Book Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis:

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.

     My friend lent me this book almost a year ago and I’ve attempted to read it multiple times, but I just couldn’t get into it. Finally one day, I picked it up and decided it was now or never. I’m glad I gave it another chance.

     The thing I liked most about The Iron King is the world that Julie Kagawa has created.  The ‘Nevernever’ was so well written and I felt like I myself was there with Meghan exploring this mysterious and new world.  I loved how well Julie described each part of the world and how two places differentiate. The Summer Court was my favorite. The author perfectly described the building and its unique design. I could easily create a mental picture in my head. The only thing about the setting I didn’t like was the name ‘Nevernever’. It just sounds odd to me and I feel Julie could have picked a more effective and creative name.

     I have mixed feelings about the characters in this book. I didn’t like Meghan as much as I thought I would. She just seemed, for me, odd and awkward and hard to relate to. I think this is why I stopped reading this book so many times before, because I didn’t enjoy this character. Even though at some points, I enjoyed her heroism and strong personality, at other times she seemed childish to me. Her word choice and they way she acted didn’t seem appropriate for someone her age.

     I did however, loved Ash and not just because I have a major fictional crush on him. Ash is the type of guy with a strong and heroic personality, but can also be kind and caring. At the beginning of the story, when you’re first introduced to him, I wasn’t a big fan because he seemed arrogant and rude. But as the story progresses, Ash grows on you and you start to fall in love with him.  I enjoy these types of characters, they attempt to hide their feelings but often reveal more about themselves than expected.

     Lastly, I feel Julie Kagawa dragged on the story for too long. What I mean when I say this is that there were a lot of irrelevant scenes that dragged on forever. I often put down the book because I would become frustrated, nothing overly exciting happened until the last couple of chapters of the book. The beginning was exciting but after that, it just became almost boring.

   
     I think I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if Meghan was written differently and if there were more exciting events but, I still did enjoy this book a lot. The story was very unique and I loved following Meghan’s journey. I don’t plan on reading the next one though. It was a great read, but I didn’t get overly attached to the book.  

     Rating: 3/5