Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (The Iron Fey #1)

Shady
Oct 1, 2014
2 min read

Ever since her father disappeared when she was six, Meghan Chase's life has seemed quite right. She's always been a misfit at school and at home, friendless except for her best friend, Robbie, a a fiercly protective prankster. On her sixteenth birthday, Meg's life is changed forever when she starts seeing monsters, her adorable toddler brother is replaced by a beast, and she witnesses a strange boy who seems to have Robbie on edge.

Robbie finally tells Meg the truth - she's the half-human, half-faery daughter of the summer faery king and he was charged with protecting her from the faery world. But Meg is determined to get her brother back and, although reluctantly, Robbie, or "Puck" agrees to take her to the faery world. In her search for her brother, Meg also learns that something sinister is pulling strings in both the Summer and Winter Faery Courts, and that something wants her.

Along her quest, Meg will have to deal with a magic cat, shapeshifting faery, icy prince, (No, really. A prince of ice.) and a whole lot more!

Robbie offers us some great comic relief, and Ash is very alluring. Meg is fierce and Grimalkin, the cat-like fey that helps Meg, is pretty awesome. He's looking out for himself, so he's not exactly selfless, and I wouldn't really say you could trust him that much. He is, however, fun and you warm up to him very quickly. In terms of kindness, however, most of the fey kings and queen need help.

I love the Shakespeare refrences with characters like Puck (aka Robin or Robbie) and the faery lore. This was original and I loved the characters' personalities. The book was very exciting and I couldn't put it down! It had tons of non-stop action and adventure with many clever plot twists, and I can't wait to read the sequel! 4/5 stars