Scan barcode
A review by laurenjodi
Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead
3.0
Iron Crowned
3 Stars
Rather than rehash all of the points mentioned in review after review, suffice it to say that Iron Crowned has its ups and its downs.
Let’s start with the positives. The overall story arc and world building make for entertaining reading and the specific storyline revolving around Eugenie and Dorian’s ongoing conflict with Katrice and the quest for the Iron Crown have tremendous potential. Moreover, the last few chapters of the book are action-packed with several compelling twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat.
Unfortunately, none of this succeeds in compensating for the negatives in the book. First and foremost, Eugenie has overtaken MacKayla Lane of Fever fame as the most unlikable of all UF heroines. Yes, Mac is an annoyingly vain and insipid twit, but this can be forgiven as she is a fundamentally good and caring person. The same cannot be said for Eugenie whose fickle, selfish, condescending and hypocritical nature make it virtually impossible to care about her one way or the other! This is only compounded by her for which there is absolutely no justification.
The love triangle is also becoming utterly ridiculous and the sex scenes are excessive. Kiyo has to be the most odious almost-hero to grace the pages of a book and it is completely incomprehensible to me that Eugenie would give him the time of day let alone. Hopefully, she has seen the light now that he has , but I’m not holding my breath.
Roland and Eugenie’s mother are not much better. The former basically while the later - how lovely! Tim's Indian act is also starting get on my nerves as it is actually racist and insulting to Native Americans.
The only two redeeming characters are Jasmine and Dorian. It turns out that despite her obnoxious teen act, Jasmine is a loyal and dependable sister to Eugenie (not that this is at all deserved) and I ended up liking her quite a bit. Dorian continues with his Machiavellian ways, but that is not unexpected, and he is also completely charming and loves Eugenie unconditionally not that she deserves it. In fact, he is far too good for her.
So, it turns out that I rehashed some points after all but they are simply too aggravating to ignore. Thankfully, the next book is the last and I can only hope that Mead manages to salvage something from Eugenie’s character.
3 Stars
Rather than rehash all of the points mentioned in review after review, suffice it to say that Iron Crowned has its ups and its downs.
Let’s start with the positives. The overall story arc and world building make for entertaining reading and the specific storyline revolving around Eugenie and Dorian’s ongoing conflict with Katrice and the quest for the Iron Crown have tremendous potential. Moreover, the last few chapters of the book are action-packed with several compelling twists and turns that had me on the edge of my seat.
Unfortunately, none of this succeeds in compensating for the negatives in the book. First and foremost, Eugenie has overtaken MacKayla Lane of Fever fame as the most unlikable of all UF heroines. Yes, Mac is an annoyingly vain and insipid twit, but this can be forgiven as she is a fundamentally good and caring person. The same cannot be said for Eugenie whose fickle, selfish, condescending and hypocritical nature make it virtually impossible to care about her one way or the other! This is only compounded by her
Spoiler
cheating and betrayal of DorianThe love triangle is also becoming utterly ridiculous and the sex scenes are excessive. Kiyo has to be the most odious almost-hero to grace the pages of a book and it is completely incomprehensible to me that Eugenie would give him the time of day let alone
Spoiler
have revenge sex with himSpoiler
become completely rabid and willing to kill two innocent babiesRoland and Eugenie’s mother are not much better. The former basically
Spoiler
disowns the step-daughter he claims to love because she does not live up to his exacting expectationsSpoiler
chooses her husband over her daughterThe only two redeeming characters are Jasmine and Dorian. It turns out that despite her obnoxious teen act, Jasmine is a loyal and dependable sister to Eugenie (not that this is at all deserved) and I ended up liking her quite a bit. Dorian continues with his Machiavellian ways, but that is not unexpected, and he is also completely charming and loves Eugenie unconditionally not that she deserves it. In fact, he is far too good for her.
So, it turns out that I rehashed some points after all but they are simply too aggravating to ignore. Thankfully, the next book is the last and I can only hope that Mead manages to salvage something from Eugenie’s character.