The word that comes to mind when I think of Ironspark is “meh.” It pains me to say that because I really wanted to like it. Dark faeries, kick butt heroine, and a queer love triangle? Sign me up! In reality, though, the faeries felt like they were in the periphery of the plot, the heroine was a static character, and the love triangle felt forced and underdeveloped.

When I say the faeries are in the periphery, it seemed that the idea of them drove the plot forward more than their actual presence. There were a few moments of action that included some fae, but the prospect of the fae showing up was far more prevalent. We are told Bryn fears these creatures, but they never actually materialize in a way makes the reader fear them along with her.

Similarly, I was left longing for the atmosphere that accompanies fae novels. Woods and mystical settings are what I associate with these types of books. Ironspark seems to strive for that in its setting but never quite reaches the mark. Even the dream world seemed to be lacking anything (for lack of a better word) dreamy.

What I liked most about this book was the representation in it. Queer fae and queer humans was quite fun to read. The conversation between the trio around 3/4 of the way through the story, where the discussion about their specific identities comes up was a sort of odd addition because up until that point the relationships flowed along with the narrative. Perhaps the most interesting part of this novel could have been the relationship between Bryn and Gwen. I longed for more development there, something that wasn’t just Bryn feeling guilty for dumping Gwen, and Gwen selflessly caring for every injury Bryn had. Adding Jasika in the mix could have been another element that would give the somewhat flat characters a lift, but the stakes are lowered towards the end where Bryn’s choice becomes simple.

Overall, this book had so much promise, but it left me wanting. I’d be very interested in reading future novels by this author because I think the voice in the prose itself is quite good. Match that voice up with stronger characters and a more solid setting and I believe it would be an excellent read.

3.5 stars

I'm not sure that I've ever read a YA novel centering on this subject, so I was intrigued by the cool concept alone, and the first chapter got me hooked instantly. It seemed like I was maybe entering into some kind of tangentially Buffy-related space, and I was very into seeing how that character and story line developed.

As it turned out, the first chapter was the most gripping - for me - of the work, and while I didn't lose interest entirely after that, I did struggle a bit to stay engaged from about the 40% mark all the way up to the Epilogue (which I thought was great). There are some promising characters, but I had a hard time getting too invested in them (outside of the m.c., who just spent a lot of time dreaming and processing). I wanted to see more development of the ancillary folks, the mom's backstory, and even the shadelings. On a related note, the one shadeling who is a bit more round...ugh. I could not handle the way this character talked, the name it wanted, etc. This character started slowly descending into Jar Jar Binks territory for me at some point, and that became distracting.

While I do like that there is some good LGBTQ+ representation here, the conversation around that went from organic (the m.c. talking about a past relationship) to oddly placed - a late-in-the-novel conversation about folks' identities along with a quick lesson on asexuality. I'm SO here for this rep and discussion, but it felt weirdly forced and disconnected to me in this context.

There is a great concept here, and this is an enjoyable read, but the characters and story line fell short for me. Since there is a clear setup for a sequel, I'll be interested to see what comes next...

Ironspark was good, but it didn't immediately suck me in and keep me turning the pages. Still, it was nice to see a story with faeries where it was the main character, not just the side characters, who was queer. The mc was bi or pan. I liked that she wasn't sure which. The same was true for her love interest. About 3/4 of the way through the book, after the girls talked about their identities, another character came out as ace, which made me happy. I want to see more ace rep!

I went into reading it expecting a standalone, but the end implies it's the first of a series. I'll read the next book, assuming there is one.