The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

2011, Harlequin TEEN

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Synopsis: 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.

The Good: Ash in the forefront. Ash and Puck, traveling together. Ash and Puck dealing with their shared past and current situation with Meghan being a distant character, unable to get involved in the boys issues. I loved the trek, the challenges Ash had to face, everything that lead back to Meghan. Everything, except . . .

The Bad: There is a significant problem with the resolution Ash's major issue in this book. He wants a soul. He must earn a soul, as he is fey and they don't have souls. Souls are a purely human thing. The fey DO NOT have souls. Therefore, Kagawa's plan on how Ash obtains a soul is impossible. Without giving anything away, all I can say is it does not work. You can't say fey's don't have souls of there own and then go the route the author went here. I don't know, maybe she didn't realize went against everything she had previously stated. Or maybe she meant for some exception to that rule. Either way, it kills the power behind stating that souls are not something the fey possess. You can't have it both ways and it absolutely ruined a perfect book for me.