Review: The Iron Knight

Title: The Iron Knight
Author: Julie Kagawa
Date Released: October 25th, 2011
Pages: 361
Rating: 5 out of 5

Description:
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.

Review:
The last book in The Iron Fey series, The Iron Knight, was absolutely phenomenal.  I did not want it to end... at all. 

The Iron Knight was more of an adventure throughout the Nevernever, with Ash on the quest to figure out a way for him to be with Meghan forever.  BUT!  It was an epic adventure.  Ash, Puck, and Grimalkin, a very unlikely group, meet new people, rekindled relationships with old friends, and journeyed to the end of the world- literally.

This was definitely a treat for me, and anyone else who is rooting for Team Ash.  Being able to get the point of view of Ash just added so much more the series and the relationship between him and Meghan. It also made it so much more romantic being able to see how much Ash missed Meghan and wanted her so badly, and the sacrifices he was willing to make in order for him to be with her.

The plot was definitely really intense.  The Nevernever is very unpredictable so you never know what's going to happen to Ash and his group.  They could meet unexpected people in one part of their trip or get sidetracked by a monster...  Every step of the way was crucial because once something bad happened, you'd be all like, "NOOO!! ASH HAS TO MAKE IT! HE WAS MEANT TO BE WITH MEGHAN!" It was just full of suspense and twists and turns.  Oh.  Don't even get me started on Ash's actual test to gain his soul.  That brought intensity to a whole new level.

Throughout The Iron Knight, you see Ash change from a cold-hearted Winter fey into caring, compassionate Winter fey, and he also learns what it means to be a human- that you will be weak, have a conscience, and eventually fade away.  This is the book where you see major Ash's developments into a completely different type of Winter fey.

The Iron Knight was absolutely magical.  The Iron Fey series is not a cutesy little fairy story.  Julie Kagawa brings out the dangerous side of faeries, whether it be the cold and icy Winter fey, the prankster fey, or just creepy creatures in the forests of the Nevernever.  If Julie Kagawa could keep writing Meghan and Ash's story until I died, I think that that would make me pretty happy old lady ;)

Cover Review:
Ahhh, the cover.  It really brings out the whole Winter fey concept with the icy white and blue swirls, the frost that is building around the edge of the cover, and the little snowflakes.  And then we get to Ash.  I always imagined him with longer hair, but this is just perfect because personally, I'm not a big fan of guys with long hair.  His eye just pops out on the cover.  I really like how they kept with the same theme for all of the covers in the series!

Cleo :)

*Description and cover from goodreads.com
**Review copy purchased.