The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King
Series: The Iron Fey #1
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Romance

Maturity Rating: 13+
Overall Rating:


My Quickie Synopsis: Meghan Chase must go on a fantastical adventure when her younger half-brother is kidnapped and brought to another realm. Along the way she meets all manner of odd creatures and learns secrets about herself and those around her that send her reeling head-first into a secret war.

Enjoyment Factor: 
The Iron King has been on my radar for a while now, but for some reason I just never felt the pull to read this particular book. However, I was specifically searching for books that were similar to the feel of the 80's movie Labyrinth recently, and The Iron King consistently came up. So I finally gave in. Don't judge me; David Bowie fascinates me! But, my obsession with 80's movies aside, I didn't rate this book based on its nostalgia factor for me, I promise!

If anything, The Iron King reminded me of Alice in Wonderland.

Ms. Kagawa is one powerhouse of a writer, and it shows in this book. It is an enjoyable read, but I wasn't falling all over myself to get to the second book right away. I had a few problems with plot execution to the point where I started to feel slightly disenchanted. The story is like a deliciously tantalizing piece of chocolate that's only slightly expired. You eat it anyway (well, if you're me, ha!), but you realize that it's not as good as it had the potential to be.




Technical Rating:

Character Building:
I suppose the one character that I take issue with most for development purposes is the Iron King, himself. The book is titled after him, for goodness' sake! And yet, I don't feel like we learned much of anything about him at all. What's up with that?! I'm not also entirely sure how I feel about the shaping of Ash; I understand for the time being his character is supposed to be more on the mysterious side, however, already there are inconsistencies.

Plot Strength:
Oh, boy. Well, like I said, this book was an enjoyable read, but had some plot issues. SPOILERS HIDDEN

How could a mother not realize that her son is not the same, especially considering that she remembers her encounter with the Seelie king. That shows that she must have a higher sensitivity to the Fae, right? And what was the point of the Iron King, except as a prop at the end? Perhaps he isn't truly dead, but still, his sudden demise left much to be desired.

I'm somewhat wondering if these issues had to do with the fact that this is Ms. Kagawa's first series. In my mind, perhaps she wasn't sure of the reception of the story so she gave it the ability to be a stand-alone if it came to that; but with a story of this magnitude, wrapping the story up so tightly actually suffocated the plot and didn't allow it to play out naturally.

Sincerity:
Perhaps I'm out of touch with the times; I hear that it's a problem that plagues adults as they get older. Anyway, I think that the insta-love was ill-placed. I understood it to a point, but seriously? A girl who just turns 16 and a boy (man?) who is quite possibly immortal and who is supposedly her enemy just don't add up. Sorry, not buying it!

Editing:
The Iron King shows Ms. Kagawa to be quite the proficient writer with a fantastic editing team.

Pacing:
The main antagonist and the general romance were so incredibly rushed. I was highly disappointed! This is the first book in a series and I felt like rushing those elements was a great disservice to both the book and the series overall.

My Icing on Top:
I haven't read many books that center specifically on Fae; usually Fae are companion characters to paranormal story-lines. I'm not sure if that's because I haven't been looking hard enough, or if it just isn't what's "in" right now. Either way, this book was interesting and I do know that I will eventually continue on with this series. My hope is that because her first book was so well received, Ms. Kagawa's remaining books in the series will strive to be a bit more polished in terms of plot and character development.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K