The Iron Knight (Julie Kagawa)

***

         Meghan Chase managed to stop the Iron Fey from destroying all of Faery, but it came at a cost.  Now she is a queen, ruling over the Iron Realm.  This wouldn't be such a problem if Ash, the former prince of Winter and Meghan's lover, weren't poisoned by the very essence of Meghan's land.  Ash swore that he would find a way to be with Meghan in the Iron Realm.  With the help of his enemy, Puck, and an irritating cait sith, Ash sets out on a journey to the end of the world.  It has been rumored that there he can win both mortality and a soul - if he can pass the tests that no one has ever passed before.  The trip is nothing like Ash expected.  Whether he succeeds or fails, it will change the way he sees himself forever.

         Though I did like this book, it didn't hold up to the standard of the rest of the series.  The Iron Knight didn't draw me in at first, but it improved quite a bit after the first hundred pages or so.  One thing that bothered me was that Ash was acting way out of character.  He has a very distinct personality in all the books leading up to this one, and the change in behavior wasn't as smooth as it could have been.  However, the concept of earning a soul was pretty cool, and was executed reasonably well.  This wasn't my favorite book by Julie Kagawa, but that won't stop me from reading any of her future books (I hear she's planning a spin-off series about Meghan's brother).

Rating: 3/5
Completed: June 18, 2012