Release Date: October 23rd 2012
Format: ARC
Purchase: Book Depository
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.
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.
What I love about Julie’s work is her ability to craft the most creative and incredible world. I’ve always loved the Nevernever- I love the creatures and every part of the Nevernever, and I’m happy to say that once again, Julie has amazed me for her talent for world-building. It was definitely a pleasure to re-visit the world of the fey and be introduced to even more astoundingly imaginative creatures! I don’t think I can ever get tired of Julie’s fantastic world-building J
Unfortunately my praise for The Lost Prince ends here. I couldn’t connect with any of the new cast of characters; I never expected them to surpass my love for the old cast, but I never expected to well…not care about them either. There are many traits that Ethan possess that I would normally admire, but this time, I just…couldn't bring myself to care. His aloofness and purposeful rudeness to everyone around him was understandable, but I couldn’t really connect with him. (I guess it also doesn’t help that he’s constantly having murderous thoughts about my darling Ash. Haha)
I hate to criticize anything written and thought out by Julie, but to be honest, I didn’t care for any of the secondary characters either. The love interest, Kenzie annoyed the crap out of me. There’s just something about her that rubs me the wrong way. I guess I did feel sorry for her towards the end, but that only lasted like 2 seconds, and then I continued to not care for her. Keirran was by far, my favourite character. But my love for him wavered as the story progressed, especially when Annwyl came into the picture. Annwyl, a Summer fey, is Keirran’s love interest, and possibly the most empty character of Julie’s. I never felt any connection between her and Keirran, and their romance felt like it was only written so that either 1) there won’t be a love triangle or b) everyone has to end up with someone. Seriously, I wouldn’t care if she was killed off in the next few books. (Okay, I’m starting to sound mean :S)
The plot was quite interesting for the most part, but I was a little disappointed with the ending. The ending just wasn’t…very climactic. It really hurts to say anything bad of Julie’s books, but The Lost Prince failed to impress me. But I would still highly recommend this series to everyone! I mean, we’re talking about Julie Kagawa after all J
**Oh, and while I’m at it, GO READ THE IRON FEY SERIES IF
YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY. I will seriously haunt anyone who fails to obey this! hehe
Oh sorry this didn't work out for you Shirleyy. I'm going to read this later this month, so I hope I like it more, but I can see why you wouldn't care for it if you couldn't connect to the characters. Thanks for the honest and informative review. :)
ReplyDeleteI've read the first of the Iron Fey series and to be honest didn't impress me, though I will read the second one. I do seem to be in the minority though, lol. I'm sorry this turned out to be such a disappointment for you after all the success you've had with Julie Kagawa's books. Beautiful review, Shirley. :)
ReplyDeleteKenzie doesn't seem to have many fans. ;) I agree with your points about her, though I tolerated her easily enough by the end. I think it's quite difficult to live up to the original trio, especially when they are popping up during this book and putting the comparison automatically in place. I liked this a little more than you, but lovely honest review Shirley! :)
ReplyDeleteVivian the Spirit says: Awwww, I'm sorry to hear that this didn't turn out so well for you, Shirley :( I also felt a bit disconnected...perhaps it was a bit too soon to bring this new cast into the world, especially considering how epic-ly strong the original bunch was. To be honest, the only time I truly got excited when I read The Lost Prince was during the cameo moments XD I don't like Kenzie much either really, but I did grow to like Ethan. Still, really honest and fair review, Shirley! <3 POOF!
ReplyDeleteI loved Kenzie :') And I could totally understand Ethan's behavior, so I did care for him. Keirran (and not to forget Razor) were great. Julie's world-building is amazing, her old characters are awesome (so happy to visit them again in the Nevernever) and I believe that this spin-off is the start of something good! :)
ReplyDeleteMel@thedailyprophecy.
Phew! I'm so glad I wasn't the only one disappointed in this spin-off book. I know exactly what you mean when it comes to the characters . . . it was SO terribly hard to connect with them. I just hope the sequel fixes that problem for me since I love the author's writing and her Iron Fey world. But boy I sooooo didn't like that Annwyl girl - she was not likable at all I'm afraid. Though I did love Keirran (despite his lovesick ways) because I found him interesting . . . but yeah that Annwyl . . . argh. I wouldn't care if she got killed, in fact I would do it myself. haha. Terrible I know. xD
ReplyDeleteAnyway a lovely and honest review, Shirley!
Bummer :( I loathe it when authors I adore and whose works I support writes ONE book that disappoints (I'm looking at you, Kristin Cashore, Maria V. Snyder, and Richelle Mead). Regardless, this review is beautiful! I hope your next book catches you completely unaware by its brilliance, Shirley. :)
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm sorry this one disappointed you. It's always sad when a favorite author's latest book lets you down. Fingers crossed the next one is better for you!
ReplyDeleteWendy @ The Midnight Garden