The Iron King

Author: Julie Kagawa

Source: Library

Summary: (back of book) 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.

Review: From the buzz that this series has created throughout the blogosphere, I was expecting a lot from this book. And it surprised me! I wasn't expecting Meghan Chase to be the character she was. Rough on the edges. Living in the middle of nowhere. Essentially identifying herself as a "backward hillbilly". She was such a different character from what I had gleaned from off the gorgeous cover of this book.

And she become almost unrecognizable by the end of it. Her growth was astounding! She became an amazing person who I would love to have as a friend. Meghan showed her ability to be mature and confident when the situation called for it. Her strength didn't come as much from within herself as it did from the loyalty she felt to the people around her even if they weren't always that nice. I felt that this book was very character driven.

The other people in the story were also vividly written and together, they were quite the motley crew. Ash was cold til pretty much the very end. I am anxiously awaiting getting to know him and what exactly goes on in his mind in the following books, but for now I am satisfied by the swoon-worthy factor. Robin Goodfellow, or Puck, is quite the sarcastic, sardonic, cynical, goofy faery. Or fairy? Or fae? Or fay? I get confused. I see that Puck's relationship with Meghan is the result of mutual disregard or attempt at disregarding the opinions of others towards them. Although they don't seem particularly close, Puck keeps the story interesting.

My absolutely favorite character of this crazy-weird-iron-fae land is Grimalkin. The talking cat. He is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Everything that should be in a cat is found in Grimalkin's voice. Begrudging respect toward Meghan after putting her through many side ordeals. A swishing fluffy tail. Seriousness and cranky wise-ness emanate from this lovely, darling (he would probably hiss at me right about now) kitty make him the endearing character he is.

Rating: 1 2 3 4 4.5 5

*Not a five, because Ash wasn't characterized enough for me to see his interaction with the other characters such as Meghan.