Double Book Review: The Iron King and Winter's Passage by Julie Kagawa

Today I'll be reviewing The Iron King (first book in the Iron Fey series) and Winter's Passage (a novella that follows The Iron King). Two great books!

Titles: The Iron King and Winter's Passage
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publish Dates: The Iron King (February 1, 2010) and Winter's Passage (June 1, 2010)
Source: Owned

Why You're Reading This Series?:

• You're looking for a story to suck you in.
• You need a little fantasy in your life.

What's the Story?: 

From Goodreads.com: "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."

My Two Cents:

You know, I'm beginning to think that I should start adding whether or not a book almost makes me miss my stop on the Metro. This book was one of those books. I got so sucked into the story. Meghan Chase is a normal farm girl from Louisiana. She begins to notice weird things going on. She sees things out of the corner of her eye that never seemed to be there before. And her normally sweet little brother seems to have turned into something new and almost evil.

This book sort of reminde...moreYou know, I'm beginning to think that I should start adding whether or not a book almost makes me miss my stop on the Metro. This book was one of those books. I got so sucked into the story. Meghan Chase is a normal farm girl from Louisiana. She begins to notice weird things going on. She sees things out of the corner of her eye that never seemed to be there before. And her normally sweet little brother seems to have turned into something new and almost evil.

This book sort of reminded me of the movie, Labyrinth (yes, the one with David Bowie and the Muppet creatures in it; which I love). Girl wants to escape her life. Her little brother is stolen by a magical world. Girl goes on journey to save her brother. Lots of similarities but like Labyrinth, The Iron King sucked me right in.

This is a great fantasy story. Loosely based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, this story is at times familiar with lots of great world building that makes this story stand all on its own. I did like seeing some of the characters that I really liked from the Shakespeare play (Puck especially).

I'm anxious to see where this series goes!

My Other Two Cents:

This is a short little story that follows the first book in the Iron Fey series, The Iron King, right where it left off. Meghan Chase has to go back to Ash's world as she made a bargain with him to return with him in exchange for helping her find her young brother, Ethan. Meghan and Ash have also fallen in love with each other, which only adds to the drama of the situation.

Ash and Meghan realize that they are being chased by a Hunter. Ash knows that he must bring Meghan back to his kingdom unscathed!

This is a nice little bridge between the first and the second book.