The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1) by Julie Kagawa

Release date: October 23, 2012
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 377
Format: Egalley
Source: Publisher provided through Netgalley
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

I think I said it--or some variation thereof--when I finished The Immortal Rules but it doesn't hurt to repeat myself: Julie Kagawa is magical. I've read six of her books now and liked every single one of them, gosh darn it. I don't know how she does it, but I want whatever Kool-Aid she's been drinking.

Anyways... The Lost Prince picks up a number of years after the conclusion of the original Iron Fey series. This time we follow Megan's little brother, Ethan, who is now about the age Megan was when we met her. As we already know (if you read the original series, which you do not have to have done in order to follow this book, though it definitely enriches the experience. Plus they're just so darn good!), Ethan has always been able to see the fey. Because he can see them, they antagonize him. He spends his life trying to avoid their notice and keep from hurting others. But when a half-breed in Ethan's class goes missing and weird, ghost-like fey begin appearing, Ethan finds he has to embroil himself in the world of the fair folk.

I was so unbelievably happy when I found out this book was coming out. Sure, I knew I'd miss Megan, Ash, and Puck, but any time spent in the world is enough for me. The Lost Prince definitely delivers. Not only do we get just as much action, adventure, romance, and surprises as in the original series, we get a whole new set of characters to fall in love with and a great new threat to the fey. And while we're getting accustomed to the new characters, we get a little bit of quality time with our old favorites. The fun part with that, though, is that we see them all YEARS after the action of The Iron Knight and it's such a treat to see how they've all settled. (I also might've actually squealed a little bit when Ash appeared. I've gotta be honest.)

The fear with featuring the old characters alongside new characters is that the old characters will outshine the new. Luckily for us, that is not the case. Ethan starts off a little one-dimensional; he's broody because he wants to protect people. Humph. But as we see more of him and as he interacts with the other characters, especially Kenzie and Kierran, he becomes more and more compelling. (Oh my gosh, guys, I love love Kierran.)

I am excited to see where this new trilogy takes us. I can't quite give it five stars simply because it didn't hook me like I desperately wanted it to, but that's really not necessarily the book's fault. I'm a moody reader and an emotional reviewer. But, if you loved the Iron Fey before you'll definitely love this! I promise, previous series reader or not, Julie Kagawa is magical and will have you eating out of the palm of her hand quite quickly.