Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey #4)
By Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

To Sum It Up:

Separated from Meghan by the poisonous Iron realm, Ash embarks on a journey to gain his soul and become mortal so that he can be with her. His quest is one of the utmost difficulty, though. First, he and his companions, which include his nemesis, Puck, must travel to the very end of the Nevernever, a dangerous undertaking in itself. The trials that await Ash at the End of the World, however, are the most daunting challenge he’s ever had to face. To attain mortality, he must confront his past and future, both of which he needs to come to terms with if he hopes to ever see Meghan again.

Review:

The Iron Fey series has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for me up to this point. Neither The Iron Daughter nor The Iron Queen quite measured up to The Iron King. The constant throughout the books, and what has kept me reading them, is the stellar creativity of this world. I’ve always felt like I’ve wanted to love the characters, but I just haven’t been able to become emotionally invested in them. This is especially true for the Winter prince, Ash, who narrates The Iron Knight. He’s intrigued me from the start of the series, yet I don’t feel that I’ve ever gotten a good sense of him as a character, how he thinks and what motivates his actions. I’d hoped that reading from his point of view at last in The Iron Knight would give me the insight into his character that I’d been seeking. While a good portion of the novel follows the task-by-task structure of the previous books, once Ash commenced his trials to earn his soul, I finally connected with the series.

Besides the potential to get inside of Ash’s head, I was also eager to read this because one of his traveling companions is none other than Puck, probably the last face Ash wants to see in his party. I’d expected a slightly more standoffish demonstration of the enmity between them other than Puck calling Ash “ice-boy” over and over. The exchanges between a sardonic-as-ever Grimalkin the cat and the Big Bad Wolf were much more amusing. By now I’ve grown accustomed to the characters in these books needing to complete a string of subtasks before tackling their main goal. Ash’s secondary missions feature plenty of action, but to me, they were only a warm-up to the trials that would prove whether or not he was worthy of his soul. It was this part of the book that I found riveting because of its emotional punch, something that was rather elusive for me in the other books.

To gain his soul, Ash must pass a group of tests that give him an all too realistic understanding of what it means to be mortal. They’re all grueling, but one struck me in particular. Ash revisits his past misdeeds in excruciating detail, and not only do we see the cruelty that he was once capable of, but also how much he’s changed for the better. I thought that what Ash went through during the trials represented some of the most dramatic and moving moments of the entire series. Their combined impact quite floored me, as did one character’s very poignant sacrifice. Seeing everything that he endured, I wanted Ash to succeed in his quest. I hadn’t felt this compelled to root so hard for a character in this series before.

Although I think that The Iron Knight could have explored Ash’s character further, this was easily the book out of the four that tugged the most at my heartstrings. Ash’s trials were so engrossing to read about, and overall, I thought this was a strong conclusion to the series.

All in All:

I wasn’t sure what my final opinion of this was going to be. Ash and his little group had several smaller adventures as they made their way to the End of the World, but while there was enough action afoot, Ash himself remained somewhat of an enigma. I wouldn’t go so far as to describe The Iron Knight as a character study of Ash, but I do think that this is as emotionally raw as I’ve ever seen him.

Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3)
By Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

To Sum It Up:

Exiled by their respective faery courts, Meghan and Ash find themselves in the mortal world. It’s not long, though, before they’re pulled back into Faery. The new Iron King is hunting Meghan, and the Iron fey are at war with both the Summer and Winter Courts. Their only hope of preventing the destruction of the Nevernever is Meghan. Unwilling to see those she loves get hurt in the forthcoming battle, Meghan is prepared to do anything to protect them, including sacrificing her own life to save theirs.

Review:

While The Iron King, the first book in Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Fey series, remains my favorite so far, The Iron Queen is definitely a step up from The Iron Daughter. My main gripe about the latter was Meghan’s Ash-centric view of the world and how she couldn’t function without him. Thankfully, she stands on her own two feet in The Iron Queen, which is also much more action-packed than its predecessor.

Although Meghan doesn’t quite fit my notion of a kick-ass heroine, I have to give her credit for backing up her tough talk with her actions in this book. She learns how to use a weapon and isn’t afraid to fight. What she does fear, though, is losing Ash and Puck, and this puts her into martyr mode, where she takes it upon herself to defeat the Iron King in order to keep anyone from dying for her. I really don’t mean to sound like I’m picking on poor Meghan; it’s just that she seems to get caught in these obsessive thought patterns that I’m not very patient with. In The Iron Daughter, she moped over not being with Ash. Here, she repeats over and over again how she can’t allow Ash and Puck to die because of her. Meghan has always had the potential to be a heroine of considerable strength, glimmers of which shine through here and there, but she’s never quite managed to summon it consistently.

As there was in The Iron Daughter, once again we have a lull in the story involving the self-proclaimed queen of the Faery exiles, Leanansidhe. This time, the gang crashes at her cabin in the woods. The thought of Leanansidhe owning this type of property sort of made me laugh because I never pictured her as the outdoorsy type. Fortunately, once the action picks up, it remains pretty intense for a while. There are some great battle scenes in the book, and they’re brought to life with some of the most vivid imagery in the series. Kagawa’s world-building has been first-rate from the start, and that extends to the epic showdown in The Iron Queen between the now allied Summer and Winter Courts and the Iron fey.

On the whole, I felt that, though not perfect, The Iron Queen was a stronger entry in the series than The Iron Daughter was. The characters still journey about from subtask to subtask with a lengthy stopover, but the fight sequences are worth the wait. Most importantly, Meghan demonstrates the mettle that she was missing in the previous book, which in turn made this a more compelling read than her last adventure.

All in All:

After finding The Iron Daughter on the disappointing side, I was a bit leery of reading this. It did take a while for The Iron Queen to build up momentum, but I quite liked the climactic battle as well as the ending.

Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2)
By Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen

To Sum It Up:

Meghan has rescued her kidnapped younger brother from the land of Faery, but now it is time for her to repay the debt she owes to the Winter prince, Ash. She has to accompany him back to the Winter Court, where, as a daughter of the Summer King, Oberon, she is surrounded by faeries who despise her. Summer and Winter are inching ever closer to war, but it’s a new threat from the Iron fey that poses the greatest danger. Meghan must rely on allies with questionable loyalties as she tries to convince the Courts to stop fighting with each other and instead unite against their common enemy.

Review:

The Iron King was one of the first books that I reviewed, and looking back on it, I think I tried a little too hard to love it as much as so many other readers do. I still really like the world and how incredibly imaginative it is, but the characters came up short for me this time in The Iron Daughter, especially Meghan. She seemed like a stranger compared to the determined young woman who set out to save her brother in The Iron King. I found myself willing her to pull herself together for a good deal of The Iron Daughter, and it didn’t quite work.

I had pretty high expectations going into this book, with Meghan having to uphold her end of the contract she made with Ash when she was trying to find her brother. Meghan has to go to the Winter Court, where she can expect nonstop withering glares from its queen, Mab. I was intrigued to see what else awaited Meghan in such a hostile environment but was disappointed that 1) she didn’t spend as much time as I’d thought she would there, and 2) most of that time, and most of the book, was spent moping over/pining for Ash. Ash won’t look at her. Ash is avoiding her. Ash doesn’t love her. As I said before, the girl who faced the Iron King has gone missing; in her place is this whiny Meghan who’s completely dependent on a guy whom I feel I still barely know, even after two books. I admit that I found Ash’s broody demeanor kind of cool (no Winter prince pun intended) in the first book, but at this point, I’d like to see that there’s more to his character than intense stares and brandishing a sword every once in a while.

The pacing of the book also felt a little off to me. There’s the main story line revolving around the Iron fey’s latest scheme, but to me, it sometimes got lost amid the multiple subplots. The story really dragged once Meghan and crew found themselves in the Between, the realm in the middle of the mortal and faery worlds and the domain of Leanansidhe, the self-styled queen of the faery exiles. I didn’t think that Meghan and her companions were ever going to leave this place, and I was very happy when they finally hit the road.

The talking cat, Grimalkin, has become my favorite character because he’s truly the voice of reason. He doesn’t mince words and points out all of the other characters’ blunders, often voicing my own opinions of their actions. I find Grim very entertaining, and his wry observations were definitely the highlight of this book.

The Iron Daughter has some solid elements to it, the strongest by far being its whimsical world where anything is possible, but they just didn’t combine into a story that gripped my interest. With this being the second book in the series, I also needed to see the characters continue to develop, but they were pretty much the same ones I met in the first book, except for Meghan, whose character takes some steps backwards here. Still, there’s a charm to this series that appeals to me, and I do enjoy Grim’s sarcasm.

All in All:

I didn’t find this as enchanting as The Iron King, primarily because of how Meghan goes to pieces over Ash. Definitely not what I like to see in a heroine.

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)
By Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback
Source: Library

To Sum It Up: Meghan Chase's life has never been exactly normal. On her sixth birthday, her father vanished without a trace. Ten years later and now living in a remote area in the Louisiana bayou, Meghan is about to experience an unforgettable sixteenth birthday. Her brother Ethan is kidnapped and replaced with a faery changeling, and her best friend Robbie Goodfell reveals himself to be none other than the legendary trickster, Puck. Together they set off for the faery world of the Nevernever in search of Ethan. Meghan soon finds herself face-to-face with the faery king, Oberon, who she is stunned to learn is her real father. When the fey courts edge closer to war, Meghan becomes caught in the middle, all while still trying to rescue her brother from an evil force that threatens the Nevernever itself.

Review: I loved the world of The Iron King. It seamlessly blended fairytale with reality. This is my favorite kind of fantasy book, in which the fantasy elements are written so vividly as to appear perfectly plausible. Why can't a talking cat with a wicked sense of humor and the ability to disappear at will exist?

The Iron King boasts a great cast of characters. Despite all of the trials that Meghan faces during her journey, she maintains her focus on saving Ethan and doesn't spiral into self-pity. Going into this book, I wasn't sure if I would need to reread Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, which famously features Oberon, Titania, and Puck. I think that their depictions in The Iron King stand on their own and don't require the reader to have already been familiar with them. (Actually, most of what I know about those characters comes from their appearances on the 90's cartoon Gargoyles. That was a great show!) Julie Kagawa's Puck is especially interesting. He's as cunning as ever, but he also shows off some serious fighting skills. Most importantly, he genuinely cares about Meghan. Puck's rival in the sarcasm department is the sly cat, Grimalkin. Grim pulls double duty as comic relief and keen observer. I hope that Grim and Puck share many more scenes together in the rest of the series.

Of course, this review wouldn't be complete without mentioning the Winter prince, Ash. Now, I have a HUGE weakness for ridiculously handsome, brooding, male characters whose stony exteriors can only be cracked by the love of a good female protagonist, preferably after much squabbling. Does Ash meet those criteria? Absolutely. My only quibble is his shift from personifying “Winter prince” (resisting the urge to make a comparison with thawing ice here) to lowering his emotional defenses. At first the change was gradual, but then suddenly it seemed like it had skipped a few stages. As I said, though, this is a nitpick.

Finally, I thought that the story of how the Iron fey came into existence was very original. It added a creative, modern twist to faery lore that also makes the reader consider the potential consequences of our ever increasing reliance on technology.

All in All: I borrowed this from the library but definitely need to buy a copy of my own, along with the rest of the books in the series!