The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa
Publication date: January 25th 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: Paperback
Buy it here: Amazon, The Book Depository

Goodreads Description

My name is Meghan Chase. I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who has sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

Ohh, Julie Kagawa - you've done it to me again. The emotions. The characters. The tension. The beautiful, eloquent writing that causes me to howl with laughter and cry at just the right time. The Iron Fey series is truly a work of art and I've no doubt the characters will stick with me forever. These books hold a special place in my heart. The covers don't do them justice. I would start fangirling if I ever met Julie Kagawa. I can only hope that one day my writing skill will get anywhere near hers.

“I wished that, for once, faery tales - real faery tales, not Disney fairy tales – would have a happy ending.”

As the story begins, we see that Meghan, Ash and Puck are still banished from the NeverNever. Once again, I found myself caught in the midst of a new adventure from the offset. Real s**t is going down in Faery as iron is slowly destroying the land, threatening to consume the Summer and Winter Courts, the Fae and everything they've ever know. A new false Iron King is on the loose, and there seems to be no stopping this one. Iron is spreading like the plague, even faster than before - making everything sick in its path.

But never fear. Faery can count on a handful of badasses to bring the false King down. Meghan, Ash, Puck, some new amazing characters and a certain talking cat are here to save the day, but they've got a hell of a job to do.

Allow me to swoon over the characters.

Meghan - She is as badass as ever. Julie really did an amazing job at developing her character from the first book up to the current plot. We see her shine in this third instalment, especially towards the end when she really takes her own and embraces her destiny. She realises that she is capable of more than she ever realised and learns to cherish the friends she meets along the way.

Ash - Ash's love for Meghan seems to be forever growing, leaving his family behind to look after her. He's still the cold Winter Prince, as he was in the other books, but in The Iron Queen we see a few changes. He learns that in order to protect Meghan, he needs to learn how to let her flourish and teaches her how to fight. He's still protective (
I mean, he becomes her friggin knight), but not so much, and this causes us to see more of his true character throughout the book. I'm still rooting for him.

Puck - He's still the mischievous faery he's always been, but jealousy takes hold of him in this book as Ash and Meghan get closer. Regardless of the 'lovebird's' relationship, he's as determined as ever to stay by Meghan's side to be there whenever she may need him. We see banter flick between Ash and Puck at times (sometimes at inappropriate moments), which is hilarious.

Grimalkin - My favourite fictional cat of all time! He once again stays near Meghan, popping up whenever the trio needs his cat wisdom. I'm curious to see what Grimalkin's up to in the next book. Here's one of my favourite quotes:

“Grim, wait. Are you sure you'll be all right?"
Grimalkin smiled. "I am a cat."
And, just like that, he was gone.”

New characters like Glitch and little Razor were absolutely excellent. I loved how the characters still grieved over Iron Horse, even after he was gone. We see how he truly sacrificed himself for the cause. I do miss him, but we still feel his presence throughout the book.

Don't let the glitzy cover put you off, this book is for ANYONE who loves fantasy.