The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey)

I was somewhat excited for "The Lost Prince" since I did like "The Iron King" and I wanted to read about a teen Ethan. But my initial excitement kept diminishing as I kept reading the story. I did like the plot and the idea behind the book, but on more than one occasion, I wished things had happened very differently.

Ethan was not the cute little boy we first met in "The Iron King", years of trying to remain invisible to the fair folk had made him jaded, hostile, and very lonely. At first, I was, and still am sort of, okay with his character, but I have to say he has that whiny self blame act down. And although, I don't really mind that much when a character starts diving into the self blame act, it does get old if it gets too repetitive. This happened a lot in "The Lost Prince". I really wanted to magically enter the pages and become that random character who shakes him and makes him see the bigger picture. "You are surrounded by the heroine wannabees, sweetie. It is not your fault."

About the girls well, I couldn't stand any of the two. Kenzie was too pushy and Annwyl was too bland. They had different kind of presences, but they were both the same in one thing; they belong to the damsels in distress category. I intensely dislike that category, especially when they tried to come off as "strong", but for me were more like burdens. I really wanted to yell at them: "Just stay home and out of the way!" Don't get me wrong, I'm all about "Girl Power", but how can I possibly sympathize with these two when they have lost all sense of self preservation? Whatever the reasons.

Keirran gave me some really big "What the heck?" moments at the end. I really wanted to smack him on the back of the head. Then, I saw the title of the second book. Could it be him it refers to? I could be wrong, but I really think so.

Like I mentioned before, I wish some parts of the book were different, like the love story. It would have been great if it had been Samantha who had reappeared in his life. It would have given bigger credibility to the romance than the insta-love found in the book. At least, there was no dreaded love triangle, which I feared would happen at one point, and this earned the book bonus points.

I did love the action scenes. It was great reading about how Ethan would whack and kick the creepy unknown things with the skills he learned doing Kali. I also loved Razzor, even if he was a stereotypical pet type of character, his random comments and "Bad Kitty!" phrases made me laugh every time. And I was too happy when Grim and Puck made appearances. There really should be more of Puck.

Also, I have only read the first book in The Iron Fey series, and I didn't feel lost at all when reading this book.

*I received an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley.

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Reviewed by: Angels
Format:Kindle
Pages: 379
Published:Harlequin Teen
Source:Gifted Copy
Genre: Teen, Romance,Fantasy
Buy:the store Uk /the store Us

5 STAR READ

Description

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.

This novel is one of Julie’s books that will have you demanding for the second one as soon as you finish your read.

My Thoughts and Review

I really enjoyed this story ! This has been such a great series.I am glad that Ethan got his own story but, I think this won't be the last we here from him.And a Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Teen for allowing me to read an Advance Readers Copy of The Lost Prince.

Ethan Chase, Meghan's brother also the Queen of the Iron Fey he is gifted with the ability to see the world of the fey.

Ethan surprised me in this story as I was so surprised at his bitterness toward life and his sister it was almost on the verge of hostel.But, after being kidnapped as a child and brought to the Fey where danger lurks at every corner I guess I am should not be that surprised. And even in the mortal world the creatures can't leave the guy alone but, his resentment and his disrespect toward his sister was another thing altogether.Ethan is labeled a bad boy and has gotten a reputation for being one.But, he really is undeserving if it all ,the mishaps occurring they were caused by the Fey creatures and he was only trying to protect himself.

Ethan is forced to flee to the Iron realm to see the Queen and his sister.Something or someone is making the Fey creatures and other living creatures in the mortal world disappear.When mysterious ghost-like fey start killing exiles and kidnapping half-bloods Ethan reluctantly visits the NeverNever. Ethan needs to find a way to find his friend and let the Queen know what is going on and the danger this new development brings.

Ethan is joined on this journey with a classmate Kenzie.Ethan not meaning to has brought Kenzie with him to the Iron Fey for her safety and his own as something or someone is out to get them.I loved the slow building romance between Ethan and Kenzie in this novel! Ethan who is so used to being alone kept pushing Kenzie away, which at times was infuriating, but Kenzie is so strong and independent that she wouldn't take any of Ethan's crap. I liked that about her, it actually reminded me a lot of Meghan with her relationship with Ash the unseelie Prince of the winter court.

The pages are graced with some of our favorite characters Ash, Meghan and Puck and our favorite cat but, only briefly.We are introduced to a new characters like Kierran who happens to be Ash and Meaghan's son and lets not forget Kenzie and also we encounter the displaced Queen who has made her own little world.

The story was a page turner from beginning to end.Kierran joins with Ethan and Kenzie on there wild adventure. As always there journey is fraught with nothing but danger.Kenzie on the other hand is enjoying her time spent in the NeverNever even with all the danger lurking about. She is very adventurous and wants to learn all she can in her limited time in the Fey.

Ethan and his brooding mood softens a bit to develop a slow and budding romance with Kenzie.She was such a fun character to read about.And as for Kierran Ash and Meghan's son I didn't really get a good reading on him yet whether I am going to like his character or not. I felt that he was a little bit to dangerous (meaning he doesn't look at the consequences of his actions beforehand just dives right in making him extremely dangerous )Without the thought to others welfare he puts others in danger and may just get them killed.Also I am not so sure he is trust worthy. I just get a bad vibe about him.Who's side is he on away ?You might ask yourself this to after reading this story.

