The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Fey #3
Release Date: October 21, 2011 (UK)
Publisher: MIRA
Source: Publisher
Rating: Enjoyable

In less than twenty four hours, I'll be seventeen. Although, technically, I won't actually be turning seventeen. I've been in the Nevernever too long. When you're in Faery, you don't age. So while a year has passed in the real world, agewise I'm probably only a few days older than when I went in. In real life, I've changed so much I don't even recognize myself. 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. - Goodreads

The Iron Queen is action packed, and because of this it is definitely my favourite in the series so far. I loved The Iron King, however the Iron Daughter left me very disappointed. TIQ almost makes up for that though, because of the constant action and well written story. The plot is ten times better, and I feel that Julie Kagawa’s writing has greatly improved.

In the previous books I was rather annoyed by Meghan and the silly deals that she made with various creatures in the fae world. I was very cautious going into this book, as I was expecting much of the same. However, I was pleasantly surprised, and I definitely enjoyed reading from Meghan’s point of view up until the book was over. Meghan has grown a lot during this series, and I think most of the character growth has happened during this one book. She is less dependent on others (*cough*Ash*cough*) and she becomes a strong female lead.

I am a huge fan of Puck, and really didn’t see the attraction between Meghan and Ash until this novel. Before, it felt very rushed and just plain silly at times. However I ended up enjoying reading about their relationship in The Iron Queen, and I was kind of rooting for them towards the end.  

Now, as I mentioned, I am a Puck fan. So I can’t say that I wasn’t a little disappointed by this book although I won’t say why in an attempt to keep this spoiler free. I knew what was coming though – thank you to the US bloggers who read the book before us UK people – and I can’t say I was surprised.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book due to the non-stop action. The climax was fantastic, and was almost perfectly written.