The Iron King (Iron Fey #1) - Julie Kagawa

*Rating*: 4 out of 5 stars

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

So, I had bought this book, along with the second, long ago and didn't pick it up until a few days ago. I had been dying to read it, but always got distracted by other books. But after seeing all the hype about how amazing it was, and wanting to join in on the Team Puck or Team Ash debate, I finally picked it up. And I have to say, I wasn't disappointed.

I have to admit at first, I was a little indifferent. I wasn't bored necessarily, but I didn't really get into the book until after Meghan got into the Nevernever. After that, I was hooked. I enjoyed how they incorporated Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream into the story. While it has been sort of used before, I was okay with it because that is the only play by Shakespeare I've read so far that I actually liked, probably because of the faeries. I'm a big fan of "Fae". And even though most stories all revolve around the same subjects, such as a Summer & Winter Court who are always head butting against one another, I do believe that the author did a good job making the story her own.

Meghan Chase is a 16 year old girl whose younger half brother had been kidnapped by evil fey, and replaced by a changeling. Meghan, with her best friend Robbie (who turns out to be Robin Goodfellow AKA Puck fromMidsummer Night's Dream), travel to the Nevernever to rescue her brother. However, things are not as easy as Meghan would have liked them to be. The Nevernever is full of orges, giants, goblins, sirens, faeries, etc. Not exactly an ideal travel location if you ask me.

Along they encounter many who wished to do harm to Meghan, who was pretty defenseless without Puck. Which kind of bothered me. I mean, if I were in her shoes, I'd probably been even worse, but this isn't reality, and when I read, I kind of want to read about a heroine who can stand up for herself. But don't get me wrong, she's not a bad character at all. I like her and believe that as the books go on and she learns more about who she is, she'll become more independent.

But let's get on to the guys: Puck and Ash. So Puck is the best guy friend who has always been there for Meghan, no matter what. He's always very witty and charming. Ash, or should I say Prince Ash, is...not very nice. He's the cold, dark, mysterious guy that must girls instantly fall for, so some odd reason, so it's no surprise Meghan was one of those girls. He does, however, have his moments and you get to see that softer side that he keeps hidden from the rest of the world. When it comes to picking a team, well I'm not sure. I'm sort of on the fence, not sure who I like better. Personally, I'm leaning towards Puck. I always feel bad for the best friend whose secretly in love but the other person is too stupid *cough*Meghan*cough*, to see what's right in front of them.

I just have to add, that Grimalkin has to be one of my favorite characters. Maybe because he's a cat, and I just so happen to love cats, but he's funny; annoying, but amusing. I kind of see him as the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland.

So overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think it's a great start to a potentially great series and am starting the 2nd book right this minute! So if you haven't already read it, you should :)