A lot happens in the story while uncovering this plot of the who dun-nit and we learn about a prophecy and what is to come true and who the players are.It makes you very edgy and things are not looking good for the near future.Pretty scary in fact and has you wondering if you all ready know who is the traitor?

I have to say it was and overall engaging story.Had all the things to make a great story a good plot great characters even though I missed the camaraderie of some off the other characters this novel was a bit more serious.I am glad to see new characters gracing the pages.I loved the adventure.I am thinking that we will see more of these characters to come in the future books.I have to say that no matter what Iron Fey novel you pick up it is going to be throughly enjoyable.

A must read ! A recommended read to all ages whether your young or old you won't be disappointed.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Good Reads Rating: 4.08

Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1

Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal

Pages: 377

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Check it out: Good Reads | the store | Barnes and Noble

Good Reads Summary:

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’m a huge fan of Kagawa’s writing. I have the Iron Fey series sitting on my shelf, and I really enjoyed The Immortal Rules. Suffice to say I was thrilled that she was continuing the Iron Fey series with Meghan’s younger brother, Ethan.

The biggest thing that struck me about The Lost Prince was how hard it must be to write a new series in a world that readers have already come to love. I really enjoyed Ethan’s story, but I was continually reminded of how much more I enjoyed Meghan, Ash, and Puck’s story. Our favorite trio just seemed more interesting, more endearing, and more entertaining than Ethan, Kenzie, and Kierran. This was most apparent when Puck, Ash and Meghan themselves showed up in The Lost Prince; they lit up the pages in a way that our current hero was unable to. I found myself almost giddy when the Iron Queen appeared, or when there was a short exchange between Puck and Ash. Of course, after four books, you feel as if beloved characters are good friends, so it was hard to see a new hero take the spotlight.

All that sap being said, this book does a fantastic job continuing the world and the story that Kagawa created through the trio in the first books. All the imagination and creative storytelling is there, illustrating the dark and fascinating Nevernever. The main conflict is a follow up from The Iron Fey, centering around the mysterious beings known as The Forgotten. They fit perfectly into the world Kagawa has shaped, making it feel less and less like a spin-off the deeper our heroes get into trouble.

As I said previously, I didn’t like the main characters as much as Ash, Meghan, and Puck. In some ways that’s not fair, because if I hadn’t read the original series, I wouldn’t know any better. It seems as though everyone in this book is seriously damaged. Ethan has to keep everyone at arm’s length (if not farther) to keep them safe from the fey. He’s a jerk to everyone, but he loathes himself for it.

You really feel bad for him, having to constantly look over his shoulder, making sure the fey aren’t messing with him. The only person stubborn enough to break through his armor is Kenzie, who refuses to back down even when he is repeatedly rude to her. Kenzie was fiery, brave…I liked her. She responded to all the crazy faerie stuff well; she was shocked, astonished, disbelieving, and then she realized there was nowhere to go but forward, so she just went with it. I liked her a lot. Her confession near the end seemed completely out of the blue, and I wasn't really sure why Kagawa chose to add it. I'll be interested to see how it affects the story later on.

Kierran. I really really really wanted to love him. And I liked his character, don’t get me wrong. But he was too…static. A little boring. I wanted him to be more Puck-ish, with a huge personality, probably because Ethan was quite Ash-like with his brooding and his bad-boy behavior, and I was looking for the foil that I just didn’t quite find in Kierran. But then again, I’m comparing the two series, which isn’t fair. Kierran is a very romantic character, a nice mix between Ash and Puck, so there’s that.

Grimalkin plays a huge part in The Lost Prince, which made me exceptionally happy. It was fun having our favorite feline at the helm again, mysteriously leading our heroes around.

Fans of Kagawa’s should NOT miss this book, and it’s a book that I think will satisfy lovers of The Iron Fey series. I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to read The Iron Fey first, but it would certainly give you a lot of back story, as there are four books worth of material there to explain the Nevernever and give Ethan’s history. I’m very excited about The Iron Traitor, which is sitting on my Kindle, waiting to be read.

The first question possible readers might have is: Do you have to read the Iron Fey series (The Iron King, The Iron Queen, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Knight) first? My answer is this: I don't think one will have a complete appreciation for this book, for this story, for this world without reading the others first. You won't have the background or back story and you won't have already established your love and connection to the world of Nevernever and some of its previous characters.

I hate to type this but I was a little bit let down with The Lost Prince. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it and will continue to be an avid reader of anything Julie Kagawa writes, but I expected more. I didn't fall completely. That said, I think this is an excellent start and cannot wait to see where things go from here.

You have to go into this book with an open mind. New characters. It's told from Ethan's point of view, and as a main character I liked him well enough, but I didn't love him. I had high hopes that the other characters would fill the void of missing Ash, Puck and Meghan. Unfortunately I wasn't taken. Ethan's love interest Kenzie was likable enough, but I didn't get that heat, that fire, that spark. Also, Ethan's inner dialogue regarding Kenzie got on my nerves a bit and found these particular passages to be a bit draggy. There was a lack of passion for me.

