Winter's Passage

Title:  Winter’s Passage

Author:  Julie Kagawa

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Publish Date:  01 June 2010

Pages: 59

ISBN:  9781426858321

Source:  bought

Genre:  Young Adult, Farie

Series:  The Iron Fey

Other books in series:   The Iron King, Iron Daughter, Iron Queen, Summer’s Crossing, Iron Knight, Iron Legends (28 August 2012)

Meghan Chase used to be an ordinary girl...until she discovered that she is really a faery princess. After escaping from the clutches of the deadly Iron fey, Meghan must follow through on her promise to return to the equally dangerous Winter Court with her forbidden love, Prince Ash. But first, Meghan has one request: that they visit Puck--Meghan's best friend and servant of her father, King Oberon--who was gravely injured defending Meghan from the Iron Fey.

Yet Meghan and Ash's detour does not go unnoticed. They have caught the attention of an ancient, powerful hunter--a foe that even Ash may not be able to defeat....

Will Prince Ash really keep his oath and turn over the girl he loves to his queen?  That is what happens in this story.  At the end of The Iron King, Ash shows up at Meghan’s house to “collect” her as she fulfills her part of the bargain.  At times, it is like Ash doesn’t want to do this.  However, he is bound by oath and cannot go back on it. 

He takes Meghan and intends to take her back to the Unseelie Court right away.  Meghan has other ideas, however.  She wants to go and check up on Puck, her best friend, who was wounded in their quest to rescue her brother Ethan.  Ash agrees to this little detour.  Only to find out that someone is following them; someone else who is hunting Meghan.  Will they make it to the Unseelie Court or will Meghan have another adventure in store for her?  Can Ash really hand her over when he doesn’t know what the outcome will be?

As soon as I finished The Iron King, I had to start this book. I knew that it was a novella and wouldn’t take me long.  The end of The Iron King left me with so many questions.  Even though I haven’t read The Iron Daughter yet, I felt that this book was good in between the two.  It gives you a glimpse into Ash’s personality.

The cover design goes along with the other in the Iron Fey series and has a wolf on the front, instead of a character.  This is appropriate for the book.  I like how they show the fog and the woods on the cover of this novella.  It talks about both in the book.

•Meghan Chase.  She is duty bound to go to the Unseelie Court because of a “deal” that she made with Ash in The Iron King.  She won’t go back on that oath even when the opportunity presents itself to do so.

•Ash.  Sometimes in these books, he is really swoon worthy, and then there are those times when you just want to hit him in the head with a rock.  He shows both of those personalities in this novella.

•Grimalkin.  He is in this book too.  He always shows up.  He gives tidbits of information and wisdom here and there.

•The Hunter.  It scared Meghan.   Just someone else who is after Meghan.

•Queen Mab.  Even though you don’t hear of her in this book, she is the reason that Ash is bringing Meghan to court and that is enough for me not to like her.

The Iron King

Title:  The Iron King

Author:  Julie Kagawa

Publisher:  Harlequin Teen

Publish Date:  21 February 2010

Pages: 363

ISBN:  9780373210084

Source:  library

Genre:  Young Adult, Faeries

Series:  The Iron Fey

Other books in series:  Winter’s Passage, Iron Daughter, Iron Queen, Summer’s Crossing, Iron Knight, Iron Legends (28 August 2012)

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

What would you do if your life was not as you expected?  That is what happened to Meghan Chase.  After her father disappeared, her mom and she moved.  Her mom later married Luke and then had Ethan.  Meghan is in high school now and all she wants is her driver’s permit.  That way, she wouldn’t have to walk to the bus.  Her best friend, Robbie Goodfell, and she could drive.  In what, she doesn’t know that yet, but she’ll work on that later. 

After being humiliated in school by the most popular jock, she goes home and finds that her brother has changed.  At first, she is not sure of what she is seeing, because she has been seeing a lot of weird things lately.  It is when her brother attacks her, that Robbie tells her that it is not her brother.  She then learns of changelings and goes on a quest with Robbie, whom she later finds out is Puck, to find her brother.

She also learns a lot of things when she crosses over into the Nevernever.  The most important of those, is who she is, a princess of the Seelie Court.  Her father is the King and never wanted her to know of the fey and their land.  Getting Ethan back is the most important thing to her and she doesn’t let anyone deter her from that objective.  Will Meghan get Ethan back with the help of Ash and Puck?  Why does Puck and Ash hate each other so much?

After reading Kagawa’s book, The Immortal Rules, I thought it was time that I checked out her other works.  I had heard great things about the Fey Series and I’m glad to say that I wasn’t disappointed.  I really liked this book and thought it was a good way to start the series.  I was drawn into the story of Puck and Ash.  I’m not sure which one I’m behind just yet.  I’ll have to read more of the series before I make that determination.

The cover shows a female, whom I’m presuming to be Meghan Chase.  I like the font that they used for the title.  And the color green.  Also the quote on the cover: 

Iron.  Ice.  A love doomed from the start.

•Meghan Chase.  She is the main character in the Iron Fey series.  Well, one of THE main characters.  She is a “half-breed” and doesn’t always have the same reactions that other fey have.  She cares about people and not always about the outcome.  She is strong is this book and doesn’t waver from her objective.

•Ash.  He is the prince of the Unseelie Court – or the Winter Prince.  He officially meets Meghan at Elysium, when the Summer and Winter Court meet together, where a son and daughter of opposite territories must dance.  Meghan’s first impression of him isn’t that great.  When she leaves the Seelie Court, she runs into Ash again.  This time, he has made a vow to Queen Mab, to bring Meghan to her.  Only Meghan has other ideas and he winds up helping her rescue Meghan’s brother, Ethan.  You learn a lot about Ash in those travels.

•Puck, Robbie Goodfell, Robin Goodfellow.  Those are the names that he goes by.  In the mortal realm, he was given the task to look after Meghan, unbeknownst to her.  He was her best friend and the first person to tell her about Nevernever.  He went against King Oberon’s wishes and brought Meghan there to find her brother.  He is always there for Meghan and she is grateful for that.

•Grimalkin.    He is the cat who helps Meghan.  He always appears when she needs something.  His help doesn’t come free or cheap. There is always something that he wants.  Bargains in Nevernever aren’t made cheap.

 

•King Oberon.  He is Meghan’s father.  When she first arrives at the Seelie or Summer Court, he is angry because she was never supposed to know about Nevernever and the faerie world.

•Queen Mab.  The Queen of the Unseelie or Winter Court, which is the enemy of the Summer Court. She wants to use Meghan for her own purposes and commissions her kingdom into finding her.

•King Machina.  He is the Iron King.  During Meghan’s quest, you learn of him and that he also wants Meghan, but for different reasons. 

•Grimalkin.  Sometimes he can be a little snooty, but he is a cat after all.

I got these off of Julie Kagawa's website and I thought that they were cute, so I'm sharing them with you.  It didn't say on there who drew them, and the signatures are too small to read.  They are cute, nonetheless.

Ash & Meghan

Bad Kitty

Ash & Puck