
I also loved Ethan, Meghan's younger brother. He's absolutely adorable.
There's a lot of action and adventure in this story, which keeps it moving at almost break neck speed as Meghan and her companions try to navigate the NeverNever to accomplish her mission of finding Ethan and discovering her own identity in the world of the fey. Meghan grows as the story goes along, and she becomes pretty savvy, even if she makes a few unfortunate deals. (The fey take their deals very, very seriously.) All though, one such deal brings us the character Grimalkin, who is the most awesome cat. If this ever gets made into a movie, Alan Rickman needs to be the voice of Grimalkin. That's how awesome this cat is.
And yes, there is the complicated fact that Meghan finds herself attracted to the Winter Prince, Ash. I'm not overly fond of Ash in this first outing, but I'm willing to give him a chance in volumes to come.
Over all, I very much enjoyed the Iron King and will certainly be continuing on with the series to find out what happens to Meghan, Puck, Ash, and Grim.
Gabi Books It
Ye who fear Shakespeare, fear not! Kagawa's world building is magnificent - and no stuffiness to be found. (The Bard forgive me.)
Meghan Chase, our heroine, is an average teen girl whose insecurities and difficulties mostly stem from economical and social class issues. Her family is poor, and all her classmates are aware of it. Meghan at points seems to wear it as a badge of honor. She's not a genius, but she's smart. She doesn't think she's the hottest thing since sliced French bread, but she (as far as I remember) doesn't think she's the ugliest stick in the woods either, which I appreciated. I like my lead characters to have some semblance of self-confidence.
For example, after she discovers Robbie's true identity and he does his "trick" with the crows, I especially appreciated her total and complete freak out. It wasn't some ho-hum moment where she knew it all along or wasn't phased because he'd been her best friend forever. It's a legitimate what-the-heck-is-my-life-right-now moment and it's fantastic.
Also fantastic? Puck. He's hilarious and dangerous and is willing to defy his King to assist Meghan in her quest to rescue her little brother. *insert girly sigh here*
I also loved Ethan, Meghan's younger brother. He's absolutely adorable.
There's a lot of action and adventure in this story, which keeps it moving at almost break neck speed as Meghan and her companions try to navigate the NeverNever to accomplish her mission of finding Ethan and discovering her own identity in the world of the fey. Meghan grows as the story goes along, and she becomes pretty savvy, even if she makes a few unfortunate deals. (The fey take their deals very, very seriously.) All though, one such deal brings us the character Grimalkin, who is the most awesome cat. If this ever gets made into a movie, Alan Rickman needs to be the voice of Grimalkin. That's how awesome this cat is.
And yes, there is the complicated fact that Meghan finds herself attracted to the Winter Prince, Ash. I'm not overly fond of Ash in this first outing, but I'm willing to give him a chance in volumes to come.
Over all, I very much enjoyed the Iron King and will certainly be continuing on with the series to find out what happens to Meghan, Puck, Ash, and Grim.
Gabi Books It
Cover: LOVE! It's absolutely gorgeous! I mean, just look at it. It grabs your attention and makes you want to find out what it's all about. And I love the title. I haven't seen many other reviewers talk about their love for them but I think titles are an extremely important part of the book. It has to explain the book while being intriguing and The Iron King does a great job at that.
Characters: At first I wasn't a fan of Meghan or Robbie. I found Meghan a little dull and couldn't understand her crush on the boy at the beginning of the book. And I found Robbie to be a little annoying. I struggled to read through the beginning but I am so happy I did because I saw Meghan become a stronger, loyal character that grew into her own while she learned the truth about herself. And Robbie became Puck (I love A Midsummer Night's Dream!) with secret talents and a way with words and who was hard not to love in the fairy world. And then there is Ash. Sigh, Ash. Talk about bad boy to the nth degree who is simply irresistible. I'm still not sure who I love more--mischievous and loyal Puck or sexy and moody Ash. The other characters you meet along Meghan's journey are an amazing retelling of childhood fairy tales (Grimalkin the talking cat is my personal favorite).
