Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Knight (Iron Fey 4) by Julie Kagawa

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Published: October 25, 2011

Pages: 386

Received: ARC from NetGalley

Buy Now: Amazon

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.

What can I say about any book by Julie Kagawa? FANTASTIC! I loved the story of Ash - his heart wrenching journey to find a way to be with Meghan again was the biggest emotional roller coaster. Ash had so many challenges to deal with including memories of the past, people he never imagined dealing with again and some terrifying faeries.

I shivered, almost frightened by how much I loved this girl.

I did love that Ash was on this adventure with his good old sidekicks, Puck and Grimalkin. They have to be my favourite supporting characters ever - though Puck himself can be considered a lead in his own right. The friendship between Ash and Puck develops on such an amazing level as we see some of their history and watch their relationship change into almost a kinship. The two seem to have this unspoken bond to protect the other, though they still claim to dislike one another much of the time. Grim is still his same old self - pulling many a disappearing act and also helping the others in the most surprising ways.

There are quite a few characters that appear in the story that I did not see coming, but I cannot mention them as it would completely give away part of the storyline. Let's just say - keep tissues handy (I cried a few times). I would say that this book might just be the most emotional of them all in the series. Romance, action, horror, comedy, fantasy - it's all here - mixed together with just the right amount of each ingredient.

Considering this was the story of Ash trying to return to Meghan - Meghan really wasn't in the story as much as I thought she would be - though her parts were perfect. The story seems to center around Ash (as it should) and Puck (maybe he can have a bigger story in future - not just Summer's Crossing *hint hint*).

This is a story of what real love, sheer happiness, great friendship and true forgiveness. Would you go to the End of the World for the one you loved?

Read my reviews for more in the Iron Fey series;

-The Iron Daughter (Iron Fey 2)

-The Iron Queen (Iron Fey 3)

-Summer's Crossing (Iron Fey 3.5) 

About the Author:

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series was born in Sacramento, California. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time (okay, at least the illustrations did), but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, an obnoxious cat, an Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and a hyper-active Papillion. -source

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