(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice.

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as normal as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for; his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he’s forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, normal simply isn’t to be. For Ethan’s nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan’s and Keirran’s fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan’s next choice may decide the fate of them all.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

The Iron Traitor is the second book in Iron Fey: The Call of the Forgotten and it releases on October 29, but I already can’t wait for the last book.  It seems that Julie Kagawa’s writing is still improving because I felt much more connected to the characters, more involved with the story and I felt like I was there.  The descriptions were even more vivid than before and yet they don’t veer into boring territory because they’re just the right length.

I love how Ethan is developing as a character.  In The Lost Prince he was the moody, tortured stereotypical bad boy but now that he has Kenzie and knows her awful secret he’s become a much better person.  He still fears getting close to other humans because of the faeries’ vengeance but he’s actually starting to warm up to the idea he can be sort of normal.  That it’s okay to love someone and that it’s hard to admit you’re in love.  Kenzie also has a lot more depth now that we know the reason for all her actions and stubbornness in the last book.  It makes her motivations a lot more believable and her love for Ethan is undeniable.

As for the plot, I had a really hard time putting The Iron Traitor down.  With Keirran missing in search of a cure for Annwyl before she fades, there’s an even greater air of urgency to the whole thing.  Does Keirran have an ulterior motive here?  Why did Ash and Megan keep Keirran and Ethan separate for so long?  Are the Forgotten really going to return to the real world now?  There are so many questions and many of them are answered by the end, but new questions pop up then as well.  The ending is just plain cruel, but is part of the reason why I can’t wait for the next book!  Julie Kagawa really knows how to hook her readers, that’s for sure.

So here we have a fast-paced plot, awesome characters and even more world-building.  I can’t ask for anything more in the second book of a trilogy.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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