Review: The Iron King- Julie Kagawa

General
The Iron King
Series: Book 1 of 4
Pages: 363
Genre: fantasy, romance, young adult
Rating: four and a half stars

Buy it here: Amazon

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. 

For Meghan is the daughter of a mythical faery king…and a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I love stories about Fae. I really, really do. They are such interesting creatures, and the world they live in is different. The mythology behind each type of Fae is well thought out. Plus, it's mostly Gaelic roots, and anyone who knows me, knows I love Irish and Scottish backgrounds. If I could become Scottish, I would.

So going into The Iron King, I was expecting nothing amazing, but something good, as I've read a bunch of Fae, and they usually become the same just with different names and places. The first few chapters were cliche, starting out the same. Our protagonist, Meghan, knows nothing about the Fae world or that it exists. To her, it's all make believe. Until it all comes crashing down around her and she realizes that her small world isn't truly small. 

Meghan is a typical teenager, she wants to get her drivers licence, people at school humiliate her, and her best friend is sorta cute. See, typical. But she isn't. Meghan is half-fae, so she can see fae around her who use glamour to hide their true identity. She's starts out a little whiny, but we can see that she really is brave. Her brother gets taken and she does everything she can to save him. What I like is that throughout the book, she never forgets why she went into NeverNever to begin with-to save her brother, which is so powerful. Nothing holds her back. From the second she arrives at NeverNever, she's fighting to save him. Meghan is the daughter of King Oberon and is extremely powerful if she can unlock her powers, which she does a little bit of. I wish we had more of that in the book. 

The characters were truly the best of this book. Some of them were a surprise! Robbie, or Puck as we call him, is funny. He's not one to remain angry for long, and he's a good friend for Meghan to have. His past is interesting, and when I realized who he was, it made it better. Kagawa really went far with this characters and brought them to life. Robbie is amusing and offers hilarity at tense moments. 

"“Ladies and Felines," he stated grandly, grasping the doorknob, "Welcome to Tir Na Nog. Land of endless winter and shitloads of snow.” -Puck

Ash is the prince of the Winter Court queen and is icy to his heart. He has one job and that's to bring Meghan to the queen and have her killed because she's so powerful. We know that this is a love interest for Meghan, because, in the book, they become a... couple? a thing? I'm not really sure. It's left open for them, which I both like and dislike. Their romance went from "I'm going to kill you" to "I can no longer harm you" in 2.5 seconds. So it felt a bit rushed between them, and I thought maybe Ash forgot about the contract between him and Meghan. Until the end anyway. I do wish their relationship got a little more time to form, but it's all good because we have three other books for this to go right. Although, I see a love triangle coming. I REPEAT: A LOVE TRIANGLE IS COMING.I really do like Ash and Meghan together, though.

“I licked my lips and whispered, "Is this where you say you'll kill me?" 

One corner of his lips curled. "If you like," he murmured, a flicker of amusement finally crossing his face. "Though it's gotten far too interesting for that.”-Ash and Meghan.

Perhaps my most favorite character is Grimalkin, or the cait sidhe, which basically means a cat. Grim reminds me of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. He doesn't help unless it benefits him, but along the way, you can tell this cat's heart warms up to Meghan and helps her. He's always around when she needs him, and it's adorable. 

I know a lot about Fae court laws and the way things are run, I do wish that everything was better explained for those who aren't as up to their laws and ways of living. 

The Iron King is a series, but it ends nicely but leaves you anxiously awaiting for the next book. I give it four and a half stars only because it seemed a bit rushed in places, and I would have liked a better explanation on the Court systems, and the relationship between her and Ash would slow down a bit.