Tuesday, March 08, 2011

The Iron Fey series

Last week I read The Iron Fey series (The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen)  by Julie Kagawa.  I figured I'd do mini reviews of each, since I can't remember a lot of the details now (I have a horrible memory!).  So, here goes...

In The Iron King, Meghan Chase learns she is a faery princess, daughter of King Oberon, the ruler of the Summer Court.  She journeys to the Nevernever (the land of fae) to rescue her kidnapped brother, and discovers that her best friend, Robbie, is really Robin Goodfellow, otherwise known as Puck.  Meghan also learns of a centuries-long war between the Summer and Winter Courts, but she can't help the feelings she's having for the Winter Prince, Ash.

I was immediately pulled into The Iron King, and I thought for sure that I'd love the book.  The beginning of the book was amazing, but Meghan's journey through the faery lands really dragged for me.  The ending made me like the book a bit more, but I was still somewhat disappointed overall, considering the excellent reviews the book has received.  3/5

The Iron Daughter finds Meghan in Queen Mab's Winter Court.  In The Iron King, Ash helped Meghan defeat Machina, the Iron King, and part of the deal between them was that Meghan would willingly accompany Ash to his mother's court.  Things between Meghan and Ash had been wonderful, so Meghan is surprised when Ash turns a cold shoulder to her in Tir Na Nog.  Following the changing of the seasons, the Scepter of Seasons is stolen, and fingers are pointed at King Oberon and the Winter Court.  Meghan and Ash know the real thieves are the Iron Fey, and Meghan is determined to prove that the Iron Fey are a real threat to the Nevernever.  Meghan and Ash once again join forces, this time to retrieve the stolen Scepter of Seasons.

I LOVED this book!  It was my favorite of the series, and there wasn't a moment that bored me.  I loved the characters, especially Grimalkin and Ironhorse, not to mention Prince Ash.  My goodness, is he ever swoon-worthy!  The love triangle grated on me a bit because, really, there's no way Meghan would choose Puck over Ash, but every book has to have a love triangle these days.  If that's the only bad thing I can say about the book, then that shows you how amazing this book really is.  I loved the decisions both Ash and Meghan made in the end, and I couldn't wait to begin The Iron Queen4.5/5

The Iron Queen was originally the end of the Iron Fey trilogy, but there is a 4th book in the works now.  Meghan and Ash find themselves pulled into an all-out war between the Summer and Winter Courts and the Iron Fey.  A new Iron King has taken over, and his influence is spreading over the Nevernever.  King Oberon and Queen Mab tell Meghan that she is the only person who can defeat the false Iron King, since iron doesn't affect her the way it does the faeries.  Meghan sets out to destroy him, knowing it's the only way the Nevernever and those she loves will be saved.

I wanted to love this book, especially since I loved The Iron Daughter so much.  I really liked this third installment, but it didn't affect me as much as The Iron Daughter did.  I do have to say that Ash was absolutely amazing in this one, and I loved every minute spent reading about him.  He and Meghan both changed so much, and I loved the way they worked so hard to set things right.  The ending was a bit disappointing, though, and I was left feeling a bit devastated.  It wasn't at all how I'd envisioned things ending, but it definitely left things hanging so that a 4th book, The Iron Knight, could be published.  The Iron Knight is Ash's story, and I am soooo excited to read it when it's released!  4/5

2 comments:

Kira said...

Yay! Welcome back!

I'm glad that you read these, and enjoyed them (for the most part). I like how we had different views on this series. I can not wait to read The Iron Knight. I'm so excited for Ash's story!

Lisa said...

I like that we had differing opinions, too. It keeps things interesting. ;)