Showing posts with label Julie Kagawa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie Kagawa. Show all posts

Monday, December 17, 2012

Review of The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published by: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 400
Source: NetGalley/Publisher
Format: ARC ebook
Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads: Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

Low and behold, just when I thought The Iron Fey series had come to its end, Julie Kagawa surprises us with a spinoff series. While I didn't love The Iron Fey series, I did enjoy it and Julie Kagawa writes the most amazing world in the Nevernever that I've come across in a while. So did The Lost Prince live up to its predecessors?

I think it surpassed it, and mostly due to Ethan. What is not to love about this brooding, bad boy with a chip on his shoulder? Having been traumatized by the Fey kidnapping him when he was a young boy, stealing his sister away and finally them continuously haunting him, he's had enough and is finally going to do something about it. While Ethan comes across as the bad boy, he can't help but stand up not only for others, but also for what is right. He is truly a good soul who's had to harden his exterior to get by. So when Kenzie gets threated by the Fey he knows he has to protect her.

Kenzie is the type of character that grows on you. At first she is just there, but soon her strength and determination steal their way into your mind and water that seed that has been planted. While I figured out her secret way before it was revealed I still wish we could have seen into her life and personality a bit more. Hopefully she will be more of a focus in the next book.

While the characters were enjoyable, the world and creativity that Julie Kagawa paints is beyond compare. She's taken a small piece of The Iron Fey series and built not only a captivating story-line, but also one that is quite complex and gets you questioning what you believe. The depth and emotion she puts into this story seeps through the pages and into your mind.

If you enjoyed The Iron Fey series, or even if you didn't, I suggest you try The Lost Prince. Ethan and his gang of misfits just may be the spark you needed.


Monday, June 18, 2012

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published by: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 504
Source: NetGalley/Publisher
Format: ebook
Rating: 4 stars
Summary from Goodreads:  Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

 Vampires, Undead, romance, hatred and blood...This book has it all.

I must admit that I had a really hard time getting into this book.  It wasn't until 150 pages or so that the tempo started picking up for me.  I didn't really like the story up until that point, but other bloggers had warned me about so the slow start, so I knew it was going to get better.

Allie is one of those characters that grows throughout the story.  I felt like I really got to know her through all the trials she's been through and I liked the type of person she turned out to be.  She had a hard life before the start of this novel and then during it things got infinitely more complicated.  She was a strong individual and I think her inner strength is what made her a survivor. 

There is a lot of action and adventure crammed into The Immortal Rules.  As slow as the first part went, the last part really flew.  I almost wish that we would have got to spend some more time with Allie as a vampire and the predicaments she got into.  The part of the story covered in this book alone could be a trilogy by itself, that is how much action happens.  There are sword fights, gun shots, blood and death.  But never fear, because there are also sweet moments and a bit of romance. 

While I'm not much for cliffhangers I'm happy about the ending of this book.  Some loose ends were tied up, but there are still enough mysteries left to hook you for the next book.