The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads
Julie Kagawa's site
The Iron Fey site
Series: The Iron Fey #3
Copy obtained: e-galley for review from NetGalley
Publisher: HarlequinTeen (US) Mira Ink (UK)
Release date: Jan 25th (US) no UK date yet
Rating: 5/5
SPOILER WARNING! Contains spoilers from previous books.

 In less than twenty-four hours I'll be seventeen.

Although, technically, I won't actually be turning seventeen. I've been in the Nevernever too long. When you're in Faery, you don't age. So while a year has passed in the real world, age wise I'm probably only a few days older than when I went in.

In real life, I've changed so much, I don't even recognize myself.

My name is Meghan Chase. 

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it. 

This time, there will be no turning back.

The Iron Queen picks up right where The Iron Daughter left off, with Ash and Meghan exiled from Faery and stuck in the mortal world. But the war hasn’t stopped and neither of them are happy that they’ve had to walk away. And Meghan may just be the best person to help stop it. If she can figure out how.

This series has just gotten stronger and stronger. I couldn’t put The Iron Queen down! It was one long, beautiful, painful emotional roller coaster. Romance, danger, darkness and action blend seamlessly together making a fantastic story. Like the two books before it, it’s beautifully written and I got sucked straight in and it felt like I’d just put TID down moments before it. I loved how the story developed through this third book, so many twists I never saw coming!

The character growth is fantastic as well. Meghan has come so far from the girl who knew nothing of Faerie at the start of The Iron King (book #1). I was so proud of her for the tough decisions she had to make, and I was aching and crying for her at the same time. Grim and Puck are easily two of my favourite side characters from any book or series and they continue to give their humor to lighten the enclosing darkness for a moment or two! The world building has expanded and deepened with each book, and it continues to do so here. I loved seeing more of the world, so dark and creepy and yet completely beautiful and compelling as well!

Some books just come across as simple magic, and you can’t explain the emotional attachment involved. This is one of those books. I just loved every moment of it! It tore at me, left me thinking for hours afterwards. And that ending...wow!! Very intense, it tore me apart over and over! I thought it’d gotten as bad as it could, then something worse would happen. I honestly had no idea what the outcome would be until I was done. And then I wanted more! An awesome addition to the Iron Fey series, the best one so far for sure. I cannot wait for The Iron Knight, Ash’s story, later in the year!! A fantastic series that I’d highly recommend!

Mini Reviews - The Iron Queen, MSTSteal

Couple of early eARC's from NetGalley/Harlequin Teen (thank you!) this week, full reviews will be posted closer to their release dates.

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
Iron Fey #3 - out Feb 1st 2011 (US) - Goodreads description

I liked The Iron King [book 1], I loved The Iron Daughter [book 2], but this one...adored it!! I'm rarely a big fan of fey books, I find that more often than not, they just don't work for me. Book 1 of this series was enough to make me try book 2, despite a bit of disconnect with the story. So, so glad I carried on with it because this book is just fantastic, beginning to end. Meghan's troubles are a long way from over and I love how this all played out. The intensity and emotion to the story, along with the twists, was just incredible. The ending...wow. Amazing ending. But now I'm left with this desperate need to have book #4, The Iron Knight, Ash's story, in my hands right. now. Some how, despite not being much of a fey fan, this has become one of my favourite series. So if you're a fan of fey stories, this series should be a must read. Heck, it is even if you're not. Rating: 10/10

My Soul To Steal by Rachel Vincent
Soul Screamers #4 - out Jan 1st 2011 (US) - Goodreads description

Well. What to say? MSTKeep changed a lot, and it was a fantastic book, but I knew where the end was going long before I started it. What I really didn't know, was what would happen next. How Kaylee would deal with the events and where it would take her. Having (somehow) survived reading Rachel's seriously awesome but heart wrenching adult Shifters series, I knew this would be good, that she'd throw in some great twists and make one hell of a story. I wasn't wrong. This was just magic. I could barely put it down, despite being really sick and barely able to concentrate. It's beautiful, painful, smart and just plain awesome. Great character development and I adore the addition of Sabine (Nash's ex). The conflicts and rivalries really heated up. I'm so excited for If I Die (book 5, out late 2011) now, and it's hitting very close to the top of my must haves list for 2011. I liked this series from the start, but it was Keep that made me love it, and Steal has made me adore it. Pretty please though Rachel, do not break my heart all over again!? Please? ;) Rating: 10/10

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Spoiler warning! Some minor spoilers for the first book of the series, The Iron King, below.

"'I've been in the palace of the Winter fey for a while now. How long exactly? I don't know. Time doesn't flow right in this place. If I ever get out of here, I might find a hundred years have passed and all my friends are long dead.

I try not to think about that, but sometimes I can't help but wonder.

My name is Meghan Chase.'

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey - ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart."

This is the second book in the Iron Fey series. I liked the first book, The Iron King, but didn't love it. I thought it was good, well written and interesting, but it's rare for a book focusing on faeries to really capture me. But I liked it enough to keep reading and I am so glad I did. There is a free ebook novella that comes between books 1 and 2 called Winters Passage which can be found on the series site here. I read it and it captured my attention as The Iron King did and left at a point that made me want to jump straight in to this book. While I'd recommend reading Winters Passage before this, there isn't a need to. The important parts of it are covered briefly in the first chapter of this.

