The Iron King (The Iron Fey, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Aug 22, 2018 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own-ebook-read, 0-pofm, reviewed, urban-fantasy, audio, romance, young-adult, 0-rrrc-mag-list, zz-rrrc-mag-aug-2023-list, paranormal

This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

I enjoyed this book a lot, but it didn't really wow me. I find books like this so hard to review. On one hand, I liked the book. On the other hand, I didn't love it.

The one great thing that this book has going for it is the stellar concept behind the story. Kagawa has taken the common knowledge that people know about fae (or fey, faeries, etc.) and expanded on it in a unique way. I liked how she pulled from things that most people can rela This review MAY contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.

I enjoyed this book a lot, but it didn't really wow me. I find books like this so hard to review. On one hand, I liked the book. On the other hand, I didn't love it.

The one great thing that this book has going for it is the stellar concept behind the story. Kagawa has taken the common knowledge that people know about fae (or fey, faeries, etc.) and expanded on it in a unique way. I liked how she pulled from things that most people can relate with, such as characters from Shakespeare, and brought them to life in her own way. The concept alone had such potential to be a five-star read. Unfortunately, some of the execution dampened my enthusiasm.

The flow of the story was very smooth and fast-paced. I think that this is where some of the issues that I have with the book stem from. While there was plenty of minor conflicts for the main character, the large conflict with the boss at the end of the book was over and done with in what felt like seconds. The book had been building up to this big showdown with the main villain, but it just felt like it petered out at the end. I feel that the book could have been lengthened to include more conflict.

This brings me to the romance. I also feel like the book could have been lengthened to include more emotional interaction with the love interests in the book. The romance felt rushed and almost as if it came out of nowhere. It didn't feel believable. The main character was threatened by her love interest and they were guarded around each other. Then all of a sudden he is kissing her without really showing him soften to her at all. It just didn't work for me. Which is saddening because I was rooting for the romance in the background. Another thing in this book that really had so much more potential. In the end, I liked the romance, but it just wasn't convincing enough for my tastes. There was also the beginnings of a love triangle, though minuscule. I guess we will see if a love triangle blossoms forth in the next book?

The character development in the book didn't really have anything lacking, but I didn't feel like the characters touched my heart as much as I would have liked. I was definitely interested in the characters, but I felt like they could have been portrayed more intimately. Interest and adoration are completely different. While I did not dislike the characters, I also wasn't enamored by them.

I felt that the world building was also another high point in this book. While part of this book occurs in the real world, a good portion of the book occurs in Fairyland. I liked Kagawa's portrayal of the Nevernever (a.k.a. Fairyland). Her portrayal is pretty spot on with how I think Fairyland would be from folklore. Mystical and sinister. Both sweet and sour. I liked seeing all the bargains made since that is a key element to the fae's trickery in folklore. I liked the focus on their world existing because of mortals belief in them and them being remembered.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I will continue the series. While the book kept me entertained, I felt there could have been some minor improvements to a few aspects of the story. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys books about the fae.

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Jul 24, 2015 Nancy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya, fae, irritating-heroine

What is it with annoying heroines? I seem to be reading nothing but books with heroines who are throw-the-book-across-the-room irritating! The minute I met Meghan Chase, I was irritated by her. But I was willing to give her a chance. I know with a lot of YA books, the characters do develop and grow as the books goes on, but Miss Chase just seemed to remain a pain in the butt. She was pathetic, whiny and did very little to warm herself to me. And in so many situations, she just didn't think. I kn ...more

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May 14, 2012 Camilla rated it really liked it

Shelves: ebook

I was really pleasantly surprised at "The Iron King". With a lot of the faery/YA/romance fantasy out there, this book really managed quite well to steer clear of the worst pitfalls in the genre while maintaining an innovative and interesting idea.

The premise of human highschooler finding out she's something more is very used and I feared a typical Mary Sue/I'll fall in love with the first supernatural being and he'll sort it all out - type main character, but Megan is actually a quite likeable h ...more

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May 23, 2013 Krysta rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I found it very difficult to get in to this book.
I understand it's a Young Adult genre, but it felt even too juvenile to be considered that at times. I also had a hard time believing the developing romance between Meghan and Ash. It seemed to simply appear.

It wasn't a terrible book and it had a couple of qualities that make it difficult for me to give the book a single star rating, but it's not something I would neccecarily reccomend to a friend either. ...more

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Feb 11, 2020 TheReadingKnitter/ Kasey rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, library, 2020

So with all the hype that I’ve heard about this book for years I was expecting something super GREAT...Sadly I wasn’t that crazy about it. While I read it and thought it was just so so, I did skim many pages and won’t be reading the other books in the series. Just my thoughts.

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