The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

From Goodreads: Meghan Chase has never fit in at her small-town high school, and now, on the eve of her 16th birthday, she discovers why. When her half brother is kidnapped, Meghan is drawn into a fantastical world she never imagined--the world of Faery, where anything you see may try to eat you, and Meghan is the daughter of the summer faery king. Now she will journey into the depths of Faery to face an unknown enemy . . . and beg the help of a winter prince who might as soon kill her as let her touch his icy heart. The Iron King is the first book in the Iron Fey series.

I have the next book in this series ready to be read, but I thought I'd better get the first book read before I picked up that ARC. I am so glad that I did. This book, for me, seemed like a bit of a recipe. One part Labyrinth ("take back the child you have stolen"), a pinch of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream (Robin Goodfellow/ Puck), and a small dash of Alice in Wonderland (Grimalkin so reminds me of the Cheshire cat). Add in a generous helping of a handsome fey prince who's heart has been "frozen" from a heartache and add a bad "guy" who cannot be killed and made by technology but only transformed by our heroine who has just discovered her heritage and power. This recipe adds up to a fun YA read by Julie Kagawa.

I give this first book 4 stars. We have only begun to find the possibilities within this story and I am anxious to find out what more is in store for Meghan Chase. Oh, and in this first book, many people have taken up sides of either Ash, the fey prince, or Puck, the prankster. Team Ash or Team Puck has been the cry. Unfortunately with this first book, I am neither. If I were to chose, I'd be Team Grimalkin! Hey, in faerie not everything is as it seems, so who knows? Maybe Grim is not a cat at all. Besides, he has been the only one besides the Dryads that have been the most helpful to Megan's adventure.

Go Grim! :)