Speaking of characters, there are glimpses of some old favorites. It was just enough of a taste to make me crazy with wanting more. The character I ended up connecting with the most was that of Kierran. I'm not going to go into details about him as not to give any spoilers, but I felt this book was as much about him, if not more, than that of Ethan. (You'll understand what I'm talking about when you read this book) I'm so excited and interested to see how Julie develops his character. Not to mention the story itself. There's a new threat in town that is causing the disappearance of fey exiles and half-breeds. It's been 12 years since Meghan abandoned Ethan and her family in order to be the Iron Queen. Let's just say Ethan has a lot of unrequited feelings about this. He is forced to face his appearingly strong hatred of anything Fey head on and question not only his feelings about Them but also about himself.

The writing was good and easy to follow, but I was already familiar with the world. New readers might be a bit confused and have a lot of unanswered questions. Then there were the passages involving the Nevernever. They were my highlights. I have such a love for that beautifully dangerous land of Fey. The detailed descriptions immediately transported me back to this incredible otherworldly place.

Favorite Quotes:

"I'd never met someone who could be so relentlessly cheerful in the face of such blatant jack-assery."

"A figure melted out of the shadows in the corner, stepping in front of the door, a sharp silhouette against the light. He moved like darkness itself, silent and smooth, dressed all in black, his eyes glittering silver as he blocked my exit."

Bottom Line: Overall, The Lost Prince is a solid next installment in the already established amazing world of Fey. 4/5

I had really high hopes for this book, having read and loved the first three books in the Iron Fey series, and Kagawa did not disappoint me with The Lost Prince. The Lost Prince's story, pacing, and emotions were just as great as its predecessors'. I love the world Kagawa has created and was really excited to spend some more time in it.

I liked Ethan as a narrator, but I did miss Meghan's voice. I simply like a female point of view much more than a male first person narrative. But, as far as male narrators go, Ethan is pretty perfect. I wish he would have expressed more of his feelings, but I do understand why he didn't. He's had a lifetime of keeping his feelings to himself, and he can't undergo a huge emotional shift overnight.

There was one major plot point that I did predict very early in the book. Maybe it's my medical background, but the signs were too clear to mistake.

Like the other Iron Fey books, the imagery really set this book apart. It is simply outstanding! I love Kagawa's descriptive prose, and find it so easy to imagine myself in the Nevernever right along with my favorite characters. And speaking of favorite characters, I do wish there was more of Meghan and Ash in this book, but I was happy just to get a glimpse of them living out their happy ending.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book. I do suggest that you read the other Iron Fey books first, otherwise you'll spoil the ending to the first books in the series. I'm really looking forward to where Kagawa takes this story!

For more reviews check out my blog: [...]

So this is a spin off of the FIRST series called "The Iron Fey" and for those of you who have read it, well, remember that little boy named Ethan? Brother to Meghan who went into the land of the Faery to rescue her brother from the Fey (in the first series) who was taken and replaced by a changeling. That little kid who started all of it and brought the Nevernever to us. Well for those of you who DO remember let me tell you something about him now... he is not so little anymore. And this story is the first book to Julie Kagawa's new series called "The Forgotten Fey" and boy things do spin out of control for the fey in this new series.

Years later after everything that happened we're back into Chase house, only this time Meghan is not around and now Ethan has a story to tell. For years he's been trying to deal with all the consequences of seeing the fey and trying to protect himself and his family from their disastrous ways that they think is fun when they mess with humans and cause nothing but pain and trouble sometimes, all by himself too! And it hasn't been an easy task. Losing his sister he didn't have other choice than to blame all the fey world.

Now years after Meghan gone and Ethan doing all he can to keep people at a distance including the fey he is once again tangled up in a mess with them and this time he doesn't get just himself involved but 2 of his only "friends" too.

We follow Ethan back into the Nevernever when one of his only friends is taken and a girl that he likes follows him there. Together they meet up with some of our old friends from the first series and then we meet a few more new and fun characters.

If you enjoy an adventure into the fanatical world of the Fey then this is just for you! I had a blast reading it and I'm sure you will too!

Language: moderate (PG-13)
Sexual Content: mild
Violence: moderate (PG fighting with frightening fey but not graphic or gory)
Drugs/Alcohol: none

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa is the fifth book in the Iron Fey series, though it’s also the start of the spinoff Call of the Forgotten series. Harlequin claimed on NetGalley that I could start with this book, so I decided to give it a try and test the theory ;-). While I didn’t end up loving The Lost Prince, I did enjoy the concepts and definitely think you can start with The Lost Prince and still enjoy Call of the Forgotten. I’m actually kind of glad I started here, since I don’t think I would have loved the romance in the first four Iron Fey books.

