Author: Julie Kagawa
Publication Date: 10/25/2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 386
Source: e-ARC

My name - my True Name - is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.

I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…

Meeting Meghan Chase was the last thing Ash could have ever expected to do - even more so when he found out she was an unknown missing daughter of the Summer Court. That is, until she became the Iron Queen and Ash found himself physically separated from the girl he had sworn his life to protect. As the last prince to the Winter throne, Ash had to make a choice: find a way to get to her or give her up entirely. His fall then began with a girl, but also a cat, sworn enemy, and a few surprises to aid him on his way. Every fall, after all, has an end.

Let me start off by saying that from the moment I picked up The Iron King and met Ash I knew that we would get on fabulously. There was something abut the way Julie wrote him with just the right amount of standoffishness that hinted that there was something hiding beyond his straight-faced façade. While he was very much part of Meghan's story, it was clear that Ash also had one of his own. One of the best things about this series has been Julie's clever usage of novellas that allow us a glimpse behind-the-scenes for some crucial moments, that, for me, made all the difference in how the characters were developed and my view of them. After Summer's Crossing and seeing Puck's POV I knew that seeing the world from Ash's head would not disappoint.

There were two aspects of this book that I loved above all else. The first being the development of the relationship between Puck and Ash. You can't hate someone as much as Ash hates Puck without first having had a really close friendship, and this is something that's explored with great success here. I will say, however, that there were some Puck moments that I found slightly overbearing ("ice-boy, ice-boy"), although that could be possibly be intentional as Ash would undoubtedly think the same after spending 24/7 with his favorite frenemy. The second is something that I don't want to spoil for you... but I have to say that I absolutely adored the ending. It's possibly one of my favorite things that a storyteller can do when done well, and it worked. There came a point about 3/4 way through that left me slightly uncertain about how I was feeling about the story and then it came out of nowhere and I was hooked. Everything clicked and made sense.

If you haven't started the Iron Fey series, now is the best possible time to do so. All four books are released and at the ready for you to dive in, and, trust me, you want to have more than one on hand because the story is perfect and thoroughly addicting. The Nevernever is an endlessly curious place full of magic and surprises, and Julie's continuing theme of exploring the human impact of the Nevernever and its continued existence from the hopes and dreams of the human world never ceased to amaze me. There's really something in this book, and all those before it, for everyone to explore and fall into.

A perfect ending to an utterly captivating series.

This ARC was received from HarlequinTeen via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event courtesy of Breaking the Spine that showcases much anticipated upcoming releases.

The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publishing date: 10/25/2011

blurb from yours truly:

After saving Faerie from the false Iron King and stepping in to become the Iron Queen, Meghan is separated from her family, friends, and Ash to rebuild her corner of the world. Not willing to accept this finality Ash and Puck go on a journey to, presumably, find a way to visit Meghan without finding themselves poisoned as a result.

This book will be told from Ash's POV.

Okay, so, permit me to freak out for a little bit because I absolutely love this series. I have been counting down the days for this cover reveal and the fact that it landed on a WoW day seems far too fortuitous. Might I also add that the interim novella, Summer's Crossing is out (free!) for your reading pleasure, as well? I haven't read it yet and is something I'll be devouring not long after this post.

Let me continue to freak out and say that the guy on the cover looks very close to how I imagined Ash. My Ash had sterner features, slightly more pronounced cheekbones and darker hair. What I anticipated their Ash to look like was a tall guy with long hair and I'm slightly relieved that that's not the case. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I feel like the ponytailed bad boys are prevalent enough.)

That cover? Perfection. Since the story is narrated by Ash this time around the deep blues and frosty whites are just spot-on. The font and text placement is not jumbled but sits prominently enough without being too in your face. Can you tell I love this series? Okay, I'm excited. Annnnnd I pre-ordered the book the other day via the Book Depository for $7.49 plus an additional 10% off through their sale that has been extended until Sunday.

So, yes, you could say this a book I'm definitely waiting on!

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publication Date: 08/01/2010

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 359

Source: Purchased

 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—ironbound 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 stuck 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. (goodreads)

At the end of The Iron King Meghan had definitely saved her brother, Ethan, seemingly saved Nevernever, and returned to her home to reunite with her mom and stepdad. Happily ever after?

Fortunately for us it doesn't quite end that way. Right before Meghan can launch into a meaningful heart-to-heart with her mom, Ash quietly sweeps in and comes to bring Meghan to the Winter Court - a faery always fulfills their vow. The gap in between that story and The Iron Daughter is provided in the novella Winter's Passage*. We do get a bit of a summary at the beginning of the book, but there's more nitty gritty in the whole thing so it's worth the read if you have the chance.

While at the Winter Court we find out that Ash is the youngest and that of his two older brothers, one is slightly nuts and the other is potentially nice. During a party to celebrate the return of the Scepter of the Seasons from Summer to Winter, the scepter is stolen semi-secretly by the Iron Fey. Meghan gets caught up in a fight to protect it, with Ash eventually coming to her aid to spirit her back to the Summer Court before a war can break out over the theft, with Summer erroneously being blamed.

Many a time in The Iron Daughter does Ash display distancing behavior. The novella, and the beginning of this book, both allude to reasons behind it. He had warned Meghan that he would not be able to be trusted in Tir Na Nog (Mean Mama's Realm) but also that he would protect her as long, of course, as he wasn't directly commanded to kill her. As a reader it was a smidgen difficult for me to suspend disbelief  and that somehow Ash had given up on her and had become a heartless stranger, even though he did it so well. At times I wanted to yell at the book, "Hey, Meghan, your boyfriend's pretending to suck so his mean mama doesn't kill you any earlier." That said, I could empathize with her as regardless of logic, sometimes your heart wins out.

