Book Review: The Iron King, Julie Kagawa

The Plot: Sixteen-year-old Meghan Chase just wants to be normal. Her dreams consist of dating the quarterback, owning her own car, and getting as far away from her tiny hometown as possible. And then Faeries kidnap her half brother. Now Meghan learns that she is half fey, and in the middle of a battle between the courts. And if that isn’t complicated enough, she’s falling in love with Ash, prince of the Unseelie court. And Ash has sworn to kill her and her best friend, Robbie. Meghan has to learn quickly how to navigate fey politics and the Nevernever in order to find Ethan and escape without losing her head, heart, or other valuable parts.

Honestly, I was bored through the first half of The Iron King. It felt like an awkward combination of all the fantasy books I’ve read, with nothing new added. But Meghan was a likable character, so I stuck with it, and I’m glad I did. The second half of the book flips everything I thought I knew on its head. A third court? Unseelie that are actually helpful? Faeries that like iron? Without giving too much away, I’m still not a fan of the technology-is-evil theme. I mean, without technology kindles, book trailers, and book blogs would not exist, right? But I love that Kagawa really shook the fey world up and did something new. Also, I’m not a fan of the Alice in Wonderland cat, simply because he’s creepy. But I’m a huge fan of the ending. So much is left unanswered that I have no choice but to come back for more!