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