The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa

Pages: 336

Publisher: Harper Collins 

Released: 9th of February 2021 

“YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF ME…”

Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Prankster, joker, raven, fool… King Oberon’s right-hand jester from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The legends are many, but the truth will now be known, as Puck finally tells his own story and faces a threat from a time before Faery began. A threat that brings him face-to-face with a new enemy…himself.

With the Iron Queen Meghan Chase and her prince consort, Puck’s longtime rival Ash, and allies old and new by his side, Puck begins a fantastical and dangerous adventure not to be missed or forgotten. Evenfall is coming, and with it a reckoning that even their combined powers and wits may not vanquish, as a shadow falls over the lands of Faery and the world slips into chaos.

What I Have to Say 

I love Puck so I was really excited to read this one. The only reason it took me this long was that it was my dyslexia got really bad during lockdown. 

This had all the elements of a great Julie Kagawa book. Adventures, Puck and Ash at each other's fronts, a little helping of Grimalkin and even a bit of Meghan! It was nice to see the old gang all back together again, even if they've changed so much since the first book. 

I really liked Nyx a lot. I love the concept of the forgotten and having a sexy moonlight powered assassin just added some icing to the top of a really interesting cake!! 

Can't wait to read on to the next book! 

4 stars

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Harper Collins for providing me with this copy for review. 

Legion by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: HQ

Released: 25th of April 2017 

Dragon hatchling Ember Hill was never prepared to find love at all--dragons do not suffer human emotions--let alone the love of a human and a former dragonslayer, at that. With ex-soldier Garret dying at her feet after sacrificing his freedom and his life to expose the deepest of betrayals, Ember knows only that nothing she was taught by dragon organization Talon is true. About humans, about rogue dragons, about herself and what she's capable of doing and feeling.

In the face of great loss, Ember vows to stand with rogue dragon Riley against the dragon-slaying Order of St. George and her own twin brother Dante--the heir apparent to all of Talon, and the boy who will soon unleash the greatest threat and terror dragonkind has ever known.

Talon is poised to take over the world, and the abominations they have created will soon take to the skies, darkening the world with the promise of blood and death to those who refuse to yield.

What I Have to Say 

I'm enjoying this series more than when I started it, but it still isn't my favourite Julie Kagawa series. She's doing really interesting things with the Talon organisation and the clone dragons. I'm especially liking the stuff with Dante. This book especially gave a lot of information on Dante's motivations. It makes sense now as to what he's doing and exactly why he's doing it. I wish he'd get out from Talon's claw, but I can understand his aims and why he thinks he's doing the right thing for both himself and Ember by doing what he's doing. 

The thing that's really holding me back from really adoring this series is the love triangle. I am so sick of love triangles in books. They never capture my interest as much as they seem to with everyone else. I thought that we could move on with it after what happened in the last book. And again I'm hoping that it will be put behind us after the things that happened in this book. I really hope so anyway. I just don't care which of them Ember ends up with, all I care about is whether they can defeat Talon and avoid being killed by St. George. 

The things with St. George have gotten really interesting in this book though. I can't say much without spoilers, but let's just say that I'm really curious to see what they do in the next book... 

My thanks go to HQ and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Soldier by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 416

Publisher: Harlequin UK 

Released: 26th of April 2016

A fighter dedicated to saving humankind from dragons in strictest secrecy.

That was what Garret Xavier Sebastian thought he was part of as a soldier of the Order of St. George. What he learned from a fiery dragon hatchling twisted all he believed in and set him on a collision course with certain death-but not without a chance to put things right.

Betrayed and on the run again, Ember and rogue dragon Riley discover an unthinkable truth about Talon and St. George. They'll need Garret's skills and insider knowledge of the Order to negotiate an impossible deal-and if they fail, there will be no way to stop all-out war. 

What I Have to Say 

I don't know what it is about this series, but I'm just not as into it as Kagawa's other books, which I adore. I was so excited for Talon's release, but it just fell flat for me. My interest picked up a bit with Rogue, but it seems to have dipped again with Soldier. I think part of the reason is that I'm just completely bored with love triangles. It was never something I was that interested in to start of with and the more they were inserted into books that just didn't need them, the more bored I become with them. 

That said, I really liked the ending. It was as epic as I have come to expect from Julie Kagawa and SPOILER there's a really cool sword fight. It had a lot of intense emotion and really made me look forward to seeing what's going to happen in the next book. 

