Review: The Lost Prince

Title: The Lost Prince
Author: Julie Kagawa
Date Released: October 23rd, 2012
Pages: 379
Rating: 4 out of 5

Description:
Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

This novel is one of Julie’s books that will have you demanding for the second one as soon as you finish your read.

Review:
Ethan Chase is definitely not that little innocent boy who we first meant The Iron King.  He has several piercings, some incredible kali skills, and a major bad boy record.  However, deep down inside, he's still the sweet kid that he once was.  It's just been years of annoyance by the fey that caused him to become a bitter and angry teenager.

When Ethan moves to a new school, after being expelled from his previous one, he encounters a half-breed, Tod, who pulls him and a girl named Kenzie into the world of fey which he tried to avoid for so long.  From there, his world becomes completely changed when he meets his nephew, Kieran, and has to embark on a journey to save the people he comes to care about.

After reading The Iron Prophecy, the novella following The Iron Knight, I couldn't wait until The Lost Prince came out.  This was definitely written in the spirit of the other Iron Fey novels.  There's a lot of fast paced action and adventure and, in general, I just love reading about this particular world of fairies.  Seeing it from a negative point of view adds a perspective that is different from the Meghan and Ash's view which made it twice as interesting.

Ethan in general was just such an interesting character... He turned into a complete rebel from the little innocent boy that we used to know him as.  Both him and Kieran together kind of reminded me of the one and only dynamic duo, Puck and Ash, which I think Puck even stated himself at one point in the novel.  Ethan's (obvious) love interest, Kenzie, was a cool female character to add into the mix of teenage boys.  Sometimes, she acted just a little too clingy and strong (she pulled the "I want to stay with you because we've gotten this far" multiple times when Ethan told her she should go home).

I can't say that I completely fell in love with The Lost Prince though, as I had with the previous books in the series.  To me, I felt like something was lacking.  Maybe it was because I love the action and adventure, it seemed to jump around a little too much from place to place.

The Lost Prince was a fantastic start to the new spin-off series.  From the ending, I could definitely tell that there was something else going on that would definitely carry on into the next book, The Traitor Son, so I'll be on the lookout for that when it hits shelves.  If you haven't read The Iron Fey series, then I definitely suggest that you do because they are all out so you won't have to wait for anymore to come out!

Cover Review:
I wasn't too sure about the whole shirtless situation going on on the cover because it is a little awkward when your mom sees it and you have to explain why you're reading a book with a shirtless boy on the cover.  However, I like how they kept certain design elements such as the swirly designs and the design of the title.  I really like the forest background, too.

Cleo :)

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