Review ~ The Iron Traitor ~ Julie Kagawa

Title:  The Iron Traitor

Author: Julie Kagawa

Published: 1^st November 2013

By: Harlequin Teen

Source: netgalley

First line: My name is Ethan Chase.

Last line: Spoiler, sorry!

I was in a bit of a YA reading slump when I read this for the first time and so I decided to go back and read it again before I wrote my review.  I’m so glad I did!  Had I written it as soon as I’d read it my review would probably have been a tad jaded and unfairly so.  Now that I’ve found my reading mojo and re-read my love for all things fey is back in full swing and my love for all the characters that Kagawa has created is back with a bang!

The Iron Traitor (loving the cover) picks up exactly where The Lost Prince ends but already things are afoot.  Ethan and Kenzie are back home, although Kenzie has not exactly returned unscathed, not surprising considering her health, Ethan is trying to justify Todd’s current state of mind to the authorities and as much as Ethan might be seeking normality it’s kind of clear that’s not gonna happen.

This becomes reality almost immediately when Meghan informs Ethan that Keirran has gone missing.  Add to that the arrival of Annwyl who appears in Ethan’s room and you know that the chaos in Ethan’s life is about to go into overdrive. In short Annwyl is fading away and Keirran is prepared to do anything he can to make sure that the girl he loves hangs around.  You can’t help but see the similarities between father and son and as erratic as Keirran’s behaviour is sometimes you can see that Ethan understands him.  Whilst he doesn’t state it you know if the opportunity arises he would do the same for Kenzie.

The second instalment of this series creates further division between The Call of the Forgotten series and The Iron Fey series which works really well.  Kagawa has embraced the peripheral characters in this book and filled them out so the cast of players seems deeper and richer.  I loved Annwyl and her relationship with Keirran which is so sad at times.  The same can be said for Ethan and Kenzie.  I really felt for both of them.  Kenzie is determined that her illness won’t affect her desire for adventure and Ethan is determined to wrap her in cotton wool as much as he can, even lying to her and potentially ruining their relationship if necessary.  Whilst there is a definite split now between the Fey series there are still plenty of appearances from the regular favourites, most notably Ash (sigh!), Meghan, Puck and Grim.

This book does have more of a middle book feel to it than Kagawa’s books usually do but having re-read and thought about it I can see how a larger story is set out over the course of the three instalments. In this tale we see how far Keirran is prepared to go to protect his own and by the end there are a couple of revelations that leave you reeling.  As for the final few pages – well!  Not liking The Lady BTW. The only thing frustrating about finishing this book is the knowledge that I’ll have to wait another year before I get some kind of closure! 

On the plus side, at the end of the book there’s also an excerpt from The Forever Song which makes me so happy!

4/5 Started off unsure and ended up loving it!  Can’t wait for the next instalment!