The Iron Knight: The Iron Fey #4

Julie Kagawa starts off The Iron Knight with Ash and Puck. Of course, Puck is there on his own and Ash wants him to go away. And of course, being Puck, he doesn't.

There are several familiar faces in this novel, as well as several new faces. We all know that there's Ash and Puck, and of course there's the ol' furball Grimalkin, but who else is there to be on an adventure with Ash and Puck?

The group of five goes through unspeakable challenges, especially Ash. But why are they going through the trials? Because Ash wants mortality.

That's right. The great faerie has discovered a way to be with Meghan and has decided to go all or nothing in this. He could go insane from it--he could die from it. But he's going to try.

**

Ash. What to say about him? We got to see more about him than ever before, as we were looking from his point of view. We got to see how he had changed, and how he was nowhere near the perfect faerie boy we thought he was. It gave us a lot of insight on him.

Puck was awesome, as per usual. He was amazing for standing by ice-boy's side, even though he was helping him get the one thing that could help Ash be with Meghan. We saw a lot more depth in Puck than normal, how he really regrets things, how he has been suffering, too. We see how he really hasn't lost his connection with Ash as a best friend.

Grimalkin was ever the amazing feline guide. Of course, with his knowledge and skills, he made sure everyone got through flawlessly. :)

SPOILER, btw.
The Wolf was pretty awesome. We all know he and Grim are friends. It's so obvious. I love him and his loyalty. He's super strong and all but what I love about him is that he protects Ash at all costs to himself, even if he says it's just to be in the stories.

SPOILER, btw.
Ariella. I hated Ari. She seemed so damn perfect. And she made precious Ash be tormented about his decision to be with Meghan, and made Megs misunderstand about them, and and and.. I didn't like her, btu I guess she was necessary for the story.

**

This book has everything I like about Julie Kagawa's writing--action, faeries, adventure, and just a bit of romance drama.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

Summer's Crossing: The Iron Fey #3.5

Summer's Crossing by Julie Kagawa is about Ash and Puck. One of the favors that Ash owes is called in and now he has to do it--whether he likes it or not. Ash needs Puck's help for this, but he doesn't want to admit it.

This novella is funny, captivating, and has just enough action to make it amazing. It tests the true friendship and loyalty of Puck.

Puck has a chance to betray Ash, but will he?

I give this novella 5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

The Iron Queen: The Iron Fey #3

Julie Kagawa surprised me with The Iron Queen. All our old players were back and, honestly, not that well off.

Meghan Chase is with her prince in the beginning, both of them exiled.

Fast forward a little bit, and Meghan gets something important back. She finds her father--the man who raised her, not Oberon--and tried to slowly nurse him back to sanity. While that's going on, Ash teaches Megs a few things.

We soon find out that
Meghan is allergic to her own glamour.

Then, the real twist happens. You know they weren't going to be able to stay out of the Nevernever, especially after Puck was banished! As it happens to be, the Winter and Summer Courts had teamed up against the Iron Court, who was waging war against the two.

While the Seelie and Unseelie Courts are in this shaky alliance, they call on Meghan to come deal with the false king of the Iron Court. Meghan ends up bringing along the two warriors who were sworn enemies, once again banding together because of her. Ash swears more than one oath, drama ensues, Puck is used, and the Courts are close to being crushed under iron.

Meghan goes and deals with the false king, eventually, though there were many, many surprises in that chapter. I could've never guessed about what that crazy girl was going to do in the end. It was amazing. Even with her internal problems, she still managed to save the entire Nevernever. Again. It only sucks at the end, even if I do love the ending.

**

Meghan is back to being her awesome self, for the most part. She's not afraid of doing anything, except apologizing the the two fey that she's hurt most. She faces things that I would've had to run away from. She's brave and never abandons her friends. She braves the Iron Realm once again, with her two warriors by her sides, and brings the corruption to end, but at what cost? In Faery, there's always a cost.

