Déjà Vu

Once in a while – perhaps whilst we are standing in the middle of a bookstore or library – we experience what is commonly referred to as déjà vu. No, this does not occur when we see the exact same librarian standing by the exact same bookshelf, wearing the exact same sweater. Rather, it occurs when we come across a range of books that seem to bizarrely mirror one another. Perhaps the characters all have a weird tendency to quote Shakespeare, the guys are all ‘strong and silent’ types, the girls are all on an emotional rollercoaster, or maybe all of these stories seem to follow the ‘fall in love, break up, make up and live happily ever after’ trend. In any case, we start to suspect that either the exact same author is writing them all under different aliases, or – more likely – today’s books are being written with only one audience in mind. If that is the case, then we need to resist what they’re ‘mass producing’ and start putting our time and effort into books that fulfil our reading appetite and help us grow as readers.

The Iron King

By Julie Kagawa

““But ... but what if I hit you?” A snort. “You’re not going to hit me.”

“How do you know?” “Well, how much experience do you have with swords and weapons in general?”

“Um.” I glanced down at the saber in my hand. “Thirty seconds?”

He smiled, that calm, irritatingly confident smirk. “You’re not going to hit me."”

Meghan Chase lives a normal life – or so she thinks. Her days consist of school, hanging out with her best friend Robbie, listening to her IPod and shooing away the monsters that her little stepbrother believes live in his bedroom closet. But on her sixteenth birthday Meghan’s brother disappears, leading her on an adventure into the Nevernever – where the Fae and other fantasy creatures dwell, as well as the secrets to Meghan’s past. If Meghan is to ever find her brother and return home, she must befriend the unlikeliest of allies and maybe even win over the cold heart of Ash, the Prince of the Winter Court.

But the Nevernever isn’t willing to give up its prize so easily. As Meghan delves deeper into the Nevernever, she slowly begins to feel its hold – in becoming an important piece in the ongoing war between the two courts, her life, as well as her brother’s, is in jeopardy.

With a cast of mythical characters (Oberon, Titania, Puck and Grimalkin, just to name a few), The Iron King is the ultimate Fae novel, re-kindling your love of fantasy and faery-inspired drama. Funnily enough, I never imagined how engaging some of the characters could be – all my perceptions of them having been based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream – but apart from Titania (who is not to be trifled with), they’re very different and more real, somehow. Not to give anything away, but I’m officially Team Ash.

Other books in the series: #2: The Iron Daughter, #3: The Iron Queen. 

Happy Reading!

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