Strengths:
I haven’t read that many books about fairies, but enough that I was quite excited to see a new premise in The Lost Prince involving creepy ghost fey. Taking the fluffy idea of fairies in modern day and turning them into sharp and dark things is so much fun :D.
I’m such a sucky for adorable sidekick characters and there is a gremlin named Razor that stole my heart! He’s kind of like an intelligent dog in that he is very eager to please and not quite human level intelligence, but he can talk (he reminded me of Doug >.>) and it’s so cute! Plus he’s a gremlin and so he gets all static-y when he’s excited haha.
As I said above, I think starting with The Lost Prince and only reading Call of the Forgotten would work fine. There is plenty of filling in the important parts of the previous series and I didn’t feel lost at all :).
Ethan, the MC, has the Sight and can see the fair folk. I thought that this element was handled quite well in that it had strengths and weaknesses and was always there (like a normal sense), not only when it was convenient for the plot.
Ethan practices Kali, which is apparently a Filipino martial arts (though I can’t find anything on the Internet about it besides this Kalis blade), and it was fun seeing that hobby utilized through out the plot. A character who has trained for years in order to defend himself instead of just having magic abilities :D.
Weaknesses:
The romantic dialogue in The Lost Prince was a bit painfully cheesy at times. There might have been some eye-rolling >.>.
Ethan has some pretty angsty, annoying and sexist internal thoughts and I just wanted to smack him upside the head at various points.
The Lost Prince has a fair amount of repetitive phrasing, in that I felt like I was reading the same sentence again that I read one page ago. This feeling was because I basically was….
The only people who didn’t see that plot twist coming were the characters….
Summary:
The Lost Prince has an interesting premise and was perfectly fine to read as a fluffier book. If you don’t mind some cheese with your romance, you will probably quite enjoy it :). I’m looking forward to reading the second book (Iron Traitor) mostly because I’m hoping that there is betrayal >.> I think there are good odds given that title!

2.5 Stars

The Lost Prince was an entertaining adventure, a story that any fan of Kagawa's Fey series will enjoy.

When we last left off, Ethan Chase was the toddler/younger brother of Meghan Chase, one who also had "The Sight," in other words, he could see faeries. He has nothing but contempt for the Fey. In his mind they took his sister and have made his everyday life a nightmare. Now at sixteen, Ethan tries to stay out of trouble but with the Fey in his life, this is impossible. He keeps every one at a distance for fear of bringing his problems onto to them as well. After getting kicked out of this last school for starting a library fire, during a Fey altercation, Ethan is plopped into the middle of the school year and has to deal with fitting in and the rumors of his delinquency that follow him. Enter Mackenzie St. James, the fearless girl-reporter that won't take "no" for an answer. She's determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious "bad-boy" Ethan, and what makes him tick. Unfortunately for her, this propels her straight into trouble, because wherever Ethan is, the Fey are sure to be nearby.

I must admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of Kagawa's Fey series. I didn't dislike the series, but I wasn't blown away by it. There are legions of fans that have a completely different opinion, so I may not be the best judge for this story. Detailed and descriptive world-building usually leaves me yawning, and Kagawa is the queen of world-building. I had fun reading this but it didn't knock my socks off. I felt like both Ethan and Kenzie's voices were very young, so I had a hard time connecting to either one of them. I'm big on character development, and I feel these stories are more world-building and plot driven. With that said, the plot wasn't something surprising or out of the ordinary, and I guessed a couple of the twists without much thought.

I feel bad bashing on this story because I should've known better than to pick this up. This is clearly a case of "it's not you, it's me," so please don't discount this story because of my review. I must confess, I don't feel this way about all of Kagawa's writing, because I was a huge fan of her vampire story The Immortal Rules. While I'm going to call it quits with the Fey series, I will be picking up her next vampire story:

A copy of this was provided by Harlequin Teen through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

For more reviews check out my blog: [...]

So this is a spin off of the FIRST series called "The Iron Fey" and for those of you who have read it, well, remember that little boy named Ethan? Brother to Meghan who went into the land of the Faery to rescue her brother from the Fey (in the first series) who was taken and replaced by a changeling. That little kid who started all of it and brought the Nevernever to us. Well for those of you who DO remember let me tell you something about him now... he is not so little anymore. And this story is the first book to Julie Kagawa's new series called "The Forgotten Fey" and boy things do spin out of control for the fey in this new series.

Years later after everything that happened we're back into Chase house, only this time Meghan is not around and now Ethan has a story to tell. For years he's been trying to deal with all the consequences of seeing the fey and trying to protect himself and his family from their disastrous ways that they think is fun when they mess with humans and cause nothing but pain and trouble sometimes, all by himself too! And it hasn't been an easy task. Losing his sister he didn't have other choice than to blame all the fey world.

Now years after Meghan gone and Ethan doing all he can to keep people at a distance including the fey he is once again tangled up in a mess with them and this time he doesn't get just himself involved but 2 of his only "friends" too.

We follow Ethan back into the Nevernever when one of his only friends is taken and a girl that he likes follows him there. Together they meet up with some of our old friends from the first series and then we meet a few more new and fun characters.

If you enjoy an adventure into the fanatical world of the Fey then this is just for you! I had a blast reading it and I'm sure you will too!

Language: moderate (PG-13)
Sexual Content: mild
Violence: moderate (PG fighting with frightening fey but not graphic or gory)
Drugs/Alcohol: none

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa is the fifth book in the Iron Fey series, though it’s also the start of the spinoff Call of the Forgotten series. Harlequin claimed on NetGalley that I could start with this book, so I decided to give it a try and test the theory ;-). While I didn’t end up loving The Lost Prince, I did enjoy the concepts and definitely think you can start with The Lost Prince and still enjoy Call of the Forgotten. I’m actually kind of glad I started here, since I don’t think I would have loved the romance in the first four Iron Fey books.

