Amaterasu Reads: Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

I only need to write one word to describe this book.

Brilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.

To my faithful readers, I present you the first book in 2011 that has made me cry so hard, Julie Kagawa's masterpiece, The Iron Queen.

Title: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
Pages: 382
Release Date: January 25th 2011
Published by: Harlequin Teen
Source: Mira Ink (thanks Lucy!)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

Just when you thought The Iron Fey series couldn't get any better, Julie Kagawa presents us with a book that has all the things we want to see happen and more. We want action? There's TONS in this book. Romance? Hell, yes! LOTS! More conflicts between the Fey? You bet! Julie has outdone herself in this book.

Meghan's journey is coming full circle in this latest installment of The Iron Fey series. It's time for the half-fey Summer Princess to face her destiny. Summer and Winter has decided to work together to save their home, and upon realizing that she has the power of both the Summer and the Iron fey, Meghan knows she's the key to winning the war against the Iron Fey, and to stop the destruction of the Nevernever. But choices had to be made, and Meghan knew she had to make them before time runs out.

I might have said this a few times before, but one of the things I love in this series is that the characters just grow. Never stagnant, but as their stories go on, so do they. Ash, from an unfeeling Unseelie Prince, slowly melts and becomes a hero we all love. Meghan, was far from the shy sixteen year old girl we first met in The Iron King. Even Puck, the ever playful Robin Goodfellow, has his moments of seriousness when it comes to Meghan.

In every turn of the story the action never stops. And I think, we get to see a softer side of both Oberon and Mab, with both their children playing important roles in winning the war against the Iron Fey.

It's heart breaking to read Meghan and Ash' love story unfold, and knowing just how much odds were against them. It's what made me emotional. Some things were out of their control, Meghan's destiny, being the Summer Princess, Ash being the Winter Prince, and well, Nevernever itself. But through it all, Meghan just... bloomed. Standing up on her own, fighting alongside the people she cares about and accepting the fact that she can never be the sixteen year old human she was, she overcame a lot.

It just made me feel a tad more sad that Meghan can't have both of the things she wants. Embracing her destiny would mean giving up that boy that has been with her through thick and thin. And from the start, turning her back on who she really is wasn't really an option. But I should have expected the Unseelie Prince wouldn't give up that easily. As much as I'd hope for Nevernever's safety, and the Summer and Winter feys winning the war, I'm still holding on to that tiny sliver of hope that Ash and Meghan were meant for each other after all.

The characters in the book felt like family. I cannot get enough of them. So in a sense its hard to part with them because I thought the story would end in this book. Thank goodness for The Iron Knight!The wait will be agonizing, but I know it will be worth it. Now we all get to see everything from Ash's point of view, which I am very curious to know.

My rating

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