With her boss preoccupied researching the Founder Houses in Morganville, student Claire Danvers is left to her own devices when she learns that three vampires have vanished without a trace. She soon discovers that the last person seen with one of the missing vampires is someone new to town-a mysterious individual named Magnus. After an uneasy encounter with Morganville’s latest resident, Claire is certain Magnus isn’t merely human. But is he a vampire-or something else entirely?

As Michael and Eve make preparations for their wedding, certain undead members of the Morganville community begin making all kinds of noise objecting to the idea. Everyone seems to have an opinion on why Michael and Eve shouldn’t get married – except the couple themselves. Even Shane and Claire express concern. Michael is a vampire; Eve is human. A lifelong predatory union such as that is bound to end in tragedy, right? At least, that’s what the history books show. Eve wonders … could her relationship with Michael go down in history as the first human/vampire relationship to really make it?

In Bite Club we saw Shane and Claire face all kinds of adversity. Shane let Claire down – repeatedly – and both of them still have wounds to heal from that experience, but Last Breath opens showing Shane and Claire more in love, stronger than they’ve ever been before. It’s obvious they’re meant to be together, through thick and thin, the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful – but what about in death? Last Breath sees Shane and Claire face the ultimate challenge – the biggest one they’re likely to encounter ever.

Meanwhile, outside the Glass House, Morganville is in a state of disarray. Vampires are going missing and something has spooked Amelie out of her mind. She’s packing up the vampires and planning a mass exodus out of Morganville. It looks like the humans will finally have their town back.

Or will they?

If I know Amelia – and I think by now I do – leaving the humans to their own devices is not something she’s particularly known for. She says they’re leaving and allowing the humans to reclaim the town, but is that really what’s going on? Would she really leave a bunch of humans behind untouched, uncontrolled? Not very likely.

And Claire and Shane know it. Complacency, happiness, contentment – these are things that Shane and Claire will never get to experience. Not while they’re living in Morganville, anyway. In an epic battle – more epic than anything Morganville has ever seen – the Glass House gang will join the vampires, again, in the fight for their very lives.

Last Breath threw many curve balls that I never saw coming. Predictable is not a word I would choose to describe this series. Just when you think Caine can’t possibly develop this world any further, she does. Just when you think these characters have grown as much as they possibly can, Caine manages to mould them into even more dynamic, even greater characters. I never get tired of reading these books. With Last Breath Caine delivers one of the most thrilling cliffhangers to date, and as always, I’m now anxiously awaiting the arrival of the next chapter in this awesome series.

Pages: 335

Publication date: November 2011

Publisher: New American Library

Challenge: N/A

Rating: :

Teaser Quote:

Oliver stalked forward toward … Toward Myrnin, in his thick black coat, who was holding Shane against the alley’s other wall with his right hand, and drawing back with his left, claws catching the light in sharp angles. He hesitated as he spotted Oliver, and froze as he saw Claire’s shuddering form.

“No,” he whispered, the signaled a stare at Oliver. “Damn you! She shouldn’t have to see this!”

Check out this teaser quote from the Iron Knight:

“Yes,” I said, repressing a sigh. “I heard you. I think the jabberwocks on the other side of the swamp heard you.”

“Oh, good! Maybe if we fight a couple you’ll start paying attention to me!” Puck matched my glare before gesturing around at the swamp. “This is crazy,” he exclaimed. “How do we even know he’s here? The Bone Marsh isn’t exactly on my list of favorite vacation getaways, prince. You sure your contact knew what he was talking about? If this turns out to be another false lead I might turn that phouka into a pair of gloves.”

Intrigued yet? Look for another excerpt tomorrow at Curling Up by the Fire’s blog.

My name—my True Name—is Ashallayn’darkmyr Tallyn.

I am the last remaining son of Mab, Queen of the Unseelie Court. And I am dead to her.

My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl…

The fourth book in the Iron Fey series is easily my favorite and I’m sure I won’t be alone in thinking that. At the end of the third book, Meghan banished Ash from the Iron Realm, knowing he would stay by her side despite how harmful living in the Iron Realm would be to his health. But before he left, Ash made an oath that he would find a way to be with her. The Iron Knight tells the story of Ash’s journey to find a soul — to become mortal and therefore immune to the effects on iron. Of course, he doesn’t embark on such a perilous mission alone; he has Grim and Puck, as well as a couple other surprising companions they meet along the way.

At first, I was a fan of the Iron Fey series. But by the third book, I read reluctantly and slowly, putting the book down for long stretches of time before returning to it. Meghan’s character began to wear on me, but at the same time, I needed an end to her and Ash’s story, so I happily reached for the fourth book. Despite the length, I flew through the conclusion to the Iron Fey series.In my opinion, writing a book from Ash’s point of view is the best idea Julie Kagawa could have for this series. Being in Meghan’s mind grew so annoying, but reading the story from Ash’s point of view is fresh, enjoyable, and exciting. Not only that, but a majority of the book is free of Meghan’s whining voice, and instead filled with my favorite character, Puck. Without Meghan around, Ash becomes a much lighter, carefree individual and we finally get to see the close friendship between Puck and Ash reemerge. And because Meghan wasn’t around too often to annoy, the scenes she did spend with Ash were sweet and heartwarming. Less tears, more determination.

