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

by Rachel ElizabethSeptember 9, 2012

TLDR Recap:

Ethan Chase has spent practically his whole life hating the fey after he was kidnapped by them as a child. He does his best to ignore them entirely, but once he transfers to a new school after being kicked out of his last one, it becomes harder for him to do that. When Ethan is attacked by a strange race of fey, he must venture into the land of Faery in order to protect his family and the girl he’s starting to fall for. Destiny has come for Ethan Chase, and this is one thing he won’t be able to ignore…The Lost Prince is a GraveTells Must-Read!

Title: The Lost Prince
Series: Call of the Forgotten #1
Author: Julie Kagawa
Prominent Characters: Ethan, Kenzie, Kierran
Recommended Reader Age: 14+
Genre(s): Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy
Sexual Content Level: very little, practically none

***This review is SPOILER-FREE!!! Read on with confidence!***

Thoughts:

As a child, Ethan chase was kidnapped by the fey and taken into Faery. He had to be rescued by his older sister, Meghan Chase. Now, years later, his hatred for the fey has continued to grow. Meghan, who is now the legendary Iron Queen, lives in Faery and is pretty much a stranger to Ethan. The fey have done nothing but cause trouble for Ethan over the years and after being expelled from his previous school- thanks to the fey- Ethan has transferred to a new one. It’s there he meets Kenzie St. James, a cute girl and the school’s reporter. Unfortunately, Ethan has learned the hard way that letting people get close to him is a bad idea. His ability to see the fey means his life is dangerous, and that means that nothing can happen between him and Kenzie. However, when a mysterious new race of faeries appear, it becomes harder and harder for Ethan to stick to his rule of ignoring the fey. He soon finds out that multiple faeries have gone missing, and even though he’s reluctant to get involved, Ethan nevertheless finds himself entering Faery- with a very shocked Kenzie- to seek the help of the Iron Queen.

The Lost Prince was a captivating start to Julie Kagawa’s new Call of the Forgotten series. Spinoff books are sometimes a hit or miss, but fortunately Julie was successful in creating a new, original story that takes place in an old, familiar world.

Ethan Chase has changed quite a lot since The Iron King. He’s a cynical, brooding teenager with trust issues. He’s got a bad reputation and is pretty much a loner. On one hand, I felt bad for Ethan. His life has been hard, he believes his sister abandoned him for Faery, and he constantly keeps people at a distance. On the other hand, he can be an ass, and his attitude got on my nerves after a certain point in the book. I understand his reasons for why he is the way he is, though; the guy isn’t a jerk just to be a jerk- he’s trying to protect other people.

At first, I found Kenzie irritating. I didn’t like how she was constantly bothering Ethan to get her interview for the school paper (she even follows him outside one time.) It’s clear the guy wants to be left alone, and while I admired her determination, I felt like she should’ve respected that. Around halfway through the book, I started to like her more. I still don’t love her exactly, but she’s brave and tough when she wants to be, and I liked that about her. Kenzie and Ethan make a cute couple, and I also liked how their relationship took time to grow. And I loved how she called Ethan “tough guy.” She wasn’t intimidated by him, ever.

Kierran was a fun and interesting character, and if you’re familiar with the Iron Fey books (especially The Iron Knight) you might recognize his name. I was really happy with the amount of page time he got. Something happened towards the end of the book involving his character that disappointed me- and I can’t say much about it- but overall I still like him. I’m really looking forward to getting to know Kierran better in the future.

Julie’s ability to come up with unique plots and memorable characters still amazes me. She’s incredibly talented and this world of the Iron Fey is really well-developed. She even nailed writing from a male POV, which not every author can do. The new ghost-like fey were fascinating to read about, and I’m interested to see how they’ll fit into the world of Faery. The Lost Prince was a great start to a new series, and I can’t wait for book 2 so I can go back to Faery again!

Memorable Quotes:

She’s totally right…

“Anyway,” Kenzie continued, “we’re still on for that interview, right? You’re still planning on showing up, I hope. I’m dying to know what goes on in that broody head of yours.”
“I don’t brood.”
She snorted. “Tough guy, if brooding was a sport, you’d have gold medals with scowling faces lining the walls of your room.”

There’s that determination I mentioned…

“I’m here because I want to be,” Kenzie said in that soft, calm voice. “You said it yourself- I could’ve gone home anytime I wanted. But I stayed. And you’re not going to cut me out of your life. Not now. Because no matter what you think, no matter how much you say you want to be alone, that it’s better for everyone that you keep your distance, you can’t go through this all by yourself. I’m staying. I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”

If you liked The Lost Prince…

You absolutely have to read the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, starting with The Iron King (check out the GraveTells review of The Iron King here) The events that occur in the Iron Fey series affect The Lost Prince and set certain things into motion. Plus, many of the characters that appear in The Lost Prince also appear in the Iron Fey series.

I also recommend Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. If you enjoy reading about the fey, you might like the Wicked Lovely series. There’s romance, action, fey politics, fey courts, and much more.

Final Thoughts:

If you like young adult books that have action, romance, and great characters, you absolutely have to check out The Lost Prince. Although the original Iron Fey books are still my favorites, The Lost Prince is an awesome novel and is a GraveTells Must-Read!