Friday, May 14, 2010

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King (Harlequin Teen)
From GoodreadsMeghan 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! :)

9 comments:

  1. Loved your review! I can't wait to read this, and I've got THE IRON DAUGHTER waiting in the wings, too.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. At first I read this title as the Lion King O_o must remember to drink coffee and wear glasses.

    Is it too early for me to pick teams? I want to be on Team Grim!

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Amelia I am so looking forward to the whole book. I've only read page 1 on that one since I had to put it on temporary hold. :)

    @K.C. LOL! Now, I'll keep thinking of that. I don't think it's too early. We need to start a Grim club. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have to read this asap, everyone is so postive about it.

    You go Grim! Love that. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Did you say Labyrinth???? Must. read. this. book.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ah, and Ferngully! I knew I missed one. Even though it reminded me of these stories, I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you for doing what you do!

    Bill ;-)
    Author of "Back to the Homeplace"
    http://eduscapes.com/v2a/back_to_the_homeplace.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. THank you!!! This sounds like a wonderful combination of all things I love! :) I love the cheshire cat and puck. And I loved the movie Labyrinth. This book sooooo sounds like a given winner for me. I am looking forward to getting mine in the mail. :) Thanks for teasing me a little more. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I do think you'll love this, Mel!

    @ Dr. Bill... thx! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting! I ❤ comments!