The Iron King (The Iron Fey, #1) in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Oct 06, 2010 Laura Kreitzer rated it it was amazing

What can I say about this wonderful book? First, the whole idea of the Iron Fae was brilliant and masterful. I really do enjoy it when an author can take a topic over-used and turn it into an original piece of fiction. Some reviews stated they couldn't believe how the main character acted. That's ridiculous--she's a teenager whose only problems in life are school, friends, and family (not in that order). Meghan Chase ends up turning into a very mature, self-sacrificing adult. Maybe some people h ...more

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May 04, 2011 OpenBookSociety.com rated it liked it

Julie Kagawa
The Iron King
Iron Fey, Book #1

Brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell Cadiz

Synopsis:

“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 everythi ...more

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Aug 30, 2010 Jennifer rated it liked it

The mystical beauty of the fae realm is especially exciting to me. The exquisite beauty that is created for such a story really brings the imagination to life. All of the great fantasy stories have a yin as well as a yang. The Seelie and Unseelie to be exact.

Meghan Chase is half fae half human this concoction makes for a strong character. She is willing to go the distance to save her brother. It was really nice to see an adventurous female take on a realm she knows and understands very very lit ...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Kristina rated it really liked it

4.5 stars!

This was a fantastic book! It was my first Farey book, and I couldn't have been happier that this was my first! The one problem I had with it was that some of the characters were not original. The book has some characters from Shakespeare's A Midnight Summer's Dream. Don't let this bother you! I got over it fast, and found myself enjoying the author's version of the characters.

All the characters are great. I loved all of the male characters especially. Ethan, the sweet youger brother ...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Stacey (sassysreadingnook) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, own, re-reads, 2022-reads, library-books

Wow what an amazing adventure. I'm about to strap myself in and go again with book 2 :D ...more

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Dec 28, 2010 Megan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: i-challenge2011

Okay- I admit it. I TOTALLY came late to the Iron Fey Party. Until this past fall, I didn't know that these books existed and BOY, was I missing out! If you know me at all, you know that I have a fairy fetish. They are everywhere in my house, around my house, on my blog profile, just everywhere. I fell in love with Celtic Fairy Lore and Culture after my college roommate (Thank You, Brianne!) got me hooked on the Merry Gentry Series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Now, lots of people out there absolutely Okay- I admit it. I TOTALLY came late to the Iron Fey Party. Until this past fall, I didn't know that these books existed and BOY, was I missing out! If you know me at all, you know that I have a fairy fetish. They are everywhere in my house, around my house, on my blog profile, just everywhere. I fell in love with Celtic Fairy Lore and Culture after my college roommate (Thank You, Brianne!) got me hooked on the Merry Gentry Series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Now, lots of people out there absolutely loathe these books- and that's cool, to each his own- but you can't fault Laurell's research. I own a number of the books that she used to create her fey world and I love every one of them. The Celts are responsible for the fairy beliefs all over the world. Fairies, sprites, pixies, morrigans, doxies, will o wisps, the sidhe, goblins, the Wild Hunt, fairy mounds, brownies, boggarts and kelpies. So many creatures and stories come from the Celts and their belief that the fey captured the British Isles from it's original inhabitants, the Fir Bolgs, and that the fey have since lived on the isles. They believe that in the past, and sometimes even today, the fair folk will come out of their fairy mounds and into our world to aid or wreak havoc upon the mortals they find. This world of the fey, or the sidhe, is what helped inspire Shakespeare when he wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream. The story of the fey in MND sounds much like all the epic tales of the fair folk- such as the classic tale of Cuchulain. Julie Kagawa further marries the Shakespearean tale with the legends of the fair folk- and then she makes it her own.

I absolutely loved this book. I really did. Although I do have to call out Kendra from Books Complete Me- she thought I'd be Team Puck and I have to say that she was wrong. I love Puck, I do, but Ash. *Sigh* Where was I? Oh yes, Iron King. Basically, Meghan Chase is the daughter of the fairy king. Her mother took her and ran after her human father disappeared. She has since been living on a pig farm with her mother, step-father and half brother. Meghan's best friend, Robbie, lives nearby and attends school with her. When he starts to act strangely overprotective and even stranger things start happening around Meghan, the life that she thought she knew starts to unravel. When her brother is taken into the Nevernever, or the fairy world, Meghan has to go after him. "Robbie" goes with her and they begin the journey that will change Meghan's life forever.

I found this book to be fun, exciting and interesting. The writing was vivid and expressive, so much so that you really could visualize yourself there in the Nevernever. So much of the world that Julie is writing is "real," meaning that the creatures or characters come from the traditions of the Celts. My favorite example is the Kelpie that Meghan has a run in with in the Nevernever while she and "Robbie"/Puck race for the Summer Court. Kelpies are believed to be the basis of the Loch Ness Monster legend. Kelpies are fey that can look like beautiful women or gorgeous horses but that guise is only used to help them lure men to the water's edge. Once the man is at the water's edge, the kelpie bites down on the man's arm and drags him into the water to drown. Some believe the kelpie does it for fun, others believe that kelpies eat their prey. Either way, it's a pretty wicked fey creature. I love the character of Grimalkin. He reminds me of the old fairy legend about the woman who messed around with another woman's husband and got pregnant, the man's wife said that the hussy's outside should match her inside and turned her into a cat. The woman as a cat gave birth to a kitten who would be a boy. But the fairy boy always wore the signs of his mother's shame because even as a human shaped sidhe warrior, he was calico colored. Fairy cats. Very cool.

Overall, I would say that this book comes highly recommended. As in go buy it now, if you don't already own it! The Iron Fey books are suitable for all teens. The books contain little to no graphic sexuality and in general, they are light hearted and fun- even in grim circumstances. So give them a try!
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Sep 07, 2010 Crazy Book Reader (RoseCBR) rated it it was amazing

OMG!!!!!!!!! This book was just awesome.... amazing, Julie Kagawa is just a master!!! she can't take you exactly were she wants, she draw beautiful landscapes and the story is so exciting!!!! my extended review later on:

http://crazyreaderchick.blogspot.com/ ...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Isabel Vazquez rated it liked it

An urban fantasy twist of "Alice in Wonderland" with "A Mid-mummers Night Dream" and a flavor of futurism. I can't wait to see what happens on her next book. ...more

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