Book Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

 The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Released Date: October 25, 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: Paperback (386 pages)
Age Group: Young Adult
Series: Iron Fey #4
Genre: Paranormal
Author Website: www.juliekagawa.com
Overall Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)

Description:Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.

To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Book Trailer:

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Memorable Quotes:

"I was in love. With a human.I smiled bitterly at the thought. The old Ash, if faced with such a suggestion, woul've either laughed scornfully or removed the offender's head from his neck."

"Do not be deceived by the the politeness of the fey. Fey are almost always polite. This does not mean they will not happily remove your head."

"Does a crow become a salmon simply because it wishes to? You do not know the first thing about mortality, prince-who-is-not. Why would you want to become like them? "Because, " Grimalkin answered before I could say anything, "he is in love."

"Be careful, boy. In some tales, the hero gets eaten by the monster after all."

My Musings: I was very lucky to receive an advanced copy of this book for my Kindle through Net Galley. After finishing it, this is what I thought:

WOW. Just simply wow. I could not ask for a better way to end this series. I was hestitant at first, since we are soooo used to understanding everything from Meghan's POV, but I loved stepping into Ash's head.For any doubters out there, this book needed to be in Ash's POV. It was essential in order to bring this story to a well deserve closing.

HUMOR: I love Puck and Grim's crazy sense of humor. They had me laughing out loud with their short quips and their arguing banter. Julie didn't fail to deliver a good time from start to finish.

ROMANCE: I just love diving into a good romance, and following Meghan and Ash's journey had me going through many emotions. Their love gets tested right to the very end.

ADVENTURE: Puck and Ash always seem to find themselves in the most dangerous places with unlikely allies. The battle the most dangerous creatures, drudge through impossible terrain, and tolerate Grim's arrogant attitude. How do they do it???

BACKSTORY: This book gave some serious necessary backstory. In the past books I was disappointed in the lack of information about Ariella, and wished for more details on who she is and how Ash got to know her. Worry not. All of my thoughts, concerns, and questions have been answered. You will get the chance to really understand who she is and why Ash fell in love with her in the first place.

THE ENDING: I just love an ending that keeps me satisfied. It can be agrivating when you come across an ending that has been slapped together and not thought through properly. Plausible is the key.

And on an endpoint....I believe this is the best faery series I have read in a while. It definitely beats out Wicked Lovely (which I'm a huge fan of). If you have not read the first in this series, then you better get stepping, because you are missing out on a great story!!!!

Cover Art: Hottness!!! The model on the first three books is beautiful, but nothing beats a sexy guy giving his bad boy face :)

Reading Order:

The Iron King

The Iron Daughter

The Iron Queen

The Iron Knight