Review: The Iron Knight

by Julie Kagawa
Age Recommendation: Young Adult
Paperback, 1st Edition, 361 pages
Published October 26th 2011 by Harlequin Teen
Series: The Iron Fey #4

Summary (from Goodreads):
Spoilers for the previous books in The Iron Fey Series, highlight to view.
Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

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.

This review contains spoilers for the first three books in the Iron Fey series.

Read my reviews of the earlier books: 

  Winter's Passage | The Iron Daughter | The Iron Queen | Summer's Crossing

My Review:
I enjoyed the earlier Iron Fey books, but I never quite got why people loved them so much. Reading The Iron Knight, I got it. the pace was a little but slow for the first third of the book, but there was so much to love, I ultimately didn't care about the slow pace in the face of so many other factors that I loved.

Don't expect to jump right in

Although Kagawa takes no time immersing the reader in the Nevernever  and (re)establishing Ash and Puck's love/hate friendship, the story meanders a bit in the beginning. The book opens with Ash and Puck searching for Grim, who will take them to a seer, who will tell them where they need to go to reach their ultimate goal - to get Ash a mortal soul so that he can live with Meghan in the Iron Realm without being harmed by the touch of iron. There's a lot of figuring out where to go in the beginning, setting up the journey, and while I liked being back with the characters, I wasn't all that interested in the journey while they didn't really know where they were going themselves.

A love... square?

Although Meghan has very little page time in The Iron Knight, Ash thinks about her a lot. But when Ariella turns up alive and joins their journey, everything becomes a mess. Ash is in love with both Ariella and Meghan, Puck is love with both Ariella and Meghan (although I felt bad for him as it seemed like although he was in love with both, he'd have to be satisfied with whoever Ash didn't choose... not that that worked out), Ariella and Meghan are rivals, and Ash and Puck pretend to be rivals but are actually friends. It makes for a tense group, but at some point it was enough. Ash seems to go through the same mental struggles over and over. Thankfully, the square was completely resolved by the end of The Iron Knight, with no strings left hanging.

More about Meghan

I was a little bit surprised at myself for missing Meghan. Although I liked her in The Iron Queen (you know, when she finally got some backbone), I never loved her character in general. But the little snippets of Meghan you get in The Iron Knight made me kind of wish she was there on their journey with them. Admittedly, that would make some of the scenes a little more difficult, but I wanted to see more of her.

Why this book WINS

Character development. Development of Ash, specifically. We, the readers, know Ash from the earlier Iron Fey books, but he's always a little cold, a little distant, never quite open to the reader. We got to know him as an outsider. But now, you really get to know him and you realize you barely scratched the surface before. Ash goes through so much development it is like – it IS seeing a new person emerge. In the beginning, he is The Winter Prince, who, although fun to read about, admittedly does not have as much depth as I like in my favorite characters. By the end, this is not the case. The development of all of the characters is admirable, but with Ash, you get an insight for the first time onto the character that you thought you knew so well.

Even more than simply being inside Ash's head, the memories that he regularly flashes back to, and the trials that he is forced to face in order to ear his soul really lets the reader get to know him as a character. Part of why he was so interesting in the first three books was the constant mystery surrounding him and how it seems like theres always something more to him that you’re not seeing. Reading The Iron Knight was like lifting that veil.

Overall Thoughts: There were some issues, but overall the good far outweighed the bad. If you liked the first three Iron Fey books, you will love The Iron Knight.

**Thank you to Small Review for letting me steal her review format. I didn't mean to, but it worked so perfectly for this review that I had to try it out. So thanks, Small.

Review: Summer's Crossing

by Julie Kagawa
Start Date: 4 October 2011
End Date: 4 October 2011
ebook, 72 pages
Published June 1st 2011 by Harlequin Teen

Summary(from Goodreads):
A Midsummer's Nightmare? Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Summer Court prankster, King Oberon's right hand, bane of many a faery queen's existence—and secret friend to Prince Ash of the Winter Court. Until one girl's death came between them, and another girl stole both their hearts.

