Review: The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2) – Julie Kagawa

Posted 17 October, 2013 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review: The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2) – Julie KagawaThe Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2
Published by Harlequin Teen on 29 October 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon | |
5 Stars

While trying to be as close to normal as possible, Ethan is somehow tangled into fairy politics and intrigues anyway. And since Kenzie will not take no for an answer, they go on an unlikely quest together. Catching up with Kierran to help him save the one he loves more than anything else in all the worlds, the three of them are facing off different monsters in different worlds.

Doling out glamour and hits with his swords, Kierran will stop at nothing to save Anwyl, and bursting into places he has no right to be, he is very lucky to have Ethan at his back.

*I received a free ARC of The Iron Traitor from Harlequin Teen via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

The Iron Traitor bears it’s name very aptly! And it completely and utterly broke my poor, poor heart. But in a good way. Yeah, my heart can actually be completely be shattered in a good way, it seems, I had no idea that was even possible until I finished The Iron Traitor. Please forgive me for starting with the end – there’s one of those cliffhangers where you just wonder what you just read – and how the heck that can be the last page of the book! But for once, I actually wasn’t upset about the cliffie.

Ethan and Kenzie continue seeing each other, even if her dad is making things quite difficult for them in The Iron Traitor. After coming back home from faerie, Kenzie has to go to the hospital for a while, and Ethan is not exactly welcome there. Good thing that boy is so inventive, he just makes his own opportunities and does what needs to be done to see his girl. Because of Kenzie’s illness, the jocks in school are very upset with Ethan, and he has trouble with them as well as with a new faery who keeps vigil outside his house. Of course, this isn’t the only problem Kenzie and Ethan have to face, they need to find Kierran because now, even Meghan is worried.

The Iron Traitor has Ethan and Kenzie as the focal characters, but the readers get to see Puck, Ash, Meghan and even Grimalkin during the span of the story. It is pretty fast-paced, and there are a lot of characters to keep track of. However, because those characters are all memorable, I had no problem knowing who is who, and I was delighted to meet some of my favorites from the Iron Fey series as well. The writing – do I even need to say anything about that? it is written by Ms. Kagawa – is awesome. The details, the worldbuilding, the character development, the story-arcs, it all worked for me. I do think, however, that it will be easier to get everything if you are already familiar with The Iron Fey, because there are a lot of things going on in The Iron Traitor that has to do with the past, even some from before Ethan and Kierran were born.

On their search for Kierran, Ethan and Kenzie split up because, of course, he wants to protect her. Luckily, she is at least as crafty as he is, and she finds him in the goblin-market in New Orleans. Through a fast-paced story, I got to know and love both Ethan and Kenzie more, and Kierran with his love for his summer girl was heart-breaking. He would do anything to be able to save her from fading – even going against Tatiania and, to some extent, the other royal faeries. The excitement is never-ending, there are some really great fights, and I loved it when Puck and Ash had some word-sparring as well. I think I could read a whole book with just the two of them teasing each other and fighting!

I don’t really know what more to say, except – you really need to read this book if you enjoy fairies! And if you haven’t read any of the Iron Fey books, please do, they are so great, and I think Ms. Kagawa is one of my all time favorite authors, I have loved all of her books so far. There is only one tiny negative thing to say, and that is that I almost regret getting an ARC for The Iron Fey, because that means I read it early, and now, it will be so long before I can find out what happens after that cliffhanger! And I need some of my blogger friends to read it straight away, because I have a theory – and of course, I just can’t share that here.

My girlfriend shook her head. “You could try being nice,” she suggested. “I know it’s in there somewhere. I’ve seen it, at least twice.”

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore was the cheesy first thought that went through my head as we stepped out into the street.

Quietly, I walked up to join Kenzie, hoping this would work,that the dark, bloody ritual we’d just participated in wasn’t for nothing.

When an orange-and-black bird landed on Kenzie’s shoulder, I jumped, only to realize it was a huge butterfly with wings the size of dinner plates.

“Even if you’re with us, Puck, they’re not going to just let us walk into court.” “Walk in?” Puck snorted, giving Kierran a smirk. “Please. What fun would that be?”

