Puck, the jester from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, tells his own story in this new book. He meets a faerie from the Forgotten, who doesn’t remember her past but is working with the Iron Queen’s son. There is a mysterious threat to their land. Along with Puck’s friend Meghan the Iron Queen, his rival Ash, and some other friends, they have to find the source of the threat.

This story is a spin off of the Iron Fey series. I haven’t read that series, but I still understood everything in the story. There were some descriptions of events from the past, which I think were from the previous books. This made it accessible to new readers, like me, but I feel like I know what happened in the other books now, so I probably won’t go back and read them.

Puck was a fun character. I’m glad he had his own story in this book. He was a funny trickster. I also liked the blend of the real world with the faerie world. Puck has been to the human world, so he would compare fae items to human items, but the other fairies didn’t know what he was talking about. These parts were really funny and unique to this story.

I really enjoyed this story! It ended with a cliffhanger, so I’m excited to see what happens in the next book.

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Iron Raven is everything I want in the continuation of The Iron Fey series. I was actually never a super big Puck fan, but I love him in this book. Plus new characters? Yes, please.

Okay so the character I love the most in this story is not Puck. Poor Puck. I do like him. I just don’t love him the way I did some other characters. Nyx, however, I love her. The Forgotten assassin who is mysterious and cool. Lol. She’s not broody though, just quiet and intelligent. You can tell she is a people watcher. I’m excited to hopefully find out more about her story and see how her character develops.

So yes Puck. I did like Puck. He’s funny and of course powerful. I really like his story arc. The way his character develops due to some unforeseen circumstances is great. He has to deal with things that might have been glossed over before.

It’s always fun to see former characters. Although Kierran. My heart still breaks about Kierran. Meghan and Ash have a little part as well and although we are missing Ironheart, his herd is still a part of the story. Of course there is also Grimalkin.

I love the plot. I’m always a fan of adventure stories that involve a group of characters. Maybe because I’m such a rpg game player. I have no idea but I also love the depth that multiple characters bring. Puck falls into this adventure with the merry band by chance but he is in some respects sort of the leader. Not only are they journeying to fight this new evil there are a lot of Puck’s memories that come up and of course the mysteries of Nyx. It incorporates new and old seamlessly.

Another great addition to The Iron Fey series. I’m so excited for what happens next.

So...wow. Puck has always been one of my favorite characters since the Iron King. I'm not gonna lie, I don't really remember much of anything after the Iron Queen. I also didn't read the spinoff series but you really don't need to.

The Iron Raven does really well with informing the readers about past events. That being said, I highly recommend reading all the previous books that pertain to this world.

Puck had so much character growth in the Iron Raven it was ridiculous. But Julie Kagawa is really good at character growth with her characters.

The new characters that are introduced are awesome and I can't wait to find out more about them.

Visiting the old stomping grounds was awesome and now I kinda have to go back and read everything from Julie Kagawa all over again.

This is not my first Julie Kagawa book, but it is my first time into The Iron Fey realm! I have wanted to read those books for years but somehow have not gotten to them yet. I have heard a TON of wonderful tings about Puck. He seems to be everyone’s favorite trickster. Here’s the thing, at the beginning, something happens to Puck and he’s, well, mean. BUT there were a lot of things I loved. I think I need to read the Iron Fey series to love him more!

This book is FULL of adventure. My favorite kind. They go through so many fights and crazy things while traveling across the fey realms. I LOVED this.

Nyx. Love her! She is so BA! She has some really cool powers and she’s a fighting machine! I love her chemistry with Puck. I really liked him. I liked his skills, his wit, and his humor. I just didn’t like his attitude most of the book.

I highly recommend this book for any adventurer and anyone who likes cool magic and fight scenes!

My opinion of this brand-new series will differ vastly from the many fans of the Iron Fey world. As you know based on my review of Shadow’s Legacy, I am an Iron Fey newbie so I am looking at this world through a fresh pair of eyes and by golly I had a wonderful experience.

The story followed the events in Shadow’s Legacy. The land of the Fey is at risk. Something ominous is lurking in the Shadows and it’s up to Robin Goodfellow aka Puck and his friends to find a solution to ending this threat. However, they will discover that ridding their kingdom of this threat would not be as easy as they thought.