The Iron Knight is also full of non-stop action, but there are more intellectual puzzles in addition to constant battles. Kagawa delivers surprise after surprise, leaving the reader in a constant state of agonizing suspense. I tried and mostly failed to predict what would happen next, which filled me with an odd sense of elation due to the depressing nature of most of my predictions. Some aspects of the journey and of Ash’s trials do seem a little cliche, but not so much so that they distract from the plot at all. For the most part, the conflicts and plot twists are incredibly unique and intricate. Just reading Iron Knight is an emotional roller coaster almost as harrowing as Ash’s — and he has to live through all these crazy events!

The only problems I had with this book are the same ones I had in the previous three. First, overuse of the word “writhing” — it must be Kagawa’s favorite verb. Also, the characters all formally address each other too often to be believable. Every sentence seems to contain some variation of a moniker: Prince/Little Prince/Ice Boy/Winter Prince, Puck/Goodfellow/Robin Goodfellow, Grim/Cat. Especially when it came to Ash, I wanted to shake every person that insisted on calling him “Prince of the Winter Court” in every sentence of speech. So unnecessary. But these are things that, after reading the first three books in the series, I’ve come to accept. And while a majority of the second half of this book left me bewildered and perplexed, internally protesting in outrage, I believe that was Kagawa’s intent and I’m glad she could inspire such a strong emotional reaction in me.

Essentially, if you’re an Ash fan, you’ll love Iron Knight. If you’re a Puck fan, you’ll love Iron Knight. If the end of Iron Queen made you throw the book against the wall in frustration, demanding some sort of resolution for Ash and Meghan, you’ll love Iron Knight. This book is a long, crazy ride, but one you’ll enjoy every minute of.

Pages: 386
Publication Date: October 2011
Publisher: HarlequinTEEN
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “You know me, Meghan Chase.” Ariella stepped forward, the mist parting for her, to stand before us clearly. “I am the one who was left behind, the one Ash knew before you ever came into the picture.”

To celebrate the release of The Iron Knight, HarlequinTeen is offering a giveaway of one copy to a U.S. or Canada resident only. Loved the review? Just wait until you read the book!

The Nitty Gritty:

• Simply fill out this form with your name, email, and mailing address. We randomly draw the winners using random.org.
• Giveaway is open to US/Canada residents only.
• Ends on November 04, 2011.

My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who’s sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I’m not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

The third book in the Iron Fey series provides the same non-stop action as its predecessors. The only thing is, this time around, the constant conflict started to wear on my nerves. I didn’t really start caring about this book until halfway through, when the major Narnia-esque conflict began. The first half just seemed like a way to kill time and unnecessarily impress the reader. But by the third book in a series, we don’t need flashy new creatures or foreboding prophecies to be impressed; we’re already invested in the characters, their world, and in this case, their fight against the false king. I didn’t think it was possible for Julie Kagawa to introduce even more creatures, but she did, making it even harder for me to keep track of everything and everyone. There came a point where I stopped caring about the descriptions because I knew I’d never be able to remember what each specific faery looked like.

Now let’s talk about Meghan. Meghan’s near-constant state of helplessness was clearly becoming a problem and so it made complete sense for her to learn how to defend herself. But doesn’t sword-fighting take years of practice? Meghan spent all of a month or two learning and then instantly dove into numerous battles, coming out the victor each time. I’d understand if she got lucky a couple of times, especially if she had the help of Ash or Puck, but she literally fought trained soldiers, alone, and managed to win, without coming to any serious harm herself. And then, suddenly, she was ready to fight in a war? I just don’t find any of that plausible. Meanwhile, a power all her own lies dormant and unusable until the very end of the book. I’d be far more willing to believe she mastered her own summer/iron power and use it defend herself than a sword.

As for Puck and Ash, I still love Puck, though I still think the amount he addresses Meghan as “Princess” is a little unnatural. But I’m used to that. He’s as sarcastic, witty, and humorous as ever; he captures my attention in every scene. Then there’s Ash. I’m probably the only girl in the world who isn’t in love with him. I just don’t see the insane appeal and I don’t really understand his willingness to devote his entire life to Meghan. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike Ash. I’m just not in love with him, nor am I sure why Meghan is, besides the obvious physical attraction. I think Kagawa goes a little over the top with their romance-to-end-all-romances. The idea that (mini spoiler alert!) sleeping together signifies the merging of their souls is completely ridiculous, to me. But as much as I don’t understand their relationship, I was still touched by the ending and left craving answers that only the fourth book will provide.

Basically, fans of the series will love this book. It’s written exactly as the first two in the series and provides an intricate, suspense-ridden plot. It has its moments of joy, battle, discovery, and heartbreak. Readers will fly through the second half of the book and turn the last few pages anxiously, praying for it not to end. But never fear, for the ride will continue in the fourth book, The Iron Knight.

Review of The Iron King.
Review of The Iron Daughter.

Pages: 358
Publication Date: January 2011
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Challenge: N/A
Rating :

Teaser Quote: “For the record,” Grimalkin stated as we ventured, single file, into the black, “I do not think this is a good idea. But, as no one listens to the cat anymore, I will have to wait until we are completely lost to say ‘I told you so.’”