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Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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0 responses to “Review: The Iron Traitor (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #2) – Julie Kagawa

    • And this follows after the complete Iron Fey series. I find series I haven’t started quite often myself, Stormi. There are just too many to be able to keep up with all of them!

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  1. Argh! Seriously, I really need to start reading The Iron Fey series and catch up with you, guys. All this hype is making me restless especially that you’ve given it a 5 star rating. That means that I am missing on a very good read.

    The way I understand it, this is the second book of The Call of the Forgotten but if we take into account The Iron Fey series, this is already the 6th, right? OMG! That’s a long way to go. But if it’s really good then reading 5 books would certainly be a piece of cake. And wow, it has a 4.30 rating on Goodreads.

    *hurries to GR to add Julie Kagawa’s books to TBR shelf*

    • 🙂 Charlotte. Yes, you do seriously need to start reading The Iron Fey series. But don’t have too high expectations, even if I loved it – high expectations often lead to disappointment 🙁

      And there are already quite a few books out in the series, and I think it’s easier to follow The Call of the Forgotten if you know how the world works first.

      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

  2. Yes, but at the same thing, having several authors I enjoy like that makes my kindle quite backed up 🙂

    Thanks for stopping by Wendy 🙂 I hope you’ll have a fantastic Friday!

    • Thanks Jeann 🙂 I have grown to be a fey person, but it really depends on the story. Some fey-stories get on my nerves, while others – that stay closer to the lore – I just adore.

      You should definitely read The Lost Prince before you read the Iron Traitor, if not I think you’ll be pretty much lost (in faery;) )

      Thanks for stopping by!

  3. Oh Lexxie, what a brilliant review! I really must get started on reading Ms. Kagawa’s series. I hate it when I know I’m gonna love a book but can’t seem to carve out the time to start it! And I know I’m gonna love Ms. Kagawa’s books because YOU love them so much. 🙂

    Happy Friday, my friend! *hugs*

    btw, I probably won’t ‘see’ you til Sunday – the girls have a competition all day tomorrow. 🙂 So have a great weekend!

    • 🙁 I am leaving for London Sunday morning with my oldest daughter (it’s her 18th b-day present from me;) ), her best friend and the mom (who is one of my best friends. And I’ll be gone until pretty late on Wednesday night. I am supposed to have internet at the hotel, but I know that’s not always the case anyway. I have already scheduled my Sidekick Showcase, and all of my posts for next week, so my blog won’t suffer. I hope the marching band competition will both be fun and go very well!

      I know you’re gonna love Ms. Kagawa’s books as well, they are just the kind of stories we both like to curl up with and enjoy! I know it’s not always easy to find the time for new series, though, there are so many out here already!

      Thanks so much for stopping by, Brandee! It always puts a big smile on my face to ‘see’ you 😀 Have a fantastic Friday, and enjoy your weekend 🙂

  4. alice

    okay so i sort’ve decided to be impatient and read the last page of the book before i actually got there (i know you don’t do that but i did and now i really regret it) anyway way i was hoping if someone could tell me this does megan and ash die in this book i really need to know this honestly i’m terrified of continuing the book as of this moment.

    on to another note i totally agree with you i would read a book with just ash and puck bickering then sparring because honestly those two are just too amusing!

    • Hi Alice, sorry I didn’t see your comment until now. I see that Sarah below has answered your question 🙂

      I hope you still managed to enjoy this story, even if you peeked at the ending first.

      Thanks for stopping by.

  5. Sarah

    Alice, no they don’t.

    I loved this review.
    I read the entire series (and intermittent pieces) in 2.5 days. Thankfully the whole eating and sleeping thing can elude me days on end once I begin a task; in this case, reading the Iron Fey series.
    My daughter tells me that my parents visited from interstate during this time…I’m not quite sure I believe her…I don’t remember.

    This series is THAT good!
    I couldn’t put the books down…and then when I got to The Iron Traiter I wanted to throw my ipad across the room and scream…except I couldn’t because I think my mind shut down in pure shock and outrage after I finished reading the last page.

    I hope the next book is published soon; this is a series I just can’t get out of my head.

    • I’m glad you loved this whole series so much, Sarah. I keep loving everything Ms. Kagawa writes, and I really look forward to the next books in both this series and her Eden series.

      Thanks for stopping by, Sarah 🙂 Have a great weekend.

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