The Iron Daughter picks up shortly after the end of The Iron King. Meghan is now in the Winter Court, and not exactly happy. Queen Mab doesn't believe her tales of the Iron realm or destroying the Iron King, and she holds Meghan responsible for leading her youngest son, Prince Ash, astray with the tales. Adding to her frustration and pain, Ash himself is mostly absent. And when he does decide to appear, he makes it seem as though he doesn't and never has cared for her. She begins to wonder if he ever cared for her at all. If it was just the Ice Prince playing games with the mortal girl for entertainment. She's determined to hide her emotions as best she can from everyone else though. Emotions are weakness in the Winter Court and Meghan is getting a crash course in survival.

But it soon becomes clear that Ash should be the least of her worries. There is a traitor in the Winter court, someone who is working with the Iron fey and could potentially destroy them all. Meghan has an idea of who it could be, but knows that no one will believe her. Was is coming between the Summer and Winter courts, with the Iron fey just waiting to destroy whoever is left standing. Meghan may be the only one able, and willing, to try and stop it.

It didn't take long for me to get well and truly hooked in this book and I found it really hard to put down. I really felt for Meghan as she found herself alone in the Winter court and facing so many new challenges. I loved the continued detail of the world. It's beautifully done, making it easy to imagine the world Meghan is in, the characters around her, but it never drags the story down with an overload of description.

Character wise, I found it Meghan far easier to get on with this time around and liked her a whole lot more. She does a lot of growing up in this book. As the blurb says 'she grows a backbone of iron'. She's faced with some hard truths, about life in Faery, the creatures there and in the mortal world, the way the Iron fey are continuing to spread leaving destruction in their path. And in her personal life as well she faces hard choices. Meghan learns to make the hard decisions, to do the right thing even when it seems impossible and she'd rather focus on other things. I found myself feeling oddly proud of her for a couple of those decisions and it made me think a whole lot more of her. Grim, the sarcastic but brilliant cat also makes another appearance and if possible, I love him more this time around. Still mysterious and hiding a lot, he's very entertaining and I always just want more of him.

Perhaps the thing that surprised me most character wise, is how much more I came to love both Ash and Puck in this book. I liked both men okay in The Iron King, but I didn't really love either of them. Was 'Team Ash' even so, but I wasn't too drawn in to the romance side of the book. Here, the romance does play a bigger role and the hints of a love triangle from book one become far more pronounced. But even without that, I came to really, really love both Ash and Puck. I felt we got the chance to get to know them a lot better in this book, and they (Ash in particular) have to make some hard choices and do some growing as well. And I completely adore Ash now, which I didn't think would happen.

Despite the increased romantic plot, there is still plenty more going on. The concept of the iron fey continues to intrigue me, and I still find the majority of them very creepy. Always a good thing for a bad guy. It's a fairly fast paced book. Lots of twists and turns, some are a little predictable but most not. Some serious issues to contend with and a very creepy, spooky atmosphere adds to the overall tone of the book. I had a lot of trouble putting it down and was riding the ups and downs with Meghan as if I was there with her. The ending was intense and I totally didn't see things turning out as they did! There were a couple bits which I felt could have been touched on more. A few comments here and there that were clearly ignored to be dealt with in the next book. With as much going on as there is, I understood the why, but I felt they were a little too obvious for Meghan to not pick up on. Still, it was a very satisfying read and left me wanting more. I may not have loved book one, but this I sure did!! Very excited for the next Iron Fey book, 'The Iron Queen' in Feb 2011. 9/10

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

'"My name is Meghan Chase. In less than twenty-four hours I'll be sixteen. Countless stories, songs and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset. I don't think it will be that way for me."

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 know 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."

This is the first book in a YA series, The Iron Fey. I am not very often a big fan of fey central books, and in fact with the exception of Jenna Black's YA Glimmerglass, and Richelle Mead's adult series Dark Swan, I've never more than liked a series/book focusing on fey. So I wasn't too sure about trying this one. I ended up enjoying it a lot though. I don't love it, it's not going to be a favourite, but it is still a good read.

Meghan lives with her mom, step dad and 4 year-old half-brother Ethan. Ethan is often saying that he sees and hears things, things that can't possibly be real. Except Meghan is about to find out they are real, and far more terrifying than she could think. Her sweet sixteen comes with humiliation, followed by the discovery that her little brother could be in danger. All the while being watched by a guy on a black horse, who seems to disappear and reappear at will. Her best friend Robbie, a big time prankster, is being serious and protective, something she's not seen from him before. All this leads to a big discovery. Not only do faeries exist, but Meghan is one of them, daughter of the Summer King. And now the most wanted pawn in faerie.

The book started out well, if a little slow, and built well through the book. There was a lot of action, several good twists and a lot of unanswered questions. Meghan is pretty smart and deals fairly well with what's thrown at her. She grows in confidence and competence as she sees more of the faerie and how they act. Robbie is entertaining and a little crazy at times, but he's loyal to Meghan and a character I really liked. Likewise I really liked Ash, the Winter Court prince, and cait sith Grimalkin. The romance between Meghan and Ash builds slowly and never become a central focus but still got a decent amount of attention.

The faery world is magical and dangerous as it should be. The faery's aren't all sweetness and nice and there is the age old battle between the Winter and Summer Courts. I really like the twist with the Iron fey, and in particular I loved the nicknamed 'pack rats'. The ending was pretty tense with enough conclusion, whilst still leaving a lot open for the next book. Overall it's a really good book, it's well written with the characters and their emotions coming across really well. I really felt for Meghan several times as she had to make some tough decisions. I didn't love it, but I'd still recommend it. If you're someone who, unlike me, really likes fey stories, then this is one you won't want to miss. There is a short story ebook (which I believe is free), Winters Passage, which is set between this one, and the second book The Iron Daughter (out August 2010). I'm looking forward to reading both and seeing how things continue for Meghan. 7/10