ARC Review--The Iron Vow by Julie Kagawa

 

The extraordinary finale to Julie Kagawa's New York Times and internationally bestselling Iron Fey series is here...and the fate of the Nevernever and all the world hangs in the balance. Join Meghan, Ash, Puck, Grimalkin, and the entire Iron Fey cast for this final epic journey into worlds where imagination knows no boundaries...

After leaping through the portal to Evenfall, Meghan and her companions find themselves in a terrifying new world where Nightmares roam and glamour is nearly nonexistent. As their magic wanes and the creatures of Evenfall rise against them, the race to find the Nightmare King grows ever more desperate. But what they discover--about Evenfall, about the Nightmare King, about themselves--will shake everything they thought they knew to the core.

The Nightmare King stirs. A world hangs in the balance. And as twilight descends upon all the realms of Faery, Meghan and her allies must make one more impossible choice.

 

 

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

Going into Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Vow was hard, knowing that this is (likely) the last installment in one of my first YA series I discovered through my blogging years. I can say that this book totally blew me out of the water and hit every right note I was hoping for with a series finale!

We come full circle with points of view, for this time we are back in Meghan’s perspective. I almost had hoped we could get a little bit of each of the original trio in this one, but at the same time, it does seem right that this last book be from Meghan’s point of view.

In this one we see Meghan, Ash, Kieran, Puck, and Nyx take on their most powerful villain yet, the Nightmare King. They are to venture into the vast Everfall and find him and destroy him before he awakens and destroys all of faerie. But the journey will be anything but easy and be their most challenging one yet. Their glamour and therefore, their powers, are at an all time low. Defeating the Nightmare King will be harder than they thought if they can’t access their powers.

Along the way they meet another group of fae that seems to have been forgotten, yet they are not Forgotten fae, they are the Everfey. Their existence is a bit tremulous as we learn certain aspects about the Nightmare King and his kingdom. Choices will have to be made, sacrifices will have to be made, not everyone will survive this battle.

This book was heavy stuff! I mean, as a reader you always have that 1% knowledge that no series will ever truly be over. I mean, yes, we also know that series do end, but I feel like the majority of authors leave just a teeny tiny crack in the door open so that that door can never be called shut. True, they might never go back to the series, but never say never! I never thought Julie would return after The Iron Knight and she went back twice!

I also want to give a note of gratitude for the small series recap we got in the very beginning. It’s not a book by book recap, but an overall sense of being caught up on all matters! It truly helped freshen my memory on a few things and it was greatly appreciated!

I almost thought that this series would end without one more glimpse of Ethan and Kenzie, but I should’ve known better that Julie would never leave us hanging like that! We do get one more proper goodbye with all our favorite characters and I was very happy with where this chapter ended. It almost feels wrong to say “series,” though I do feel like this time it could be the end. But never say never, Julie has taught me that twice now! Lol.

I will say again, that this series, the ENTIRE Iron Fey Chronicles would be best enjoyed from the beginning. While one could theoretically dive into this trilogy somewhat well, you will miss two other trilogies worth of references and histories. So there’s a lot you’ll need catching up on when certain events get mentioned. This series is one of our early days of the YA Fantasy/Paranormal genre and should not be missed! If you have ever wanted to read a book on the fae and still be in the YA realm, this would be my first recommendation to you! This incredible and amazing series is filled with such amazing characters who go through so much strife and pain, that I am happy that these heroes might finally get a break from all the chaos. You know, until Puck gets bored. Lol.

So if you are wanting to dive into the world of the fae, you could not choose better than Julie Kagawa!

Overall rating 5/5 stars

The Iron Vow releases May 9, 2023