The Iron Fey Series Review by Julie Kagawa

 This review will consist of a big series overview with mini reviews of each individual book with as little spoilers as possible.

The Iron Fey Series blew me away! See, for me, the characters are everything in a good book. They are the fabric of the story, the foundation of it all. This series had the characters down pat. They were realistic but magical, funny and determined, brave and vulnerable . . . there were just so many combinations that went into creating these complex characters that I really can’t name them all. My favorite had to be Puck who is one of the funniest/sarcastic characters I have ever encountered. The point is that they were all fantastic leaders through the NeverNever.

When I say that I haven’t been this excited over a book series in a long time, that is saying something. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed a good book in a while. There have been many interesting books stacked under my night table, but I haven’t been THIS excited about a book in months. You know the kind of excitement I’m talking about. The kind of excitement where I laughed hysterically a Puck’s pranks, teared up considerably at Ash’s coldness, and the kind where there was absolutely-positively-no-chance-in-hell that I was going to put those books down. They were the kinds of books that I chose over sleep. Thank goodness it’s Winter Break, or I would be considerably sleep deprived! The point is that, these books brought that reading excitement back to me. There were times over the beginning of this school year where reading would be put off for homework and such, and I started to lose the feel of staying up until 5 a.m. with a book under my nose. These books brought them back.

Well, enough sentimentality on my part. I’ll get down to the who’s, what’s, when’s, and why’s of these books. The first three books in this series are completely from the point of view of Meghan Chase. She is a regular girl with the annoying reputation of a hillbilly or pig girl if you will. She is an outcast in her school and a little bit at home. She lives with her mother, her stepfather, and her little four-year-old brother. The day she turns 16 is the day everything in her boring yet normal life shatters. From that moment on she is pulled and pushed into the world of Faery, a magical yet cynical place to be filled with rulers and gremlins and who knows what else. And only she has the powers to save the NeverNevers. From 1-10 for the overall series? I believe the Iron Fey deserves a 9!!

PS: here's a little tidbit I just discovered . . . Julie Kagawa wrote 2 mini ebooks that take place between parts of the series! The parts that were never mentioned like Ash and Meghan's travels to the Winter court in "Winter's Passage" and a mini adventure of Ash and Puck completely told in Puck's funny and eccentric perspective. I just read them, and although way to short to satisfy my thirst for all things Fey, they are certainly not to be missed!

          

•      Book 1: The Iron King

Number of pages:363

Book 1 is where all the discoveries of the NeverNever and Faeries come in. Here is where everything unravels for Meghan Chase. Her little brother is replaced by a demon Faery thing and she goes off with her best friend Robbie, who turns out to be a notorious faery, into the heart of the NeverNever in search for her little brother. Here she discovers everything about her past, along with the perils that come with that knowledge. In this book, I have to say I was Team Puck all the way. He was just so funny and lovable! So loyal, I couldn’t imagine the story without him. 

•           Book 2: The Iron Daughter

Number of pages: 359

Book 2 was a strong follow up of book 1. One thing that I sometimes expect is that the sequel to the original book will somehow come out to be disappointing in some way, or just not good enough in general. Mainly that is because sequels continue the story of the first one. The thing about The Iron Daughter is that although technically, yes, it is a continuation of Meghan’s adventures, it somehow comes out to be a different story. I don’t know if that makes sense, but what I am trying to say is that this book has its ties into the first, but cannot be compared to it because it is unique in and of itself. What happened in this book is that Meghan has kept her promise to Ash and is waiting to be rescued by the Summer Court. When she finally breaks free from the promise, and Ash’s cold ways toward her, she embarks on a journey to find the Scepter of the Seasons, stolen by the Iron Fey. She discovers powers she didn’t imagine she could possess, and love she didn’t know she had. 

• Book 3: The Iron Queen

Number of pages: 358

This is the end for Meghan Chase. Actually just the end of her adventures, not her end end. Book 3 is the tying of all the strings, so to speak. It is the grand finale, the curtain call of Meghan Chase. This was a bittersweet book. What you need to understand about the ending is that it does cover all the loose ends, but it will leave you heartbroken and enlightened at the same time. All I can say is thank God Julie Kagawa thought to make a 4^th book! Meghan Chase has been banished, bullied, and attacked way to many times! Once she finally feels like she has a break from Feary, she is once again pulled back into the world of magic along with her best friend Puck and Ash . . . this time with the Courts permission. Here you get a whole new side to the characters. Puck is now more raw, much more cynical, and still just as funny. You also get a more thawed side to Ash, a more caring side. By this point I don’t know what team I was on: Team Ash or Team Puck? Too hard to choose! Something that I found was really cool was that this is also where Meghan starts to fend for herself a bit. It’s understandable that in the beginning books she needed to be protected. Now she starts to kick butt on her own terms, and gets my respect.

•     Book 4: The Iron Knight

Number of pages: 361

The Iron Knight takes a whole new twist to the stories that by now you have become accustomed to. Here we see Ash take control as we follow him on his own journey to find a soul and finally be reunited with the one he loves . . . Meghan. His goals are simple. Find the Cait Sith, get to the end of the world, win a soul, and return to the Iron Realm all without completely murdering his travel companion, Puck. But as the journey progresses, some discoveries come to light that could completely change his resolve to become human. Some things happen that just leave you in a WOW state. And then there were some parts that I found a wee bit tedious during this particular adventure. I just wanted to see how everything turned out to be, but some things were drawn out a bit. Not that I wanted it to end, not by any means. I just couldn’t wait to see what happened to our lovely hero and his funny companion. I admit it, I did cry at one point. But even after all the curve balls thrown in this book and surprises in every chapter, rest assured that there is a happy ending for this book. And this book does come with a little extra something in the end. There is a NeverNever survival guide, and an author’s questionnaire with some special guest that I completely enjoyed hearing from!