I still like the story and many great things happen in this book....however....Meagan seems to be tough as nails one minute and crying the next...I realize she cannot always be strong and needs to let the stress out, but her character can be quite a contradiction...slaying kings and then cowering in the corner.Love Ash...but again...he doesn't seem to play a huge role in this book...more of a shadow.Still not a huge fan of Puck :PLove love love Razer....I don't know why?I hope I enjoy the next book more :) Perfection, this book is the image of perfect. I cried during the last chapter and the epilogue. In my opinion Iron Queen is by far the best book in this series. It has the perfect blend of romance and action. This book expresses fear and love, there are parts where I cried, and parts where I squirmed in delight. Ash is also the image of perfection, dark, handsome and muscular. Meghan is a little of a complainer in the first two books, but in this book she has matured to a extremely high state. In the end I thought Meghan died and I thought the last book would be about the prince moving on, or ending the war. I was so elated when I found I was wrong, this is the first book to ever captivate me enough to make me cry. This book is a must read!!! I am in love with it and can't wait to read the last book. Though I never want to finish. CHARACTERS: I am not oblivious to the bad reports on the characters, but I think the reviewers just didn't see deep enougth. Yes Ash was very moody and closed off, but that's because he had been living his long life in a kingdom of ice that was ruled by his mother, queen Mab. I mean really... What can you expect from someone who has been raised by a person like her and taught not to show emotion, or to trust anyone. Not only that, but he also lost his true love. Really people, cut the characters some slack. I think the whole Ash being closed off thing, just makes the book more interesting. And as for Meghan, she is a teenager, you all remember your teenage years right? Being closed off at your parents, wanting to get a car, getting annoyed at your younger siblings, it's all a part of that. Adding to the "problems" of being a teen, Magen had mysteriously lost her father, moved to a lonely town, and got bullied at school. I think the author was thinking deeper than what the bad reviewers think. BOOM. For some reason Can't hold us by Miley Cyrus came to my mind. x) Anyway.. Let's get to the cat, Grimalkin made the book more interesting and mysterious, what's a good anything without a grumpy kat?!! So Thank you Julie for that. The only problems I had with characters where Puck and Machina. Puck: I could never figure out if he was cute or not from Kagawas description, and I think it's just plain weird that a many century old dude and a 16 year old girl fall in love. Machina: isn't he supposed to be bad? Then why is he nice to her after she killed him? And why is he helping her? Other than that I found that the whole book made perfect sense and was put together perfectly.PLOT: The plot was a little typical at first; Summer, Winter and all, but then got much more complicated, intense, and unique when the whole iron kingdom knowledge appeared. I think that's what Julie was trying to accomplish. I love how the plot twisted numerous times. In fact, there is one major change from the end to the second book to the beginning of the third. At the end of Iron daughter Meghan and Ash get exiled from the Nevernever, and one gets the image that they are going to start a human life in the mortal world and you kinda feel a relief like, whoo, well that's all over with, they are safe now and will live happily ever after... The End... But no, turns out they return to the Nevernever and are in more danger than ever. So that is the biggest plot twist for me. All in all I adore this book! If you are looking for a page turning, romantic, action, suspense, and mystery book, this is the one! I assure you, if you can value what you read you will be hooked, and you will find that Meghan, Ash, and the Nevernever will be a pat of you forever... You never really know what's out there. ;)
What do You think about De IJzerkoningin (2013)?
Better than the first two combined. Truly amazing. I am once again blown away by Julie kagawa.
—NTher
Excellent blend of dark faery tale and steam-punk.
—new_nik
