Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron King 

Author: Julie Kagawa

Paperback: 368 pages

Published: February 2010

Reading Level: YA

My copy: rec'd via trade on swaptree.com

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 wicked stars

Blurb (from Amazon.com):

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

My thoughts...

Meghan is your average teenager until her 16th birthday and BAM...things change quite drastically.  She develops the ability to see the fae and all the seedy underground that goes along with it.  She is on quite an adventure to get her kidnapped brother back...an adventure spanning 3 fae courts and meeting numerous seelie and unseelie "characters".

I really, REALLY loved this book!  The characters are strong and memorable and the plot is not so predictable that you have everything figured out by the time you get half way into the book.  Meghan is a likable main character with deep love for her family even though her childhood conditions were not the best.  Her best friend is a rock for her, even though he turns out to be someone that shocks her.  There is the bad guy romance factor with Ash.  I have to say one of my favorite characters is the cat! Yes, the cat, Grimalkin...he is funny and also there as a rock when Meghan needs him.

The author's imagination was transferred vividly to the pages of this book and I was flipping pages like crazy to get to the end!  The ending leaves it wide open for the sequel, The Iron Daughter, which comes out in August.  If you love fae, faeries, historical fairy tale characters, action, drama and romance, you will want to pick this book up.