Strengths:
I haven’t read that many books about fairies, but enough that I was quite excited to see a new premise in The Lost Prince involving creepy ghost fey. Taking the fluffy idea of fairies in modern day and turning them into sharp and dark things is so much fun :D.
I’m such a sucky for adorable sidekick characters and there is a gremlin named Razor that stole my heart! He’s kind of like an intelligent dog in that he is very eager to please and not quite human level intelligence, but he can talk (he reminded me of Doug >.>) and it’s so cute! Plus he’s a gremlin and so he gets all static-y when he’s excited haha.
As I said above, I think starting with The Lost Prince and only reading Call of the Forgotten would work fine. There is plenty of filling in the important parts of the previous series and I didn’t feel lost at all :).
Ethan, the MC, has the Sight and can see the fair folk. I thought that this element was handled quite well in that it had strengths and weaknesses and was always there (like a normal sense), not only when it was convenient for the plot.
Ethan practices Kali, which is apparently a Filipino martial arts (though I can’t find anything on the Internet about it besides this Kalis blade), and it was fun seeing that hobby utilized through out the plot. A character who has trained for years in order to defend himself instead of just having magic abilities :D.
Weaknesses:
The romantic dialogue in The Lost Prince was a bit painfully cheesy at times. There might have been some eye-rolling >.>.
Ethan has some pretty angsty, annoying and sexist internal thoughts and I just wanted to smack him upside the head at various points.
The Lost Prince has a fair amount of repetitive phrasing, in that I felt like I was reading the same sentence again that I read one page ago. This feeling was because I basically was….
The only people who didn’t see that plot twist coming were the characters….
Summary:
The Lost Prince has an interesting premise and was perfectly fine to read as a fluffier book. If you don’t mind some cheese with your romance, you will probably quite enjoy it :). I’m looking forward to reading the second book (Iron Traitor) mostly because I’m hoping that there is betrayal >.> I think there are good odds given that title!

2.5 Stars

The Lost Prince was an entertaining adventure, a story that any fan of Kagawa's Fey series will enjoy.

When we last left off, Ethan Chase was the toddler/younger brother of Meghan Chase, one who also had "The Sight," in other words, he could see faeries. He has nothing but contempt for the Fey. In his mind they took his sister and have made his everyday life a nightmare. Now at sixteen, Ethan tries to stay out of trouble but with the Fey in his life, this is impossible. He keeps every one at a distance for fear of bringing his problems onto to them as well. After getting kicked out of this last school for starting a library fire, during a Fey altercation, Ethan is plopped into the middle of the school year and has to deal with fitting in and the rumors of his delinquency that follow him. Enter Mackenzie St. James, the fearless girl-reporter that won't take "no" for an answer. She's determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious "bad-boy" Ethan, and what makes him tick. Unfortunately for her, this propels her straight into trouble, because wherever Ethan is, the Fey are sure to be nearby.

I must admit, I wasn't the biggest fan of Kagawa's Fey series. I didn't dislike the series, but I wasn't blown away by it. There are legions of fans that have a completely different opinion, so I may not be the best judge for this story. Detailed and descriptive world-building usually leaves me yawning, and Kagawa is the queen of world-building. I had fun reading this but it didn't knock my socks off. I felt like both Ethan and Kenzie's voices were very young, so I had a hard time connecting to either one of them. I'm big on character development, and I feel these stories are more world-building and plot driven. With that said, the plot wasn't something surprising or out of the ordinary, and I guessed a couple of the twists without much thought.

I feel bad bashing on this story because I should've known better than to pick this up. This is clearly a case of "it's not you, it's me," so please don't discount this story because of my review. I must confess, I don't feel this way about all of Kagawa's writing, because I was a huge fan of her vampire story The Immortal Rules. While I'm going to call it quits with the Fey series, I will be picking up her next vampire story:

A copy of this was provided by Harlequin Teen through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

Julie Kagawa's books are YA Fantasy crack. No, really they are. There's a bunch of characters running around secret fey paths between worlds, always searching after someone or something, and nothing much gets done except getting wounded or yearning after a brooding guy, but you can't stop reading it.

Because its crack. And in this book, we get the brooding guy as the main character. I don't recommend you read this book without having read the rest of the Iron Fey books, but you certainly could. It's a self-contained story and the backhistory is explained sufficiently enough that you wouldn't have needed to read the other books. But without knowing about Ethan's sister, Meghan, you don't get that frisson of thrill when you find out who Keirran is, or the smile-and-wink of Puck and Ash's banter about how Keirran reminds them of someone else (and can I just say, okay I got it. Puck doesn't need to say how much Keirran reminds him of someone else more than once.)

But despite quite a lot of "I can't get you mixed up in my screwed up life" and "this is all my fault that you're mixed up in my screwed up life" on the part of the main character, his broody adolescent wanting to do the right thing while pushing people away drags you into the story. You root for him and for his love interest, Kenzie.

And Ethan's kali stick fighting style is fun to read in a genre saturated with sword-wielders.

Like I said, it's crack. I read these to be entertained, not surprised or delighted by original twists, and Kagawa gives us another solid installment in her Iron Fey series with developments with prior characters and fleshing out Ethan's personality and giving him a chance at happiness while setting up issues to be resolved vis-a-vis the forgotten fey and Kenzie.

This Book's Snack Rating: Sour Cream and Chive Lay's for the creamy-angst of YA broody love on a fantasy trope gnoshable story with fey cats and fighting sticks

Oh, Julie Kagawa! How I have missed your writing!