I had a wonderful time interacting with the characters. Puck lived up to his name of being a prankster. He had many facets, and it was fun discovering them all. Fun, charming and entertaining. He had me laughing out around many times throughout the story. I loved how the author delved into his past. I learnt of his struggles in the past. How he loved and lost and how the sound of his name struck fear in others.

Nyx, a Forgotten moon elf, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in the prequel, was such a badass. Her memories of her past were bleak, but she never forgot her skills as an assassin and her allegiance to the Queen of the Forgotten. On learning the Queen was dead, her allegiance switched to protecting Keirran. Hence her purpose on this mission. Fearless, strong and determined, and the perfect match for Puck.

The supporting cast added their special blend of magic to the story. Grimalkin made my day. His actions and responses while it infuriated Puck had me laughing my head off.

Each character was dealing with their own personal struggles while trying to fight off the threat to the Fey kingdom.

Puck and Nyx may not have shared romantic moments, not that there was time available for such things. However, the sparks between them burned brightly. I am looking forward to see how their relationship progresses.

A fast-paced read, Iron Raven had me flipping the pages. It took me on a magical journey where danger abound in every corner.

I loved the world the author created and found myself completely caught up i

I have not read the other books set in this world, but having loved some of Julie Kagawa's other books I definitely wanted to pick this one up. It can definitely be read without reading the past books, but I'm sure having them as a foundation would give more oomph to it.

I really enjoyed how fast paced this was, I didn't really feel like there were any sections that dragged. It was easy to get immersed in the quest that the characters went on and no one really felt superfluous to me. I will definitely be going back and reading the previous books in this world and look forward to any future installments that are coming in the future!

Can’t tell you how much I have waited for Puck’s story! I have love Puck since Julie Kagawa first Iron Fey series. I love his good nature fun, sometimes to tell you the truth I preferred him over to Ash. I say that I was not disappointed with this book. I was not able to put the book down, I love the Kagawa gave us the back story of why Puck was the way he was. Sometimes he seemed uncaring, and making fun of things that were too serious, but in this book we find out the why. Then there is Nyx, Puck’s love interest, I love her character and can see why Puck love her.

So first let me say being this book seemed t be a spin-off from a previous series I was a wee bit lost. However, as there was a nod to A Midsummer Night’s Dream I'll take it.
Puck AKA Robin Goodfellow is ever the joker. But when he encounters a dark force threatening the Neernever he is changed. This dark force seems unstoppable but to save their kind they will have to find a way to defeat,.

The Nevernever is once again under threat. A powerful creature who is seemingly invincible is saturating the faeries with negative emotions and turning them into the mean versions of themselves. It is up to Puck and his new acquaintance Nyx, to warn the rulers of the Iron Realm and find a way to defeat this monster.

I must say even though I was a wee bit lost at times as this was a spin-off I did very enjoy the world Fey world. I was quickly caught up in it and was immediately in love with many of the characters. Overall a pleasant read.

It’s been a really long time since I read any books from the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa, but since I recently read and loved the Shadow of the Fox trilogy, I really wanted to read IRON RAVEN.

For the most part, I liked the book a lot. I kind of wish half of it was told from Nyx’s point-of-view, or that we got to see her perspective sometimes. She was definitely my favorite character. I liked that she’s loyal and fierce, but also really perceptive and vulnerable.

Generally I’m not really a fan of crude humor, but I can see with a character like Puck/Robin Goodfellow that it would be difficult to write a story centered on him without some of that type of stuff. I think I would have found him funnier if the humor had hit me the way it was intended, if that makes sense?

On the whole, though, I thought it was great to be able to visit Kagawa’s faery world again, and seeing the familiar characters from the earlier series was a lot of fun. I think you could read this book even if you aren’t familiar with the Iron Fey series– most of the connections to things from those books are explained, so it doesn’t require knowing or remembering a lot.

Definitely readers who enjoyed Iron Fey should give this one a read. I think also readers who like dark faery magic, a bit like THE FALCONER by Elizabeth May, should put IRON RAVEN on their reading lists.

I really enjoyed the Iron Fey series. Thus the reason I was excited to read this book in this new series. Robin Goodfellow aka Puck was featured in the prior novels and I liked him. So I was glad to see him be more of the main focal point character in this new book.