Even though I'm still just not into this series, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, 

The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: MIRA Ink

Released: 27th of October 2015

The Iron Prince betrayed us all.

He killed me. Then, I woke up.

Waking after a month on the brink of death, Ethan Chase is stunned that the Veil that conceals the fey from human sight was torn away.

The human world has been cast into chaos and the Forgotten Queen is leading an uprising; a reckoning that will have cataclysmic effects on the Nevernever.

Leading the Lady's Forgotten Army is Keirran, Ethan’s nephew and the traitor son of the Iron Queen. To stop Keirran, Ethan must disobey his sister once again as he searchs for answers.

In the face of unprecedented evil and unfathomable power, Ethan's enemies must become his allies, and the world of the fey will be changed forevermore…

What I Have To Say 

So my last review of this series was a little down on it. I still think my views regarding Kenzie and Annwyl were valid, but this book changed them completely. Kenzie and Annwyl were a couple of badass ladies who were clearly only hiding behind the boys so they didn't steal their thunder! 

Let's talk about Kenzie, because Annwyl holds a lot of spoilers. Kenzie, in the previous books, was a bit of a love interest, letting Ethan and the others protect her because she doesn't have the fighting skills to defend herself. This is still true in The Iron Warrior, but what she does have is her mind. Between the books, she's been preparing herself to go back into Nevernever and she's done it so well. 

I really loved the dynamic between Kenzie and Ethan, with Kenzie being the brains; the negotiator; helping Ethan navigate the faery deals and bargains with her smarts and knowledge, while Ethan is just the brawn; running forward to fight the battles. Looking back at it, it was obviously coming from the start. I just wish we could have seen more of this beautiful partnership before the end! 

This book really reminded me strong women aren't just women who are good at fighting. I think there should be more characters around like Kenzie because it was a reminder that I needed to get. 

This review has been rather focused on Kenzie, but I wanted to do a bit of an update on the feelings from the previous books. There were other things that I really loved about Iron Warrior too. This book as a whole has really renewed my love of Julie Kagawa. 

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa (a.k.a some thoughts on Trilogies)

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 393

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Released: 15th of April 2014
Other Books in the Series:

  The Immortal Rules

The Eternity Cure

Vengeance will be hers.

 Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer. 

Monster.

 Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions - her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost - the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

 In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

THE FINAL HUNT IS ON.

What I Have To Say

I've adored this trilogy since the start, but this book? This book was something even more special. It made the whole trilogy more special. Because it didn't just wrap up the story and tie away the lose ends. It made the trilogy come together as one. 

Trilogies are very popular, especially at the moment. It feels like every book coming out is part of a trilogy. And that is the term for a series of books (or plays, films etc.,) but if you look at the best trilogies, they're more than just three stories told over three books. They are one story. A story which loops around and brings in very significant aspects of the start, into the finish. 

This is exactly what The Forever Song did. It finished off in a place that seemed to fit exactly with what happened in the first book. It felt almost like a circle with so much of the first book coming back to play important parts in the ending. It felt like Frodo going back to the Shire and having to free the hobbits. It felt like Luke seeing the spirits of Yoda and Obi Wan and Anakin. It felt like a trilogy. 

And it makes me wonder, is a trilogy any more than just a series of three connected books? Or should it be redefined to something more like the Blood of Eden? Are we doing it wrong? 

The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 384

Publisher: Mira Ink

Released: 1st of November 2013

Other Books In The Series: The Lost Prince

IN THE REAL WORLD, WHEN YOU VANISH INTO THIN AIR FOR A WEEK, PEOPLE TEND TO NOTICE 

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again. 

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

What I Have To Say

I don't think I can even begin to put into words my reaction to the end of this book. Especially without spoilers, but I'll try because what an ending! I'm not sure that shocking is the right word, but it's the one I'm going with, because who would have thought that Julie Kagawa would actually do /that/. 

I loved the darkness that's sweeping into Keirran's character and how it's affecting them all, even Razor! And the obsessiveness that he's showing in trying to stop the fade, which I think there may be more to than just trying to save Annwyl.

Ethan and Kenzie were great, as always. I really love their characters, Ethan's reluctance and tough boy exterior and Kenzie's drive just to live life to the fullest while she can. 