Setting: Julie Kagawa does a superb job of describing and creating the world of Nevernever and the different fairy realms. I never felt bored or anxious to leave. And I loved how certain fairies and creatures lived in certain realms. I wanted to jump into the world and meet fairy princes and pack rats and satyrs. I'm ready to dive back in!
Plot: When I first heard about the Iron Fey series, I wasn't really interested. I don't usually like to read books about fairies but I kept hearing great things about them so I decided to give it a try. At the beginning I felt like the story had been told before and I worried I wouldn't enjoy it but once the changeling replaces her brother (NOT a spoiler, happens early in the book), I was hooked. I loved the creatures she met and that she was realistic in the ways she found herself getting in trouble. The ending felt a little rushed but I definitely want to read the sequel to see what else is going to happen to Meaghan and the fairy realm.
Overall: I really enjoyed this book and am dying to read the next book so I can spend more time in Kagawa's fairy world and with Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, and Meaghan. I'd suggest it for those who enjoy the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare and the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr or anyone who enjoys fantasy books, especially ones with fairies!
Characters: At first I wasn't a fan of Meghan or Robbie. I found Meghan a little dull and couldn't understand her crush on the boy at the beginning of the book. And I found Robbie to be a little annoying. I struggled to read through the beginning but I am so happy I did because I saw Meghan become a stronger, loyal character that grew into her own while she learned the truth about herself. And Robbie became Puck (I love A Midsummer Night's Dream!) with secret talents and a way with words and who was hard not to love in the fairy world. And then there is Ash. Sigh, Ash. Talk about bad boy to the nth degree who is simply irresistible. I'm still not sure who I love more--mischievous and loyal Puck or sexy and moody Ash. The other characters you meet along Meghan's journey are an amazing retelling of childhood fairy tales (Grimalkin the talking cat is my personal favorite).
Setting: Julie Kagawa does a superb job of describing and creating the world of Nevernever and the different fairy realms. I never felt bored or anxious to leave. And I loved how certain fairies and creatures lived in certain realms. I wanted to jump into the world and meet fairy princes and pack rats and satyrs. I'm ready to dive back in!
Plot: When I first heard about the Iron Fey series, I wasn't really interested. I don't usually like to read books about fairies but I kept hearing great things about them so I decided to give it a try. At the beginning I felt like the story had been told before and I worried I wouldn't enjoy it but once the changeling replaces her brother (NOT a spoiler, happens early in the book), I was hooked. I loved the creatures she met and that she was realistic in the ways she found herself getting in trouble. The ending felt a little rushed but I definitely want to read the sequel to see what else is going to happen to Meaghan and the fairy realm.
Overall: I really enjoyed this book and am dying to read the next book so I can spend more time in Kagawa's fairy world and with Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, and Meaghan. I'd suggest it for those who enjoy the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare and the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr or anyone who enjoys fantasy books, especially ones with fairies!
3.5 stars
The Iron King is the first book in Julie Kagawa’s urban fantasy series which brings fairies into the modern age. The main reason I picked up this book was the recommendations of my friends. The paranormal genre is one I’ve begun to stay away from after many disappointing reads, however, I thought I would give this a go as dark fairies sounded different to vampires and werewolves and the like.
My first impression was a negative one. The writing style doesn’t really do anything for me. Sometimes the wording doesn’t always flow and Meghan’s voice in the narrative feels quite immature at times. It took me a while to ‘get into’ the story, it was at least halfway through before I started to enjoy it and want to keep reading.
In terms of characters I found most of them to be quite weak. Meghan always seems to have to be rescued by others, frequently playing the ‘damsel in distress’ role and very rarely being able to use her brain. It takes until the last few chapters of the book before she is able to act on her own and fight for herself. The redeeming part of her characterisation is her determination to get her brother back no matter the consequences. Puck is a good character, always having a good line to add some humour. I didn’t connect with Ash much, though he grew on me as the book went on. Kagawa did a good job of presenting him as cold and unemotional. Grimalkin steals the show for me for most of the book, despite not being one of the three main characters. Grim’s characterisation is best of all the characters.
