I wanted to dnf this book but pushed through. I got a point were I was skipping dialogue just finish the book. Not sure if I will be reading the rest of the series.

3.5 stars!

“Careful, human." Grimalkin appeared on the corner of the stage, overshadowed by the dead chimera. "Do not lose your heart to a faery prince. It never ends well.”

Much better the second time around! Meghan is awful for the first 15 percent, but she gets a lot more tolerable as the story progresses. Once Act III comes along, she’s a completely new character. I can only hope she keeps improving as she goes through even more challenges, and that she finally sheds that naivety and entitlement she seems determined to hold onto until the bitter end!

I didn’t like the instalove (controversial, I know), but I’m thinking it might slow down now and turn a bit angst-filled after that ending. Also, I can definitely see why people swoon over Ash now! (I’m a sucker for immortal beings who learn how to love again <3) While Meghan isn’t my favourite protagonist and I’m not really sure what he sees in her, I’m happy to keep reading if Ash stays this perfect! (Am I messed up for finding that whole ‘I’ll kill you’ scene at the Winter/Summer meet-up kind of hot??

I LOVE this series. I didn't like this first book as much as the rest, but once you get started you won't want to stop til you've read them all. Fast and fun. I loved the characters- pretty much all of them... There are some disjointed sections, but they aren't enough to deter from reading ALL of the series. If you go to the author's website you can read small novellas for free that go between some of the main books. Very cool.

Introduced to Meghan the character, she's 16 and.. acts like it. One day, strange things start happening. She goes home and finds that her brother has been kidnapped and replaced with somethingthatisnothim. She discovereds her BFF is actually Robin Goodfellow, aka. Puck, aka. best person ever, and follows him into Nevernever, aka. fairyland. Cue ridiculous things happening and Meghan screaming the whole book.
Meghan, ugggh. She's got nothing going for her. Hopefully, she develops into a stronger character. She's not strong, she's weak. Everything happens TO her. The future pushes her in whatever direction it wants and she's forced to follow along. The most effect she has on events happening is when she makes deals with the fae (which she says is so bad to do, yet she does it left and right and it never negatively affects her). I've read so many books lately with strong female leads and I just wanted to smack myself at Meghan's actions. The whole book.
Puck is great. He's humorous, always grinning and winking at Meghan. He cracks funny jokes and is hands down my favorite character in the book.
Ash is an emo band mate. Their relationship kind of came out of no where. They were on a journey and mistrusting each other and then all of the sudden they kiss?? I don't really see the "love triangle" as of this point.
The world building is very Shakespearean. Kagawa even says so multiple times. The court has the same characters and their behaviors are very "like" them. The story really is kind of like Alice in Wonderland. Meghan falls into a world and it's exciting and beautiful. Kagawa's descriptions are beautiful. The plotline was weak though, and the ending wasn't satisfactory.

A little disappointed especially after all the good reviews this book was getting.

The Iron King uses a lot characters and settings from A Midsummer Night’s Dream as we get to meet characters such as Puck, Titania and Oberon. Not being a Shakespeare expert (or fan actually), I don't know much about this particular play and I'm still none the wiser. It was not that this book didn't tell me the story, and I didn't expect it too, but I still don't know that much about these characters.

The main thing that bought this book down was, to be blunt, it was flat which made it cheesy. The characters were very 2D with not enough background or personality to flesh them out. This especially was the case for Meghan, the lead character. I want to be on the same level as the lead, especially a female one, where I feel as though I can slip right into their shoes. However by the end of this book, if Meghan dies, to be honest, I really couldn't care less. She didn't feel human enough. Ok ... she is half fey but that doesn't make any difference. Even leading aliens need a helping of some human traits unless they are a really tragic character. Meghan accepts things too quickly, jumps in too recklessly and because we never really get inside her head you are left running to keep up ... shouting WHY?

This is the same for both Puck and Ash. I didn't really care. Ho hum... he's hurt ...that's nice.

The relationship between Ash and Meghan... what relationship? Ok there are a few one liners *emphasis on the one line* that Meghan likes Ash in more that "let's just be friends". But, I repeat, I don't know anything about this guy and nor, by the sounds of it, does Meghan. She seems to fall in love with his looks which I don't like. Yes they have to be good looking but personality is so much more important. AND THE NEXT YOU KNOW THEIR KISSING AND SAYING THEY ARE GOING TO WORK THINGS OUT!! I’ll calm down. If Meghan did see more in him than just looks then maybe it would be nice for her to explain it a little. This book is first person after all.

Sorry but to use an example say like in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead *minor spoiler for those who have not read it*. Rose and Dimitri didn't get to the stage of "trying to work things out" until near the end of book 3. We knew both of the characters by the end of book 1 and this scene really makes you mutter "about time" with utter joy. In The Iron King, I didn't not feel that; it was too soon.

