'The Lost Prince' by Julie Kagawa: Review

The Lost Prince

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

By: Julie Kagawa

Published By: Harlequin Teen

Publication Date: October 23,2012

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.

The Lost Prince is the first book in the new Iron Fey series: Call of the Forgotten by Julie Kagawa.  I have to admit to being extremely excited when I heard there was going to be a new series set in the thrilling universe of The Iron Fey. When I heard Ethan, Meghan's baby brother, was going to be the focus of said series, there was some jumping up and down going on over here. I'd been wondering since I finished the first four books what would become of Ethan. I am very happy that Julie Kagawa decided to honor us with another visit to this amazing realm. 

Told from the perspective of 17 year-old Ethan Chase, The Lost Prince snared my interest from the very first line. Really, I'm not kidding.  Ethan is just as captivating a narrator as Meghan was before him.  Amusing and sad all at once, this book was impossible for me to put down. Every time I thought I'd stop reading for a little while, something else would happen that would pull me back in. 

Kagawa's storytelling is superb from start to finish. There is no downtime in the entire book, no lulls in the action and suspense of the story. I finished this entire book in an afternoon, I couldn't stay away from it. And now I have to wait who knows how long for the next installment, I see many re-readings in my future. 

The characters, as always, are what really make the book for me, honestly. Ethan has grown up, and unfortunately, things have not been easy for him. He keeps everyone at arm's length and is prepared for the absolute worst the fey can dish out every single day. Not exactly conducive to a happy, healthy teenage life. Underneath his tough exterior, though, the same sweet Ethan is there. He's merely trying to keep from dragging innocent bystanders into the hell his life has become. I was very impressed with him, even when he was making girls cry. 

I was so very happy for the cameos of some of my favorite characters from The Iron Fey in this book. (When Grimaulkin entered the scene, I clapped. I was on the bus..people stared.) Yet, the new characters are extremely intriguing as well and I am sure that things will only continue to get more enthralling as the series progresses. 

In closing, I would recommend this book to EVERYONE who loves romance, action, humor and sarcasm. This book has it all and then some. It's a MUST READ, I cannot say this enough about ALL of Julie Kagawa's books.  

My Rating:

Julie Kagawa was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn't getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.

When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon puppy.

Learn more about Julie Kagawa by visiting her website!