Friday, October 25, 2013

ARC Review: The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Release Date: November 1, 2013 (Aus); October 29 (US)
Source: Harlequin TEEN Australia and Harlequin TEEN via NetGalley. Thanks!

Goodreads rating: 4.28 out of 5.00
Goodreads | The Reading Room


In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice. 

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.
Review by Nara


Dear Julie,
I hate you. I hate you and your stupid knack for heartbreaking cliffhangers. I thought The Iron Queen was freaking bad enough (and I can't believe you actually would've ended it there except your editor wanted a happy ending.) And the Eternity Cure was even worse. BUT THIS ONE TAKES THE FREAKING CAKE. Seriously, HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR READERS?! I demand a copy of the as yet untitled next book as soon as possible. I am holding your pet dragons hostage.

Love,
Nara

SERIOUSLY PEOPLE. This book. This book has possibly THE worst cliffhanger I have EVER encountered. EVER. Seriously, the very second the next book is available, I'm going to be jumping on it and locking myself in my room so that no one can disturb me. Just, wow.

Anyway, I could probably write a whole post about how horrible the cliffhanger is, but I won't go on about it and instead turn to the other awesome aspects of Kagawa's writing. One of the many things Kagawa does very well is character development. And my favourite of her characters in this series is probably Kenzie. (Well, favourite human character. I actually like Grimalkin better. Who doesn't love that cat?) I love Kenzie. She's just so strong and badass- and willing to make a stand for herself and for her friends and for Ethan. There is certainly no hint of co-dependency or abuse or anything in this romance. It's a very healthy relationship, and probably my favourite out of all the ones in Julie's books. (Gah, then again, I really like Allie and Zeke as well....and Meghan and Ash...GAH I LOVES THEM ALL)

On the other hand- am I the only person who thinks the Kieran/Annwyl (I think that was her name. God, just as she's becoming a Forgotten in the book, she's becoming a Forgotten in my mind haha) romance is bland? Probably because the focus really isn't on them, I don't feel that the reader gets a good chance to see the dynamics between those two, and I therefore didn't really understand the depth of Kieran's love for Annwyl.

Sweet Jesus, the betrayal. People, I was not ready for the betrayal. If you've read Iron's Prophecy, you would've known it was coming but still, YOU BASTARD TITULAR TRAITOR. I understand why you did it, but still, DAMN YOU TO THE NINTH CIRCLE OF HELL.

And on that lovely note, I'll conclude by saying that if you've read the rest of the Iron Fey series, you should definitely get onto this one. Although I suppose you might want to wait for the next book to come out if you don't like shocking cliffhangers.

Incredible

Ratings
Overall: 9/10
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 3/5





18 comments:

  1. You thoughts are perfect. This is so accurate.

    I find it interesting what you say about Kenzie. I see all those qualities in her, but still feel meh about it. Her relationship with Ethan annoys me for some reason I have yet to discern, and it gets in the way of me loving her character.

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    1. haha why thank you :D

      Yeah a lot of people have been saying that! I guess in some ways their relationship is a tad cliched? That might be why :)

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  2. OHMYGOSH YEAH THAT HORRIBLEH ENDING, I CANNOT EVEN.
    And yes, we can be partners in crime; keep her pet dragons hostage together!!
    When I read the betrayal, I was like WTH?! We knew it was going to come one way or another, but still.. UGH.
    But fantastic review, Nara! :D

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    1. haha knowing her, she has many pet dragons, so we can kidnap half each :P
      YEAH I KNOW RIGHT! I didn't realise it would be so sudden :( STUPID TRAITOR

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  3. Nooooo not another cliffhanger! I'm just reading this one at the moment and I'm loving it. Kenzie is an AWESOME character. Great review Nara!

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    1. Yay! Someone who actually likes Kenzie! So many people don't like her relationship with Ethan, but I really like it haha.
      THE CLIFFHANGER IS THE WORST.

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  4. I had to skim your review since I still haven't this series (please don't kill be) But I'm glad you loved it!

    Great review! (well I bet it is!) <33

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    1. You must read it! It's quite a fun series :)
      I just really like all of Kagawa's books haha

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  5. I still haven't read anything by this author I feel like I fail! haha. I have her Immortal whatever book 1 and 2 though that seems more my alley. Fae books and me have rarely gotten along! It has so many fans and great reviews though that I'm curious enough to still try it one day! :)

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    1. I've rarely liked Fae books as well, to be honest. I don't think I really read that many haha. But this series is pretty good! If you like darker writing, then the Blood of Eden series is probably better though.

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  6. I absolutely loved it!!! I am now just dying for book 3. GAH!!!! That ending.

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  7. Gah, I STILL haven't read anything of Julie Kagawa's and I feel like I really need to jump on the bandwagon ASAP! Your review makes me want to run out and buy all her books like right now! Great review Nara, I liked your little letter to Julie at the start, made me giggle :P

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    1. haha thanks Joy :)
      Yes! You should indeed jump on that bandwagon- her books are really fun reads, and the characters are all so interesting (especially this awesome character named Grimalkin). She's writing a new series as well, about DRAGONS. So freaking excited!

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  8. I am definitely going to have to check out this series, since I have heard nothing but good things. Cliffhangers though...I might wait for the next one to be near release before I start haha

    - Wattle @ Whimsical Nature

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    1. Oh god, the cliffhanger is horrible. HORRIBLE. But this is the 6th book in the entire saga, so I feel like you can start the series now :)

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  9. Good to know there's a cliffhanger; won't be reading this

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    1. It's still a good series. I wouldn't give up on it just because there's a cliffhanger!

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