Friday, October 14, 2011

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa Review

Title: The Iron King (Iron Fey #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Fairies
Page Count: 363 pages
Publish Date: February 1, 2010
Book Type: Owned Paperback
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
ISBN: 9780373210084
Picture from Amazon
From Goodreads: 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.
My Review (I’m trying not to give any spoilers here): This cover has half of a face, but I don’t even care. I love, love, love the use of the font here and how the swirls continue throughout the cover. Plus, every cover in the series looks great together. They will be awesome sitting on my bookshelf once I acquire The Iron Queen and The Iron Knight (non-ARC version). “The Iron King is a must read!”... well, I would have to agree Gena Showalter. “Iron, ice, a love doomed from the start.” Why did I wait so long to start these books?! I actually think these books would make amazing movies. I’m only about 2/3 of the way through the second, but they seem to have a very cinematic value to them.
There are some amazing characters in The Iron King. I knew from the start that I would like Robbie. He’s a little bit of a prankster, but I could tell right away that he truly cared for Meghan. Speaking of Meghan, she is a really good main character. I thought the way that she handled some of the tough situations that came her way was really realistic. She has a very natural narrative voice. Another favorite character of mine is Grimalkin. This is saying a lot because, much like Robbie/Puck, I DO NOT LIKE CATS. I’m allergic and they creep me out, but Grim is amazing. He is calculating, but totally comes through in a pinch. 
The action and adventure scenes in The Iron King were awesome. I loved all of the fighting and chase scenes. Julie Kagawa has a true way with words. I could absolutely picture everything from this fantasy world that she was describing. 
I loved how some of the fairy/faery aspects from The Sookie Stackhouse books could be found in The Iron King as well. Maybe this is true for all fae books? I’m not that familiar with them. You guys, I think I finally found a book review I’m super passionate about again! It hasn’t been over a year or anything since I’ve been this passionate. *insert heavy sarcasm* This is why this review sort of just seems to be me yelling incoherently. Sorry.   
My one gripe for the story is that there is a bit of insta-love. You can judge for yourselves how you feel about that aspect of the story.
Have you started this series yet? If not, why? ;) Let me know what you think in the comments!

3 comments:

  1. Even with the insta-love (which yeah, I agree, was a little bit unrealistic), I still LOVE LOVE LOVE this series! Can't wait for the next one to come out!

    Awesome review!


    Smiles!
    Lori

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  2. @LoriStrongin

    I love it too! I can't wait to start The Iron Queen tonight. I can't believe I waited so long to start this series.

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  3. The insta-love was annoying, but the book still rocks :D

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