Now Ash has granted one favor too many and someone's come to collect, forcing the prince to a place he cannot go without Puck's help—into the heart of the Summer Court. And Puck faces the ultimate choice—betray Ash and possibly win the girl they both love, or help his former friend turned bitter enemy pull off a deception that no true faery prankster could possibly resist.

Summer's Crossing is book No. 3.5 of The Iron Fey series. 
Click here for my review of book No. 1.5, Winter's Passage.
Click here for my review of book No. 2, The Iron Daughter.  
Click here for my review of book No. 3, The Iron Queen.

My Review:
Julie Kagawa can write really good books. This may seem obvious to anyone who has read her Iron Queen series, but that was the first thought that popped into my head when I finished Summer's Crossing. When I was trying to finish up my review for The Iron Queen yesterday, I realized that I'd already forgotten a lot of the finer details. Summer's Crossing was perfect for bringing it all back (just in time for The Iron Knight, yippee!) and it was a fun little story in itself.

I generally have trouble with novellas - they're too long to be a short story, and too short to be a full book - but I had none with Summer's Crossing. Summer's Crossing is very similar to Winter's Passage in that it doesn't contribute much (that I can tell) to the main storyline, but it is great for getting back into the world, and is mainly a side-story. Like Winter's Passage, it was written as an "in-between book."

One thing I was not prepared for, but ended up being one of my favorite parts: the entire novella is from Puck's POV. And Meghan is not in it at all. I just posted review yesterday where I talked about how Meghan is no longer as ridiculous and impulsive as she had been in the previous books, but I can't help but hold a slight grudge against her for the first 2 books. My point being that having a story only about Puck and Ash was lots of fun.

The interaction between Puck and Ash was a pleasure to read about, and it gave a good point of reference as to their friendship/rivalry, so it will be far easier getting into The Iron Knight, since I won't have to be constantly guessing whether they're friends or not (something I had to do a bit in the previous books).

*references to spoilers below, although I don't say anything directly*
The twist was, in hindsight, a bit obvious, although at the time, I had no idea what was coming (but then, I never do, do I?) I knew that Puck would pull off something clever, I just didn't know what it would be.

Overall thoughts: A fun and light "in-between book." Quick and Clever. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first three books of the Iron Fey series.

Review: The Iron Queen

by Julie Kagawa
Start Date: 7 September 2011
End Date: 9 September 2011
Paperback, 358 pages
Published January 25th 2011 by Harlequin Teen

Summary(from Goodreads):
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 Iron Queen is the third book of The Iron Fey series. 
Click here for my review of book No. 1.5, Winter's Passage.
Click here for my review of book No. 2, The Iron Daughter. 
Click here for my review of book No. 3.5, Summer's Crossing.

My Review:
I haven't had much trouble with hype before, but this book was one of the first that I'd hyped up so much for myself that it would have to be amazing to live up to my expectations. And it was good. But it wasn't amazing.

I must say, though, The Iron Fey series keeps getting better and better. Kagawa manages to keep the story moving throughout the entire book, and keeps tensions high between Ash and Puck. And the story was engaging and original, so I never felt bored, or that I knew what would happen.

But my favorite part of The Iron Queen: Meghan finally gets some sense knocked into her. She is no longer the irrational and unpredictable Meghan of the previous two books, but she's gotten to a point where her decisions are well thought out  and make sense. And she can finally begin to take care of herself in The Iron Queen. When she started to learn how to defend herself and better use her power, I thought, Thank goodness! Two books is long enough to have Meghan throwing herself into impossible situations and waiting for Puck or Ash to save her.

Overall Thoughts: Although The Iron Queen wasn't as life-changing-amazing as I had thought, it was lots of fun, and a definite step up from the previous books. I am definitely looking forward to The Iron Knight. If the trend I'm seeing continues, it will be fantastic.

Review: The Iron Daughter

by Julie Kagawa
Start Date: 7 August 2011
End Date: 10 August 2011
Paperback, 359 pages
Published August 1st 2010

Summary (from Goodreads):
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.