Ok, so the Puck in this book is not the joking one from the prior books. Yes, he does have his moments but readers also see a darker side of Puck. The addition of the new characters in this book are nice. Nyx is one of the characters that I am talking about. She challenged Puck and kept things entertaining. I hope to see her again in the future. Besides the new characters some of the old ones are back as well..like Meghan. It was nice to see her again.

While, I enjoyed this book, It felt like something was missing. However, I still read this book in a fairly fast speed and do look forward to seeing how this series progresses.

**4.5-stars**

The Iron Raven is the first installment to a new trilogy set in the world of Julie Kagawa's, Iron Fey series. There have been seven previous full-length novels, as well as a handful of novellas, in this series. This is the first to feature Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck, as the narrator.

I must confess, I have never read any of the novels set in this world. In spite of that, I still had a ton of fun reading this story and loved all of the characters! I'm sure for long-time fans of the series, this book is full of nostalgic content and it will be even more wonderful for them to read.

I was excited to pick this up because Kagawa's Shadow of the Fox trilogy is my favorite YA Fantasy trilogy of all time. Her witty and vibrant writing style mesh extremely well with my tastes. In fact, after this, I am quite tempted to go back and read the Iron Fey series from the beginning!

This novel is a classic adventure story, complete with a dangerous quest, set in the lands of the Fae. It begins with Puck chancing upon the King of the Forgotten, Kierran, who needs to get a message to his mother, Meghan, the Iron Queen. He is trying to warn her of a vicious monster currently wrecking havoc in the Between.

When the monster does show it's face, it is unlike anything Puck as ever encountered. He's injured in the process, as well as his new friend, the lady's assassin, Nyx. They set out together to find Meghan and engage her help with putting a stop to the monster's reign of terror before it is too late.

I really enjoyed Puck as narrator. He is sarcastic and funny even in the most dire of situations. He is also a character struggling with past hurts and negative aspects of his own personality. I always love a quest, as a hodge-podge team of traveling companions are constructed, you just know that you are in for an action-packed good time. That was certainly the case here.

Puck and Nyx are ultimately joined by Meghan, Ash, Coaleater and Grim, as they try to find out the truth behind the monster and what threatens the lands of the Fae. They encounter some dangerous obstacles and a whole host of magical and mythical creatures along the way; all while trying to navigate their own interpersonal challenges.

I was completely swept up into this world. As always, Kagawa's character interactions stole the show for me. I love her dialogue and laughed out loud numerous times. The ending is a compelling cliffhanger, leaving off with a prophecy that definitely let's the Reader know this adventure is far from over!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with a copy of this to read and and review. I had so much fun with it and cannot wait for the next book to be released!!!

To summarize my review I can say I had a lot of fun reading this story and, even if I didn’t read the Iron Fey (read the first book after I read this one) I thoroughly enjoyed it and had no issue with the plot or the characters.
Puck/Robin Goodfellow is one of my favorite tricksters and Midnight Summer Night and Puck of the Hill are amongst my favorite stories.
I fell in love with Julie Kagawa’s Puck since the first pages as he reflects my own image and I love the way the character was developed: complex, fighting with his dark side but also full of humor.
This story is fast paced, highly entertaining and gripping. It’s a sort of introduction to the rest of the series and the main actors. There is a quest in this story but you know that there’s a lot more to come even if there is no cliffhanger in this book.
I found the world of Iron Fey fascinating: the author did an excellent job in building and adding layers and there are plenty of explanations and details that help you to understand how thing works and the lore of the feys.
The characters are well developed and interesting. I talked about Puck but I would add Nyx to the list of favorite characters. Ms Kagawa’s character development is excellent and the characters are fleshed out. I appreciated how the relationship between the characters were explained and the story of how they met.
As I said I read the first of the Iron Fey series after this one and I loved how the style of writing evolved and how this book is more adult oriented that the previous in this series.
I think this is an excellent epic fantasy that can appeal to people of different ages.
I can’t’ wait to read the next stories and catch up with these characters.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is a story about Robin Goodfellow... Trust me, you’ll know because he says his own name with such frequency you could not possibly forget.

This book was so incredibly repetitive that I thought i had hit a button on my kindle and flipped back to a prior section on more than one occasion. As it turns out, the narrative just loops. Perhaps if I had read the previous books in the series this would have felt ore compelling- as it was, it was unclear why the reader should be attached.

