Series: The Iron Fey: Evenfall #1
Release Date: April 1st 2021
Publisher: HQ Stories
Pages: 318
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: The publisher kindly sent me an E-ARC to review
Rating: 3/5 stars

Synopsis

You may have heard of me…

Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Prankster, joker, raven, fool… King Oberon’s right-hand jester from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The legends are many, but the truth will now be known as never before, as Puck finally tells his own story and faces a threat to the lands of Faery and the human world unlike any before.

With the Iron Queen Meghan Chase and her prince consort, Puck’s longtime rival Ash, and allies old and new by his side, Puck begins a fantastical and dangerous adventure not to be missed or forgotten.

Review

The Iron Raven is the first in an all new series from Julie Kagawa, following the infamous trickster Puck as he embarks on an adventure. When he learns of a threat that will destroy all of the Nevernever he must embark on a epic quest with the Iron Queen and Ice Prince Ash, as well as a mysterious assassin. Will the group succeed in fighting off the terrible threat, or will they uncover something even more deadly?

This book was a bit of a let down for me, but I think it’s completely down to me and not the book. When I read the synopsis for this I thought it was an all new series with all new characters. As I dove further into the book I quickly learned this is a spin off from Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series. I did read the first book in that series a long time ago, and while I enjoyed it it didn’t peak my interest enough to continue the series. As a result I didn’t really have any connection to the characters or their history. I think if you’ve read the previous series you’ll really enjoy seeing these characters back together again and embarking on a new journey.

The plot was enjoyable, if a bit formulaic. It was a pretty quick paced story and once the action started I ended up reading most of the story in a day. Kagawa has a nice writing style and if you love her books I think this would be a really fun read. Puck is a fun character and it was interesting learning about all the mayhem and mischief he’s gotten up to. I did think the ending was a little disappointing, with this big baddie that seems undefeatable being bested in such a simple way.

I did really like seeing Puck return to his darker nature and the way the insidious thoughts kept breaking through, this was the part of the story that interested me most and I also liked the flashbacks that gave you a bit more history into Puck’s story. I think this is probably a case of it’s not you it’s me, and fans of The Iron Fey series will absolutely adore this one. If you’re looking for action packed fae stories with plenty of banter, this could be just the series for you.