Ash is still amazing, the awesome warrior who is slowly coming out of his shell. I feel really, really bad for him, though. I've come to have this love/hate thing with him, and throughout almost this entire book it's been love. He's still the Unseelie Prince, no matter how much Mab tries to banish him. It's a part of him, and he still acts the part sometimes, though he does warm a little after a lot of Meghan grating on him. He was amazing at the end. I love his True Name, which we finally get to see!

Puck. Oh, geez. I love the Summer Prankster, but I felt bad for him in the entire book. Seriously. But it's his choice, so I guess I have no say in it. Puck is just an amazing character altogether and I just wish he was real because I'm being such a fangirl right now about him. I love him too much!

Grimalkin is back! :) That's awesome, just right there. He's up to his old tricks again.

Oberon is as rude as ever, though he does have his moments.

Mab earned my grudging respect. Even if she's cold and hard as an icicle, she's not a complete unreasonable bitch...unlike Titania, whom I hate with a passion.

Glitch. Glitch is an awesome character, though he worries too much and doesn't know when to stop. I like Glitch.

**

I absolutely loved this book, with all its twists and turns and unexpected endings. The Courts were in trouble. Again. Meghan saved them. Again. But the story was told so differently form the Iron King that it's nearly impossible to make a comparison, so I won't even try.

Julie Kagawa has a way of writing her books that I absolutely love. She has in-depth characters, even the minor ones; a plot that knows where it's going; unexpected elements; amazing twists; hot guys; and such amazing story lines and details of everything! I would gladly pick up just any of her books of the shelf and start reading.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

The Iron Daughter: The Iron Fey #2

This book was not what I was expecting.

It was an amazing continuation of the story, but the beginning of the book almost ruined it for me. Almost.

Meghan was being whiny, annoying, emotional, and completely and totally frustrating. Ash was being the closed off Unseelie Prince once again. Puck was nowhere to be found. Mab was a bitch. Rowan was a bastard. Sage was....oddly civil. The rest of the court was infuriating.

SPOILER
Meghan was seriously making me freaking angry at the beginning. I would've slapped Prince Ash in front of everyone whenever he said that! But NOOOOO, Meghan goes and runs off, crying! Seriously! I nearly threw my laptop across the room out of frustration! It was so messed up! I don't care what he thinks he was doing, it was stupid for him to say something that insensitive! Idiot! *rageragerage* I know WHY he was doing it, but still! I would've freaking killed him! But Meghan seemed to forget why he was being such and asshole so I was even more enraged! She was being a stupid little girl at that point, letting her emotions and whininess get the best of her! I thought she was supposed to be smarter than that! *rage*

From then on, I didn't think I would like the book, but I was already into it, so I figured that I may as well finish up. However, it came as a pleasant surprise to me when I found myself unable to stop flipping through pages, eager for the next little piece of action or drama or whatever.

Something important was stolen, and so the courts set out to make war with each other, which was, of course, all planned out. Meghan and Ash sneak off to try to steal the stolen item back and stop the war. It isn't as simple as that, they soon find out.

A little later in the book, we found out that there was a traitor among the fey, working for the iron fey! *GASP* Complete with the misguided henchman and all.

And then Puck came back and the world had sunshine and rainbows again. His entrance was awesome, as per usual.

That's when the drama really started. The love triangle. I admit, it was awesome. But I did feel bad for one guy, there in the end, after everything.

Ash decided to try to go do something extremely stupid and dangerous all by himself and Meghan didn't stop him, so that didn't go well with me.

Meghan's powers... Now there's a topic for discussion. I think that was the real pushing factor in this book. Her powers, her lack of control, and her having so much power.

**

Meghan was still really brave in this book, and extremely loyal. However, I didn't like how she played around with a certain someone. I also didn't like how she acted at the beginning--completely annoying. Despite that, though, she grew into a wonderful character who finally began to cut the crap and stand up for herself, as well as finally take the roll as a leader.

Ash was more stupid than I have ever seen him be before. He was awesome at times, but still very stupid. I love Ash, and I loved him all the more at the end of the book, but some of his decision were decidedly insufferable and I don't know how Meghan could've forgiven him for a lot of things. I get it. I really do. He's had a hard life. That doesn't give him any excuse, though.

