The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa (The Iron Fey #5)

Fey
Apr 14, 2015
3 min read

It's been years since Meghan Chase became the queen of the Iron Realm in the Nevernever. in Faery, time moves on. The three courts fall into an uneasy peace. Back in the human world, however, things are very different. When Meg choose to stay in the Nevernever and make it her home, she left her family behind. Meg's parents and her half-brother, Ethan, have moved to a nice suburb. What Meg never saw was how much Ethan has changed. Her beloved sibling sees the fey, and being the brother of one of Faery's most powerful rulers puts him at risk. Ethan does anything he can to keep the Fey from seeing him, but trouble just seems to follow him.

Everything changes for Ethan when he is attacked by a dangerous new type of Fey and must escape, along wth a classmate, to the Nevernever. Ethan visits the world he thought he'd never have to see again, and Ethan is forced to accept that he will have to get involved with the Fey to solve the new and terrifiying problem.

The Ethan of The Lost Prince is very different from the sweet little kid Meg remembers. He goes to great lengths to avoid the Fey, and wants nothing to do with them. He's always talking about how one should never bargin with the Fey or let them know you can see them because they'll make your like heck. Ethan's certainly not a little kid anymore, and he's not as naïve as Meg was the first time she entered the Nevernever. He does him homework and research about the Fey. What's a little sad is that he's very angry at Meg for leaving the family behind, and he hates Ash. Ethan feels like Meg doesn't care about them, but the opposite is true. Meg stays away from her family so her enemies don't try to use them against her. AS for Ash, well, there's a reason Ethan calls him "The Dark Person". He blames Ash for taking Meg away and breakingh is family. It's a far cry from the toddler he used to be.

One of two new characters is a girl named Kenzie St. James, a classmate of Ethan's. Kenzie is a reporter, making her come off as nosy and frustratingly persistent at first. She wants to learn about Ethan for the school paper, which drives him crazy. Ethan is sort of a loe wolf and doesn't like people invading his privacy. She's undoubtably a fierce, strong girl who doesn't take no for an answer.

The second new character is one that I am in no way that thrilled about. For those of you who have read The Iron Knight and/or The Iron Legends, the name might be familiar. He's mentioned once or twice, and you probably saw this coming. His name is Keirran, and I can't stand the kid. He's sort of like Puck in the way that he's impossible to keep under control and is alwaysc ausing problems. Keirran's not nearly as funny or likable, though. He's breaking the law, (No spoilers!) and it's cute that he's willing to do whatever it takes, but it's also shortsighted of him. I'm not looking forwards to him.

I thought it was interesting to have yet another book int he series where the POV is switched around, this time to Ethan's. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of my favorite characters come back. (Puck, Ash, Meg, and even Grim!) I was giddy when they came into the story. I got a wide spectrum of feels out of the book. Kenzie made me laugh, Keirran drove me insane, and Ethan made me a little sad. He's much more hardened than he used to be and maybe even a little bitter. As always with the Iron Fey, there was plenty of fighting and action with some humor and a pinch of romance thrown in for a great fantasy adventure! Personaly, I enjoy the original trio of Ash, Puck, and Meg more than some of the new characters, but there's nothing wrong with Ethan and Kenzie. They just seem more endearing. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the characters and the setting. I can't wait to see some good development and I though the Nevernever's world building was great! Any fan of Kagawa's won't be disappointed. 4/5 stars.