Title: The Iron
Traitor
Author: Julie Kagawa
Published: 1st 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!