This book is definitely the first of a series I am ready and willing to fall in love with. This new fey series from Kagawa is in the same realm as the Iron Fey, but is more of an offshoot called The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten. We meet Meghan Chase's not-so-little half-brother Ethan. He experienced his sister being taken to the land of Faery as a young boy, but he remembers all of it. He has become known as a bit of a troublemaker, moving from school to school for serious infractions...but how can you can control what happens when the mischievous fey know you can see them?

Likes:

Male Protag, Ethan Chase. I am so happy to see him all grown up and ready to defend himself & others. He is a bit cold at the beginning of the book, but you can't blame him. Bad things happen to those he gets close to.
Female Protag. I wasn't expecting him to have a companion. (Side note: I don't usually read the synopsis or premise of the book before I pick it up-I like to be surprised.) She is tough and a no nonsense kind of chick, and I like her!
GRIMALKIN! I've missed your sassy Cheshire-mouth. (Grim is easily my favorite character ever...Kagawa really brings him to life and gives him such a hilariously sarcastic demeanor.)
Back in the Wyldwood and Nevernever...I couldn't be happier! Not exactly Disneyland, but it never fails to intrigue me. You never know what is going to happen.
New character that will make you say..."Wait...What? How? When? Oh...weird. I LOVE IT!" I'll preserve some of the surprise for y'all.
New antagonists...they are The Forgotten and they are ruled by The Lady. But what are they and who is she? Exactly.
Dislikes:

That the book ended. Seriously, that is all I have. I loved this book. It made me so nostalgic for the Iron Fey series.
If you missed your favorite characters from the previous book series, don't worry! You'll get to reunite with them again and meet some new characters, too. I can't wait for the next book...I'm so excited to have Kagawa's fey back in my life.

The Lost Prince, The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1, by Julie Kagawa
Grade: A-

Ethan Chase may be a human but his sister id the Iron Queen and that makes him special. But Ethan doesn't want to be special and he really doesn't want to have the Sight which allows him to see the fey in our world. Ethan has spent his life trying to avoid the fey and sometimes fighting for his life which lead him to being expelled from his last school. All Ethan wants is to get through his senior year and be left alone but Kenzie, the school's head reporter, has a different idea and will stop at nothing to get the scoop on Ethan. When Todd halfbreed fey and Ethan's classmate goes missing Ethan knows he's the only one who can save him and Kinzie is determined to follow into a world she never knew existed.

I wondered where this amazing series would go next and I was so excited to start this book and get to know Ethan and see what his life has been like since Meghan has become the Iron Queen. Ethan has had a really hard time growing up and because the fey have used people he cares about against him he doesn't let anyone get close to him anymore. At his new school Todd and Kenzie both breakdown Ethan's wall that he has created to keep people away from him. Todd is half human half fey and is shocked when he discovers Ethan can see him and enlists Ethan's help to find out who is after him. When Todd goes missing Ethan knows there's only one person who can help him and it's off to Nevernever with Kenzie in tow.

The Lost Prince dives right back into the wonderful world that Julie Kagawa had created and we even get to meet up with some old favorites such as Puck and Grimlikin. Ethan is not a fan of the fey and he makes that very clear when encountering any of them. The quest to find Todd takes Ethan and Kenize all over both sides of the veil. They don't spend as much time in Nevernever as I would have liked but it was still amazing to read about the Iron Kingdom and see what Meghan has accomplished as Queen.

This book is told from Ethan's point of view and it was very interesting to see how he viewed Meghan and the fey years after she left everything behind to be the Iron Queen. In previous books Ethan was just the little brother that Meghan had to get back and it was amazing to see him as a young man trying to deal with the Sight and the knowledge that he has of this world that if he told anyone about he would be called crazy. Kenzie is great because she not only offers the most humor out of all the characters but she's the only one who can get Ethan to be so angry and open up a little.

I missed Puck a lot in this book because there wasn't anyone to really offer the great one liners or lighten the mood when things were getting dark. Kenzie does an okay job but this book is lacking some brightness at times. Part three drag at the beginning for me but after a few chapters it picked back up and got to the point where i couldn't stop reading until I finished the entire book.

This is a very wild ride back into the world of the fey and I think any fan of this series is going to be so happy with this book. I do not recommend reading the Lost Prince without reading the Iron Fey series from the beginning. This book and the characters have so much history and such a large backstory that it would very almost impossible to know what is going on. I am so curious to find out what will happen next with the new fey that are emerging and I really hope we get to see more of Ash and Puck in future books. I loved this book and can't wait to see what happens next in the best young adult series out there.

Ethan Chase has been seeing the fey for his entire life. Once the fey know you can see them, they would never leave you alone.

At four years old, Ethan had been swept into the Nevernever, kidnapped by the Iron King, and was left traumatized over the experience after Meghan rescued and taken him back home. Add the fact that his sister has become one of them and is now a ruler of the Iron Realm.

Ethan has tried and failed in keeping the fey away, but once they started disappearing, he is thrown into the world again to warn his sister, and hopefully save the rest of the fey he so despises.

I have cherished and loved The Iron Fey series ever since I read the Iron King. Time and time again, Julie Kagawa has written installments of it that I cannot get enough of. So when news of The Lost Prince came about, I was one of those first in line to grab the chance to read it. I can say this because, as scary as it might sound, I have gone completely stalker-mode over Julie's blog and every nook and corner of the web, anticipating news about this spin-off. Sorry, I was creepy. Not happening again... uhm, well, anytime soon that is. *playing innocent*

So how do I feel about The Lost Prince? Uh... You might want to sit down (if you already are then find a comfortable position); this is going to take a while...

