The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)

Author: Julie Kagawa

Publisher: MIRA Books

Blurb (from Goodreads): 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, Megan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guesses 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.

What I thought: I didn't really know what to expect from this book, as the last time I read a book about faeries, I was nine years old. However, I fell in love with this book.

The Iron King reminds me of one of my favourite books, City of Bones by the brilliant Cassandra Clare. In both books, a teenage girl discovers that the world is not like she thought it was and goes on a quest to save a kidnapped relative from a sinister villain. I had the same feeling reading this book as I did when I read City of Bones. That feeling of excitement and magic and just being so caught up in the world that it's all you want to talk about and all that you want to read about.

The main character in this book, Meghan Chase, is very well written. She's very believable. Her "voice" sounds exactly like that of a sixteen year old girl. She's the kind of girl that I'd be friends with. She's brave, kind, smart and honest. Although some of her decisions annoyed me at times, I couldn't help but care about her.

Then we have her best friend, Robbie or "Puck", her loyal sidekick who looks out for her, and by my best guess, want to be more than just friends.

Then we have the lovely Prince Ash. Oh, Ash, how I adore thee, even though you did make some questionable decisions. He's charming and sweet, yet he wouldn't hesitate to kill you. He's very mysterious and I really want to learn more about him as the series goes on.

Then we have Grimalkin, the Caith Sith who helps you out if you give him a favour in return. I loved him. I thought he was funny and added a lot of lightness and humour to the book.

And last but not least in my character introduction, we have Meghan's little half brother Ethan, who is adorable and so cute. Awww. He's the one that Meghan has to rescue after he's kidnapped and taken to faeryland.

The plotline of this book is very enjoyable, although there isn't that many twists and turns. It's still great.

I loved the world that Julie Kagawa created in this book. I knew a few things about the faery court from Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments, but I really enjoyed reading about it in greater detail and it was really interesting to me.

As you can see, I absolutely loved this book and I can't wait to get the next book, The Iron Daughter.

Rating:  9/10

                         

 

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

Title:  City  of  Bones
Author:  Cassandra  Clare
Publisher:  Walker  (UK),  Simon  and  Schuster  (US)
Genre:  YA  Urban  Fantasy,  Fiction
The  blurb:  Clary  Fray  is  seeing  things:  vampires  in  Brooklyn  and  werewolves  in  Manhattan.  Irresistibly  drawn  towards  a  group  of  sexy  demon  hunters,  Clary  encounters  the  dark  side  of  New  York  City - and  the  dangers  of  forbidden  love.
What  I  thought:

This  book  is  amazing.  I’m  a  huge  fan  of  this  series,  so  I  thought  I’d  review  this  book  so  that  other  people  could  fall in  love  with  it  just  like  I  did,  and  so  the  Shadowhunters  out  there  who  love  it  already  can  see  my  opinion  and  let  me  know  why  they  love  this  book  in  comments. 

 So,  Clary  Fray  is  an  ordinary  girl  who  stumbles  upon  another  world  entirely  while  out  celebrating  with  her  best  friend  Simon,  (oh,  Simon).  She  discovers  a  group  of  demon  hunters,  known  as  Shadowhunters,  and  from  that  point  on  her  world  is  turned  upside  down  as  she  discovers  that  maybe,  just  maybe,  all  of  the  fairytales  and  horror  stories  that  she’s  heard  since  she  was  a  child,  are  true.  I’m  not  spoiling  anything  by  telling  you  that  Clary’s  mother  is  kidnapped  by  a  dark  Shadowhunter,  as  it  happens  very  early  on  in  the  book  and  it  is  also  shown  in  the  trailer  for  the  movie,  which  I  love.

  Cassandra Clare,  the  author,  has  created  this  amazing  and  beautiful  world  in  this  series,  known  as  The  Mortal  Instruments.  I’ve   never  read  anything  like  it  before. Cassandra   Clare’s   ability  to  create  memorable  characters  is  astonishing,  and  it’s  one  of  the  reasons  why  I  fangirl  over  this.  The  female  protagonist  in  this  series,  Clary,  is  brilliant.  She’s  thrown  into  this  whole  new  world  that  she  had  no  idea  existed,  and  she  doesn’t  sit  around  moaning  saying “Why me?”,  she  just  gets  on  with  it.  She  doesn’t  wait  around  for  someone  to  come  save  her,  and  she  never  questions  saving  her  friends  and   family. Every  character  in  this  book  is  brilliant.  Cassandra's  very  good  at  writing  about  the  relationships  between  the  characters,  which  I  think  is  a  very  central  element  to  the  story,  and  to  any  story,  I  would  argue.

There  are  plenty  of  supernatural  beings  in  this  book,  such  as  warlocks,  vampires,  werewolves,  and  fairies.  These  beings  are  integrated  into  the  story  incredibly  well,  each  having  their  own  past  and  their  own  storylines.  It’s  rare  to  find  an  author  that  can  do  this.

The   plotline   of  City  of  Bones  is  excellent.  I  was  never  bored  reading  the  book.  In  fact,  I  was  in  a  sort  of  trance  as  I  read,  captivated  by  the  story  of  a  world  that  I’ve  been  wanting  to   live  in  ever  since  I  was  eight  years  old.   

 In  this  book,  there  are  many  twists  and  turns,  a  lot  of  breathtaking  romance,  a  jaw - dropping  plot  twist,  and  plenty  of  moments  to  keep  the  fangirls,  or  fanboys,  of  the  world  entertained.  Well  done,  Cassandra  Clare.  Well  done,  indeed.

 Rating: 10/10