Thursday, August 4, 2011

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Summary Provided by Goodreads:

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.


To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

**SPOILERS FOR THE IRON QUEEN**

Like everyone else whose obsessed with the Iron Fey series, I totally did a happy dance with I saw The Iron Knight on netgalley! Then I did a happy dance right before I started reading it. All I have to say is that The Iron Knight was FANTASTIC! Everything about it was spectacular. Julie Kagawa is an amazing storyteller and she is so talented and creative. 

Knowing that he can never be with Meghan, who is now the Iron Queen, unless he loses the winter fey part of him, Ash, along with Puck and some very interesting guests, set out to literally go to the end of the world so he can earn a soul and be with Meghan forever. On his journey, Ash learns a lot about himself, and it is a lot more then he can handle. I never knew where the story was going to take me and I loved every minute of it. In true Julie fashion, there is action, romance, plot twists, and just awesomeness throughout The Iron Knight.

I loved Ash in the first three Iron Fey books, but he totally just broke my heart in this one. You learn a lot more about the Winter Prince and I kept asking myself throughout the story if Ash was worth the redemption. His story was a lot more then just finding his humanity so he can be with Meghan. He grows so much in this story and becomes someone he would have never thought he could be. I have to say, Ash’s evolution from the former Winter Prince to what he eventually becomes is beautiful and poetic and I don’t think I could have asked for a better character arc. The tests that he must pass to receive his soul breaks down the Ash we know layer by layer revealing completely who he really is deep inside.  

Then there’s Puck. Puck is the comic relief of the story and I just love him. I was never that much of a fan of his, but after Summer’s Crossing, I couldn’t get enough of him. When Ariella died, Puck lost his two best friends and instead of lashing out and becoming emo (à la Ash), he held all of the pain inside. Puck is so loyal, and even after all this time, he still truly cares about Ash and I loved watching that play out in The Iron Knight. We also get to see the more serious side to Puck which just made me love him even more.

One of my favorite series is officially over and I could not have asked for a better story and a more beautiful ending.  Writing this review is making me want to read The Iron Knight all over again. I can not wait until October so I can have this pretty book on my bookshelf!

The Iron Knight officially hits shelves October 25, 2011. Thank you netgalley and Harlequin Teen for allowing me to read this wonderful story early and thank you Julie for sharing your creativity with us once again and creating such a remarkable series! 


 



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