Trigger warnings: Death of a character in the past

7/10, I picked this up from one of the two libraries I go to and one of them didn't have this however the other one did and it was a new arrival at the time I read this and I didn't know what to expect but it was an epic YA high fantasy contemporary novel and I haven't seen this series or author before, and I landed right in the middle of it, so it wasn't clear at times, but it was still a good series. Where do I even begin? It starts with the main character Robin Goodfellow and Robin for short isn't human, rather he is a fae and he travels between Earth and the fae world, I've never seen a character do this before, but it was a nice touch. The plot is filled with action, and the world-building is excellent and exciting, especially the forests and the steampunk cities. Some parts of the book were unclear, such as the identity of the Iron Queen and how a character died in the past, but that was a minor issue. I would recommend this if you want another epic YA book like Shadow and Bone, though you have to start at the beginning of the series before reading this, so it could take some time and effort to read the series before you understand this book. I would love it if the library got the other two books in the trilogy, which doesn't seem that far off and I would like to read those books if they got them. ( )

I think I might’ve missed a storyline somewhere because I had immediately went from the iron fey to this book, but yeah. It wasn’t actually that big of a problem, all the things that you need to know are repeated and I could follow the story with ease. I really love this fae world, julie kagawa is such an amazing author, I can’t wait to read more of her books. ( )

Originally posted on Just Geeking By. ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Iron Raven was everything I hoped it would be and more. You might be wondering why I’ve given it a stingy 3.5 stars then. It’s not that it didn’t live up to the originals, it’s because while it’s a very promising start, The Iron Raven is still just a start. It offers a lot more to come, introducing new characters and as you’d expect a new big bad as a new adventure in the Nevernever unfolds. The problem with books like The Iron Raven is that it’s got to build upon the previous novels while introducing something new, and in this particular case, offer up the real story of Robin Goodfellow on a plate.

Julie Kagawa does this very well, intertwining Puck’s flashbacks with the current storyline and showing us how he came to be the legendary Fey everyone in the Nevernever knows. As we see Puck throw head first into this new adventure, we get to see sides of him that were missing from the original Iron Fey series. It isn’t just reading things from Puck’s perspective and seeing another side to his pranks and joker personality, it’s getting the opportunity to see him before everything begins. The moment when he’s just Puck, doing what he does every day. We get to see how the pressure of suddenly being thrust back into the thick of it affects him, how the past still weighs on his mind, and gradually over the course of the novel my opinion of Puck changed.

If you’re expecting this to be the same as the good old days then sorry to disappoint, but this is set after the original series and a Fey Queen can’t just abandon her court for a long period of time. I’ll leave it at that. There are plenty of good moments with the old crew, however, and the new characters that join them more than makeup for this not being Iron Fey 2.0. Personally, I don’t want a complete copy of the original series. I want something new and The Iron Raven most definitely has that in spades. I also feel that it is giving two of the most underutilized characters of the original series, Puck and another one (spoilers ( )

This is the first book I have read in Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series and the first book in a new trilogy (The Iron Fey: Evenfall). I found this book to be entertaining, although a little slow moving at times. I like that Puck was able to solve the mystery of the creature and find some happiness. I look forward to reading the second book (The Iron Sword) to see how this story line progresses. ( )

Being such a big fan of The Iron Fey books, this was a very nostalgic read for me. It was wonderful to be back in this world with loveable characters. I have not read any of the Call of the Forgotten books but that was not a problem at all as this book does a good job of filling in the blanks and encouraging curiosity to go back and read about Keirran. Seeing Meghan and Ash again and back in action brought a lot of memories to the forefront and it was nice to catch up with them and the Iron Kingdom. The Iron Kingdom is so cool and I hope to see more of it.

* Possible Spoilers below*
There is a new entity that radiates loathing and it’s making The Forgotten act strangely and the Between. It affects them emotionally and leaves corruption behind. This book is about Puck, Nyx, Meghan, Ash, Grimalkin, and Coaleater and their quest to find out what this entity is and to stop it from infecting everyone.

I loved Puck and his struggle to maintain the version of himself that he wanted. He just comes across as a candid and earnest jester and I love that about him. The new character Nyx is a moon Fae and I loved learning more about her and seeing her in action. I think she is a great character and opposite of Puck.

This was a pretty fast paced book and if you loved The Iron Fey books you will love this too. This can be read as a standalone as well.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review. ( )