My Review:
The Iron Daughter turned out a lot better than I had expected. Looking back, I see that I did read a couple reviews that said The Iron Daughter was better than The Iron King, but for the most part I was expecting it to be not very good. The beginning was sort of "meh," but it got steadily better until the end, and I am now very excited to read the next in the series, The Iron Queen, especially since other reviewers have said The Iron Queen is the best of the series so far. By the end, I was fully engrossed, and overall I enjoy reading The Iron Daughter. The night after I (stayed up to) finish it, I couldn't fully take myself out of the story, and it even wormed its way into my dreams that night.

Even though I ended up really enjoying The Iron Daughter, there was one flaw that stood out to me. That flaw was Meghan herself. Although I didn't mind it too much when I was in the middle of the story, looking back once I've closed the book, Meghan is a really weak character. Most of the time, even though I understood her situation and where she was coming from as a character (which is always a plus), she didn't think anything through at all. Not only does she repeatedly put herself and others in danger without a second thought, she has no magical abilities (okay, she had the iron magic, which I think is clever foreshadowing meaning she is the true ruler of the iron fey) (Big spoiler, highlight to view), she also can't fight, she had no sense of strategy, and can think of nothing but Ash and Puck. For goodness sakes.

Other than Meghan's weaknesses as a character, the rest of the book was very well done. All of the supporting characters are fantastic - readers of The Iron King (which should be everyone reading The Iron Daughter) will be pleased to hear of the return of Grim and Ironhorse, and the introduction of some new characters like Leanansidhe. Those supporting characters are what give the story life because honestly, Meghan can't hold it up by herself.

Surprisingly, one of my favorite parts of The Iron Daughter was the love triangle. You have to keep in mind, I usually hate *ahem* strongly dislike love triangles. They just bug me, and a lot of the time it just seems like an unnecessary distraction from the plot. (Ironically, the story I'm writing with my friend The Politick on The Bookbird and the Wordgirl revolves around a love triangle.... well, really it's more of a lopsided love star. Anyway, moving on.) But The Iron Daughter has a really, really great love triangle - I don't even know who I'm rooting for most of the time, but I kind of suspect Meghan is going to end up with Ash, based on how things have gone so far (Spoiler, highlight to view).

Final Thoughts: I enjoyed The Iron Daughter a lot more than I was expecting. Although Meghan was a weaker character than I would have liked, the story was really good, and the writing was definitely a step up from The Iron King.

Review: Winter's Passage

by Julie Kagawa
Start Date: 6 August 2011
End Date: 7 August 2011
ebook, 59 pages
Published June 1st 2010

Summary (from Goodreads):
Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl...until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

Although not long enough to be a novel on its own, Winter's Passage is the perfect transition book between The Iron King and The Iron Daughter. It incorporated just enough review so that I can start The Iron Daughter without worrying about having forgotten important characters or plot points from The Iron King, and it also was a good story in itself. The writing is definitely up to par with the quality of Kagawa's full-length novels.

I appreciated that Winter's Passage set up a good place to start The Iron Daughter. It allows the Iron Daughter to start off at a good place, rather than having to go through the whole journey at the beginning of the novel, which would slow it down considerably.

I would have preferred reading Winter's Passage as a hard copy, but it was fine to read it digitally simply because it was short enough that I didn't get frustrated. If it had been a 200+ page novel, I wouldn't have wanted to put up with having it on my computer. It was a totally different reading experience for me to have the book on my computer than in an actual, physical book. And the constant scrolling.... gah!

The plot didn't really end up being as "epic" as the summary would suggest, just because it wasn't really long enough to have a huge build-up and story arc. Its main purpose was to re-introduce the characters, re-familiarize me with the plot, and provide a jumping-off point for The Iron Daughter - and those purposes it fulfilled wonderfully.

P.S. I started The Iron Daughter last night, and I was pleasantly surprised to find how well it fits in with Winter's Passage. I originally thought that Winter's Passage was published after The Iron Daughter, but I just found out that it was published a few months before. Now that I've started The Iron Daughter, I think Winter's Passage works even better as a transition book.

Want to read another review of Winter's Passage? Small Review convinced me to read it in the first place. Click here for her review.