Friday, November 26, 2010

Fairy Heavy Metal

The Iron King


Written by: Julie Kagawa

Released: February 1, 2010 by Harlequin Teen
Summary: Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.




It took me long enough to get around to reading this, but I eventually did and all I can say is that it’s crazily similar to the movie Labyrinth. Seriously, the little brother is taken by evil creatures, the older sister must endure the journey to saving him, there’s major sexual tension between her and the “evil” fairy, and there’s a time limit thrown in randomly. However, all similarities aside, I really did enjoy reading this book and I can’t wait to read the second (and third and fourth).

Meghan is a likeable character, though rather nearsighted and a little drippy, but I like her spunk and independent nature. She was also written realistic enough that there were many parts in the book where I could picture the looks of disdain on her face, as well as other emotions.

Then there’s the great Puck vs. Ash debate. Personally, I’m rather on the fence over this one. I can see where Ash with all his brooding and star-crossed appeal would be a good match, but Puck has the whole friend thing going on along with his humour and protectiveness. I think that I’ll have to read the second book to cement any stance on it, so we’ll have to wait and see.

The plot, while eerily similar to Labyrinth, twines together the idea of fairy kingdoms rather well and I like how they take classic and well-known fairies and turn them into more relatable and moder characters. Oberon and Titania, along with Puck, are some of Shakespeare’s best characters and I really liked how A Midsummer Nights Dream was incorporated into it as well.

Also, this cover is gorgeous. Seriously, it's a work or art.

In all, this was a great debut in my mind and it definitely made me want to read more about the characters and their lives. I’m giving it an 8/10.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed reading your review. I can't wait for this series to arrive over here in the UK.