Khanh the Killjoy

I know that not all children turn out to be like their parents, but man, that Keirran is something else. It's the equivalent of Bill and Hillary Clinton having Justin Bieber as a son.

Judge me how you will, but not since Harry Potter #5 have my feelings been so heightened by the events of a book. I want to punch someone (Keirran). I want to yell at him. I want to pick him up and shake some goddamn sense into him. I want to hold Annwyl's hand and stay with her into that sad goodnight. I want to shake some sense into Kenzie. I want to pull Ethan in for a hug and never let him go. I am so angry. I am so upset. I just finished reading this book not 15 minutes ago, and truly, my feels are all over the place.

I have always loved Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, but I don't think ever been so emotionally invested in a book within this series as much as I have been with this one. I really liked the Iron Fey. I enjoyed previous book in the Call of the Forgotten series. I can say with absolutely certainty that I love this book and I consider it one of the best YA novels I've read all year. Love, sacrifice, adventure, old friends, new enemies; you've got it all within the pages in this book. Yes, the end has me shrieking in horror. It is a cliffhanger of the heartwrenching sort. I will take that cliffhanger, I will take all the horror and upset and anger it has wreaked in my emotions, and I will say to Ms. Kagawa, "Please, miss, may I have some more?" It is a good sort of pain.



Summary: Ethan and Kenzie are back home, and in a shit ton of trouble with their respective parents. Kenzie winds up in the hospital because of her cancer, Ethan's in a ton of trouble with his parents. Suddenly, Ethan gets a special visit from his sister---it turns out that Keirran, Meghan's son and Ethan's nephew, has gone missing. Soon after, Ethan gets more visits from the fae, some unwanted, some welcome, but altogether unexpected. Before he knows it, Ethan is pulled unwillingly into yet another adventure, because like it or not, Keirran is family, and he's going to do what he can to find him.

Keirran is a man on a mission. Annwyl, his love, is Fading, and he will do anything to stop it. It's the fae version of death. She is slowly physically disappearing, and her memories are fading away as well. It is all she can do to keep hanging on in order to say goodbye to Keirran before it's too late. However, Keirran is desperate, and what he is willing to wager for Annwyl's life will endanger more than they can ever imagine.

The setting & plot: The story is fast-paced, action-packed, but never at the cost of characterization. There are slow moments, tender moments, introspection, but not for a single moment did this book lose my attention. It has been a long time since a book has captured my attention so thoroughly from beginning to end. The setting is beautiful, well-described. It takes us to the Goblin Market in New Orleans, to the Between, to the Nevernever, to Summer, to Tir na Nog and the frigidly beautiful land of Winter. Deceptively beautiful, that is, because nothing is ever guileless in the land of the Fae.

Bees and butterflies floated everywhere among the flowers, sparkling like living jewels, and I could feel the sun’s warmth beating down on us. Everything looked peaceful, but I knew what a horrible lie that was in Faery. If everything appeared this tranquil, there was probably something stupidly dangerous lurking nearby.

The creatures and the setting is typical Kagawa, which is to say, evocative, beautiful, brilliant. For me, a book has to have a combination of a compelling plot and complex characters, and this book has everything I could ever want.

The Characters: I loved how Ethan and Keirran's situations turn out to ever-so-subtly parallel one another. Both Ethan and Keirran's loves are dying---Kenzie growing weaker by the day from cancer, Annwyl Fading out of existence. The difference is in their characters, and how they each individually react to their situation.

I was not overly fond of Ethan in the last book. I mean, I liked him in the way one would tolerate a headstrong, annoying sibling who grew up into a sullen, angry young man who pushed everyone away, but Ethan's character took a change for the better in this sequel. Ethan is so much more mature this time around, and I loved him for it. Ethan is trying so hard to break out of his shell. He wants to be a good son who doesn't worry his parents, he wants to be a good boyfriend to Kenzie. He is so loyal, and it hurts me to see his loyalty put to the test, and so severely abused by his nephew, Keirran. Unlike Keirran, who is willing to throw away everything in the name of love, Ethan is more levelheaded. Even when it comes to his beloved Kenzie and her own fight against the cancer that might be killing her.

