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

Oct 11, 2010 Samantha Young rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites, favourite-authors, books-i-own, covers-i-love

WOW.

Amazing.

What a stunningly imaginative world Julie Kagawa has created in The Iron King, the first of the Iron Fey series. Kagawa’s vivid descriptions and inventive fey creations make The Iron King the winner of its genre. With her attention to detail and vibrant and evocative prose, Julie Kagawa takes her place among the greats of fantasy writing - her writing is reminiscent of classics such as Alice in Wonderland and moderns such as The Mortal Instruments.

I was completely swept up in the wor WOW.

Amazing.

What a stunningly imaginative world Julie Kagawa has created in The Iron King, the first of the Iron Fey series. Kagawa’s vivid descriptions and inventive fey creations make The Iron King the winner of its genre. With her attention to detail and vibrant and evocative prose, Julie Kagawa takes her place among the greats of fantasy writing - her writing is reminiscent of classics such as Alice in Wonderland and moderns such as The Mortal Instruments.

I was completely swept up in the world of the fey, at once enchanted and terrified by the mercurial creatures and the realms they live in. Reeled in and hooked by the genuinely creepy and sinister beginning, I traversed The Iron King with awe, intrigued and utterly content to be there. The plot is unique and gripping, full of suspense, action and romance.

As far as characterisation goes… awesome. Meghan, the heroine, has the most character development. She was likeable from the get go, snarky and fun with those she was comfortable around and yet brimming with all the insecurities many teen girls possess. Despite her fear of the fey she dives into their world to save her little brother and it’s over the course of her journey that she gains the strength and confidence to match her bravery. The heroes of The Iron King, Puck and Ash, were fantastic. Puck was funny and mischievous and adorably cute, his loyalty to Meghan endearing and kind of hot. Speaking of hot. Hello Ash of the burning ice. Yum. Ash was the ultimate bad boy and I can’t wait to see where his character goes over the course of the other novels. My favourite secondary character has to be Grimalkin, who reminds me of the Cheshire Cat. He says and acts exactly how you imagine a cat would if he could talk. Arrogant, witty and occasionally just a little bit nice.
The iron fey characters were particularly distinct and ingenious. I loved the charming and cute pack rats and the terrifying Ironhorse and Iron King. Kagawa describes these characters so well I could see them crystal clear before me.

As you can tell from this review I was amazed by The Iron King and cannot believe it has taken me this long to read this novel. It is definitely the most captivating and beguiling novel I’ve read in a long time, and I’m now a HUGE fan of Julie Kagawa. I think she’s awesomesauce.

The Iron King gets my rarely given…

Ten Explosive Stars!

...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, arcs, 2010-debut-author, mundie-moms-reviews, 2010-100-book-challenge, 2020-reading-challenge

This was is on action packed, exciting read. I totally love the modern day faerie tale in which Julie has created. She has spun an amazing story wrapping in the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, and a beloved character from A Midsummer Night's Dream, Puck, as well as Queen Titania.

Megan's about to turn 16 and the world as she knew is changing before her eyes and she's soon forced into a whole new world she didn't really think existed, after her 4 year old brother is kidnapped by the monsters that are ...more

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Feb 15, 2011 Jessi rated it liked it

In Julie Kagawa's debut novel, she introduces readers to a world where faeries are created through imagination and creative efforts of the "real" world. Megan Chase, our main character, discovers on her 16th birthday that there is a whole other realm that exists when her brother is kidnapped and traded for a changeling. Megan enters the world of faery politics should had never dreamed of, becoming the pawn of the courts and wanted by a power neither know exist.

When I first started reading YA fa In Julie Kagawa's debut novel, she introduces readers to a world where faeries are created through imagination and creative efforts of the "real" world. Megan Chase, our main character, discovers on her 16th birthday that there is a whole other realm that exists when her brother is kidnapped and traded for a changeling. Megan enters the world of faery politics should had never dreamed of, becoming the pawn of the courts and wanted by a power neither know exist.

