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

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1
Published by Harlequin Teen on 23 October 2012
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 379
Source: Netgalley
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Ethan Chase is all grown up, and Meghan's little brother is brooding, not happy and trying to make sure he stays off the fey's radar as much as possible! So far, this hasn't really worked so well for him - especially in his last school, where gremlins followed him into the school library and set a fire - and he was expelled for having done this himself. When he starts his new school, he has decided to not make any new friends, piss everybody off with his attitude, and make sure the fey leaves him alone.

*I received an ARC of The Lost Prince from Harlequin Teen via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

There are a couple of things that happen in The Lost Prince that are actually explained in Iron’s Prophecy so if you have that one, I think it would be a great idea to read that first!

The Lost Prince is everything I dreamed it could be, and more! I’m sure we can all guess how things are going to play out – right? Well, things don’t really go according to Ethan’s plan at all, but there is a lot of action, new friendships, and a mystery that has to be taken care of. Ethan finds out a lot more both about himself, Meghan and the rest of his family than he thinks he want to know. And this time, he’s entangled into the world of the fey without any hope to escape – even if he’s not trying to escape now anyway…

His new friend Kenzie, the school reporter, really pushed all my wrong buttons in the beginning! Such a stubborn girl – not able to leave the new guy alone and let him just live his life. Todd was acting pretty stupid, and he single-handedly made sure Ethan would be a part of his drama with the full-blooded fey. Todd being a half-blood phooka, he should have known better than to mess with the fey, but he went on and made deals left and right to help him fight his battles against the bullies in his school. It really didn’t take long before Todd realized he was in too deep, though.

When Todd disappears from school, Ethan thinks he’s the only one who can help him, but Kenzie keeps sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, and becomes part of the quest for Todd and other disappeared half-fey as well. Ethan has to run away from his Kali demonstration when some almost invisible fey with mouths on their hands are after him and Kenzie. He finally has to use the coin Meghan left him long ago – the coin that will bring him back to faerie, and to the sister he has tried to forget – like she seems to have forgotten all about him.

The excitement is never-ending! Kenzie and Ethan end up in a cave in the Wyldwook, with Grimalkin to escort them through the woods to the Iron kingdom and to Meghan’s castle. Ethan has trouble understanding how calm Kenzie is in the face of this whole new world she never suspected existed, and Kenzie only looks around with big eyes, taking it all in, wishing her camera still worked. Grimalkin is exactly like he was in all the ‘Iron Fey’ books, he always makes me laugh with his oh humans… and the way he never actually answers a direct question. He did end up getting Kenzie and Ethan to Meghan though, after a few battles and close calls they finally arrived in the Iron kingdom, where Ethan was – to his great dismay – treated like a prince!

Ethan’s resentment against Meghan’s disappearance from his life really shows in their interaction, and I can completely understand him. At the same time, he is old enough at 17 to understand that she does have new responsibilities now, and he should realize that he is not the four-year-old he was when she had to come and save him. Meghan shows her fey-i-ness quite quickly when Ethan talks back at her, and her power is there for both Ethan and Kenzie to feel. Ethan only wants one thing after telling Meghan about the scary new fey who seem to be sucking the life out of halflings and outcasts alike, but Meghan thinks he better stick around to help her. Then, enter Keirran – who I was wondering why I felt like I should know – who helps Ethan and Kenzie to cross back ot their own world – or almost anyway – to Leanaidhe’s house in the in-between.

More intrigue ensues, and Ethan is shocked when he learns who Keirran is – which was very comical in my eyes, because my sneaking suspicions were right. Love is starting to bloom between Kenzie and Ethan, and they continue the fight by trying to pinpoint where the transparent fey are hiding out.

All through the book, I thought the fight-scenes were even better than those in the Iron Fey series! I sometimes had to hold my breath to keep up, and the excitement had me almost sliding off the couch because I was always moving forward to somehow be closer to the action! The writing is, as always, excellent. The descriptions make sense, the interactions between the characters are believable, and so are the characters themselves. I know most of my fellow readers already know I’m a big Iron Fey fan, and in this volume, I was treated to both familiar and loved characters, and I got to know and love quite a few new ones as well. The new and deadly fey that made their kind-of appearance were scary, at the same time, the induced me with pity for what they had been through, and what they felt they had to do to survive. And I am quite sure we’ll meet with them in the next book. And I actually have some theories about both them, and who might be the one to help them… Sounds ominous, right? And I think it will be 🙂

What would a favorite series 5-star review be without sharing some favorite quotes? Here they are :

But it wasn’t just Todd now. Something strange was happening in Faery, and I had a feeling it was going to get worse. I needed to know what was going on and how I could defend myself from transparent ghost-fey that sucked the life right out o f their victims. I didn’t want to be left in the dark, not with those things out there.

More of us have disappeared. More vanish with every breath. And they are coming closer.

The cat stretched lazily on the branch. “Desire what you will, human,” he said with a knowing, half-lidded stare. “With your family, I have found that it is never as easy as that.”

For a second, I couldn’t look away. My heartbeat picked up, and my mouth was suddenly dry, watching the girlin the center of the wiking cloud, smiling as the tiny lights landed in her hair or perched on her arm.

I would’ve said something, except… I was kind of speechless.

Aside from the crowds of fey, it was difficult to believe we were still in the Nevernever. Mag Tuiredh reminded me a little of Victorian England – the steampunk version.

Glamour-eaters. The term was catching on, though that was a good name for them. They couldn’t hurt me or Kenzie that way, because we had no magic.

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