The Iron King Review

Title: The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa

Pages: 363

Format: Paperback

Finished: 8/10/13

Source: Bought online at Barnes&Noble

ISBN: 9780373210084

Goodreads Excerpt:

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.

Initial thoughts:

So all I knew about this book was that it was about fairies, and I don’t have much against fairies…okay I have nothing against fairies but I imagined them to be like Tinker Bell. However I had heard from numerous reviews that this faery book, was nothing like Tinker Bell, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Spoilers!

Okay. How to start. Well, the book started out a little…whiny, immature teenager for my taste. I felt like the protagonist, who was supposed to be a 16 year old girl was portrayed with emotional outbursts more like a 6 year old. This did continue through the novel, but thankfully many of the other characters that were brought into the story were much more mature and wise, so I was more equipped to deal with a little whining and unnecessary crying every once in awhile.

The world as well as the details and descriptions of the creatures and characters in this novel blew me away. I could so vividly imagine all of these things around me and was constantly envisioning how fantastic this book would be if it was a movie (and you know, done right). The author took my knowledge and understanding of what it meant to be a faery or a fey to a whole new level. Most of the creatures encountered were truly terrifying, which gave the book an edge I hadn’t expected.

I did notice a lot of elements from other classic stories. At times I was vividly reminded of Narnia and traveling through the wardrobe, as well as Alice in Wonderland and falling down rabbit holes while being guided through a mysterious world by a sarcastic feline friend. Towards the end of the novel I also got a creeping sensation that I’d heard this plot before and realized I was thinking of Wall-E. Don’t get me wrong, I still think The Iron King is a very original story, but if you look hard enough it was pretty easy to make connections to other long running themes throughout the fictional world.

This book was action packed, descriptive, full of monsters, and of course, some romance. I was happy with the romance between the characters, but a little put off by the love triangle. I mean really, why is a love triangle necessary in every YA novel? However, this love triangle does work well for these characters, as well as the history between Puck and Ash, so I didn’t mind it too terribly much. It will be very interesting to see how the competition for Meghan’s affection heats up in the next novels, although at this point it’s pretty clear who she wants.

Another part of the book I loved was that amid all the action, there were some really great lessons for the reader. They may have been a little cheesy at times, but they were genuine messages that everyone can relate to and learn from, so bravo for creating a story with a strong sense of morality.

Conclusion:

I could hardly believe how much I loved this book. The world was just, such a clear image in my head that I’m having a hard time escaping it and moving onto my next novel! Speaking of, the minute I come within a 5 mile radius of a bookstore, I’m stopping in and getting the next book in this series. The Iron King was so fantastic and refreshing, I cannot wait to see how Meghan handles the cliff hanger.

Rating: