I didn’t plan on read this again but it just happened to be sitting on my bedstand when I finished reading Cruel Crown. I needed to read something to keep me busy during Winter Storm Jonas. It’ll be good to refresh my memory since Glass Sword comes out in two weeks.
As I read this book, I go back and forth being enthralled and “why am I reading this again?” I’m interested enough in the story to keep reading to find out how it’s going to end but some of the cutesy words is well eye rolling. I know that it takes place under the sea and they are mermaids but I find it annoying. They call each other merls instead of girls but why don’t they call boys, moys or something like it? It’s a small thing. The other thing that bothers me is that there are six mermaids who must come together to stop the evil Orfeo but only Sera, Astrid and Becca seem to get the limelight. Ling (who is on the cover) Neela and Ava are little more then afterthoughts. I realized there are a lot of characters and not easy to give all them equal time but Marissa Meyer did a wonderful job of doing just that in the Lunar Chronicles so it is possible. I want to know more about the other mermaids. I was excited when I saw the cover and Ling on it. The last time we saw the merl (god I hate that) she was captured by the big bad guy on her way to find her piece. You would think that would be center stage but we don’t even get to Ling until 50-60 pages into the book. The little we get from her is exciting as she tries to escape from Orfeo, find her piece and also escape from the work camp she is sent too. At least she got a couple of chapters. Ava got one and Neela none, which is weird since she was a big part of the last book. Maybe that means we will get more of them in the final book coming out later this year but I have a feeling it’s going to be more of Sera and Astrid. Not that I don’t like them but I want to know about the others.
Getting myself ready for Glass Sword by reading the prequel novella’s Queen Song and Steel Scars.
*Spoilers*
I’m not sure if Julie Kagawa counts towards our Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives challenge since I would have read her books anyway. This is the last book in the The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten series. I knew I was going to read it as soon as I finished the last book, The Iron Traitor and I’m going to read Soldier, the next book in her Talon series. So counting her as my Asian American author doesn’t really go in the spirit of the challenge since we are trying read new authors, However, I think it’s good to point out the diversity that is already in my reading list. Yes, this is a little self serving, pat myself on the back type of thing but while I do mostly read white women, I’ve never been exclusively been just that and honestly until this past year I’m not sure I’ve noticed. I’ve been reading Julie’s work for a couple of years now and it make me think. I’m not sure where I’m going with this but you should read her work is all.
So The Iron Warrior is the last book in the The Iron Fey series’. The first series followed Meghan as she transitions from normal teenage girl to Fairy Queen of the Iron Fey. In Fairy mythology, iron has always been one their weaknesses and the human world has become more and more technologically advance the Nevernever has started to get poisoned, except for some of the Fairy who have adapted and created a new kingdom of Iron. Call of the Forgotten is the continuation of the series but follows Meghan’s brother, Ethan and son , Kerrian. Now, it’s been about a decade since Meghan has left and in that time Ethan has grown cursed with the sight and is constantly harassed by the Fey. Then one day he finds himself back in the Nevernever with a new girl, Kenzie and his nephew, Kerrian, who is roughly the same age thanks to the fact that time moves differently in Faery. Yeah, it’s weird. It’s even weirder since Ethan didn’t even know that Kerrian even existed. You see, their was a prophecy that one day Kerrian would kill Ethan and either destroy the courts or unite them. So obviously everyone wants to keep them apart. It didn’t work because the prophecy is set in motion when Kerrian does in fact stabbed Ethan and temporarily lifting the veil between faery and the human realms. Now Kerrian is the champion for the Forgotten Queen who looks to lift the veil permanently and only Ethan can stop him.
Ethan is the type of hero I like. He’s sarcastic and I do love sarcasm. He’s also a fighter. Not always the swiftest on the up take but he’s loyal. He knows the stacks are high and despite being given outs several times throughout the book he never backs down. Kerrian I’m not really digging. He’s quite stubborn to the point of destroying the Nevernever. Everything starts with Kerrian unwillingness to let go of his love. Since the story is from Ethan’s point of view, we don’t get to know the inner working of Kerrian’s mind and because of that I found him a little unsympathetic. We all have people we love that we don’t want to lose but losing your soul for them. Killing your uncle and friend. No one would want that. If he was able to keep his emotion’s in check all of this could have been avoided but then again we wouldn’t have a story. Kenzie is my favorite. She’s a normal human. She’s not fairy or half fairy or related to. She just happened to be with Ethan when he goes back and because she is curious and looks for adventure sticks around. She is also sick so wants to live life to fullest. That being said she is the smartest of them all. She adapts quickly to the Nevernever. She may not be a fighter but it’s often her quick thinking that saves them . I would love a book just about her.
All and all this was a great series with a satisfying ending. It’s not the usual fairy story and full of action and adventure. If you like fairy books or fantasy, you can’t go wrong with the Iron Fey.
I will say this about this series. The covers are pretty gorgeous
If you are on the internet and you follow fashion, especially celebrity fashion then you probably know Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan or as their known, the Fug Girls. Their fashion blog, GoFugYourself, is one of the most popular on the web. It’s a mix of humor and fashion as they dissect what celebs are wearing and the latest trends. They are also huge Royal watchers and not just the British royal family but all of them. Although the Wills, Kate, Harry and the Queen do hold a special place in their hearts so it’s really no surprise that they inspired this luscious book. Unless you have been living under a rock for the last ten years then you know how Prince William and Kate Middleton became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their romance took the world by storm since Kate is a commoner and basically living almost every living girl’s fantasy of meeting a Prince and marrying him. (If I can take a moment here: Kate was a commoner but it’s not like she was poor. If I remember correctly her parents have a very successful business and were considered upper middle class. They just were not apart of the aristocracy.) The Royal We mirrors their relationship but ups the ante by making our Kate, Bex an American. Bex meets Prince Nick at Oxford instead of St. Andrews and live in the same house throughout university and even break up for a while only to get back together. So while the trajectory of their relationship was familiar, it’s what happens in between that is truly interesting. Bex is wonderful. I’m not just saying that since she’s from our home state of Iowa but she’s funny, smart and real. Nick is rife with insecurities and a sense of duty. It must be hard to be born into a position. Nick is in constant fear of being caught doing the wrong thing that he he has to hide who he is. In fact throughout the book both Nick and Bex go through periods of indecisiveness about who they are and how they are supposed to act and it usually gets them into trouble. They behavior is understandable. I wouldn’t want to live under the constant scrutiny that the Royals live in today. With social media and everyone having a camera on their phone you must be on your best behavior all the time. That must be exhausting. They both had a lot of growing up to do and even after all they still find ways back to each other and forgive because that is what you do when you are in love.
The story wouldn’t be complete without a Prince Harry and Kate’s sister Pippa. Prince Freddie is a ladies man. Sleeping his way across London and the world and escaping any kind of condemnation by his charm. Lacey is Bex’s twin sister who is the good girl to Bex’s bad. I’m not sure what I make of her. She’s an intelligent woman who is full of life and optimism. When we meet her she is premed and eventually starts Medical school but she gives all that up to be a party planner in London to be closer to Bex. In one way, I do understand Lacey’s motivation. Bex isn’t just her twin, her sister but her best friend. They shared a womb, shared bedrooms and even went to the same college and then all of a sudden Bex decides to study abroad at Oxford, meets and falls in love with a Prince. Lacey starts to feel left behind. I get it. Kate may not be my twin (though we have asked multiple times if we are) but she’s my sister and my best friend. We have lived together and have the same group of friends but like Bex, Kate has studied abroad (many times) and yeah I felt a little lost without her being close by. I look at her and see all that she is doing to realize her dreams and ask myself what am I doing? It was one the reasons why I made the decisions to move to NYC. Kate was moving to Buffalo to work on her phd. and I just sorta felt stuck in Iowa City. So why not move and try something different. But as close as I am to her and my desire to live nearer, I never thought about giving up what I want or ask her to give up what she wants. Sure I’ve had thoughts of moving to Buffalo but those are thoughts never stuck. As close as we are, we are our own people. For Lacey to give up Medical school that she has been working for most of her life to be near Bex, live the high life and possible have a chance with Freddie just doesn’t sit right with me. Maybe I’m being to judgmental. I’m not upset with Freddie who spends the book partying and sleeping with women so why should I be with Lacey? The difference is that Freddie is the spare. While Nick was born with too many expectations, Freddie was born with not enough. He’s not going to rule but he’s not going to have to get a job either. He acts the way he does because he knows it will get under the skin of his father, who is real piece of work. So I guess his actions are more understandable.
All the characters are fun. I do love Bex and Nick’s group of friends. Especially Cilla, Gaz and Bea. They make the story more real and when Bex gets in one of her funks, they save the day. I hope that real Kate and Will have friends like that because how else do they survive. I was looking for a good romance and that’s what I got. They are not perfect, actually they both are flawed but through it all there was no question about how much they loved each other and in the end they found themselves. Anyone looking for a nice beach read or a little light reading to get you through the cold months, this is for you. Even if you are not a royal watcher.
The final book in the Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten series. Let’s see how this one ends.
*Spoilers Ahead*
This is the final book in the Defy trilogy. For those who are not familiar it follows Alexa who is a guard to Prince Damian but she has to be pretend she is a boy named Alex or be subjected to the cruel breeding houses. Over the series Alex is exposed as Alexa, saves the Kingdom from the evil King of Antion, fall in love with the Prince but also have feelings for her fellow guard, Rylan. Then after all of that has the save kingdom once again from the even more evil King of the neighboring country of Dansaii. That’s a real simplified synopsis but you get the idea. It’s sort of the typical YA novel where the girl must defeat evil while trying to figure out who she loves at the same time. It’s really isn’t much of a love triangle as Alexa is pretty clearly in love with Damian and Damian makes it pretty clear that he is in love with her but you know he’s the Prince and later the King and she’s just a guard. It can’t be simple as them saying I love you and be done with it.
Alexa is a good character. She’s a fighter both figuratively and literally. In this world there are sorcerers that have powers to create fires or earthquakes. Alexa isn’t but a revelation that her father might have been one and she may have inherited some of his powers in the form of quick reflexes, which makes her on the best fighters in the Prince’s guard. She is steadfast and loyal and despite many tragic deaths she still pulls though and gets things done. As for the other characters, they are not as fleshed out as Alexa is. Damian is giving more time. We get that he’s vulnerable and his doubts of his own abilities and loves Alexa. The same with Rylan. He’s a good guy who always stands by Alexa but not much else. I would have liked to know more about them and the other characters. Maybe one of the flaws of first person story telling. I get this feeling that YA authors are getting over their fears of killing off characters, no matter how important they are. I think this is great because it does give books a little more drama. I used to feel a little cynical when characters were in trouble because you sort of knew that authors wouldn’t risk alienating readers by killing off popular characters. Well not any more. Now it anyone can go and boy the body count is high in this one and many I was sad to see go.
It was good series with a good ending. I’m glad that I read it but it’s not going to go down as one of my favorites.
I wish I could say this is a post about how George R.R. Martin is finally sent a date for the release of The Winds of Winter, the next book in his A Song of Fire and Ice Saga but sadly no. As much as it pains me to continue to wait, it obviously pains George even more. Today he posted on his blog that The Winds of Winter will not be published before the beginning of the sixth season of the HBO based on his book in April. Yeah this sucks but at least we know. (To read his whole blog post, go here) I know that many people are going to be angry with him. there are a lot of people who worry that the show is now going to spoil the books or the show will influence how the book will end. I don’t really feel that way. I think George has a pretty clear idea of where he wants his series to end and the producer of the show have theirs. I’m not sure if the books had been completed would have changed either endings. The show have deviated from the books since season 1. Characters that are POV in the books haven’t made the show yet or cut completely and other characters still alive in the books have died in the show. True they may die soon in the books but we won’t know for sure until it comes out but has any of those changes really ruined the show for you? The past five season, us book readers have had an advantage over those who haven’t read it and now we will all get to experience the show together with no insight. How exciting is that? As for the books now being spoiled, was the show spoiled for you even though you read the books? Did it make the red wedding any less horrifying to watch? or Ned’s death? or any of the other thousands of deaths? It hasn’t for me so I don’t think the show will spoil the books all that much either. Sure we might have an inkling of what will happen but there is so much more in the books then the show could ever show us. So many more characters, subplots, settings that haven’t even been mentioned on the show that will be just as much in the dark about as we are now. So I say, let’s enjoy the wait. Let’s appreciate what we have with both the books and the show. Let George finish the books in his own time and not rush him. Don’t we want it to the best it can be?
This makes me think about Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, it’s the longest of the seven books and my least favorite and I believe J.K. Rowling’s too. In between writing four she had a son and felt rushed to finish five. She has said that she wished she had more time to edit and it shows. It’s kind of a mess. With tons of subplots and tangents it’s not as focused as the others. The great thing about the movie (which ironically is the shortest film) is that it was able to do the editing that J.K. didn’t get to do to make it much better movie then book but what as readers we were more patient and gave her the time. What book would we have got? Would it have been better? Would we have avoided S.P.E.W.? Would Harry have been less of a git, I mean a whiny teenage boy? We will never know for sure but I do think for sure we cheated ourselves of her best effort. So for this reason I say give George a break. Let him finish it in his time and we will all eventually get what we want.
It’s 2016! Happy New Years!! A new year means new books! And we love new books even if they just add to our TBR pile. So here a 10 books that I’m super excited to read in 2016!
And so many more books I want to read and not to mention try to complete our reading challenges. It’s going to be a busy reading year. How about you? What books are you looking forward to reading this year?
2 Women, So Many Books 