I think that there was only one thing that really got to me about the book and that was the fact that the female characters kept having to be protected. I mean you'd have thought Annwyl would know how to fight after having lived in Faery all her life. Especially since we know Kagawa can write really awesome, strong female characters. 

Anyway, I need the next book. Now! I don't know how I'm going to wait so long!

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 434

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Released: 30th of April 2013

Other books in the series: The Immortal Rules

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning - New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally. 

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she's never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike. 

What I Have to Say 

Julie Kagawa breaks my heart with every single book she writes. I don't know how she does it. And I love it. 

I really love any conversation between Allie and Jackal. They're so sassy to each other and very wary. It was interesting to see how they developed when they were put together for so long. Although Zeke and Jackal weren't quite as cool together. They just didn't have the same feel as Allie had. 

As with the first book, I love Zeke so much. He and Allie just go together so well. Though it was really interesting to see him so far out of his comfort zone in this book, especially as it goes well with the last book where Allie was surrounded by humans.

This book was just heartbreaking and wonderful. Perhaps not quite as good as Immortal Rules, but still a really, really good read. I can't wait for the next book. 

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 379
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Released: 23rd of October 2012

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

What I Have to Say

 I'm going to try very, very hard not to fangirl too much this post, but I just love Julie Kagawa far too much. I love everything she writes and this was definitely no exception. She has such interesting ideas and yet again she's managed to expand the idea of faery and put her own take on it. 

The forgotten are just as interesting as the Iron fey and Kagawa has managed to show her creativity yet again with more creative ideas for new types of faery, whilst still including some of the more traditional ones to make a rich and complex world. 

I love Ethan and his tough attitudes. He's a really good contrast to Megan who was so much more naive when she first went to faery. Ethan is more of a warrior. Training himself to fight against the faeries who taunt him. 

I also loved Keirran. He's such a cool mix of the three courts. There's also a lot of faery to him but at the same time, he's softer. It's clear that he's spent him whole life not fitting in to any court because he's a member of all three. I think there's a lot more to be explore with his character. And with all the new characters actually. 

While I'm loving the new characters and understand completely why there isn't so much of the old characters in this book, I do miss them a lot. It's nice when they pop up and I hope that with the rest of the series they continue to appear every so often. 

Can't wait for the next book.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (from the Waterstones Website)

Pages: 512
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Series: Blood of Eden (Book 1)
Release Date: 4th of May 2012 (US: 24th of April 2012)

In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity. Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who killed her mother and keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked - and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters. Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must work with her vampire creator and learn the rules of being immortal. Including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. When Allison is separated from her creator, she flees into the unknown, the world outside her vampire city, beyond the wall. There she joins a ragged band of humans who don't know what she is, seeking a legend - a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

What I Have to Say

 First up, I want to say that I am eternally indebted to Sophie at So Many Books, So Little Time for sending this copy my way. I am so, so grateful for so much that she's done for me and this blog (without her it wouldn't exist xD) and this is just the latest and best thing she has done to help me.

Another thing I just want to get out of the way before I start my proper review, is the fangirling. I can't possibly write this review without turning into a squeeing pile of goo. So I'm just going to just let it all out so that I can be reasonably calm and intelligent. Just bare with me a moment (feel free to skip the next paragraph):

Oh my god! This book was so incredibly amazing and I love Julie Kagawa so much and would read her grocery list if she were to publish it! She's just has such a beautiful way with words and I just love all of her books, but this one was even better and- and it's too much *excitable squeeing*

*breathes a few times* Okay. I'm calm. Everyone still here? Great! Thank you for your patience with that. ^^

Basically, the main thing I have to say is that this is the best book I have ever read. It has gone straight up to the position of my favourite book and I think will stay there for a long time. It was so well constructed and beautifully written that I just loved every word of it. I think every single one of you reading this right now should stop what you're doing and go pre-order this book (or just buy it if you're reading this later on). This is how much I recommend this book.

Honestly though? I knew that I would love this book since the moment I heard of it. A Vampire Dystopia written by Julie Kagawa? I'm in! Add in the surname Sekemoto and a katana and it was like the book was written especially for me ^^

Vampires have got a bad name recently. The whole Twilight thing got out of hand and brought in a string of books with soft, cowardly vampires who didn't drink blood (although it must be said that I do love a lot of the vampires who don't drink blood), but Kagawa has attempted to bring back the really evil, twister monster vampires!!! And she's done it cleverly too. Not only has she got the really messed up ones who run everything and treat humans as cattle, but she's also kept the Dark Fantasy angle going by having a vampire- main character who we can sympathise with and love.

