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

Source: Received an eGalley from NetGalley and Harlequin Teen.

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: Already Released.
Number of Pages: 386 (Hardcover)

(Goodreads Link.)

Blurb from Goodreads:

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.

---

If you haven't read The Iron Queen yet don't even read the blurb...seriously, just don't read it! I'm going to try not to spoil anything with this review, but I might not be able to refrain from spoiling bits for the earlier books...I'll try though.

I think the biggest change between The Iron Queen and The Iron Knight is quite obvious...this one is NOT in Meghan's point of view, instead, it's in Ash's. I know lots of people were worried about Ash losing his mystery and all that, but honestly, I was never worried...Ash is even a mystery to himself ...seriously. haha I loved getting to read an entire book written in his POV. It only made me love Ash more. I loved getting to know his thoughts, and getting to see things from his side of the story. It was incredibly interesting and I think Ash managed to maintain his mystery...although I feel like I know his feelings for Meghan a lot better, which just made it even more awesome. Ash has always been able to make me swoon...honestly, I'll stop reading a sigh, no joke...so getting a whole book from his POV was a dream come true. Plus, I'm pretty glad that the story didn't actually end up being finished with The Iron Queen...as much as I loved that book, I think I would've been a bit upset if it ended there. :P

If you've read the other three books, you already know the characters, so you already know who you love and maybe some who you didn't love...but I'll mention them anyway. Ash, Puck, and Grimalkin, of course, are in The Iron Knight aplenty! The Big Bad Wolf and some other characters also pop up. The Wolf and Grim are hilarious together...seriously it's like Puck and Ash's banter, but they're animals...plus cat and dog jokes, that good stuff. I just mentioned Puck and Ash's banter...and I loved it in this one, I also loved getting to be inside Ash's head when he'd think about his past with Puck...or just think about Puck in general. It was interesting to get to see their relationship from the inside rather than just in passing through Meghan. Overall, the characters were fantastic in this one...as always, Julie always writes fantastic characters. :D

If you haven't started this series yet, then I'm just going to say right now that you should definitely go out and start it. If you're unsure, borrow the first book, The Iron King, from the library, and once you're hooked you can get your hands on the other books. :P

I'd recommend this one to fans of the series...although I'm sure by now most of you have read it already. :P And if you haven't started The Iron Fey series yet, then I recommend it to anyone who loves stories about the fey, stories with awesome heroines with some fabulous leading men, and anyone who's a fan of fabulous one-liners and banter....also, if you're a sucker for a forbidden (or even maybe impossible) romance you'll love this series. :)

Since this one's been out for a while, have you read The Iron Knight already??
If you have, thoughts?? Were you worried during some? (I was...I left it out of the review to avoid spoilers, but I was defintiely worried for a bit. :P)

If you haven't read this one, or even started this series yet, what's stopping you?
Or are you like me and have a monumental TBR list...and it's somewhere in there? :P

My Perfect Day with Ash

Well...since this is staying G-rated...and Meghan has super scary fey magic, I'll tell you my perfect day with Ash if we were just friends. Although as you can imagine, I would definitely not want to be stuck in the friend zone with him! haha...am I perhaps hinting at what's to come on this perfect day, well yes, yes, I am.

First, we would go for a walk in my small town, and since it's a perfect day, the weather would be sunny and wind free for once. We might even bring my dachshund along for the walk, she'd love it. :)

Then, we'd play Scrabble®, because what perfect day isn't complete without a fierce and competitive game of Scrabble®? Ash would win, of course, because he's been around for a long...loooong time, so he knows way more words than I do...plus I tend to get bored of Scrabble® after a while and stop trying, I do it with Poker, too. I start with a bang and fizzle out...anyways, while we're playing Scrabble®, we'll be listening to music ("Ice" by Lights, and maybe some "Ice, Ice, Baby" by Vanilla Ice...are you sensing a theme with the music here?), and we'll be drinking some nice hot chocolate, although Ash's might need ice cubes so that he doesn't feel uncomfortable.

After Scrabble, and hot drinks, we'll settle on the couch and watch...you probably guessed it, Just Friends. It's the perfect movie. It's funny, it's sweet, and...it has Ryan Reynolds in it. And since this is the "perfect" day, Ash really likes the movie, too. :D

Finally, with the day drawing to an end, Ash has to say goodbye, but when he leaves Meghan shows up, and we have a sleepover. She gushes about Ash like crazy, so I'm okay with only being friends with him because Meghan is awesome, I'm happy for her (and him), and on this perfect day, she and Ash are my friends. :)

---

If you're wondering why I'm posting about my perfect day with Ash, well it's because Julie's having a contest on her blog! This right here is my entry. :)

You can read the contest post on Julie's blog, here: Iron Knight arc contest: A day with Ash (or Puck)

Here are the details, copied from Julie's blog (in case you want a  peek before checking out her post): 

"One Ash winner and one Puck winner. I will choose my four favorites and let Random.org decide the rest. U.S. and Canada only this time, sorry. Contest will run to September 25th. "Inappropriate" posts will be disqualified. Don't forget to post your perfect day on your blog or other public forum. Thanks!"

So, I hope you liked my day with Ash...I amped up the silly just for you all. haha Good luck to everyone else who enters, and if you do enter, I'd love to read your entry, too, so don't be afraid to post a link. I'll definitely check them out. :D

Happy Reading!!!

♪♫ Ambur