The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

JKagawa - Lost Prince

JKagawa - Lost PrinceAnyone who has not read the Iron Fey, and wants to, or hasn’t finished the series, don’t read The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa or this review because there are some major spoilers. I adored Ethan when he was just the little four year old boy that Meghan had to save from the fey in The Iron King. But now I absolutely love him in all of his brooding, tough guy act in The Lost Prince, the first book in his own spin-off series, taking place about twelve years later.

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’s 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 myths and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.

To the rest of the world, Ethan Chase seems like a freak, or a total bad boy with the brooding attitude and a “criminal” past.  But underneath that tough guy act, Ethan was a marshmallow because he didn’t want anyone else getting sucked into the world of the Fey. He just wanted to protect everyone from what he sees as the ultimate evil. It’s that mix of brooding, strength and honor that makes me weak in the knees for him. 

I loved Kenzie. I know this was technically Ethan’s story but without Kenzie, The Lost Prince would have been incredibly boring. She was strong, independent, stubborn, smart and didn’t take crap from anyone. I wouldn’t exactly call her carefree but she was the exact opposite of Ethan by opening her arms and her mind to everything. It was fairly obvious (to me, at least, with her subtle hints) that there was some dark secret behind of her crazy actions which added a layer of mystery to the plot. Which was a good thing, because the plot needed more subplots to it.

The Iron Prince was mostly world-building, with a lot of running around, trying to figure out what these Forgotten Fey were doing. That being said, there are several fight scenes and Ethan did get his ass kicked quite a few times. He did know how to fight, after taking kali (a type of martial arts with sticks and swords) for seven years but he wasn’t exactly ready to fight the fey. But I don’t think it was evenly balanced – there were too many parts of the plot that felt kind of dull. I’m not trying to say it was boring, but I wasn’t as sucked into the plot as I was with Meghan’s stories.

There were brief appearances by Meghan, Ash and Puck. I had hoped to see more of them but I suppose this is Ethan’s story and not theirs. There were a few other characters that fans of the Iron Fey series will recognize but again, they only get minor roles.

The Iron Prince was not what I expected at all – but in a good way! Ethan is a swoon-worthy hero and Kenzie’s personality was able to counter-balance his. With all of the action, adventure and romance we’ve come to know and expect from Julie Kagawa, fans of the Iron Series will definitely be happy with the start of Ethan’s story. Anyone new to the series could understand it but I would seriously recommend reading Meghan’s story first.

JKagawa-Iron TraitorRead Order for the Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten:
The Lost Prince
The Iron Traitor

Read Order for the Iron Fey:
The Iron King
The Iron Daughter
The Iron Queen
The Iron Knight
The Iron Legends: Winter’s Passage / Summer’s Crossing / Iron’s Prophecy

About Casey 203 Articles
Casey is the founder of Heart Full of Ink, Director at Reading Until Dawn Con, and a full time cheese addict. She's been ranting and reviewing for Literary Escapism since 2010, and is part of the trio #3Bloggers1Series podcast. When she's not reading, looking for new books, or stalking authors online (waiting for more books), she can be found binge watching Netflix. But really, her life is all about DEM BOOKS!