So, remember the Iron Fey Series by Julie Kagawa that I reviewed months ago? No? Hmm You can read it here. Anyway, I loved that series! Even though it is for teens (young adult genre about fairies), I really got hooked in it because Kagawa's writing technique is superb. I love her way of describing the world of the fairies (Nevernever) and since it is the first fairy book I've read as an adult, it actually placed the bar up high. I can't seem to like the less detailed works of other authors coz I tend to compare it with this series. So imagine my excitement when I've learned that Kagawa started a spin-off of this series-- The Call of the Forgotten. And this time, the main character is Ethan Chase, the little brother of Megan (the Iron Queen and the lead character in the Iron Fey Series) who had experienced a lot of problems with the fey since he was little. I grabbed an ebook copy as soon as it got released in the US because I can't wait for the paperback copy to reach Manila hehe :)
TITLE: The Lost Prince
AUTHOR: Julie Kagawa
GENRE: Young Adult, Fairies, Fantasy, Adventure
SERIES: The Iron Fey Series #1
COVER TALK:
I am not a fan of the cover. I liked that it is blue and the detailing is beautiful, but as I've mentioned before, I don't like books that have real people on the covers.
MY REVIEW:
I'll start with the good stuff! I loved the fact that I could still read about Megan, Ash, Puck and the other fey like Grimalkin, etc and get some updates on how they lived after the fourth book ended. I liked knowing snippets of information about them and I'm happy that through this spin-off they will still be part of the story even though they are not in focus anymore.
I also liked the fact that this new Iron Fey series will star a male character. I believe it is a breath of fresh air to read it in a male point of view instead of a girl like almost every other YA book out there.
The mere mention of Filipino traditions and cultures in this book made me smile a lot. The terms, "guro" and "manghuhula" is fun to read every time it arises. The use of arnis in fighting of evil is funny too haha :)
BUT after reading the story, I actually got a little disappointed. I can't seem to relate with Ethan and I hated his personality, to be exact. I got the point why he chose to act like that but it irritated me a lot because even though everything was already revealed, he still decided to act like a jerk. It is really pointless, in my opinion. The flow of the story is repetitive too especially in the first 2/3 of the story in a sense that the happenings between the two main characters (Ethan and Kenzie) seemed like a cycle of violence -- fighting, guilty feelings, honeymoon then repeat again.
Also, I don't know what happened but it seems like this book is written by a different author. The exciting world building, the adventures and the magical fey got lost in this one. The way it is written is in the view of Ethan and since he doesn't like the Nevernever and the fey, all the self talking he did all throughout the story rubbed off me. I started disliking the fairies too and it got a little hard to finish this one. I hope book 2 will be better since the first one of a series is usually full of preparations for the next books.
OVER-ALL RATING: 3/5
I love the series but this spin-off is a let down. It drags a little and got boring compared to the first 4 books. I will still read the next book just because I want to know how the prophecy will come about.
WILL I RECOMMEND THIS?
I will recommend this to the fans of the Iron Fey series. I don't think it will appeal to other readers aside form the fans, to be honest.
Thank you for dropping by!
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