“I wish I could, I thought, closing my eyes. I wish there was some way, some bargain or deal or contract, to make you well again, but I know the rules. Nothing is free. Magic and power always come with a price. And maybe that’s selfish and paranoid, but I’m not willing to pay that price, or have you pay that price. Not yet. Not when there’s still a chance you could be okay without it.i>

Ethan knows loss, and he is willing to put up with loss, because Ethan knows some prices are higher than he is willing to pay. Damn it, Ethan. You are this close to being my 4th book boyfriend, and this feels so wrong, considering I've watched you grow up from a scared little 5-year old boy. I don't want to be a pedophile ;_;

I have a love/hate relationship with Keirran. Let's get one thing straight, I love his character while hating him. It is one thing to despise a character for his actions while still being able to appreciate his complexity, his impulses, his motivations, and I understand and sympathize with Keirran, even if I cannot overlook his contemptible behavior in the name of love. Keirran is in a lot of pain. He is his father's son, through and through, and I kind of went "awwww" at the little father-son moment of bonding within the book. Keirran is haunted.

...as the hooded figure spun, his cloak swirling around him. My stomach lurched as our gazes met. Cold ice-blue eyes stabbed at me from beneath the hood, and bright silver hair fell around his face, the only spots of color to be seen. Beneath the cloak, he was dressed in black: black shirt, pants, boots, even gloves. I remembered the smiling, easygoing faery from just a week ago. The hard-eyed creature dressed all in black, staring at me in this den of shadow and fear, seemed like a stranger.

He is driven almost insane by desperation in his quest to save Annwyl. So many times within this book, I found myself wanting to scream with frustration at Keirran and his foolhardiness. Ethan was right. Keirran will pay "any price" for Annwyl's life, and really, it's just too much. The boy cannot see beyond himself and his wishes.

Annwyl herself is so much stronger than Keirran. I adored her. She is deceptively soft, gentle, lovely as a gentry of a Summer court Fae should be. However, underneath Annwyl's fragile, ethereal appearance lies a backbone of pure steel. Annwyl knows what Kierran is willing to pay for her life, and she knows better. She does not want to be the cause of such sacrifice, and she would much prefer to Fade away in peace. She stands up to Keirran, despite Keirran's inability to actually fucking LISTEN to what she wants.

“I am standing right here, Keirran,” Annwyl said, sounding angrier than I’d ever heard before. Her green eyes flashed as she stared the prince down. “And I did not ask you to save me if it meant bargaining at the goblin market, making deals that could get you killed and running away from the Prince Consort of Mag Tuiredh. You did not ask me what I felt about this plan—you just disappeared without telling anyone.”

Old friends make an appearance in this novel. We meet Grimalkin, Robin Goodfellow, etc. again, but they do not play a major role in the book, and I completely agree with that. This is not their book. This is not their story. As much as I love them, Grim, Puck, etc. are part of Meghan and Ash's crowd. This is Ethan and Keirran's book. This is a new generation. Grim and Puck help things along, but they are not major characters, nor do I expect them to be. Their presence in the book was delightful, unexpected, and just right.

...two golden eyes blinked into existence, regarding us lazily.
We leaped to our feet, and Grimalkin yawned, raising a hind foot to scratch an ear. “Hello again, humans,” the cat purred, as Razor screeched a loud “Bad kitty!” that made Keirran wince. “Still getting into trouble, I see.”

You will never hear me say this again, but Ash is a total DILF.



Jesus Christ. Yeah, I know he's with Meghan. And I love them together. But I can't help myself...when he made his cameo in the story, I shrieked like the most undignified fangirl ever. It was hilarious to see Keirran literally running away and hiding from his father's wrath. Given the father or the son, Ash always wins.

A silhouette was striding down the center of the road, heading for the alley we’d just vacated. Lean, tall, a long black coat rippling behind him, he was instantly recognizable. Even from this distance, I could see the glow of his sword, blue-black and deadly, and the glint of a cold silver eye.

I'm so desperate for the next book, you cannot even imagine.