*Spoilers*…The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa…*Spoilers*

So I very much-loved The Iron Fey Series. Thus my month-long Tuesday reviews of the entire series…even those novellas…I was pretty proud of myself running through the whole text without giving away too many spoilers. But, Oh, the restrictions of keeping my beans contained! It’s like being given chocolate cake and just having a bite a week…No chance to savor the whole slice that is The Iron Fey.

Well I’m off the No-Spoiler Wagon my friends. The beans are being spilt…

Shield your eyes…

Read no more if you’d like to keep the mystery that is Ash intact…

Without Further Ado…My Thoughts

*Spoiler Alert*

Ash’s Dream-Real-Fake Life

Oh my gosh, stop my bleeding heart. While I was reading this section all I could think of was how adult Kagawa played it. She held nothing back…Ash had this bittersweet life. True, he got to be with Meghan and his son, but he also experienced old age, jealousy, etc. And still he chose that life. Even I was wavering after that trial…but Ash just stuck with it. He felt such love and longing for his former/fake/dream life that he’d do it all again, knowing he’d be doing it as a human rather than a fey.

The human in me appreciates the potential sacrifice Ash is making. Loved him for it. And I don’t know that I would have been that strong…

The Puck Situation

My heart aches for Puck. ACHES. He’s a good guy, really he is! But he gets totally shafted in this series. No supernatural Jacob/Reneseme ending for this guy. Throughout the series he’s been a stalwart friend, even to his enemy, and a faithful lover of Meghan. Yet, at the end of this series Puck is still in love with Meghan, he’s formed a bromance again with Ash…There was a fleeting moment in which I thought he might get a shot with the back-from-the-dead Ariella…but nope, he’s still alone!

Seriously…anyone else screaming for a Puck spin-off? One in which he gets the girl? Maybe the glory too? Give Puck a chance! lol. I feel as though this is the only lose end I see. Puck’s story just didn’t feel complete. I’m just not quite sure how he moves on with it all…

The Ex-Girlfriend

WTF?! Did anyone else see Ariella coming back from the dead? Not even recently back from the dead…she’d been alive (sorta) the whole time!

What about her ghost dancing in the flowers? What was that? Color me baffled.

Again I give props to Kagawa for playing this all in a very adult way. Ash spends a lot of thought choosing between his lost dream of Ariella and his new relationship with Meghan. Kagawa fleshes out this situation in such a real way that there were times in which I thought Ash just might choose Ariella. I was nervous, I was kinda angry, and then once Ariella did all the right things…I was kinda sad. Ok, really sad. Weepy sad. Maybe they shoulda given her to Puck…Just saying…

The Lack of Meghan

I think this made the book strong, and yet at times I felt like something was missing. I know, bipolar much?

I guess I loved this book because it was just Ash’s story. His voice was strong, and one that we didn’t see too much of in earlier books. I think the single voice made the story powerful. It harkened back to legends of a time long past. A time before multiple narrators and dystopian-teen-fiction. Loved it.

But like I said. There was some part of me that missed Meghan. I wanted to see her view. Her thoughts and worries for her love. Her reaction during Ash’s real-life-dream-life. Every previous book has shown her P.O.V. and I missed her. I think because we never heard from her it kinda felt like she was too busy ruling to think about Ash. And while I know it’s not true…I just got a sense of that ever now and then. Anyone else?

*sigh*

Maybe I’m just sad it’s all over. True, this was one of the best endings to a series I’ve ever done. I felt really satisfied that Ash and Meghan’s story was complete. Except for my hope for a Puck spin-off I’m quite content to let this faery tale rest.

But I’d love to keep rehashing…Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? I’d love to hear it 😉

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The Iron Daughter (Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa *Spoilers*

The final book in Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey Series comes out Tuesday October, 25th. Each week until the release date I’ll Book Talk and Review a book in the series…including those novellas!

I’ve become addicted to the series, so whether this is your first time with the books or you’re eagerly awaiting The Iron Knight‘s debut, a little trip to the Nevernever is good for everyone!

Without further Ado…The Iron Daughter

BookTalk

Meghan Chase has returned to the Nevernever. She must fulfill a bargain made to a Winter Prince…The Winter Prince she’s fallen in love with. But Meghan’s about to find that the infinate time of the Faery and their prejudice between the Summer and Winter courts is all but insurmountable. The Ash she followed into the Wyldewood is not the Ash who delivers her to Queen Mab and the Winter Court. The Winter Prince turns so cold that “Frosty” would be considered a lustful term.

Soon a lost love, a royal assassination, and a dash through the terrible Briars will deliver Meghan on another chase of the Iron King. Alliances with unlikely fey and a relationship Meghan should think better of serve only to bring her closer to her Destiny…

Review

*Spoilers*

Finally Meghan shows a little spunk! I mean, the girl apparently has powers beyond belief, we know that she’s super loyal and empathetic…but there have been times in these books that I’ve just wanted her to stand up and shout “Listen to Me!”. And she did. She took Mab down a notch. Meghan, Ash, and Puck have saved the day in each novel and yet no one gives them any credit for it. When Meghan is in the middle of that battle field, hanging on her last strings I’m happy she finally lets her feelings fly…great scene.

Of course that show of strength doesn’t last long. Ash admits to loving Meghan and though he’s the last of the Winter Princes. The only one still true to the kingdom he’s ousted because he fell in love with a girl who is equally trying to restore peace. Seriously these faery’s annoy me! Can’t they just let the love go and thank these two for trying their best to save the day. What is equally as shocking is that Meghan follows Ash out into exile. She’s been working so hard in the Nevernever and throughout this book she’s shown a few more romantic sentiments to Goodfellow…Even though I don’t like the love triangle I wasn’t sure she had reached the point of blindly following Ash into exile. I guess I was wrong.

Obviously, with two more books to go in the series Meghan and her band of faery boys are not finished with the battle in Nevernever…But I’m sincerely hoping that Puck finds himself a new love interest. I don’t like the love triangle in this series at all. There just isn’t enough draw from Meghan to Puck. And my heart hurts thinking of the day that Puck will finally realize that Meghan is never going to go for him. It’s all just a little awkward and I honestly don’t understand the attraction to Meghan. One guy…yes, Multiple guys…no.

What keeps the reader going is Kagawa’s plots. They always fill in like a cobble stone path, never what you expect but a perfect fit. The Winter Dance right when the human hormones were needed. Iron Horse joining the good guys and staying so loyal. Heck, even Leanansidhe not double-crossing anyone and doing her part to save the day. Was anyone else surprised at how cool and not so scary she ended up being?

And yet I am filled with questions at the end of this book. Is Meghan really the potential Iron Queen? If she is, how will this fix the troubles of Nevernever? How will she and Ash still manage to stay together? How will Puck deal with it all? And serisouly…will we ever figure out Grim’s part in everything?

Rating: 4/5 Because the ending really is that good

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