When I first started reading YA fantasy, I'll be the first to admit that I had no interest in reading books about faeries. I read mostly about vampires, stemming from a couple of decent encounters with adult vampire series. I started with Twilight while I was student teaching, simply to get into the heads of the plethora of students I had reading the books. I wasn't overly enamored with the series, but I'll admit that I didn't have the violent negative reactions many adult readers had to the series. But I digress. So, faeries. I picked up Need by Carrie Jones as my first diversion into the realm of the fey (pixies, to be exact). I wasn't overly impressed. My second attempt was Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr and after that I was hooked. But, again, this review is not about that. This is about the splendid world created in The Iron King by Julie Kagawa.

This book promised adventure, and I felt that it delivered on that promise. Kagawa's knowledge of faery lore and etiquette clearly exceeds my own, but I felt that those familiar with such topics wouldn't be disappointed. She pulls from the realms of well established characters, such as Queen Mab and Robin Goodfellow (aka Puck) and weaves the characters with a modern day coming of age story of a half-blood faery.

I very much enjoyed the Megan's character. She was a strong-willed female who persevered through many trials along the journey to save her brother. Every once in awhile I would cringe when she would start making deals left and right with faeries, something the reader learns fairly early on is not always the best idea. On the whole, I thought she was a strong, possibly slightly underdeveloped, character. Kagawa also gives her readers the classic good guy vs. bad boy dilemma from the start, with Puck and Ash. Puck is Megan's long-time best friend and servant of the king (her father), while Ash is the prince of the other court (technically her enemy). You gets hints throughout of Puck's feelings for Megan and in the end, there are most definitely sparks flying between Megan and Ash. Only time (and the rest of the series) will tell which "team" readers, and ultimately Megan, choose. ...more

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Dec 17, 2010 Between the Covers rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

The Iron King is the story of Meghan Chase, an almost sixteen year old girl, who lives in rural Louisiana. Meghan’s your average teen, with one small exception. She’s half faery. Julie Kagawa weaves an exciting story in which Meghan and her best friend Robbie must travel into the world of Faery to rescue her younger brother. With vivid words, the beauty and terror of both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts come to life on the pages.

Along the way we meet two handsome bad boys...Robin Goodfellow, Puck ...more

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Jan 28, 2011 Mallary rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, read-in-2011

I'm in awe at how much I enjoyed reading this book. The characters, the setting, the creatures, it all comes together to make an entirely new world. Julie Kagawa's descriptions led me to feel as if I was actually there in Nevernever. I can see why I've been hearing so much hype about the series from other readers. I've got to say, the references to Midsummer Night’s Dream were an unexpected surprise. Throughout reading the book, you can definitely get a feel for how much research must have went ...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Beckie rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, ya-fairies

The Iron King is a brilliant book for many reason. You seen to get lost in this wonderland of a world the author writes about. In the beginning of the book through the end I felt deeply sorry for Meghan Chase. She is such a sweet girl who get
tossed into nevernever to try to find her brother who was taken by someone who she does not know. Meghan goes through many different hardships and looses her self along the way but finds love and friends. I did found myself getting bored in the middle of th ...more

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Dec 10, 2010 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: harlequin-teen

I had never read a fiction book about faeries before...ever, so I was very skeptical starting The Iron King. I was also worried that Kagawa's use of Robin Goodfellow would be repetitive, since so many have alluded to him in creative works before. But boy, was I EVER WRONG! I LOVED this book! I could not put it down. While I was reading this book, Kagawa had me believing in faeries and looking out for the door that would take me to Fairie. A book hasn't blended into my reality like that since Har ...more

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Jan 25, 2011 Autumn rated it liked it

I wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. I enjoyed the book, and thought I had everything figured out early on. Some of my theories were right, but not all of them. After I have finished the series, I will re-read this book (like I do with all books). Hopefully, I will enjoy it more the second time, instead of constantly wondering if my theories are correct.
2 nd reading
I enjoyed this book much more the second time, than the first. I caught more details this time than the first. It's still my le ...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Christine rated it liked it

I decided to read this book after holding on to it for a long time. I found it quite enjoyable and really liked Meghan's character. It was a fun read but I felt like something was missing....maybe Puck. I found Ash to be a bit of a jerk. I am hoping this changes in the future books and am excited to read them. ...more

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