"My name--my True Name--is Ashallayn' darkmyr Tallyn. I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her. My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl..."To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.
Then Meghan Chase--a half human, half fey slip of a girl--smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.
With the unwelcome company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end--a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.
To survive in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice (goodreads).
ALL HAIL JULIE KAGAWA. HAIL HER DAMN IT. I came THIS close to crying, THIS close!
After the events of The Iron Queen, Ash is is on a mission to be with Meghan again. The iron coursing through her veins and her kingdom is toxic to the Winter prince so he does the unimaginable-he sets out to become human. This book is second only to The Iron King. Ash's journey is memorable and the lengths that he is willing to go to in order to be with Meghan is absolutely heartbreaking. The last few chapters of the book literally broke my heart, I didn't cry but a little piece of me died.
Like her other books, Kagawa's characters are one of her strongest points. Along with Grim and Puck, Ash teams up with two new characters. One is the Big Bad Wolf and the other is someone who honestly surprised me. I enjoyed their interactions, and how their bond became stronger after every encounter in the world of fae. This is also a book where Ash gets to shine. In the other books, Ash is depicted as the cold prince whose heart was warmed by a half-human, in this book, the reader learns so much more about his poor tortured soul. We learn about his past, his family life, his relationship with Puck, and how Meghan has affected him.
This book is so unlike the other three because it was written from Ash's perspective. At first I was a bit weary because I was used to hearing events told from Meghan's perspective and I really enjoyed her voiced. I really enjoyed reading from Ash's perspective because he is such a complex character (now can Puck have a book written from his POV? Hmmm?).
I really enjoyed this book, it was a great wrap up to an excellent series. I can't wait to finish the other novellas and to see where The Iron Fae series goes next.
Labels: 5 stars, Julie Kagawa, the iron knight
