Book Review: The Iron Legends by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Legends 
(The Iron Fey #1.5, 3.5, 4.5)

Julie Kagawa

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication: August 2012 from Harlequin Teen
Pages: 304
Format: paperback
Acquisition: bought

Synopsis:

Enter the world of the internationally bestselling Iron Fey series. Dangerous faeries. Heartbreaking romance. Thrilling action and limitless adventure. The world of the fey has never been so powerful. This collection includes three novellas set in the world of the Iron Fey plus the Guide to the Iron Fey with exclusive information about Julie Kagawa's unforgettable world of Faery.

(from Goodreads)

My Thoughts
I love short stories and I LOVE when they get all bound up in a nice package :)

I've read a few of these Iron Fey gems but a few others were new to me - especially the last one.

There is a lot to this book so I thought it best to break it up into parts.

Winter's Passage (#1.5)
Very much Ash and Meghan being...well...themselves. I'm not a huge fan of Meghan so this story was a little annoying - although, I can totally see what she sees in Ash ;)

Summer's Crossing (#3.5)
This one's all about Puck and I love him to pieces! Meghan annoyed me some more (I have such a love hate relationship with her!), Ash was very Ash-like - all hot and whatnot but I would still pick Puck over him any day!
All first person Puck which is both awesome and heartbreaking.

Iron's Prophecy (#4.5)
This is the new one - sort of a bridge story between the first set of books and the next set which feature Meghan's brother. A pretty weird turn of events and I'm curious to see how the new series starts without giving readers the details revealed in this story.

Next up in the book is the Guide To The Iron Fey -- very much a don’t read this section unless you're read ALL of books 1-4. It includes:

*The Original Survival Guide to the Nevernever -- written as if you were a foreign traveler preparing for a journey.

*Character Biographies and Useful Information -- pretty much what it says it is. I can see this section being useful while reading The Lost Prince.

*Glossary -- another useful section. I love the terms and elements Julie has chosen for this series!

*Realms of the Nevernever (and Beyond) -- A reminder of the complex words in which the Fey operate.

*The Iron Quotes -- A quiz (with answers). I don't think I got a single one right but it was still fun to play.

*Q and A with Julie Kagawa -- Love this! It always feels like a treat having a little bit of inside knowledge into why an author writes what they do.

Will I continue the series?
The next book is The Lost Prince which is both a book 5 for the Iron Fey series and a book 1 in the new Call of the Forgotten series. The focus is on Meghan's brother Ethan but after reading Iron Prophecy I can imagine that Meghan and Ash will be big players in the story as well.

Long story short? Yes - I do plan on continuing!

Rating

5 / 5 Stars

The Iron Fey Series 

#1.0 The Iron King

#1.5 Winter's Passage

#2.0 The Iron Daughter

#3.0 The Iron Queen

#3.5 Summer's Crossing

#4.0 The Iron Knight

#4.5 Iron's Prophecy

The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten Series
#1.0 The Lost Prince
#2.0 The Iron Traitor (September 2013)

Book Review: Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: January 2012
Publisher: Bloomsbury / Walker
Pages: 288
Series: ?
Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary:

For seventeen years, Eloise Hart had no idea the world of Faery even existed. Now she has been abducted and trapped in the Rath of Lord Strahan, King of Faery. Strahan was only meant to rule for seven years, as Faery tradition dictates, and then give up his crown to another. But he won't comply, and now chaos threatens both worlds.

The only one who can break his stranglehold on the Faery court is his wife. . . Eloise's aunt Antonia. Using Eloise to lure Antonia, Strahan captures his wife, desperate to end the only threat to his reign. Now Eloise must become the rescuer. Together with her best friends Jo and Devin, she must forge alliances with other Fae, including a gorgeous protector named Lucas, and Strahan's mysterious son, Eldric-who may or may not betray them.  (from Goodreads)

I was: caught up in the pace of the story but felt like a lot was missing.

My thoughts:
I don't know if this will make any sense but reading Stolen Away, for me, was like reading a really long short story. All the pieces where there - beginning, middle, end - but after reading the last page I felt like the story itself wasn't complete.

I don’t want to give the impression that I didn't enjoy this book, because I very much did. I'm a huge fan of Alyxandra Harvey's writing and I can't say I've ever really been disappointed with her books. But maybe I was just a little disappointed with this one.

