The Iron King

The Iron King
Author: Julia Kagawa
Pages: 363
Book #1 of The Iron Fey
My Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (From Goodreads:)

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.

My Review:

 I loved The Iron King! It left me breathless and wanting more, more, more!

  I love fey books. I always have, but don't get me wrong, they are starting to get a little old. I have read a lot of them, espically in the last year. The Iron King, at first, seems like just another fey read. It is, and it isn't. For starters, there were certain things that actually creeped me out in this book. You know how the fey are supposed to be threatening, but they aren't in other books? That is so not true for this book! At the start, espically, I found myself getting creeped out. The Iron King is typical in the way that there is the characters from A Midsummer's Night Dream, with Titania, Oberon, and Puck. With all just faeries and folklore mixed in, but no, no, no! It starts off typical, but then ends off so original. Julia Kagawa gets a round of applause from me. There are so many different aspects to this book. There are gremlins, nixies, you name it. There were a few things from Greek Mythology mixed in, as in certain creatures. And the Iron Fey? How they came to be? That was crazily original, done extremely well, and fantastically entertaining. Another round of applause. Everything in the fey world goes off course, to include bits of folklore and mythologies I wasn't expecting to be in The Iron King.

 I loved the characters. I really liked Meghan as a main character, since she is very honest in her narration, which is in first person, but, at the same time, she is tough and strong. I loved her sense of determination. She is a wonderfully awesome heroine that I think lots of people will appreciate. The other characters were awesome, too! Even the secondary characters were entertaining, and worth reading about. I loved Ash and Puck. I loved many things that Puck said, and I liked the part he played in this book. He is an engaging character. But, Ash! I am Team Ash, totally. I loved the way his and Meghan's relationship developed, and he is just crush-worthy. Team Ash, but I can say that I was Team Puck for awhile. I think this is the only book I have ever read where I have not been sure of which boy I like.

 Overall, this book was strong and an amazing debut, with awesome characters, great description, an intriguing setting, as well as a well written plot.  More, please? (What if I ask really nicely?)