I know I'm pretty behind on this, given that The Iron Fey series is now on book 6 (a couple of those being novella's) but I'd never heard of the books and they sounded like my kind of thing. Hey, better late than never.
I completely get where Kagawa is going with the storyline of these books. You have the Nevernever, a Faery world that exists as a result of human imagination, currently being destroyed/poisoned by the Iron realm, the progressive imagination of electronics and technology. The hero's need to destroy the Iron King and save the Nevernever. (In short).
The concept is actually long overdue and while I can appreciate that, something about the book didn't grip me. I think its the relationships between the main characters; there's Meghan, the half Summer fey, Puck (Robin Goodfellow), the Summer fey King's right hand man, and Ash, a Winter fey Prince.
Puck has been in love with Meghan forever but she meets Ash once or twice and decides she's in love with him. It just wasn't enough for me. The relationship between Ash and Meghan just didn't have enough substance and it feels like he is still waaaay too in love with his dead ex to really care about Meghan. It was all very 'meh'.
Puck, on the other hand, I really liked. Its a shame he disappears half way through this book because I think he and Meghan could make a pretty good pair. You also have Grimalkin, the talking cat, who is a relatively likeable character. there's something not quite trustworthy about him but ultimately he just comes across as one of those misunderstood characters who there to keep you anticipating deception.
The descriptions of the Nevernever were really great, too. Some really wacky scenarios and characters; Kagawa has a knack for making you picture an entire scene by not actually describing that much, which I like. It's enough to let you create the images without being forced to read through pages of descriptions.
Overall I did like the book, just not so much the relationships. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series as I'm intrigued to see how things change Meghan to come into her powers and also to see how the relationships will pan out. I've just started the second book, The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey, Book 2), and its pretty much jumped straight into action, so it's looking good so far.
As far as The Iron King goes, I'd probably give it a 3.5/5.