There are some very, very sad bits though. The relationship between Zeke and Allison is very tragic. I've never really felt that a relationship between a vampire and a human couldn't work out before. Maybe it's because I know of too many examples where it has all turned out fine. But this just broke my heart.

I'm also amazed by how much I cared about the character too. There are some characters that I really care for in books and I'm scared they're going to die. But Allison is a tough character, I never really worried about her not being able to face off any danger that she faced. The thing I worried about was that she'd lose control of herself and be revealed as a vampire. But that worry was so intense. I was just willing her to have some blood and get herself out of danger every time she went too long without any!! It's the first time, I think, that I've cared for a book character more like the way I would care about a friend, with concern and worry rather than the more common I-hope-she'll-be-okay kind of worry.

The last point I want to make is about the YA tag. I don't think that Young Adult books are only for Young Adults. In fact, I don't think any book is only for a specific audience. But this book especially I think is one that can be enjoyed by adults as well as teenagers. It is gritty and it is dark and it's really just an amazing world to read about. Plus the cover isn't too YA looking so you won't be looked at weirdly if you read it on the bus ;)

So yes. I have so much more I can say about this, but I feel I should stop before it gets too long a post! If you would like to hear more of my thoughts, then leave a comment and maybe I could do a Part 2 or something. Also, I'm sure that if you know me or follow me on Twitter then you will hear much, much more of me babbling on about how great it is.

And in absolute seriousness, if you're only going to take one of my recommendations then make sure it's this one.

Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Synopsis (From Julie Kagawa's Official Website)

My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.

I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl… 

What I Have to Say

I'm splitting this section into two parts so as to give both the book and the series justice whilst not spoiling anyone who hasn't read the previous books. If you don't want any of the previous books in the series please don't read the section about Iron Knight.

About the Iron Fey series in General

Julie Kagawa is one of my favourite authors. I will buy everyone book she writes without question (or even stopping to read the blurb). The Iron Fey series is a really original but still pretty classic fey story. She intertwines the normal rules of Faerie with this new idea of combining fey creatures with iron to show the human effect on Faerie. Then she goes to show how damaging this is to the original fey. 

I love reading about fey. I love the stories people are finding to tell about them. But Kagawa takes it even further by finding something new that she can create by basing her iron fey on the age of technology. Her inventions range from powerful creatures such as Iron Horse, Glitch and Virus to adorable little things like packrats and gremlins (even if the latter is a bit of a nuisance xD). 

So not only has Kagawa described in wonderful detail her interpretation of the land of Faerie, she's also made it very original and interesting to read. 

If you haven't read the other books in the series I strongly recommend you read them before reading the rest of my review. It's your choice, of course, but they're amazing and you should read them :p. You can get them all off Amazon or from a decent bookshop (Order them from your local independent bookshop!!! They need the profit. Amazon will survive without your money!!!!)  

About Iron Knight in Particular (contains spoilers for previous books in the series) 

I think that Iron Knight is my favourite of the Iron Fey series. First of all because it contains Ash who I absolutely love, even if he's gone soft since falling for Megan. He's change a lot from his hard, cold, unseelie self, but there's still traces of the ice prince in there as well as flashbacks of him in his prime. I like evil guys!! I can't help it!!! 

I also really love him and Puck together. I love the way they bicker and threaten each other even though they kind of like each other really. They also make a really good team, which goes some way to show what they were like before their feud got in the way. 

All that said, I think the thing that made me love the book so much more from the rest of the series (which I didn't even think was possible before I read it) was the whole Arthurian feel it had about it. It was set out as a traditional Knight's tale: a group of companions setting out to face challenges together with the purpose of gaining the power to go back to the side of their leaders one True Love. You can imagine that it could big King Arthur trying to get back to Guinevere. Or you could if Arthur was an unseelie fey who'll throw ice daggers at anyone who annoyed him anyway xD. 

The book is also so emotional. You go through the trials that Ash faces with him and experience what he has to give up in the hope of being able to be with Megan again. 

I strongly recommend the whole of the Iron Fey series.