Review: Iron Crowned

Richelle Mead
Urban Fantasy
378 pages
Dark Swan #3
Chapter 1 
Bantam Books


Synopsis:
Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land’s queen, she’s fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear…

Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown’s ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation--one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril…


Review:
"Holy crap on a cracker, I need a drink." This , above all other thoughts, is what I deemed most approriate to write when I announced that I finished the book on Goodreads.  I was not expecting what happened to Eugenie, Kiyo, and Dorian in Iron Crowned.  And to be honest I might be a little pissed at where things might be headed, and what's happened.  I like conflict, I dig shocking, ya hear?  But, sometimes events come from left field and I don't just scratch my head, I hurl the book across the couch.  The first 1/3ish of the book is actually pretty typical and I even remember thinking it was a little stale.  HA! You'll be wishin' you had a little "typical" after the last 50 pages, so enjoy the ho-hum.  That's all I'm gonna say/tease.  So yes, there are a few developments that take place in Iron Crowned that, whether you agree with them or whether you disagree with, you will appreciate, because they're going to make the rest of the series one hell of a ride. 


Eugenie is still a great character to watch, but she really chapped my hide in this book.  Some of the decisions she made throughout the book really made me realize that she's been changing, and I just hadn't been smart enough to notice.  No longer is she the shaman from Tucson who quietly works on a jigsaw puzzle every night. No. She is Storm Born, she is Thorn Queen, and whether I like every decision she makes, I have to respect the fact that her character is growing, and allowing the series to go on.  Without growth, plots and characters feel staunch, I get it.  I even appreciate it.  But I'm just a little miffed at some of the things Eugenie did.  Again, this book isn't bad. Far from it, I'm just a big fat baby who hates when she doesn't get what she wants. 


The great thing about this book is that it puts an end to one chapter in this series. It settles some things and resolves a few ends. The plot isn't drawn out longer than it needs to be, even with the interesting twists and shockers, and now I really don't know what to expect from the next book in the series. *whispers* I secretly really really love that I can't predict what's coming. 


Bottom Line: An excited and shocking chapter of the Dark Swan series that'll leave you shaking your fists at a lot of characters... except maybe one ;)


3.5 stars