I enjoyed both Iron King and Iron Princess, but IRON QUEEN is definitely the clincher. As can be told from my waxing on an on about Ash (see below if you don’t mind spoilers,) I am a big fan of his: Initially, I was all for Puck, but events in Iron Princess and Iron Queen have turned me into a card carrying member of team Ash. Though he is a big reason for my loving the series, he is not the only reason. Another reason is the fact that I cried. Now, I cry at the drop of a hat, but the events in this book were just so heartbreaking gut wrenching sad; I was surprised to see/hear myself bawl (as I did when Sofia Coppola died in Godfather III.) Who would have thought Meghan would grow a backbone? In Iron King, I absolutely abhorred her. Not merely because she had caught the Winter Prince’s eye (grrr,) but because of the way she was: she was more middle school fiction instead of YA fiction material; juvenile. In Iron Princess, I came to tolerate her more, because at least there she showed some maturity. But in Iron Queen, she vacillated between her Iron King self and Iron Princess self, well at least in the first half of the book. In the second half of the book, I was a bit surprised even impressed by her choices and the turn of events. (That bit was the one that made me cry.)Ash. Where do I begin? Again see below for my fan girl review.Then, what the… Puck! Feeling used and bitter over not being chosen by Meghan, he still makes a reappearance in Iron Queen with the same humor and sarcasm, but with a bit more acid to him. Who wouldn’t be put off after being used, then dumped? Should I love his dogged determination to be there for her (even if, I think, she didn’t deserve it; even after everything she had done?) Or should I find him pathetic for the very same reason? I find myself torn between those two opinions.____________________________________________________________**Stop here if you hate spoilers**After her spectacular exit in Iron Princess, Meghan thinks she’s home free. She couldn’t be more wrong. Realizing that as the half breed princess with an affinity for both summer and iron magic, everyone, and I mean everyone, will come after her and Ash, she seeks refuge with the Queen of the Exiles. The main draw for me is, was, and forever, will be ASH. If I were Julie Kagawa, this is how some of the conversations would go: *begin delusional imaginary dialogue between me and the characters* First bit: Meghan thought, “I was human; he was an immortal soulless faery. What kind of future did we have together? I would eventually grow old and die; Ash would live on forever, or at least until the mortal world became too much for him and he simply ceased to exist.” To which I would say, “Boy, if I had my way, nothing. You guys wouldn’t have a future together… Ash is mine!” First, that she fears aging so much; that she fears him staying forever young reminds me a little too much of a certain sparkly vampire against whom I hold nothing but fond, fond memories. Second, if I were in her shoes I’d lap up the time I would have with the Winter Prince.Second bit: “You know what I feel for you. You know I’ll protect you from whatever comes at us, but this is the one thing I can’t fight.”“Ash-““If you’re torn about whether you want to be with Goodfellow, tell me now. I’ll step down, give you space, whatever you want me to do.” Ash trembled, just a little, as he said this…. Just answer me this today, and I’ll never ask you again. Do you love him?” Woohoo! That has got to be my favorite line this year. I get this little tingle going up and down my spine whenever I read it… I mean Ash trembled. He trembled!!!*end delusional imaginary dialogue between me and the characters* Enough of my raving about Ash. Oh, wait. Just one more: He definitely stepped up to the plate. In previous books, he was the epitome iciness. Here we get to know a lot more of him. I should stop talking about Ash. There I’m stopping. There, I stopped. Now, I’d still give IRON QUEEN 4 stars. And here’s why: ** Puck. When I first started with the series, I was rooting for him and though Ive switched teams (go Ash!) I still think Puck is great BFF material. He’s the comic relief, but he has matured. He is not just a sidekick longing secretly for the girl, because let’s face it, the secrets out. Rejected, and a bit bitter… I thought he added a little more edge to the book. **Leanansidhe. OK Who would have thought that she would simplify matters for Meghan:“Like it or not you’re balanced on the edge of everything- faery and mortal, Summer and Iron, the old ways and the march of progress. Which way will you fall? Which way will you choose?” The only part that I didn’t like so much was, sad to say, the heroine. Particularly at the beginning of the book. Peevish, whiney and mercurial are some of the words that come to mind. Who could blame her for acting that way? Especially given everything she had to go through (a kidnapped brother, a boyfriend who almost dies?) I just wish that the mature side that she showed in Iron Princess showed more here. Well it does/did, but I think Iron Queen is where Ash got to shine. Finally, is that really the way it ends?___________Favorite lines, lines and more lines:* “There is one constant in your future, child, and that is pain. Pain and emptiness, for your friends, the ones you hold dearest to your heart, are nowhere to be seen.”*“I hate it when you’re reasonable.” “Someone has to be.”*“Like it or not you’re balanced on the edge of everything- faery and mortal, Summer and Iron, the old ways and the march of progress. Which way will you fall? Which way will you choose?” * “You know what I feel for you. You know I’ll protect you from whatever comes at us, but this is the one thing I can’t fight.”“Ash---”“If you’re torn about whether you want to be with Goodfellow, tell me now. Ill step down, give you space, whatever you want me to do.” Ash trembled, just a little, as he said this…. Just answer me tis today, and Ill never ask you again. Do you love him?” * “I’m sorry.” “I didn’t mean to hurt you. But I do want you to understand. Teaching you to fight means your going to be in even more danger and I may be hard on you sometimes because I don’t want to you to lose…”
