Review: “The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4)” by Julie Kagawa

Title: “The Iron Knight (Iron Fey #4)”

Author: Julie Kagawa

Genre: YA, paranormal, romance

Publication Date: October 2011 (expected)

Synopsis: 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.

☆: 5/5 – an awesome trip to the End of the World with some old friends!

Review: I’m so glad this story didn’t end with the previous book in the series, “The Iron Queen”. We needed the last word on whether or not there was going to be a good end (or a bad one) for Meghan and Ash, and now we have it. I have to say, I loved every second of this book, even the guide to the Nevernever and Q&A at the end of it! It’s never a party unless you have an Epic Adventure through Faery, and this book in the series was no exception. I’m guessing that this is the end, for now (and hoping desperately that I’m wrong), but I’m okay with it. And here’s why:

We really see Ash’s growth through this novel (along with a lot of flashbacks), making him truly deserving of a soul. With Ariella reappearing, this only further proves the point. He’s mended his bromance with Puck (previously known as the bad bromance), and lets the past go, even if painful with its memories and could-have-beens. Even when fighting with Ariella at the end (and I won’t say about what – you really have to read it for yourself!), he lets her go. He moves on. He even revels in the strange newness that is his new existence. But he does not forget. If anything, the trials at the End of the World have not only made him remember every single past transgression, but helps him make the vow not to do any of it again. All of this makes for a wonderful, powerful ending that makes you want to really believe in Happily Ever Afters in every part and walk of life.

This book is all about the other characters surrounding Meghan, definitely not one about her. Not directly. And sometimes, in a character-based/driven series like this one, we need a book that isn’t in the POV of/directly centered around the main hero/heroine. In this case, it answers a lot of questions that were posed to us in previous books, and ties everything together rather nicely, while still leaving open a place for the reader to draw their own conclusion about what happens after the book’s formal ending. And I love it when authors do that. As I said with “The Night Circus”, authors that leave us open endings (even if only slightly open) for the reader to ponder on after the book is closed is a rare, treasured thing, and Kagawa is another to join the ranks of awesome writers who believe in their audience enough to leave them open endings.

Another wonderful thing Kagawa did right here was opening a discussion on morality, regardless if human or fey. She does not preach at you, and she helps us review Ash’s Greatest Hits in terms of the things he’s done in his life so far without being obnoxious or overly obvious about slipping in a message about “doing the right thing”. Instead, I think she leaves that to us for us to think about. Yes, killing people is bad in real life, and we probably shouldn’t do it, but it’s not like she blasts us severely with that message. And in YA lit, it’s a breath of fresh air, regardless if it’s paranormally-based or not.

Basically? This book cheered me up greatly, and I usually hate it when books do this (because you have to come back to reality at some point, right?). But the way Kagawa wrote things, with its thoughtful pauses and concentrations/meditations on the past and the future, it made me feel like I can look at things in the long view a little more positively. As Ariella says, “this is one of many futures”. And that’s a line that’s going to stick with me, because I’m really horrible at remembering that the future is not written in stone and is ever changing, based on our choices.

If you haven’t read the “Iron Fey” series yet, this is your last chance (for now). I highly suggest you do so before I let Puck loose all over your room and library. In all seriousness, this was a fantastic ending, and one that I know I’ll enjoy rereading for a long time to come, making my best of 2011 list so far.

But seriously, where do I get a Puck of my own?