I have to say, though, that Meghan Chase is one strong female character, and I think that's a large part of why I really enjoy these books. She's not a simpering girl waiting for her prince to come, nor is she easily influenced. Even though she goes through a lot she never gives up. When Ash leaves her behind, she keeps on going for his - now hers, too - world. She speaks up to her father, Queen Mab, and above all she defends her family and loved ones something fierce. Meghan's grown a lot even from the previous book, and it's nice that there are some introspective moments where she too realizes it.

The fantastic world building continues here and one of the best things about it is that we always have Grimalkin to be the voice of narrative reason to supply the reader with deductions that the other characters would never have offered up. Okay, here's my favorite Grim quote:

"I am a cat."

So finite and blasé in a feline way that it's just perfect. If he could shrug lazily while saying it I think that he would. We also have the return of Puck! I didn't realize how much I had missed his jovial commentary until we were left with Meghan alone in the Winter Court. (Hey, she had a right to be depressed!) They really do balance each other out well personality wise. There's a lot that happens with him and some other characters that is quite surprising. There are some mysteries that are offered up, some predictable, most not. Can I say we also have the return of Ironhorse? And I really enjoyed him? Think on that, folks!

Overall there's a lot of everything exciting and good from the previous book: a great landscape, action, lovely character building, tons of Iron Fey, and, oh maybe some romance. Maybe a lot more romance. Puck or Ash? I won't tell.

It's difficult to follow up a fantastic initial book of a series, but it was done here.

*Winter's Passage is available as a free download until April 31st.

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publication Date: 01/01/2010

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 363

Source: Library

 Synopsis: 

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)

I should probably start off by saying that I was extremely hesitant to read this. For some reason books about faeries don't sit well with me, mainly because I've only read a few before and while they were okay - well, that's the problem. They were just okay. Nothing was there to take it to the next level. So I came into this book with a bit of skepticism but I came out of it with a healthy appreciation for just how well it can be done. Julie Kagawa crafted a well-rounded setting for her story that not only made it as believable as faeries can be, but also wrote with such a great first-person narrative that had just the right amount of teenage perspective thrown in to make Meghan's character really work. 

We begin with Meghan Chase, who is just about to turn 16, having moved to rural Louisiana when she was 6. Her family are pig farmers which doesn't leave much money to toss around and so they live on the outskirts both socially and geographically. Her best friend in the area is a boy her age, Robbie Goodfell, who shares a bus stop with Meghan. On her sixteenth birthday everything changes when her little brother is kidnapped and replaced with a changeling, leaving Robbie to reveal to Meghan that in order to save him they must journey to a place called Nevernever, the faery realm. I initially had a difficult time with the concept as I fully expected it to be a realm of the little buggers from Pan's Labyrinth flying about everywhere with Summer and Winter Courts and a lot of bickering. The name Nevernever was just Peter Pan to me and so the next 10 or so pages were me getting used to the surrounding. 

And I'm very glad I did. The setting, and the concept surrounding it, is probably my favorite part of the book and was quite creative. The idea is that Nevernever is created out of the dreams, imagination, and creativity of the human world. As long as humans create stories, art, music, etc., the Nevernever lives on. However the plot touches on how humans are so now enamored with technology for everything that we are losing out on nature and our own creativity. With the evolution of technology a third court was created, the secretive Iron Court which is a testament to the change of dreams from stories to scientific advancements and defined answers. Julie Kagawa, I have to tell you, I thought this was absolutely wonderful. With the advent of technology our own inherent and natural artistry becomes just that: Nevernever Land. This absolutely cemented it for me.  

The faery realm existed not only of faeries, but mermaid and dryads and ogres - the whole mythical assortment. Their inclusion helped to flesh out Nevernever and made everything vibrant and created something I could envision while reading. Grimalkin, a cat (but not just a cat!), is probably my favorite character of the book. Sarcastic, honest, but loyal and wholly unpredictable. Grim's character helped balance out Robbie's (now Puck, in Nevernever) penchant for viewing the world, as Meghan says, as 'a colossal joke'. However much of a prankster Robbie may be, his steadfastness to his friend made him really endearing. Not to mention he's a ginger. I love gingers. 

One thing that surprised me about Robbie is that it was easy to tell from the get-go that he harbored some serious feelings for Meghan but she was either blind to them (and that's what it seemed like from her POV) or just didn't know how to respond. When Ash, the Winter Prince, was introduced it was interesting to see the antagonism between them from Meghan's perspective. Robbie's her best friend, but Ash is this curious creature who is no-nonsense, cold and unpredictable - and he just happens to be someone that Robbie has serious history with. The progression of Meghan's relationship with them both was done really well and I'm interested to see how it plays out in the future. For the record: I like them both and I'm curious to learn a bit more about each. 

The Iron King has adventure, strong characterization, and just the right touch of romance that made it a well-rounded read that I think quite a lot of people will enjoy. This is a book I will be adding to my bookshelf and I'm so glad I have the sequel in hand so I can start right away.

This question comes on the heels of my starting Julie Kagawa's The Iron King last night. As I started it I knew about 40 or so pages in that it was something I would have to go out the next day and get the sequels to as I had again fallen into the book zone. The book zone, for me, is when I start a book series, decide while reading the first book that I love it, and have to have the subsequent books ready to go immediately after the first is finished.

I see this as a good and a bad thing. Good because there is no break in the story and I can immediately jump into what comes next without having to wait a year for it to be released. Bad in that I just can't stop reading and then when I'm done, I'm done.

Thank you again, library, for having all three available for my literary consumption. I'll try and take a break (gasp! horror!) in between so that I can review each book in their own right without mixing storylines.

Does anyone else fall into the book zone? When do you know in the first book that you just have to keep going?