Puck was awesome and full of life as always. He was pining even more for Meghan's attention, but not way too much. He will always be the hero to me and I give him a complete seal of approval. I like Ash, but I love Puck, and I always will. He's always there, cracking his jokes and trying to be upbeat about everything.

Grim is back and better than ever. It's always nice to see the talking cat doing so well.

Ironhorse is back! And there's a little twist to that, too, but you'll have to read to find out.

Leanansidhe was a new character. She was extremely annoying, but I found that she was beginning to grow on me.

Rowan was completely infuriating.

Mab was a cold-hearted bitch who I eventually came to understand, but I still didn't like her.

**

Overall, this novel was well-written and the plot played out pretty well. I really like the twists and turns. I never expected many of the twists, which is pretty awesome because I've gotten to where I typically know how a plot will play out. It was a very pleasant surprise that I was completely in the dark most of the time about what would happen next.

I absolutely adored the ending and I adore Ash all the more because of it.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars.

~Jessicah

The Iron King: The Iron Fey #1

In the world of faeries, you can never be too careful. Julie Kagawa's The Iron King has taught me a few things about the mysterious fey.

For example, faeries are not, under any circumstance, the little dainty fairies and pixies with all that shimmering crap around them that you see on Disney Channel. They are powerful. They are deadly. They act only in the interest of themselves. It's their nature.

The rules are simple. Don't eat or drink anything from Faeryland. Don't accept gifts from fey. Don't make bargains or deals or contracts with the fey. Don't thank the fey for anything. Oh, and try not to piss off any faerie queens while you're there.

When Meghan Chase suddenly gets pulled into Faeryland, she doesn't know what to expect. She had been living a pretty normal life with her family, except for the act that her dad disappeared when she was very young. However, she had a new family with her mom, step-dad and half-brother, and it was normal. Not always good, but normal. Her sixteenth birthday, however, was the turning point for everything.

Evil faeries kidnapped Meghan's little brother as a bait to lure her after him. Her best friend, Robbie Goodfell, says that he knows a way to get him back.

They take a little trip to the land where most fey reside, and Meghan finds out a few shocking things along the way, including the true nature of someone she's always trusted and her true heritage.

Meghan faces jealous faerie queens, more monsters than you can count, mysterious talking cats, a dark and dangerous (not to mention handsome) faerie who seems to have it out for her and many other things. She learns that those myths about fey that Shakespeare wrote about in A Midsummer Night's Dream may not be so mythical after all after seeing things that people in the real world would put her in a loony bin for if she ever dared talking about them.


Meghan's character was very well thought out. I understood her and I could see everything from her point of view very easily. I related with her a lot. She's brave and clever. She's loyal to a fault. She'd do anything for family, and I really admire her for that. She coped with a world of fey extremely well, all for her brother. She's miserable a lot of the time in the Nevernever, but she just kind of deals with it.

**

SPOILER

Puck. What can I say about the Great Prankster? Robin Goodfellow is an amazing character, probably my favorite, even though we didn't get to see him very much in this book. The redheaded faerie jester of the Seelie Court is constantly making jokes, even in the face of his supposed nemesis and archrival. He's always sarcastic and brings along a feeling of humor and absolute loyalty in the story. He has my complete and total approval.

**

SPOILER
Ash was pretty good. I don't see how Meghan fell for him, but I have to admit that he was pretty amazing at times. He was constantly in warrior-mode, silent and brooding and always alert... Except for that time when he and Puck were dueling and didn't notice that Meghan was being carried away by a bunch of gremlins. Yeah. Not the smartest thing ever. But he was constantly fearless. He could only be fearless because he knew he was powerful, though. However, he did have an icy casing around him at all times--no, not literally...though it came close at times.
**

SPOILER
Grimalkin was AMAZING. I love the cait sith. His bluntness is always a welcome reminder to come back to what's in front of you instead of thinking about other things too long. He's the most amazing guide you could ask for. The thing is, his help always comes with a price. The master of favors knows exactly how to word things to make them seem like they could mean nay number of things. He's just that smart.