Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey #4
Pub Date: 10-26-2011
Pages: 361
"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." ~goodreads
Thankfully there was a fourth book. I don't think I could have handled it if the The Iron Queen had really ended the series.
I was a little worried about how I would feel not having Meghan in the book but even though she was missed. It was nice to have the focus be on Ash and Puck. It was nice to have things be in the point of Ash, so we could really see what goes on in that dark little mind of his. It just made me love him more, if that's possible. I will always be Team Ash but I don't think the books would be the same without Puck. Of course how would they find anything without Grim, he's a cat, he knows everything. I liked the big bad wolf and the idea behind why he is a part of Faery. There another new character that completely annoyed me but I got over it and that is in part because of Ash. He had a normal reaction but at the end of the day he knows what he wants and were he belongs.
I loved the journey of this book. Mostly because it was more of a quest. Nobody was chasing them out of dodge, they went on the journey of their own choosing. If at any time they wanted to abandon it they could, no questions ask and nobody the wiser. That is what makes Ash shine, his dedication to what he was setting out to do. Everything that they go through in the book makes sense to me and definitely fits in with the end game. I especially like the trials, they were not what I was expecting but I understood the purpose of them. The last trial was a definite teaser because I felt like I was waiting for the bomb to explode. Every minute of this book was captivating.
I just have to say...phew.
There were some great extras at the end of the book. It reminded me of Japanese manga actually. Julie does a review with guest appearances from Ash and Puck. There is also a survival guide to the NeverNever. It emphasizes wearing clothes that you will be able to run in. It was very cute.
This series easily moved up my favorites list to at least second place if not battling it out with Harry Potter for first. I can easily say that if there are more books that involve this realm of Faery (i.e. Ethan)I wouldn't hesitate to pick them up.
The only question that still lingers on my mind....Does Meghan have a true name?