Review of The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Release Date: February 1, 2010
Series: Iron Fey #1
Buying Links: Amazon     The Book Depository

Book Blurb:

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.

Teaser:

"Me? I'm a human." The moment I said it, I wished I hadn't. In the old fairy tales, which I was remembering more and more of, humans were always food, playthings, or the tragic love interest. And as I was quickly discovering, the inhabitants here had no qualms about eating a speaking, sentient creature. I held the same rung on the food chain as a rabbit or squirrel. It was a scary, rather humbling thought.

My Thoughts:

I love fairy tales, have ever since I was a little girl, so I was eager to read this series. I enjoy myths and fairy tales from all over the world. For this series, Kagawa draws from classical western European fairy tales for her inspiration and world building.

The fey are divided into two courts: Winter and Summer. They barely tolerate each other and frequently battle or engage in war with one another. Meghan, though she doesn't know it when the story starts, is the half human daughter of the Summer Court king, Oberon. There's a lot that she doesn't know and when she discovers the fey, her world changes forever.

She discovers that her lifelong friend Robbie is not what he seems, nor are some of her family members. Once in the fey realm, she makes both allies and enemies, rather quickly. These fey are true to their origins - cold, distant, capricious, manipulative, powerful, and terrifying. They are not friendly and helpful nor are they fun loving and light-hearted. They are however quite intriguing.

The story ran a little long at times, and although we see Meghan's attraction to Ash, the feelings of love seemed, to me, to happen suddenly and without sufficient development. I liked Meghan's ordinariness throughout the story and her determination to remain human. Kagawa's addition of the Iron Fey to the fey pantheon is brilliant and I look forward to seeing where she goes with it.

One of my favorite characters is Grimalkin, a cat who is a member of the Cait Sidhe. True to form, for both cats and fey, he is mysterious, enigmatic, capricious and rarely acts without an ulterior motive. He also has a dry sense of humor that I find appealing.

I borrowed this book from my local library.