Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Sorry we didn't get this posted earlier. I finished reading it a while ago actually, and was waiting for April to write her review so we'd have one post, but someone has been busy with school/SAT/True Blood (:D) so you guys only get one review today.

Title: Iron Knight
Pages: 386
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN, ebook ARC (Netgalley)

From 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.

My review (and re-summary):
Julie Kagawa has done it again! Her latest and final installment to the Iron Fey series is just as good as we all had been waiting for.

Told in the point of view of the ex-Winter Prince Ash, the story depicts his journey to do the near impossible: find a way to live in the Iron Kingdom with Iron Queen Meghan.

Along the way, Ash re-finds things about himself that he's kept locked up for a long time. And having Puck with him is not making the journey any easier.

Together with Grim and new characters, they work together to help Ash acheive his goal.
The journey itself is difficult, but when they reach their destination, Ash finds out what it truly means to be mortal. So which path will he end up choosing?

One of the reasons I love reading the Iron Fey series, besides Puck, is that Julie Kagawa has a way of making me always want more. While I read, I was constantly having freak out attacks because I got so excited about what was happening. Or I was just so upset over their desicions or just about to cry. Julie Kagawa is able to do what little authors having a talent of doing, stirring up emotions that one wouldn't dare display in public.

This book really tied up any loose ends and all questions I had, especially the ones I had during this book were all answered through out the story. It was like Julie Kagawa knew what I was going to ask, no matter how ridiculous it may sound, and answered it one way or another. Some books, sadly, do not do that. The author gets side-tracked and just don't return, or it seems that they forgot what they even mentioned before hand.

I'm not going to lie, I would have been okay if the Iron Fey series had ended with The Iron Queen. It would have been close to the old fairy tales, the ones that the Grim Brother's told in which happy endings did not always happy.

I'm also not going to deny that I'm glad she did right this book, becaue I do enjoy happy endings.

Overall: I enjoyed this book a lot, and I'm thankful that HarlequinTEEN allowed me to read it before being published. Julie Kagawa's story keeps you searching through the brambles, just barely being able to see what's ahead, while managing to through a dragon you didn't see for you to fight.

Rating: 3.78/5 stars
Would I reccomend it to others?: Yes! Especially if you were unsatisfied with the ending of book 3.

Did I fall in love with it?: Sadly no, but it will be in my bookshelf for me to reread, so that must count for something.

Karina