Plot is very important as well but without good characters there is not much point. I kind of liked the story, even if it wasn't very original. Yes it is hard these days so I'm not going to criticize. I can see that Kagawa wanted to have a fast paced action packed story and congratulations she seriously managed to pull it off. One of the main reasons that I didn't throw the book down due to annoying lead was because none of the scenes got excessively dull. However this fast pace was too fast which left no room for characterisation which leads back to point one.

The best part of the book was the setting and the fey. The Nevernever (not sure about the name but now I'm just being picky) is the sort of place I look for in a fantasy. I also like the concept of the Iron Fey which was definitely new to me. No interest in the characters but the concept was really good; as was the politics between the Seelie and Unseelie courts (I don't know how far that was developed in Midsummer night's dream).

This book had potential but it fell short because of the characters. The story was good, although maybe a few too many diversions in places, and the setting and the word were great. If this book was slightly longer or, if possible split into two books as more debuts need to be about 300 or so pages, it could be a lot better as it gives more time for the author to pad it out. I'm aware it is her debut but I'm afraid, for me, that's not an excuse as I have read amazing debuts where I fall in love with the characters.

The story has intrigued me so I will be carrying on with the series hoping that Julie Kagawa will improve her writing as she writes more but for now we'll just have to wait and see.

3.5 stars.

Many many years ago when I was in high school & goodreads wasn’t a thing I picked up the second boon in this series at a Borders bookstore not realising it wasn’t the first. That book has travelled with me for four house moves in the last decade and I just never got around to finding the first book so I could finally read it. While I didn’t love this book, it WAS enjoyable. It’s definitely got the vibes from its time & i probably would have gobbled this up then but I can’t lie and say I wasn’t expecting more from the relationships in general. Not just romance but most if not all the relationships in this aren’t really well written (at least to me) she’s friends with puck for ages but they’re written like strangers even before we find out he’s sort of someone else. There’s no backstory shown for their friendship & you’re just meant to believe it because they… went to school together. No remembering moments etc it just is. I think if WE saw puck digging her it wouldn’t feel so weird he’s so mad she likes ash? I don’t know. I plan on reading more because I can see potential & I don’t mind kagawas writing. These are very easy to read & might even recommend to my nieces in a few years.

There are many familiar elements in this story, but they are all conjured up in very fresh ways. I found myself smiling at anything that evoked the memory of tales such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, or A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Kagawa (whose name is great fun to say….I had to edit this review down because it’s great fun to type too) has a way with incorporating some older characters into new beings and found ways to make newer thoughts even better.

All the areas of the faerie world are amazing, but by far The Iron King’s territory is the most thrilling and inventive I’ve seen in any other faery story. The landscape comes alive pulling you into their fantasy world. The creatures that inhabit the land are mesmerizing. Knowing that the title of her next book is The Iron Daughter makes me look forward to it even more because it gives me hope that we will be revisiting this land and everything it contains.

There was nothing rushed in the story, everything had it’s proper place and worked out seamlessly. It’s the type of book that I want to read again and again to see what I didn’t catch the first time. If this book were to become a movie (fingers crossed) the set designers would need to build a world as immersive as Harry Potter, I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake. 5/5

A lot of this story seemed really familiar to me. The plotting cat, the powerful king, the charming prince, the fairy never land. I am sure a lot of this was to pay homage to some of the fairy tale greats, however it was also a major part of the story. So there was never anything really suspenseful or unknown. All that said, it was still an entertaining read. The characters were cookie cutter, but still somewhat enjoyable. You really can’t go too wrong when you have a Cheshire cat in your story.

Reviewed by Chris for Book Sake.3/5

Oh my gosh. This book was amazing! I love the suspense and the romance! (Especially the romance...) Ash and Meghan are like star-crossed lovers, almost. Actually, they are.

Shouldn't have Meghan killed the old king, too? I mean (SPOILER) now that she killed Machina, whats stopping him from reclaiming his throne?

My feels about Ash's brothers: asdfghjkl. <- right there. I mean WHYYY?!?!?!?!? Maybe there could be like a secret plot where Ash's twin (oops forgot his name) can like cover up his scar and trick Meghan into doing something.

I think Queen Mab and King Oberon need to work together to fight technology, though. Maybe Tatiana is secretly the new leader of the machines? But then when the machines took over, she would be killing herself, right? So why are the brothers even part of it if it is basically committing suicide? Hmm...

Puck... hes gonna be ok, right? nooo duhhh and Puck and Ash are gonna find a way to not have kill each other, righttt?

Mkay, what I'm trying to say is, a little to predictable. But still great. <3

Oh, this book could have been so good i came into it not knowing very much and it was not what i expected. I loved the concept of this book and the alice in wonderland themes, but dame Meghan Chase got me so MAD. This book could have been so good but Meghan Chase and her illogical and repetitive bad choices made me put this book down to just have break form my frustration.

2 stars,
4 stars for the concept 0 stars for Meghan Chase.