The changeling plot isn’t all that original and as the world of the fey is very much based on actual myths and legends there isn’t much room for Kagawa’s own world building (apart from a particular part of the world which is entirely her own creation but no spoilers). It didn’t take too long to establish the plot which I thought was good, Kagawa gets to the point quite quickly but once the ‘saving the brother’ storyline is established it takes ages for anything much to happen. I like the element of adventure the book has as a lot of similar YA books focus on romance and nothing much happens in them. Thankfully, the romance doesn’t dominate the story which is one of its saving points.
Overall, this book is much better than many paranormal YA novels and for once the romance is a side plot that hardly crops up rather than being the focus of the plot. I liked that there was adventure and some events were unexpected (though I wouldn’t say it was full of twists and turns, more of a sprinkling). The minor characters (especially Grimalkin) steal the show with Meghan being a very mediocre and at times annoying main character. I’ll be reading the next one at least because I bought the books together since they were on offer. I’ve heard they get better as they go along so hopefully I will enjoy the next one more.
Now I have to take a moment to compare this to Poison by Chris Wooding. This book is about a female main character called Poison who has to rescue her sister who has been swapped for a fairy changeling. These books have the same premise but Chris Wooding pulls it off a million times better. Poison is dark, adventurous, compelling, exciting, and void of irritating, whiny main characters. If you want to read a YA book about fairies pick this up. It is leagues superior to The Iron King.
The Iron King is the first book in Julie Kagawa’s urban fantasy series which brings fairies into the modern age. The main reason I picked up this book was the recommendations of my friends. The paranormal genre is one I’ve begun to stay away from after many disappointing reads, however, I thought I would give this a go as dark fairies sounded different to vampires and werewolves and the like.
My first impression was a negative one. The writing style doesn’t really do anything for me. Sometimes the wording doesn’t always flow and Meghan’s voice in the narrative feels quite immature at times. It took me a while to ‘get into’ the story, it was at least halfway through before I started to enjoy it and want to keep reading.
In terms of characters I found most of them to be quite weak. Meghan always seems to have to be rescued by others, frequently playing the ‘damsel in distress’ role and very rarely being able to use her brain. It takes until the last few chapters of the book before she is able to act on her own and fight for herself. The redeeming part of her characterisation is her determination to get her brother back no matter the consequences. Puck is a good character, always having a good line to add some humour. I didn’t connect with Ash much, though he grew on me as the book went on. Kagawa did a good job of presenting him as cold and unemotional. Grimalkin steals the show for me for most of the book, despite not being one of the three main characters. Grim’s characterisation is best of all the characters.
The changeling plot isn’t all that original and as the world of the fey is very much based on actual myths and legends there isn’t much room for Kagawa’s own world building (apart from a particular part of the world which is entirely her own creation but no spoilers). It didn’t take too long to establish the plot which I thought was good, Kagawa gets to the point quite quickly but once the ‘saving the brother’ storyline is established it takes ages for anything much to happen. I like the element of adventure the book has as a lot of similar YA books focus on romance and nothing much happens in them. Thankfully, the romance doesn’t dominate the story which is one of its saving points.
Overall, this book is much better than many paranormal YA novels and for once the romance is a side plot that hardly crops up rather than being the focus of the plot. I liked that there was adventure and some events were unexpected (though I wouldn’t say it was full of twists and turns, more of a sprinkling). The minor characters (especially Grimalkin) steal the show with Meghan being a very mediocre and at times annoying main character. I’ll be reading the next one at least because I bought the books together since they were on offer. I’ve heard they get better as they go along so hopefully I will enjoy the next one more.
Now I have to take a moment to compare this to Poison by Chris Wooding. This book is about a female main character called Poison who has to rescue her sister who has been swapped for a fairy changeling. These books have the same premise but Chris Wooding pulls it off a million times better. Poison is dark, adventurous, compelling, exciting, and void of irritating, whiny main characters. If you want to read a YA book about fairies pick this up. It is leagues superior to The Iron King.
The only redeemable thing about this book are the faery courts. Other than that Meghan is as basic as her name, the bad guy is defeated with little to no trouble, the love interest is supposedly some hardened ice faerie prince yet melts for this girl with almost no prompting, and a love triangle of ancient creatures over a 16 year old girl is not my jam. Even aside from characterization, I didn’t enjoy the tone of it. Very young YA feel and I think I’m too old for it. I’m giving it two stars because I did enjoy the world. Save yourselves some time and read Folk of the Air instead!
