Once again I must ask myself why I waited so long to read this book! Kagawa's writing is the kind I really like. It draws me in and makes it hard for me to put the book down. This is a much different story than the
Blood of Eden series, obviously as this one is about fairies, and the other is vampires. But it is another enjoyable story with characters that you are interested in. Meghan Chase is the main character, and she is one of those girls who just never seems to fit in at school. Her life has been sad, her father disappeared when she was a small child, and she doesn't remember much about him. She has a best friend, a boy named Robbie. And no matter what he seems to be by her side. I like Robbie, he is very funny. Weird things start to happen, including something cruel at school. When she goes to tutor the cute, popular boy at school, one she's had a crush on, the computers in the lab start saying things on their own, that make him upset, and mad at her. And then, he goes out and embarrasses her in front of the whole school. As she goes home, extremely upset, she finds things even worse. Her mother is hurt, but refuses to go to the hospital. Her younger brother is acting like he's sick, but also like he's not himself. He's been scared all week, saying something was in his room watching him. When Meghan's stepfather comes home, he insists that her mother must go to the doctor. So Meghan is home alone with her brother Ethan. She soon comes to figure out something is really wrong with him. And it is her friend, Robbie, who shows her exactly what. Robbie is not who he has said he is, he is actually the fairy Puck, and Meghan is also part fairy. She learns her father is not who she thought he was. And also now she must go rescue her brother who has been kidnapped with a changeling left in his place. To do that she must go to the world of the fairies. Once there, she finds more danger than she expected, finding out just who her father is, and that her brother has been taken by the Iron King Machina. While there are different types of fairies, this is a kind that is destroying the world of the other fey. She meets one of the princes of the winter fey, and soon must rely on his help. She also learns how you must be careful in how you express your gratitude. Just saying you owe someone can put you life in danger, you don't want to owe debts to some people, or creatures.
I love Meghan, and while there may be a bit of a love triangle, it works okay for this story. I will have to read on and see how badly or how well it is handled by this author. I was lucky that these paperbacks were being stripped in my bookstore, well, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the series. So when I get to number 3, I'll be going to the library I guess! And because I like to share, here is my picture from when I met Julie Kagawa at BEA 2012, before I'd ever read any of her books!
