Book Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Book reviews

10 Nov

The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten #1) by Julie Kagawa Uncorrected Proof Copy Review copy provided by publisher Harlequin Teen, November 2012 Synopsis- 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'd 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 myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.Review- The Lost Prince is the first book in a new spin-off series from the popular Iron King series by Julie Kagawa.Ethan Chase is ready to start fresh, again. He enrols in a new school with an intention to remain under the radar and not make friends. But he attracts the attention of the bubbly and persistent school reporter Kenzie who is determined to uncover the true Ethan lurking behind the broody facade. He also unknowingly makes a new friend after saving Todd from the school bullies.To an outsider, Ethan Chase is a regular (albeit moody) kid dealing with regular problems. Despite Ethan’s desperation to live a normal life, he cannot escape Them. He has the Sight, he can see supernatural beings in the regular world.Ethan is connected to the world of the Fey in the NeverNever, his half-sister, the Iron Queen rules this mystical land and he’s doing his darnedest to forget about her existence. When he discovers he and Kenzie are being watched and his friend Todd has gone missing, Ethan has to face the facts that he can’t escape the Iron Realm. He returns to face his sister and to save his friend.The world-building was quite captivating and I commend the author’s imagination. From talking cats to magical powers, the land of Faery was quite vivid and I liked how this crossed over into the regular world.I liked the premise of the story and although I haven’t read the Iron King series, I’ve heard such great things about these books and I was excited to read The Lost Prince. There were many things I liked about this story- the premise, Ethan and the conflict. But there were some things I struggled with too which detracted my enjoyment.When I picked up this book I immediately felt at a disadvantage having not read the first series. I felt as though I’d entered a story midway with a leading character I should know more about. Of course much of the history unfolds throughout the book so these issues diminished as the story progressed. I understand that Ethan played quite a minor role in the original series in contrast to his big sister Meghan whom I couldn’t like in the Lost Prince.I think the major struggle I had with this story was the first person viewpoint. For me it was quite limiting, I wanted to connect to the setting and the secondary characters more but I was only privy to them through Ethan’s eyes. Sometimes first person works for me in YA, sometimes it doesn’t. This time I wasn’t entirely convinced and rather than drawing me into Ethan’s emotional experience, I felt more detached.I must say, I had higher expectations for this story and hoped to enjoy it more than I did. Overall, it was an easy, agreeable read and there are many aspects of the story I appreciated. The Lost Prince is the first instalment of Julie Kagawa’s new Iron Fey series set in both the contemporary world and fantasy realm.