The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King
by Julie Kagawa
ISBN-13: 9-780373-210084
Rating: 4.5 ♥ / 5 ♥

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny – one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt 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 friends 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.

 

Julie Kagawa’s debut book, The Iron King, was wickedly fun. It has action, adventure, good-looking faeries, romance, intrigue, danger and oh yea, Shakespeare references! Who doesn’t love a good Shakespeare reference?

When Meghan was six, she saw her father disappear. Nothing has ever been quite right since then. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, Meghan is beginning to see some pretty crazy things – black imps that possess a computer, a black rider silently watching her, her best friend Robbie being over-protective and her four year old brother? Well, he seems to have gone a little evil. On a mission to save him, she discovers long-kept secrets about herself and ventures into the Nevernever, the land of faeries. Along the way she finds some unexpected help, and some situations that she could never have prepared herself for. She even finds a little bit of love.

Julie Kagawa’s writing was smooth and flowing and I was able to fall into Meghan’s voice completely. She has such a strong sense of personality. I even felt able to connect with the secondary characters in the book, which is often hard for me. I was a little disappointed in the romance of the book, I felt it happened a little too fast. I suppose that can be attributed to the fact they’re faeries, but still. I really enjoyed the adventure aspect of the novel; the action was quick and full, with the just the right amount of tension, fear, sadness and adrenaline rush. Likewise, I was very impressed with the world-building. Julie took well-known mythology about faeries and made it her own. Although the first book in a planned series, the ending did not leave on a crazy cliffhanger. We had sufficient resolution to the plot, with a few loose threads that can be picked up in the next book.

The Iron King was a great debut novel, and I will definitely be picking up the next book in the series.

The Iron King is part of the 2010 Debut Author Challenge.