The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey, #4) in End of the Series Reading Challenge

Nov 07, 2010 Nicole rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, arc, faery-novel

You can check out this review and many others on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

AMAZING!!! There are seriously no words for how awesome and crazy good The Iron Knight was. The action never seemed to stop and I nearly cried a few times. Ash's journey to earn a soul pulled roughly on my own; Julie Kagawa is a genius. Getting to know Ash, the real Ash, is something you don't want to miss.

To be honest, I missed Megan. I loved hearing it all from Ash’s point of view, and since Megan was in no way inv You can check out this review and many others on my blog, The Reader's Antidote

AMAZING!!! There are seriously no words for how awesome and crazy good The Iron Knight was. The action never seemed to stop and I nearly cried a few times. Ash's journey to earn a soul pulled roughly on my own; Julie Kagawa is a genius. Getting to know Ash, the real Ash, is something you don't want to miss.

To be honest, I missed Megan. I loved hearing it all from Ash’s point of view, and since Megan was in no way involved with Ash searching for his soul I understand that it would be pointless and boring to have it from her perspective. My only complaint is that, despite the fact that the girl seems to think she knows everything about the boy she’s in love with, there are still some mysteries about him. With Ash, it was now all laid out there for us to gawk over. Don’t get me wrong, his insights were long-awaited, but I missed Megan’s voice.

Puck was hilarious as usual, but there was a visible darkness to him in this one that we hadn’t really seen much of before. He had to try too hard to lighten the mood sometimes, and Ash knew just what to say to get him to go all broody. I also liked seeing him with the blast from both their pasts, and I think if it had ended differently, she and Puck could have been happy together. Grimalkin was as mysterious and annoying as always. He was the only character that didn’t change, but I loved the Big Bad Wolf twist. Grimalkin needed someone to fight and bond with.

The journey through the Nevernever was rich with lore and the descriptions were so vivid. Another reason I love Kagawa’s writing. There were some parts at the Training Grounds where I thought could have used more description, but otherwise the ending was perfect. Often in the final book, authors seem to rush it and you end up unsatisfied. Readers want to be eased out of a great series, and though I could have used more of the ending for my own selfish desires, it was a wonderful ending. It was the one I expected, but it did not disappoint. So much heartache made The Iron Knight a must-read.

I was sad that this was the final book in the series. But all good things come to an end eventually. I can’t wait to see what Julie Kagawa pumps out next.
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Jun 04, 2011 Louisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-reads, owned-read

Loved reading this book again, getting a full length book of Ash's perspective, and his quest to be able to be Meghan's knight! Such a great read!

*First read September 14th-16th, 2012*
This book was bittersweet, but really great! I wish that there could've been more Meghan, and that Puck would've ended up with someone, but there's always future books! This one was just really great! ...more

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Nov 22, 2010 Belinda rated it it was amazing

An entire universe out of 5 stars!

Wow… just WOW. I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to be able to compile a coherent enough review for this book, but I will try my hardest. Far too many emotions roiling inside me at the moment!

Ok, here it goes…

I was continually floored with this story. It had everything a book should have: lots of action, adventure, weird and wonderful places, great humour, romance, and – something I certainly did not expect from this series at all – poignant moments that were d An entire universe out of 5 stars!

Wow… just WOW. I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to be able to compile a coherent enough review for this book, but I will try my hardest. Far too many emotions roiling inside me at the moment!

Ok, here it goes…

I was continually floored with this story. It had everything a book should have: lots of action, adventure, weird and wonderful places, great humour, romance, and – something I certainly did not expect from this series at all – poignant moments that were deeply thought provoking and emotionally wrought in their intensity. You travel alongside Ash the whole way as he embarks on an impossible quest that isn’t only a test of his endurance, but also of his morals and perception of what it takes to be human. He faces difficult choices and has to question himself as to what he really wants – really, truly wants – how much he is willing to pay, and what is right as he is set on a path of self-discovery. He sometimes seems to only think he has to do this for Meghan, not just because he wants to. It’s just another decision he has to face. He is stripped bare of his power, strength and mentality as he is forced to confront the horrors of his sordid past and the demons that he still carries so that he can move forward. And to finally let go of the love that he lost all those years ago so that he and Meghan could have a proper chance. It was difficult to see the strong, confident, and self-assured Prince reduced to a shadow of what he was. He descends into a dark, dark place. It was brutal. It was difficult to watch. And I say “watch” not “read” as Julie Kagawa’s writing is incredibly visual. You don’t see the page in front of you; you see it all play out in your mind as if you’re really there. I’ve never seen such an incredible level of character development in a story – NEVER! Ash came out of it a different person. He’s still the Ash we all fell in love with, only better. Only after he was reduced to nothing could he then be rebuilt stronger than ever before. Healthy. Humbled, he now has the strength to truly accept himself. The real Ash. The better man. He wanted to do it for Meghan, but he needed to do it for himself.