Potential Spoilers ahead:

For example, at one point the MC expresses concern about “Meghan and Ash’s son”... but having not read The Iron Fey series, I didn’t know who they were, or why I should care about their well-being. If you’re thinking that this was on me, for picking up the 5th book in a series- this has been advertised as the first book in a new series, so it seemed like a safe bet for unfamiliar readers.

2.5 stars, rounded to 3 because I’m assuming there is more her for readers of the prior series.

I've been a fan of Julie's Fey books for a long long time, and with the recent resurgence of Fae as a whole, I'm so thrilled her original books are getting the attention they deserve, and The Iron Raven is a deliciously wicked tale full of all the things that make this fae-obsessed reader's heart explode with happiness!

Puck is an incredible mythical character that I've found is often either done right or not done well enough, and in Kagawa's case, she knocked him out of the park. The interweaving of previous characters from the original series, as well as ones that are new evoked both nostalgia and anticipation to see just how this trilogy will play out.

I can't wait for book 2!

Confession: I haven't read any of the previous series. But when I saw that this book is narrated by none other than Puck, I KNEW I had to try it - and I am so glad I did!

This book works as a standalone, you don't need to have explored the world in order to understand what is happening but I could tell that there were nuances in the story that I was probably missing because I didn't know the relationships from books before. Even with that, though, I highly enjoyed this story and the opportunity it gave me to go back to a fae world.

What I appreciated the most about this story is the exploration of Puck's character. As an ELA teacher, the dichotomy of who Puck is in AMND is something that I have questioned and explored with students - is Puck the typical fae? What do you think his intentions are? Why might he be different, or is he hiding the fact that he is actually the same? In Iron Raven, we get to hear his though process, and his evolution as a character is not only acknowledged, but we get a back story and a reason. And then we get to see where his future is headed.

If you love Puck, if you love stories about the fae, if you love a good adventure - I highly recommend giving The Iron Raven a try!

So, I read myself into a bit of a corner with this one. I saw this book offered as part of this Blog Tour Series and was immediately interested. I’ve been meaning to read Julie Kagawa for a while now and thought this was the perfect opportunity! The summary (that I guess maybe I skimmed?) sounded fun and it said that this book could be read without having read Kagawa’s Iron Fey series. While that is technically true, I would argue that my experience with this book was indeed diminished by having not.

Everything in this book is thoroughly explained, characters reintroduced, experiences from the previous book flashbacked to, so I was never lost, per se. Many of the references, however, were a bit over my head. I was expecting it to be a bit like Six of Crows—where characters and ideas from the Grishaverse trilogy show up, but they aren’t major parts of the story. But no, several characters and ideas from the previous series show up as major elements of this book.

If you’re wanting this book to be your gateway into Julie Kagawa, like I was hoping, turn around and read The Iron Fey first.

Now, that aside, I’ll go into more detail about what is actually here and what I did and didn’t like about this book as it relates to what is on the page.

Puck (Robin Goodfellow) is a very familiar character (ninth-grade English, anyone?) and having a story told from his perspective was, right away, interesting to me. I love his voice in this book. It’s exactly the tone you would expect from the king of all pranksters. He made jokes at the worst times possible and it was glorious—the ruining of serious moments, not necessarily the jokes themselves. Even without having met him in this sense before, I immediately liked Puck.

That, however, is where my thorough enjoyment of this book ended. Not to say I didn’t enjoy other characters and elements of this book, but Puck was definitely my favorite. Let me explain, because most of the other elements (characters and plot, specifically) had positives and negatives for me.

I’ll start with plot. On the surface, the plot is intriguing. Something is wrong in the Nevernever (right?) and the realm of the Forgotten (can you tell I’ve already “forgotten” the setting names?) and Puck is dragged into helping figure out what it is. He ends up fighting a big, bad monster and is reverted to a version of himself that we might be more familiar with—malevolent trickster with a grudge.

So, yes, Puck’s character along with the grabbing plot pulled me into the story. However, as I went along, my interest began to dwindle. I knew from the start, pretty much, that this Big Bad wasn’t the only thing going on. But it took until the very end for the characters to realize that there’s more here than meets the eye (don’t worry, that’s not much of a spoiler). So, really, to me, too much of the second half of the book kind of dragged. Like I didn’t feel like it was “important” enough. If that makes sense. In many ways, I think that this book is more of a setup for the next two books than a solid story on its own.

