January 24, 2012

Book #7 - The Iron King (Iron Fey #1)

The Iron King (Iron Fey #1), Julie Kagawa
363 pages
Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Started 1/19/12
Finished 1/21/12
4 STARS

You know how little girls always dream about being a fairy princess? Well, Meghan Chase really IS one. This 16-year-old, unpopular girl soon finds out she is the daughter of the Summer Faery King Oberon. Oh - and she has pointy ears. Cool, huh? Oh, speaking of cool, she soon falls in love with the Winter Faery Prince Ash while on a quest to save their land, Nevernever, from extinction at the hands of the titular Iron King. But, as one might assume, Summer and Winter don't hook up. Like, ever. So, yes - this book really does have it all. A fairy princess, forbidden love, a magical land, dangerous monsters, and a talking cat.


The Iron King draws a lot of parallels from other stories - Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and of course, Romeo and Juliet. But, Kagawa throws in enough differences, enough deviations, to make it not really feel like any one story is being borrowed. It's more of an afterthought.

Honestly, at first, I wasn't totally in love with this book. It was a little... well, weird. But, about halfway through, I really got into it. It was about the time that the reader realizes that Ash, despite his cold exterior (hardy har har), this guy really loves Meghan. I mean, would-give-up-everything-and-risk-my-life-for-her LOVES this girl. That's something I love to read about. I have no doubt that over the course of the remaining three books in the series that Meghan and Ash will not find a smooth go of it. But, that's part of the fun of reading, isn't it?

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