Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa
Paperback, 379 pages
Published: October 23rd 2012 by Harlequin Teen
Source: ARC, NetGalley
Buy the Book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads
From Goodreads:
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.
Kagawa is more than a writer to me. She is an artist that can vividly depict situations and characters to the point it feels as if I am there with them. The Lost Prince is no exception to this. We dive back into the Iron Fey world, but from the perspective of Meghan's younger brother, Ethan. I was curious to see how he would be woven into the storyline from the previous series. I have to say, I really love the direction the world is taking now. However, this book contains enormous spoilers for Meghan's series, so I would highly recommend reading those before beginning this one. This is one that is going on my "highly recommend" shelf for everyone!

Ethan is an interesting character to get to know. A first glance I thought he was going to be a horribly broody character that would be difficult to read. Well, I was wrong, at least about him being difficult to read. He is broody, but he definitely has his reasons. The world that his sister lives in has haunted and tormented him since he was child and the effects of that are ever present. While he considers this to be an annoyance, it actually works out in his favor when he is thrown into the mix of the Fey world. Along the way we get to meet some old friends, Meghan and Ash, and Ethan's perspective gives them a whole new maturity and meaning to me. It actually helped me understand and know them better, for the good and the bad of them. There is a whole new slew of new friends that we meet, including a particularly interesting Fey, Keirran. I am afraid to reveal too much, but I will say you would find the prequel novella, Iron Prophecy, highly entertaining in relevance to him. Love the character though, his history truly shows in his actions and personality. I can't wait to see more of him. It feels as if we barely got to know Kenzie St. James, even though we see her quite a bit, but I have a feeling we're going to get a lot closer to her as the story progresses. She has the perfect attitude and openness that Ethan needs in his life right now for stability and in a confidant. I believe she will continue to chip away those thick walls Ethan erected to protect his most precious asset, his heart.  

Oh, how I love the storyline in this series. It has a wonderful mixture of mystery, romance, and thrills that kept the pages turning. All of this with the addition of the awesome details Kagawa adds to make it truly her own. An example of this is with the Kali descriptions as Ethan is practicing and performing. Absolutely beautiful. There is also a well balanced amount of time spent on action and down-time. It keeps you heart in a constant push and shove and the pacing steady and exhilarating. The transition from the first series' plot to  this one is smooth and incorporates the previous concepts to the new seamlessly. I am very curious to see how the Forgotten play out and how Ethan, Kenzie, and Kierran determine the end game with them. They are a very intriguing antagonist. I have a feeling there is a whole other side of them that we haven't seen yet and it may not turn out the way it is originally implied. Everyone needs a champion for them, right? ;) 

3 comments:

Nikki said...

Kagawa is just SO GOOD at world-building, isn't she? I'm actually half-convinced that the Nevernever is real. ;) I also thought that Ethan would be a difficult character to relate to, but that isn't the case at all.

You can check out my review of The Lost Prince here if you want. :) Great review!

Nikki said...

Great review!!! I really want to start this series!


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Nikki said...

I just received this book from Harlequin!! Can't wait to read it!!

Just came over via a blogger that mentioned you in the FF!!

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