This book has a serious case of the "incredible premise but terrible writing" syndrome. I love Fae Books or Fey Books, and the idea of a new race of fey "the Iron Fey" immune to iron, which is deadly to the oldblood, and seemingly created by humans and our obsession with technology is brilliant. However, much of the book feels like the story is written by a middle school student just getting into creative writing. The sentences are choppy and the descriptions are lacking.
My second issue is just that there is too much going on at once.We've got Meghan Chase discovering that lo and behold the reason she doesn't fit in is because she's a half-breed. She's not fully fey, and she's not fully human. She is the Erlking's (Oberon, King of the Seelie Court) daughter. This means that she is the summer princess. The man she thought was her real father disappeared when she was six. Ok, that alone could have made for an interesting tale, especially when you factor in the addition of Prince Ash, son of Queen Mab of the Unseelie court, since winter and summer may never be together. Plus you've got Puck, yes the Puck or Robin Goodfellow, who is falling for Meghan and has a death grudge going with Ash. But on top of that you've got the Iron Fey, who are by far the most interesting part of the book for me; they've kidnapped her brother to lure her to them. See what I mean about too much to follow in a short book?
I will give Kagawa credit. She made very effective use of fey mythology, right down to Mab ruling the Unseelie court while Oberon and Titania ruled the Seelie court and the uneasy 'peace' if you could call it that, which keeps the balance of nature.
My second issue is just that there is too much going on at once.
I will give Kagawa credit. She made very effective use of fey mythology, right down to Mab ruling the Unseelie court while Oberon and Titania ruled the Seelie court and the uneasy 'peace' if you could call it that, which keeps the balance of nature.
OMG this book was a bunch of AWESOMENESS!!! From beginning to end cant wait to read the rest of the series
I would have never thought that I like this book as much as I did in the end.
Whilst there were a lot of scenes which I have already seen in almost every YA book ever, it didn't disturb me at all when reading this book. At some points I knew what was going to happen, but I nevertheless really enjoyed the story and the characters. Although I didn't connect to any of the characters immediately, I really grew to love some of them by the end of this book. Usually I do not read books about fairies, just because they are my least favorite type of paranormal creature, but I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to check out the rest of the series!
4.5 / 5 ★
Whilst there were a lot of scenes which I have already seen in almost every YA book ever, it didn't disturb me at all when reading this book. At some points I knew what was going to happen, but I nevertheless really enjoyed the story and the characters. Although I didn't connect to any of the characters immediately, I really grew to love some of them by the end of this book. Usually I do not read books about fairies, just because they are my least favorite type of paranormal creature, but I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to check out the rest of the series!
4.5 / 5 ★
I am a little torn with this one. On the one hand, I really enjoyed The Iron King. It was a fun, fast read, touching on lots of things that I love - faery lore, magic, mystical realms and otherworldliness and some romance. But at the same time, I was periodically putting the book down with a frown on my face, as something nagged at the back of my mind.
I absolutely loved all the allusions to other works - Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland, The Labryinth, Peter Pan (to name a few!) - but because of these references, I was faced with a weird sense of deja vu which permeated the entire story. It left me with an overall feeling of predictability, and thus, the lasting impression is one of unoriginality. I was really hoping Kagawa would blow me away with her ingenuity, and I was quite upset with how little of faery history she manipulated into something of her own devising. That being said, I did love the inclusion of the Iron Fae, and the explanation for their existence.
Meghan was a good protagonist, and charmingly reminded me a little of Bella with her clumsiness. There were definitely a couple of damsel-in-distress moments where I wanted to reach through the pages and grab her by the shoulders for a good shake, but she mostly redeemed herself in the end with her courage and bravery. I found her routine of embarking on a journey, stumbling into a dangerous situation, and being saved by one of her two faery escorts slightly irritating, but that was part of the predictability I mentioned earlier. I do wish that we had seen more of this "hidden" power that Meghan apparently has, as it is mentioned by several different characters throughout the book. We get to catch a glimpse at the end, but we're mostly just teased with morsels.
