Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

The cover on my Nook edition was NOT
as mortifying as the original, but still,
it makes little sense re: the plot.

The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa has some good moments, but overall it felt like a book I had already read. I wanted to know more about this series, which is officially called The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, but we got very little about who the Forgotten are and what they want. I feel like I read a prologue, not an entire book.

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 (GoodReads).

• Originality: 2. Oh wait, is the Nevernever plagued by an all-powerful new type of fairy? Yup. Does it sound exactly like the Iron Fey series except now rather than Iron they are all smokey unknown fairies? Yup. Also, how many quests through The Nevernever can people in a series take? This format isn't bad, but Meghan quested, Ash and Puck quested, and now Ethan.
• Absurdity: 9. There is a big mix of traveling across the world from fairies in Ireland (which I can get behind) to fairies in Central Park (which is super-weird to me and has already been done. See my review of the Wondrous Strange series). Not to mention it was SUPER obvious who Keirran was. COME ON PEOPLE use your brains. 
• Level of Paranormal Romance: 2. Our players are not supernatural, but they fall for each other in fairyland, so that has to count for something. I knew it would happen, enjoyed the effects, but do not have much to report.
• Level of Harry Potterness: 3. A particularly boiler plate coming of age quest/adventure. I flew through this book. I will keep reading the series but its the type of book that really I can read at the same time as something else.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a review copy from Harlequin Limited. Happy reading followed. (We do not accept or receive compensation for reviews at YAF and WS.)