Audiobook Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Posted by Jessi (Geo) on February 3, 2018 | 0 Comments


Audiobook Review: The Iron King by Julie KagawaThe Iron King by Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey #1
Published by Harlequin Teen (1.19.2010)
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Audiobook, 363 pages
Length: 11 hours, 48 minutes
Narrator: Khristine Hvam
Source: I own it


5 Stars

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

My thoughts

I don’t think Julie could write anything that I won’t love! This was my first ever Julie book, so it holds a special place in my heart. I read this for the first time years ago, when Iron Queen had just come out, read it again before The Iron Knight was released, so this time listening to audio is my 3rd time! It’s definitely an old favorite of mine.

I love the world that Julie creates. I usually don’t care much for faerie stories – the only other one I’ve truly enjoyed was An Enchantment of Ravens. (Which actually reminded me a lot of this book!) The thing I love about Julie’s fey are that they aren’t Tinkerbell-esque. They are dangerous, manipulative, murderous, and cunning. You can’t trust the fey!

The world of Tir Na Nog is so magical and fantastic, I can’t get enough of it! It’s full of wonder but also full of danger. A perfect balance of it, really! I missed it so much!

I didn’t realize how naive Meghan was in the first book! She becomes so much of a badass, it was kind of strange to see her as a damsel in distress. Reading the first book again made me appreciate just how much development she had as a character.

I can’t write this review without talking about my absolute favorite part of the whole series: Grimalkin! The sarcastic cat-sidhe brings levity to the book and I seriously freaking love him. He’s actually my second favorite character of all time! I would cuddle him if I didn’t think he’s scratch my eyes out XD

I always loved Ash as well. I love Puck as a character and as a friend to Meghan, but I was always Team Ash! Re-reading it again reminded me that he’s kind of a butt in the beginning, but being an Ice Prince of a cutthroat court, he had to be. I love that he warms to Meghan – and if you need further proof that he’s perfect for her, just read Iron Knight :’)

The audio

This is definitely a book that I would rather read instead of listen to. I used an Audible credit for this one not only because I wanted to re-read it, but because I enjoyed Khristine Hvam as a narrator in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone audio. It came out over a year after this one, and you can tell that this is early in her career. Not to say that she did a bad job or anything, she’s just kind of annoying at times as a narrator – she’s rather whiny (and I never thought Meghan was whiny when I read it) and she inhaled really hard. (My boyfriend was listening with me on a long trip and he was making fun of her breathing lol) With the book only being 363 pages, it’s kind of ridiculous to listen to almost 12 hours of audio when I could read the whole book in a 3-hour sitting.

Overall Assessment

Plot: 4.5/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 4.5/5
Originality: 4.5/5
Characters: 4/5
World-building: 5/5
Pace: 4.5/5
Feels: 4/5
Narration: 3/5
Cover: 4.5/5
Overall rating: 5/5

Jessi (Geo)

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