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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. My name is Ethan Chase. And I may not live to see my eighteenth birthday.
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Back to Never Never
It's been a while since I've been in Kagawa's world of the Fae. I received this book as an ARC some months ago, but for some reason, it never made it to the top of my pile; I kept putting it off. Why? Mmm, perhaps partly because the cover makes me feel a bit queasy and wrong, and partly because I was happy with the way Meaghan's story had ended in the main series, and wasn't sure I wanted to disrupt that in any way. But, I've now read it, and I have to say it was nice to be back. It was a very different experience this time with having a male protagonist, and while The Lost Prince may not have captured my attention like Meaghan's story did, there was still plenty to enjoy.
So this story follows Ethan Chase, who fans will recall is Meghan's younger brother, who at just four years old, was kidnapped by the Fae, thus beginning Meghan's entire quest to reclaim him in The Iron Fey series. Now all grown up (well, up to seventeen, anyway), Ethan is a fairly tormented character. He tries to portray a standoffish, Bad Boy attitude to his peers in an attempt to make them stay away, going so far as to deliberately make himself look unfriendly and intimidating. When in truth, he is actually quite a sweet boy just trying to hide the fact that he can see blasted faerie creatures everywhere he goes. He's found—through experience at the many different schools he's attended and/or been kicked out of—that it's best to just be a loner and keep his head down, rather than to risk people noticing his odd behaviour.
Yeah, well, so much for that. This wouldn't be much of a story if that little plan worked out, now would it? A certain half-fae character, a persistent human girl, and some unsettling new fae creatures are all it takes to set Ethan back on a trip to the very place he's been trying not to think about for thirteen years: The Never Never.
Kagawa's worldbuilding for this setting is always fun, and it was nice to be back with old friends such as Grimalkin, Meaghan, Ash and even Puck. Unbelievably, Kagawa has given us yet another new brand of Fae. As if the Iron Fae she created in the first series weren't fascinating enough. These new "ghost fey" will be familiar to a certain extent to those who read the end of the Iron Prince, but the idea has been built on and fleshed out.
The most disappointing aspect for me with this book was the total lack of engagement in the romance between Ethan and another character. I thought the secondary romance going on in the background and off page was more interesting than the MC's. That can't be right, surely? Also, having read Kagawa's new vampire/dystopian series, The Blood of Eden, in between these two connected series, I can safely say I prefer Kagawa when she's letting her dark side run free. This suddenly felt very young.
Would I recommend? For fans of the original series, yes, definitely.
3 Stars
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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I don't usually read the fey based books, but I have to say The Lost Prince took me by surprise and I really enjoyed it. Kagawa definitely knows her fey lore and how to weave a story that takes so many turns that you just sit back and enjoy seeing it all unravel.
The story is about Ethan who has spent his life trying to pretend he can't see the fey. He's had to transfer schools countless times because of the fey and been through hell because of them. He's not going to be able to ignore them anymore though when his friend is kidnapped and he ends up going on a pretty amazing adventure to find his friends and save a lot of fey.
I really didn't have any issues with this book. A few spots dragged a little bit, but otherwise there wasn't much wrong.
The things I really enjoyed was watching a world unfold around Ethan and having never read any of Kagawa's other books I found myself pretty invested. I will be picking up her other Iron Fey series to read. I have to say the major twist for me near the end of the book probably sealed the deal in me really enjoying this read.
Overall The Lost Prince is a really fun read and enjoyable. If you are already a fan of Kagawa's work it's a must buy and if you are interested in her books it's still enjoyable. 4/5 stars and worth the cash.