Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: February 1st, 2010

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.
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.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

I have been resisting  this series for awhile.  I had heard loads of great things and the reviews have been fantastic, but I just didn't have much desire to read these books.  Here's why... I really dislike most love triangles and all of the Team Ash/Team Puck stuff turned me off.  I thought, "Oh great. Just what we need. A Twilight with fairies.".  I liked Twilight.  In fact, I kind of loved it (even if  it was kind of poorly written), but I am sick of all the copycats out there who rewrite it with different paranormal creatures and add a different title.  It's made me bitter and jaded and hating the genre for all of my wasted time.  I want originality and excitement.  I know this may be too much to ask of some authors, but Julie Kagawa delivers it on a silver platter with The Iron King.  The entire time I was reading it, I was mentally kicking myself for not doing so sooner.  It is very different from Twilight and it's brilliantly and beautifully written.  I didn't think it was perfect, but I have a feeling this book was set-up for what promises to be as phenomenal a series as everyone says it is.

I'll get my gripe out of the way first... I don't much like Meghan.  She's kind of naive, idealistic, and a bit on the whiny "poor me" side.  I will admit that as the story progressed, I began to like her more, but she hasn't won me over just yet.  I'm confident that she will though.  I liked the other characters quite well, my favorite being Grim.  I cannot wait to see how he manages to shake things up later on.  The fey... Loved them.  All of them, even the "bad" ones.  They were just what fey are supposed to be in my mind; rather aloof, cruel by human standards, and gorgeous in unconventional ways.  I loved Julie Kagawa's descriptions of them.  She made them beautiful, even when they weren't really supposed to be... And speaking of descriptions, the world building was amazing.  As dangerous as it was, I wanted to be in that world.  Seelie, Unseelie, in between, I don't care!  It was all stunning in my imagination, thanks to the way it was written.

As for the story itself... Definitely plot driven and while some people say that about books with a sneer, I don't think that it's always a bad thing.  This plot was fantastic.  It was filled with kick-butt action and suspense.  It was well paced, and I never saw any of the twists coming at all.  It grabbed me from the beginning and still hasn't let go of me.  I have The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, and The Iron Knight on my Kindle at this very moment, and I am sure you will be seeing my reviews of them within the next couple of weeks.  It pains me that I can't just read them back-to-back-to-back like I would like to...  You may be thinking, "Okay. You liked the book, but are you Team Ash or Team Puck?"  Well, I can't answer that.  Maybe I need to continue reading, but I don't see a love triangle there.  Puck's a buddy.  He's Meghan's BFF; I don't see a romantic spark there at all.  Ash is pretty freaking hot in my imagination though, even if he does seem like a sullen, indecisive jerk.  :)

Julie Kagawa has gained a fan in me.  I love it when I am so very wrong about a popular book/series.  I makes me respect the author even more if they can overcome my preconceived prejudices.   I would have given this book five stars, but I can't get past my feelings for Meghan.  We'll see if she grows on me in the subsequent books.

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½ 

Grade Level Recommendation:  Nothing really objectionable.  Perfectly fine for Middle School.  Grades 6 and up (ages 11+).

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