The one thing I really disliked about Meghan was her willingness to enter into a contract/deal with every creature from Faeryland that she encountered. Anyone who has any experience with Fey are aware of some cardinal things - no names, no dancing, no eating/drinking of their food and no deal making! Even after being warned of the dangers of entering into a rushed deal with a faery, Meghan is offering to "do anything" every time she runs into a problem. I wish she would have taken time to think things through before rushing headfirst into something she will be eternally bound to.
Being a sucker for forbidden love, I was intrigued by the flame blossoming between Meghan and Ash. Unfortunately my intrigue was undeserved, as their relationship bordered on love-at-first-sight. Other then the fact that he lost someone close to him and that he is a Prince of the Winter Court, I know nothing about Ash. I don't know his reasons for being attracted to Meghan, or her reasons for finding him so alluring - besides the shallow outer reasons of tall, dark and handsome (which she takes notice of repeatedly). There also seemed to be flickers of interest from Puck, which I hope were just my imagination - the last thing YA needs is another love-triangle. Not to mention the fact that Puck is centuries old and should be beyond feelings of fleeting interest for an awkward teenage mortal.
I did enjoy the world-building, and found that Kagawa was able to create such vivid imagery that I could very clearly picture the scenes in my head. I enjoyed all of the characters - even the seemingly menial characters were full of personality and came alive across the pages - but who hasn't read a faery story about a child being replaced with a changeling, and the resulting quest of a newly discovered half-faery/half-mortal royal to get him back? So while enjoyable, I found The Iron King underwhelmingly unimaginative.
I absolutely loved all the allusions to other works - Shakespeare, Alice in Wonderland, The Labryinth, Peter Pan (to name a few!) - but because of these references, I was faced with a weird sense of deja vu which permeated the entire story. It left me with an overall feeling of predictability, and thus, the lasting impression is one of unoriginality. I was really hoping Kagawa would blow me away with her ingenuity, and I was quite upset with how little of faery history she manipulated into something of her own devising. That being said, I did love the inclusion of the Iron Fae, and the explanation for their existence.
Meghan was a good protagonist, and charmingly reminded me a little of Bella with her clumsiness. There were definitely a couple of damsel-in-distress moments where I wanted to reach through the pages and grab her by the shoulders for a good shake, but she mostly redeemed herself in the end with her courage and bravery. I found her routine of embarking on a journey, stumbling into a dangerous situation, and being saved by one of her two faery escorts slightly irritating, but that was part of the predictability I mentioned earlier. I do wish that we had seen more of this "hidden" power that Meghan apparently has, as it is mentioned by several different characters throughout the book. We get to catch a glimpse at the end, but we're mostly just teased with morsels.
The one thing I really disliked about Meghan was her willingness to enter into a contract/deal with every creature from Faeryland that she encountered. Anyone who has any experience with Fey are aware of some cardinal things - no names, no dancing, no eating/drinking of their food and no deal making! Even after being warned of the dangers of entering into a rushed deal with a faery, Meghan is offering to "do anything" every time she runs into a problem. I wish she would have taken time to think things through before rushing headfirst into something she will be eternally bound to.
Being a sucker for forbidden love, I was intrigued by the flame blossoming between Meghan and Ash. Unfortunately my intrigue was undeserved, as their relationship bordered on love-at-first-sight. Other then the fact that he lost someone close to him and that he is a Prince of the Winter Court, I know nothing about Ash. I don't know his reasons for being attracted to Meghan, or her reasons for finding him so alluring - besides the shallow outer reasons of tall, dark and handsome (which she takes notice of repeatedly). There also seemed to be flickers of interest from Puck, which I hope were just my imagination - the last thing YA needs is another love-triangle. Not to mention the fact that Puck is centuries old and should be beyond feelings of fleeting interest for an awkward teenage mortal.
I did enjoy the world-building, and found that Kagawa was able to create such vivid imagery that I could very clearly picture the scenes in my head. I enjoyed all of the characters - even the seemingly menial characters were full of personality and came alive across the pages - but who hasn't read a faery story about a child being replaced with a changeling, and the resulting quest of a newly discovered half-faery/half-mortal royal to get him back? So while enjoyable, I found The Iron King underwhelmingly unimaginative.