The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Description:

My name- my True Name- is Ashallyn'darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining song of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court.

And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl...

To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing 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 faery 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 its end- a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.

To survive the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way, Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Okay, some people (although fewer in number) have yet to read this series, so I will do my best to avoid all spoilers. However, unless you have been under a rock, you should know even just a little bit about this series.

This being Ash's story we begin where the last book, The Iron Queen, left off with him going on his own personal quest. Now, I also loved Ash in the previous books, I admit I had trouble connecting to him in this book at the beginning. I think he just came off as so different to me that it took me a minute to adjust even though I got to know more about his past. He had to become his own person after all and could not just play off of other characters. So, I admit (and I know some people will kill me for this) the beginning dragged for me a bit but not much as I still was captivated with the world of the fae.

As for the other characters I think my favorite with this book was Puck. Being a true friend and the comedian of the group, he always entertained me. Puck needs his own book now. I would love to read that adventure! I, of course, should also say something about Grim. I also have to admit, I wasn't as in love with Grim at the beginning of the adventure, but he proved to be the perfect cat sith by the end of the book. So, I hope I'm forgiven for that statement and don't now owe him a huge favor by now. O.o

At the end of Ash's adventure I admit that I was fully captivated and was also fully involved within the story. It becomes the story we are used to with the rest of the series and hate to see the book end. So because of the end of the story I give this book 4 stars. It really payed off.

And NOW I must still proclaim now and forever more I am always:

You will always be my favorite snarky character!

Grim, am I forgiven now?

I was given this book by NetGalley and no compensation for my review was given.