Characters. Let's start with Ethan. My have this boy grown up so much. The once cute and innocent little boy has become quite a thought-of rebellious teenager. Very emo. And very, very angry. Can't say I like that about him. But I do empathize. In spite of how badly I want to dislike Ethan, I can't help but feel compassion. Looking back to what he's been through at such a young age and to never even have a break from this crazy life. How else would I expect him to feel?

Now moving on to Kenzie - annoying! Sorry, but seriously she really was. But in the end I guess she had a definite reason for going all out stubborn. You see this is kind of my problem. I empathize too much. Although I gotta say, the moment I found out the reason behind Kenzie's insistence... Mandy Moore started singing Cry in my head - awkward! [An "A Walk to Remember" moment].

Last but not the least, Kierran. Damn I didn't get enough of the dude. I wish I got to know him better. There just wasn't enough time to go through Kierran's mind with all the angst going on in Ethan's head. Hopefully I'd get more of Kierran as the series progresses.

I was surprised to see Puck, Ash and Grim make an appearance. Yay! Score!!! That was just what I needed to keep the momentum of the book going. High five, Julie! Yeah, Meghan made a show too but we all know we want more of Ash and Puck. Ha!

So we're done talking about the characters, let's move on to the storyline. I am a Filipino (just so you know). I have a point in putting that out, I'm getting there, I swear (boy, do I blabber! Sorry!). So when I read through knowing there were bits and pieces of my culture within this book, I was ecstatic!

Ethan was taking Kali, more known to us as Arnis (some know it as Eskrima), a Filipino martial arts where an individual learns weapon-based fighting skills using sticks and/or blades also using various improvised weapons, but mostly you use sticks. I remember this back when I was still in high school and well, this was part of our PE (gym class). My experience with Kali? I got to hold the sticks... that's it. Yeah I know, lame! *sticks tongue out*

So anyway, that part of our culture being mentioned in a book such as The Lost Prince - my heart was filled with joy. Only, I have to voice something out. I'm not sure how it goes with actual Kali/Arnis classes but with traditional educational institutes/school here in the Philippines, we don't call our teachers "Guro", it's never used as a proper noun, it's just a common noun. Guro means teacher but we don't call them as, say for example the teacher's name is Javier, "Guro Javier", we would call him Ginoong Javier (Mr. Javier). Basically we use Binibini (for Ms.), Ginoo (for Mr.), and Ginang (for Mrs). I have not encountered a time where any of my classmates or I called our teacher, Guro. I guess there was a confusion with the cultural differences, maybe since we know that the Japanese use "Sensei" to call their teachers, it would be the same in Filipino. But feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Also, there was a mention of the Mang-huhula, which means fortune-teller in the Filipino language and again, not a proper noun. The character described as the Mang-huhula was more of a description of what we call, an "Albularyo". It means folk healer or herbalist. He's the go to guy whenever the Fair Folk are involved so maybe that's the person Julie Kagawa was indicating in the book. Because a manghuhula is more known to us as Gypsys/Fortune Tellers but the commonly used person to attach to fey creatures is the Albularyo (common as in that's who people consult for spiritual beings and fair folk, in movies and in real life).

Still, I appreciate the idea of incorporating these parts of our culture. For the most part, I kept wondering why Ethan didn't use swords in the beginning but rather opted for the training sticks as his weapon against the fey. Then his teacher spoke of not using Kali to tolerate violence but to defend oneself and family from those who wish to harm, which is really what Kali is about... at least from what we were told back in high school.

I've had a weird sense of déjà vu over reading The Lost Prince. It's like The Iron King all over again; only with different character names. Ethan was Ash, Kierran was Puck, and Kenzie was Meghan, but minus the love triangle. Bonus points! Although I still find the Iron King characters more pleasant. The familiarity was kind of weighing both in good and bad ways. Bad because there are parts of my mind that went: "I've seen this all before", but good considering I always can't get enough of something I've loved and will continue to love over the years.