I think the main reason this was a lukewarm read for me was the fact that I never really felt connected to the characters. Everything happens rather quickly - the entire book is only a few days worth of time - so I never really felt like I got to know any particular character very well. Jo, Eloise's best friend, made an impact, but only because she got on my nerves a little. Her British slang just for the heck of it and her insta-love infatuation didn't win her any points with me.

Eloise was a pretty interesting character - or at least her family was pretty interesting. Eloise herself I didn't feel very invested in. Her insta-love relationship got to me as well. It wasn't the relationship itself it was how very fast these characters were thrown together, fought together, saved the world, had time to make dinner and became the bestest omg I can't live without you friends forever - in about 3 days.

Now, the story itself. The fairy lore and the interplay between the different 'families' of fae - this I really loved. There were a lot of characters and a lot of information but I loved it all! I would love to read another book about this world. There were some common fairy themes going on but a lot was new (at leas to me) and there seems to be a lot more to this story that can be told.

Final verdict:
Not my favorite Harvey book but still one that I'm glad I read. If you like faery stories with some suspense and action thrown in, you'll enjoy Stolen Away. I read an e-galley but this is one that I intend to purchase.

Overall Rating:

4 / 5 Stars

Linkage Love:
Author's webstie
Goodreads
IndieBound

Book Review: The Iron Knight (The Iron Fey #4) by Julie Kagawa

*** Spoiler Free***

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: October 2011
Pages: 386
Series: 4th and final in the Iron Fey Series
Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary:
See Goodreads Page

My thoughts:
A fantastic end to a fantastic series!

Told from Ash's point of view and I couldn't be happier. Honestly, Meghan is my least favorite character and the fact that we get Ash's voice and not hers? Loved this!

Have to say, I wasn't a huge fan of Ash before reading The Iron Knight but wow! It might have taken me longer to fall in love with him but man was it powerful! He's such a dynamic character and there is so much going on under his cold exterior.

Also - tons of Puck! I loved his interactions with Ash - such tension and raw emotion. And pretty much every time Puck opened his mouth with some wise ass remark I smiled. So, I was pretty much smiling throughout the entire book. Or trying not to cry. Or yelling in frustration. Or gasping in surprise. Seriously! My emotions were all over the place and it was great.

The Fey world that Julie has created is very much the faerie world I imagine in my head when I think of our Good Neighbors. It's very much real to me - not fantasy and I feel very much a part of every story and every character.

If you haven't had a chance to read The Iron Fey series, I highly recommend you start. Fantasy and faerie magic and lore mixed together perfectly with characters you'll be thinking about long after you turn that last page of that last book.

Just downright awesome :)

Overall Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

Books in The Iron Fey Series:
1.0 The Iron King (My Review)
1.5 Winter's Passage
2.0 The Iron Daughter (My Review)
3.0 The Iron Queen (My Review)
3.5 Summer's Crossing
4.0 The Iron Knight

Linkage Love:
Harlequin Teen
Author's Website

Mini Review: Kin by Holly Black

Publication Date: October 2008
Book Acquisition: received as a gift

Book Summary:

Rue Silver's mother has disappeared . . . and her father has been arrested, suspected of killing her. But it's not as straightforward as that. Because Rue is a faerie, like her mother was. And her father didn't kill her mother -- instead, he broke a promise to Rue's faerie king grandfather, which caused Rue's mother to be flung back to the faerie world. Now Rue must go to save her -- and must also defeat a dark faerie that threatens our very mortal world. (from Goodreads)

Review:
This graphic novel, with illustrations by Ted Naifeh, was a complete surprise to me. I had no idea Holly Black had written a graphic novel series. A very pleasant surprise, I might add.

A darker look at the world of faerie, in Kin we meet Rue, a street wise, tough as nails girl. Her world is turned upside down when her mother goes missing. Little does she know, this is only the beginning of her problems.

A quick read, like a lot of graphic novels, I very much enjoyed Holly Black's telling of the melding of the faerie and human worlds.

If you're a fan of Holly's then you'll love this one. I'm slowly becoming a pretty big fan of graphic novels in general and this series roped me in quick. Can't wait to get my hands on the next books.

Overall Rating:

5 / 5 Stars

Books in The Good Neighbors Series:
Kin
Kith
Kind

**In my Mimi Reviews I explore older,sometimes obscure books I have found in my travels and wish to share with my readers**