The Lost Price by Julie Kagawa

The Lost Prince (Goodreads)

I have now read two series about the Chase siblings: The Iron Fey (reviews here and here ) and The Lost Prince, first book in The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten series, and I have to confess that I liked Ethan way more than his whiney sister Meghan. Ethan is tough, loyal, self-deprecating and tortured. And he can fight like a demon with swords, sticks or fists. So what's not to like? I also enjoyed Kenzie, his friend, soon to be girlfriend. She's persistent, brave and equally as loyal. She's a great addition to the book.

So much for the two MCs, now what about the plot?

This is where my criticisms come in. For me, The Lost Prince felt a little 'been there, done that'. 

In The Iron Fey, Ethan is kidnapped by fey and taken to the Nevernever, prompting his sister Meghan and her friend Robbie (Puck) to rush off and rescue him. In The Lost Prince, Ethan's sort-of-friend Todd, a half half faerie, half human, is kidnapped, and guess what? Ethan and Kenzie rush to the Nevernever to rescue him. Okay, I admit they were driven there by the bad guys, but still, it all felt very familiar. And then once in the Nevernever, like Mehgan before him, Ethan discovers he's a prince of the fey. Or in Meghan's case, she discovers she's a queen, but you get my drift.

Also, I found that the secondary characters in The Lost Prince lacked the sparkle of The Iron Fey crew. It's hard to beat Puck and Ash for charm, wit and banter and Kierran, Annwyl and Todd - the Lost Prince bunch - just didn't have the same 'magic'. Grimalkin the talking cat also makes an appearance in this book, but I didn't enjoy him nearly as much as I did in The Iron Fey series (He was one of my favourite characters) This time round, he just seemed annoying. Sorry Grimalkin. Thankfully Razor the gremlin came to the rescue. He's a great little guy whom I have a very special spot for. I hope he stays around throughout the series. A character I did enjoy meeting again was Leanansidhe, the Exiled Queen. Every page she appeared on instantly came alive. Julie Kagawa has done an excellent job with her creation.

Now for the bad guys  . . . The Forgotten

I remember some mention of the fey who fade away in the first series, so I wasn't surprised when they turned up here, trying to regain their glamour by sucking the other fey dry. Although I figured out very early in the story who the bad guys were, it makes for an interesting plot line. I just don't know if it measures up to the pure originality of the first series. I'm not convinced this story has the legs to really go the distance they way The Iron Fey plot did. 

All this sounds as if I didn't enjoy The Lost Prince. 

No, not true. I did enjoy it and I'm now thoroughly invested in Ethan and Kenzie. I definitely want to see what happens with them, so I will be reading book two: The Iron Traitor. 

So how many stars?

I give this one three and a half stars, all attributed to Ethan, Kenzie, Razor and Leanansidhe. Would I recommend it? Yes, especially to those who already love The Iron Fey series. 

Until next time, cheers

Gwynn

PS: For those who like these details, I bought a copy of the book at my local bookstore.