I truly want to smack myself for not reading more of the Iron Fey books until now. These stories are so good! The Lost Prince is a combination of the Iron Fey series and a new series too. And even though I am completely behind (this is the fifth book in the Iron Fey series) I could still follow the plot really well .
Julie Kagawa's writing is amazing! The world of Faery has so many complex areas to it, not to mention the different Fae creatures that live there, that I was constantly being surprised every few pages. The Iron Realm was pretty darn creative too! It was like Kagawa took the old stories of Fae and intertwined them with some steampunk to develop these odd and yet totally enjoyable characters.
Speaking of the characters, there are so many to choose from! Of course, I really liked Ethan, although, there were a few times I wanted him to stop being a jerk. My favorite trait of his, besides being super yummy, was that he stood up to the bullies. Even though it was one of Them, he still had his morals. I loved that about him!
Kenzie was pretty cool except I could tell she was hiding something. That made me wonder if I could trust her and then when I did find out what she was hiding, I felt really guilty. She was the perfect fit for Ethan. Where he was this "brooding", quiet bad guy persona type, she was this light, stubborn, funny and definitely smart girl that was his equal part. The dialogue between these two was fun and I loved the flirty nature of each of them.
Oh Todd was this cute nerdy little guy that I liked a lot. It seemed like the more Ethan tried to stay away from Them, the more it seemed he was drawn to everything about Them.
I was able to follow the main plot line very well, especially with this being my first book I have read from the series, and all the different minor threads didn't confuse me either. In fact, it added even more excitement to the story. Can I just say that the small part Puck plays in has made me a fan for life? I can't wait to start at the beginning to get to know these massively attractive guys!
I didn't get to read much about the Iron Queen, Ethan's sister, but I feel like Ethan holds so much hostility for her that it blurs the truth for him. I see she has so much on her shoulders and I think I would really like her.
It was hard not to get this creepy shiver going down my back when you think there is this unseen world in the shadows always watching. The Fair folk are such a mesmerizing fantasy anyways, but then Kagawa adds this modern twists and Fae with darker desires too.
We meet a lot of new characters in this story as well the well loved ones from the other books. It helps to create this seemingly magical world where good and evil collide and lines between wrong and right get blurred for those you love. I was deliciously terrified of the antagonists in the story and sickened from what they did just to be remembered; but it made you ask the question: how far would you be willing to go to stay alive?

After Ethan Chase's sister Megan left and made her home in the Iron Realm, Ethan has spent his time figuring out how to stay away from it. He wants nothing to do with the Iron Realm or the Fey. He has rules he lives by, the most important being to avoid them and never let them know you are there. Ethan has been able to see the Fey ever since he can remember. To Ethan, they are nothing but trouble and have terrorized him his whole life, causing him to get into trouble time after time. He finds himself at a new school, yet again, as a result of the havoc these fairies caused at his old one. Ethan is 17 years old now, he's a loner and likes to keep to himself, keeping everyone at arms length, never getting close to anyone. This has worked for Ethan, well at least until he met Kenzie, then his world kind of turned upside down. When strange and threatening new beings begin to enter into Ethan's realm, and the magical beings living there begin to mysteriously disappear, Ethan must choose between his and Kenzie's safety, and going somewhere he swore he never would. He winds up finding himself in the middle of an adventure that will change things forever.

I love fantasy, so I was excited to be able to read The Lost Prince, which is the first book in The Call of the Forgotten Series. Some of the characters from the Iron Fey books, make an appearance in this novel, and there are also quite a few new characters. I must say that I read The Lost Prince before the Iron Fey books, and I absolutely loved it. I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not reading the Iron Fey Series first, but, of course, I immediately went out and bought the entire Iron Fey Series because I was dying to read more. However, it was not something that required reading the previous books to enjoy, and I really did enjoy it. I liked Ethan, and he proved to be a very strong male lead in this story. He was kind of hard, but I understood where he was coming from. He was really hot to, even though he didn't seem to know it. He has the whole bad boy thing going on, and I love bad boys. The other characters in the book were great and so fun to get to know. You can read a little bit about them below. The story is filled with magic, adventure, some danger, and some really sweet romance. All you Iron Fey Series fans are definitely going to want to read this book. Julie Kagawa has done an outstanding job in providing readers with another epic fantasy to sink their teeth into. If you are a fan of fantasy, fey, magic, adventure, a little danger, and romance, then this is one book you will want to check out.

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa is the first book in the new Iron Fey series, The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten. It's about Ethan Chase, Meghan's younger brother from the original series. From the very first page I liked Ethan as a main character way more than I liked Meghan. Well, that's not entirely true. I really liked Meghan, but I loved the way Ethan came across in The Lost Prince.

Ethan is a huge jerk for the first part of the book. And I loved that about him. He has his reasons, of course. If you've read the Iron Fey series you know how miserable faeries can make your life if they think you can see them. If not, well, you will find out. So Ethan pushes people away so they won't get hurt. It's interesting to see into the mind of a bad boy. To see why he acts the way he does. I really enjoyed reading about Ethan and watching him grow and change throughout the book.

Kenzie, Ethan's love interest, is such a strong female character. Especially in a book narrated by a male protagonist. Usually, I find, that leading male characters don't always go right for the strong independent girls, but like to focus on the whiny, needy ones instead. But not Ethan. He goes right for Kenzie. Though, I'll admit, that's got a lot to do with Kenzie being so persistent and in-your-face about getting what she wants. I really do love her. She's funny, and always has something snarky to say no matter what kind of horrifying things she sees while hanging around Ethan.

The cast of characters in The Lost Prince were amazing. I fell hard for everyone single of them. Especially Keirran and Razor. Keirran, oh, Keirran. I can't wait to see more of you in the sequel, The Traitor Son. And oh boy! The cameos. Yes. There are cameos made by original Iron Fey characters. And I squealed every time Ash or Puck or Meghan or Grimalkin stepped onto the page. And it was very interesting seeing how Ethan viewed all of these characters. He had very strong feelings about them. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but his hatred for a certain silver eyed faery made me giggle.

If you noticed that this was more of a squealy rant than a review, that's because I loved this book so much I've lost the ability to form sentences. But, here, I'll try. The Lost Prince is a fantastic start to a new series in an already beloved world and lovers of the Iron Fey series and new readers alike will be swept away into the Nevernever alongside Ethan. Trust me, you don't want to miss this one!