Brightly (Flicker #2)

Lee Capren’s life isn’t exactly normal... but it’s hers. When she’s not slinging spells with her monster-wrangling roommate, Filo, or honing her magical abilities with her boyfriend, Nasser, she’s working in a shop that caters to the magical crowd.

When three strangers arrive with a desperate plea for help, Lee and her friends are swept up in their quest to break the curse that plagues their home. Unraveling the mystery of the curse will take them from an island where merfolk swim in the coves to a city hidden beneath the streets of Seattle and beyond. As the danger grows, relationships are tested, new ones are forged, and in the face of impossible choices, Lee learns the hardest lesson of all: Where there is love, there is also heartbreak.

With time running out, failure could cost their lives—and success could cost them everything else.

*May Contain Spoilers*

From the moment I finished Flicker, and realized that there would be MORE, I've been waiting patiently for my reading list to tell me it's time for Brightly by Kaye Thornbrugh! Filo, Lee, Nasser, Jason, and Alice barely survived Byrony the Dryad the year before and now they're being blackmailed. A small island off the coast is experiencing some troubling magic, and three other gifted humans are forcing the Flicker gang to help cleanse the island of the curse.

Readers of Flicker already have a firm connection with the main characters, especially Lee. With this second book, the scope widens to include Jason and Alice more, as well as keeping focus on Nasser and Filo. The whole group is blackmailed by three islanders, Henry, Clemetine, and Davis, to help them cleanse their home of a merfolk curse that puts humans in a trance, with barnacles growing on their skin, and the overwhelming urge to walk into the ocean. 

Lee has been learning magic from Filo, and as the only one that isn't included in the blackmailing scheme, she has an outsider's perspective of the whole situation. Readers know that she always has a helpful attitude and she is more than ready to stand beside her friends to help them. The relationship between readers and Filo will increase dramatically in this sequel. For one, we get to witness Filo fall in love for the first time. This is huge for his character. He normally keeps his feelings hidden and focuses on surviving. The emotions that readers witness him deal with really opens him up for a deeper understanding of his character, good and bad. A new facet of Nasser's personality is also revealed to readers here. Nasser is painted with a martyr-like personality. With this book, readers get to see him reach his limit. Knowing he has a limit will turn Nasser into a more realistic and down to earth character. Jason and Alice have to make a few hard decisions in this novel and I think those will allow readers to solidify the initial connections made in Flicker.

Brightly is a novel that contains many stories, like a picture within a picture. The main plot is that of Nasser, Filo, Alice, and Jason being blackmailed by the Islanders. That line leads to the Island itself and the curse devouring the citizens that live there. Within those boundaries lie even more subplots including the relationship development between all of the characters and the involvement of the Guild. Each part of the story is in itself intriguing, but when combined the plot becomes incredibly entertaining and emotional. Readers who enjoyed Flicker will undoubtedly be consumed by Brightly. I know I was. And the effects are still lingering. So obviously, the announcement of a third book has me shivering with anticipation!

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups

The Iron Knight

To cold faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase - a half human, half fey slip of a girl - smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the unwelcome company of his archrival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end - a quest to find a way to honor his vow to stand by Meghan's side.

To survive in the Iron Realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. And along the way Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice.

*Contains Spoilers*

The final book in the Iron Fey series. Wow, what a whirlwind. Though there are in-between books and another series with Ethan, the original is completed with The Iron Knight. Julie Kagawa gave the readers exactly what they wanted: the fight for a happy ending. 

Readers are well aware that Prince Ash has a dark and stormy history. He was cold, manipulative, feared, and worst of all, he didn't care how his actions effected others. That is, until he met Ariella, his first love. When she was harmed in a terrible accident... well, Ash got even worse. Then Meghan appeared, a simple halfling who wanted to save her little brother. She healed Ash and allowed him to become sweet, caring, and thoughtful, even if he had to give her the cold shoulder a time or two to keep her safe. 

But they could never be together because of her role as the Iron Queen. Thus began the journey to the End of the World, where it is rumored that one can find a soul and become human. The Ash that readers were first introduced to would have never taken the first step of this dangerous adventure. But the Ash that we've all come to know and love commits to finishing his quest or die trying. 

Not only do readers bear witness to Ash risking absolutely everything for Meghan, they watch as he realizes what it is to become human. As the reality of the situation becomes known, readers see Ash weigh his options and choose love every time. Even when a surprise twist brings Miss Ariella back into the land of Faery. 

Though the plot of The Iron Knight follows Ash through his journey to become human and gain a soul, our other favorite characters are still present. Grim and Puck both play large roles where as Meghan only pops in from time to time. The bond between readers and each of these characters only strengthens with this final adventure toward happily ever after. 

Rating: 4/5 Cups

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; one she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Julie Kagawa writes of the Fey world in her novel, The Iron King, a book I wish I would have known about years ago. After spotting it at the library, I wondered why I had never read it. The novel that opens the Iron Fey series is a portal to the land of mischief and secrets, where saying 'thank you' puts you in debt and everyone is quick to make a deal. 

Meghan Chase is the main character of this book and the series. She's a high school girl who only has one friend and is often at the receiving end of bullying and pranks. Readers will immediately sympathize with her outcast label. Then, suddenly, Meghan's little brother is kidnapped and replaced by a changeling which leads Meghan to a familial revelation: she's the daughter of King Oberon of the Fey. Readers then bear witness as Meghan learns to be self-sufficient, strong, brave, and determined. Her loyalty is truly astonishing but is most often her downfall in the novel. The characteristics that Meghan has make her easy to relate to and give her a dimensional fluidity that allows her to reach the audience on a deeper level. 

The Iron King begins with the veil between Meghan and the Fey world slowly lowering. As she celebrates (or mourns) her sixteenth birthday, all is revealed. Then with Ethan's kidnapping, Meghan becomes determined to traverse the Fey world until she finds him and returns him to the human world safely. With the level of danger in the Fey world, the journey becomes a trial of Meghan's love and loyalty, faith and strength. I wasn't able to put it down until the last battle. And now, my fingers are itching to hold the second book and continue the adventure. 

Rating: 4.5/5 Cups