Supernatural Smackdown > Round 4, Day 3 Ash vs. Adrian Mitchell

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Fighting for the PJV - Ash of the Iron Fey Series

Ash vs. Adrian Mitchell

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Who is Ash?


For today's Smackdown, I'm including my review of THE IRON KNIGHT, the fourth book in the series that is from Ash's POV.

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Genre: YA Fantasy
Series: The Iron Fey Series (Book 4)
Paranormal: Faeries
Pre-Order for October 25, 2011:  Amazon.com
Stalk the Author: Web | Twitter | Blog
Review copy provided by netgalley.com

PJV QUICKIE POV:
Slow to start...but the end knocked my socks off.And here I sit pondering THE IRON KNIGHT by Julie Kagawa. What can I say? Can I gush {insert gush here} ? Can I rant {insert semi-ranting lunacy here} ? Or should I just lay it out? Lay it out. Decided. For starters this is a great series. If you are not familiar with Julie Kagawa and her faeries STOP NOW and go and read them. They have some small problems, but this is a wonderful series and highly recommended to lovers of young adult and paranormal. THE IRON KNIGHT is the fourth in the series, written as sort of a compendium to the trilogy that features Meghan Chase. THE IRON KNIGHT is from Prince Ash's perspective and is very different from the original trilogy which had its own draw. I loved it. I thought it was well written and Kagawa wrapped it up in the perfect package. I have to say, she has clawed her way up to the top of my list as one of the best young adult authors on this planet. Read the series. Fall in love with Prince Ash…it'll only sting for a few seconds.

REVIEW:
Ash is on a journey. To survive the Iron Lands and keep ahold of his love, Meghan Chase, the Queen, he must become mortal. The fae, at least the normal fae cannot survive in the modern landscape of the Iron Lands. Yet, Meghan cannot leave, she is their Queen, without her the land will plunge into chaos and a leader might arise that will put all of Faerie in jeopardy. Ash must sacrifice his immortality and gain a soul or give up Meghan entirely.

There is talk of a gauntlet of sorts, at the end of the world. No one has ever returned - yet rumors say that this is where you can gain a soul. Determined Ash sets out for the End of the World, to his constant aggravation Puck decides to join him. Along with Grim and a few unexpected companions the group must make their way across lands that are wild and dangerous, to cross a river of dreams and enter a world that hasn't been seen by many who lived to tell the tale. All for love. All for his soul. There is no guarantee that he will survive, there isn't even a guarantee that Meghan will wait for him, but Ash knows it is the right thing to do.

I'll state from the get-go that this is a book that takes a little bit of effort to get into. Ash is on a journey, so much like the great and epic journeys of fantasy literature they do a lot of traveling from place to place, battle to battle. This is not for a lot of people - especially those that are used to a little bit of romance mixed into the plot. The first three novels had journeys but they also had the underlying tension between Meghan, Ash and Puck. Meghan is not on this journey. It is a tough beginning which I've heard a few people mention had them putting aside the book after the first fifty to give it time to steep (myself included). CARRY ON, push forward and do not let it faze you, because once this novel gets rolling there is no stopping it.

Throughout the pages I kept thinking, "how will she {Kagawa} do it?" "how can this possibly end well?". I had my doubts, I really did and one of those Kagawa even delved into. It was my doubt from the beginning when I knew he wanted his mortality. Would an immortal creature be happy as a mortal? It would be like a human suddenly losing their hearing or more subtly their taste or feeling. I feared for the ending of this book and was held in an anxiety induced prison until the final pages…but it was a perfect execution. Kagawa didn't hold anything back as per her usual style and what she put forth in THE IRON KNIGHT was better than I expected.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Not to be read out of order, this book needs the prior books to make sense. Recommended for fans of this series and if you are a paranormal romance, young adult fan I would highly recommend reading book one.

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