Book Review: The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

By: Julie Kagawa

Published by: Harlequin Teen

Released on: October 25th, 2011 TODAY

Source: ARC from publisher to review

5 stars: I LOVED It

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn'darkmyr Tallyn.

I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl… quoted from Goodreads

A beautiful ending to one of my favorite series. Julie Kagawa took me on an emotional roller-coaster as I embarked on an unforgettable journey with Ash. He does everything in his power to return to his Iron Queen, and along the way I was completely caught off guard with how easy it was for me to feel his wide range of emotions. What starts out as a quest for Ash, turned into me getting a look into Ash's past and seeing what shaped him into the person he is now. I loved the way Julie did this. She really allowed me to see and understand Ash a lot more. His path is far from easy, and making the right choice is often hard, but Ash proves once again that he has an inner strength that's not only admirable but commendable.

Julie continued to surprise me with her phenomenal plot line, and engaging story. I don't know how else to describe the way Julie sucked me right back into her captivating world. She has a raw talent for storytelling and while I didn't want this story to end, I could not have imagined a more fitting end than this. Be rest assured, Julie is FULL of surprises in this book. Half of things that happened are ones I never would have even considered and kudos to Julie for keeping all this under wraps! Fans are truly going to love what she has done with this series and the beautiful way it wraps up. While there's moments of bliss and happiness sprinkled through out the story, there's also uncertainty, fear, love, hope, regret, disappear, happiness, loyalty, friendship, jealousy and that undeniable feeling of completeness etched into it. Many of these things have been reacquiring themes through out the series, only it's amped up a lot in The Iron Knight.

I'll be honest, I missed Meghan for the first part of the book, but I loved what Julie did when she and Ash were reconnected. I loved seeing them fall in love all over again. This is selfish to say, but I liked having just Ash for a good portion of this book. Readers really needed to see his change and what he goes through to reconnect with Meghan. Fear not Puck and Grimm fans, these two beloved characters provide the perfect amount of witty comments this story needed. Mixed in with my tears of happiness and moments of worry, were also moments of laughter thanks to these two. The story wouldn't be complete with out them. I didn't think I could love Grimm any more than I already did. What a fabulous character he is. That wise old fur ball, though I'm sure he wouldn't like that if I called him that. One of the things I love about these characters is how believable and real they are. They're all far from perfect, they make mistakes, but they all keep trying and I love the way they've continued to grow as the series has progressed.

This story is remarkable. This quest with Ash will leave you in awe. If you weren't already an Ash fan, you will be after this. If you already were a fan, than you'll be putting him on a high petal stool. The story is truly beautifully written, and completely captivating. I am incredibly happy I was able to take this journey with Ash and I'm looking forward to a whole new generation of books from Julie. Thank you Julie for the tears, the happiness and the characters who will live on in my book world. Now hurry and go pick up the book so we can talk spoilers! Believe me, there is a TON to talk about. It was hard keeping this review vague and not mention the surprising things that happen.

This is an incredible, mesmerizing end to an absolutely brilliant series! I HIGHLY recommend picking up the series you've not already. If you have, I HIGHLY recommend picking up Ash's story TODAY!

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If you missed it last night, Julie announced she's writing a book from Ethan's point of view! YAY!

You can also see the entire playlist for both The Iron Knight and The Iron Daughter here.

Don't miss reading Ash's Letter to Meghan.

Julie posted about last night's Twitter party for The Iron Knight, along a link to the information about an awesome giveaway!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! We're chatting with Julie Kagawa on November 15th!! YES, this chat will be a spoiler chat. We're going to be talking all about The Iron Knight and the series. *more details will come*

Stay tuned for a fun giveaway coming up later today!