Review: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

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's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

Available at Amazon, Book Depository, Chapters, Harlequin

I'd been working on this series as part of a book club read on Goodreads and I will admit that each book gradually made the entire series grow on me. (My reviews of The Iron King, Winter's Passage and The Iron Daughter are linked here.) The idea of Iron Fairies and how they came about is a very cool concept, but it's the characters and their situations/battles that have steadily improved for me.

Going into The Iron Queen, it was initially with the thought that it would be the end of the series, then, of course, with the announcement of The Iron Knight coming out, it was uncertain whether much closure would come about. Truly, I had certain formulaic expectations of how this book would end. And, wow, I did not expect things to go the way they did (I even said this out loud as I was reading it.) Kudos to Julie Kagawa for surprising me (and going against the grain!)

I found this installment in the series to have more action, more heat, just more than the previous books, making it my favourite to date. While Meghan and Ash really came into their own here, I am still on the fence about Puck and his role in everything. If asked, I wouldn't say he was my favourite character but he is the most interesting; his motivations are obvious yet his machinations are always clouded in mystery as to their intended outcome. (Grimalkin is still the character to beat, in my opinion.)

My initial mediocre reaction to The Iron King  has steadily changed, as each book has increased my love of this series, with The Iron Queen  as the perfect culmination. It will be difficult to top my reaction to this book, but I have faith the Julie Kagawa still has some tricks up her sleeves. Bring on The Iron Knight !