BOOK REVIEW: The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Book: THE IRON QUEEN
Author: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Category: Young Adult Fiction

"... if someday you wish to be married in a white gown and make this official in human eyes, I'm willing to do that too.  for better or worse, I'm afraid you're stuck with me now"- Ash
"You're not going to lose me....I promise"- Meghan
"I won't let anything happen to you.  You are my heart, my life, my entire existence"- Ash
"I want to be with you tonight.  I don't want to have any regrets when it comes to us. so yes, i'm sure. I love you Ash"- Meghan


The Iron Queen stopped time for me.  I could barely get off my bed and do whatever it is human beings do.  The book is just THAT beautifully written. Waiting for its release had been torture, but the result is more than worth it. From the moment i read the first line, i was hooked.  
Ash is no longer who we met in The Iron King.  So much more open, honest, loving, possessive and jealous.  Factors that made the book so much happier with many thrilling moments. Puck on the other hand is much more sarcastic and jealous, which made for a funnier read.  and Meghan... FINALLY, the tough woman that she is has come out.  She is strong, a bit naive yet willing to sacrifice everything for everyone else, particularly for Ash.  I haven't been this attached to characters in a long time, so this has been a welcome change.  Julie Kagawa doesn't just tell you who they are, she pulls you into their lives and makes you love each character as if they're part of your family.

In The Iron Queen, Meghan and Ash realize that she is still in jeopardy even after giving up her life in nevernever.  Puck on the other hand has also been exiled as he followed meghan into the mortal realm. Grim is also back, being his usual catty (no pun intended) self.  they proceed to (Exile Queen) Lea's where Meghan finds out that Puck is not as innocent as he pretended to be about her father's disappearance many years before.  All four of them plus Meghan's father were then loaned a home by Lea where Meghan trained to fight with a sword (tutored by Ash) and to use her summer glamour (by Puck). They were later asked by both the Seelie and Unseelie courts to fight for Nevernever, specifically Meghan as she is the only one who can enter the iron realm without dying.  So they fight and eventually win, but at a very high cost.

I have to admit, the ending shocked me.  It is not quite the ending i expected. I wanted Ash and Meghan together, solidly in love, happy, perhaps married as long as they are free to be together.  Yet, they are not.  Instead the complication happened.  One thing that makes me happy though is that there will be another book, The Iron Knight, and  I can not wait to read it and to see them finally where they are meant to be, in each other's arms.  Also I am looking forward to being in Ash's mind, and to see him and Puck interact with each other.  Their love-hate, best friend-worst enemy dance has always been a big part of the Iron Fey series' charm.

In all, Julie Kagawa wrote one of the best and most romantic books I have read in a long time.  She is an amazing writer who knows her readers.  The Iron Queen is a must.  The best and most romantic of all three. It really just keeps getting better and better.