*SPOILER* I wasn’t happy that Ash lost some of his powers. I wanted him to retain all of his strength and magic. I mean, we were all made to believe he would lose ALL of it, but we still didn’t want it to happen, and secretly believed he wouldn’t. But I like to think that he kept MOST of it. He was still able to fight and heal like before – thank goodness – and use glamour to some extent. And he did seem to still be in possession of his immortality – and again – thank goodness! I wouldn’t be able to accept the mortal future that he was shown in the Testing Grounds. Completely devastating. So really, when all’s said and done, a little lost magic is a small price to pay for a soul and a happy ending. They both deserved it, Ash more so. Although, I would have liked to see Puck have a happy ending as well. Maybe there’s room left for another story?
*END SPOILER*

I did, however, notice a couple of similarities between these books and others – A Midsummer Night’s Dream aside and apart from the obvious references of other faery tales that were intended. But then I had to remind myself that this genre mostly stems from the same legends and folklore of old, so they are going to seem a little familiar at times. It’s just something to keep in mind if you read this series.

I hate endings! Hate them, I tell you! Curse them all! They never fail to make me incredibly sad. But I cannot deny that at the end, when Ash and Meghan were finally brought back together, it was more spectacular and BEAUTIFUL then I ever would have imagined. I re-read it like a dozen times before I could put the book down! It was an ending worthy of our heroes. But like I said, I hate endings, so after I finished it I went and grabbed the very first book, The Iron King, and straight away started the journey all over again. I wanted to see Ash and Meghan’s first encounter again. Even if he was trying to kill her. Pshh, an insignificant detail! Lol
So do yourselves a favour and read this series!!

Huh, I guess I didn’t do too bad with the review after all :P

Oh, one more thing! Julie's writing a spin off series! First one out next year! :D

P.s. if you read this series and loved it, you HAVE to check Julie’s chibi webcomics of the characters on her blog. They’re frickin hilarious! I’ve seen three so far.
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Aug 27, 2011 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: reviewed

View the original review in my blog: The Midnight Book Thief

I am so thankful that Julie Kagawa wrote this book. And for her editor for convincing her to. C'mon, if things ended at The Iron Queen? I would have been devastated!

The Iron Knight started off slowly with Prince Ash, devastated over Meghan. And so he does something that many other fey have done but never succeeded: he wants to earn a soul, so he can be with Meghan in the Iron Realm.

I LOVED Ash. I loved his devotion and love for Meghan ...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Aphrodite rated it it was amazing

Shelves: faeries

okay. The last of the series. WOW. I dont know what to say, this book has a totally different
intake on life, especially humanity. Julie Kagawa is honestly one of the greatest authors of all time! She captures everything, a small detail to a unknown mysterious new world. I can not wait to read her next series. AND its vampires! extra mysterious!:) The Iron Knight was a great finish to the series. The Iron King series should be recommended to EVERYBODY! whatever genre they like or age, these books ...more

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Nov 21, 2012 Kirstyn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: beautiful-cover, supernatural

I loved reading a book from Ash's point of view! It was interesting to see what he thought and felt for a change, instead of seeing him through Meghan's eyes, like the first three books. After the Iron Queen ended, I was sad because I REALLY wanted the ending to be different; when I heard there was another book from Ash's POV, I was ecstatic! Julie Kagawa is an amazing author; I have loved all of her books. She has a way of writing that truly gets you invested in the characters and cheering for ...more

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