Puck’s emotional plot, while intriguing at first (his reverting back to satyr form), didn’t interest me as much as I was hoping and I think that came down mostly to my next point: characters.

Some important roles here are brand-new character Nyx and returning characters Meghan (totally wrong spelling, btw) Chase, Ash, and Kieran. Nyx was a fun character at first because she’s a Forgotten, all of her kind having perished prior to this book, and she used to be an assassin for a bad guy (“The Lady,” also from a prior book). The meaning of all this didn’t hit as hard though because I didn’t really understand what it meant, despite being told about The Lady and some major points from the previous series. Nyx, however, is also meant to be Puck’s love interest and it was just really hard to see that. I’m on board, for sure, but I think I expected it to be a lot more drawn out. Their arguing and subtle flirting the first chunk of the story was solid. However, when they admit their feelings, it loses its appeal because I didn’t see them as the “feelings” types quite yet.

Out of the three return-characters, Ash played the most important. Because of Puck’s grudge and brought-to-the-surface feelings thanks to the Big Bad, their relationship takes a forefront part once all of the characters join up. However, this is part where having read the previous series would have done a lot of good. Their beef with each other was explained, but it was really hard to get emotionally invested. Which, I really need in a book.

While we’re on the topic of characters and relationships to Puck, I’ll mention that I thought it was weird how much of a backseat Meghan took. She was there for a good chunk of the story and played her queenly role fine, but for being Puck’s ride-or-die, they didn’t spend any time actually interacting with one another. I know Ash was the focus here, but still, I expected at least one one-on-one scene between these two best friends.

Overall, I ended up rating this book three stars on Goodreads. I didn’t want to mark it down too much for my own lack of Iron Fey knowledge, but there were a few plot and character issues I couldn’t look past. I definitely recommend it if you’re already a Julie Kagawa fan. I enjoyed this for the most part and still would like to go back someday and read the original series to see how everything came together (despite now having spoilers for, like, the entire series).

Puck is King Oberon's jester, and now is able to tell a tale from before the time of Faery Iron Queen Meghan Chase has chosen Ash as her prince consort. Ash was Puck's rival, and he still resents losing to him. Evenfall is coming, and Puck has to work with enemies and allies to prevent it.

This book refers to events in Julie Kagawa's other books in the Iron Fey series. I hadn't read those, but it was easy enough for me to follow along. Puck, the same fairy of Shakespearean fame, had been the crueler Robin Goodfellow once upon a time, and he's thrown back into that by the Monster rampaging through the different lands. Puck has to join Nyx to inform the Iron Queen, one of his best friends, about the Monster. There is lingering resentment that he lost out on romantic love with her, even though he still cherishes her friendship. He takes joy in annoying the Winter and Summer fairy courts, and seeing the Forgotten court. The thoughts he has regarding pranks are fairly innocuous in the beginning, but after his transformation take on a much more dangerous cast. Harming others gives him joy, and he fantasizes about killing Ash. They're rivals and sort of friends; at least, they were friends more than frenemies in this novel, even though they started from an enemies' stance in the past.

To find ways to defeat the Monster, Puck, Nyx, Ash and Meghan have to travel through different realms. I enjoyed seeing the different places they were in, and the different types of fae that they talked to or fought. The challenges that they all faced leave them injured and sometimes close to death, and I feared for their safety even as I knew that most of them had to survive since this is book one of a trilogy. Puck was safe, given that he's narrating the book, but that doesn't mean everyone else is. We get to the conclusion of this novel, neatly tying off the original mission and giving a hook for the next book. The end of the Nevernever is coming, and it's bound to be a long and arduous journey to save it. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Coming back to this story after so long was amazing!! I loved the original series and I am beyond excited to have more stories set in this world. I hope that Puck gets his HEA in this one. The characters are even better than before and you can just tell how much Kagawa has grown as an author. I can not wait for more of this series and can't wait to see what the author does!


On a side note I am so very sad that this one is in Hardback and the other books are all in paperback!! That hurt my bookish heart.

The Review

An action-packed, entertaining deep dive into the world of fantasy, this novel is a fantastic start to a new series within the world of the Iron Fey. Fans of the original series by author Julie Kagawa and newcomers will be able to pick this book up with ease and quickly fall into the lore and magic of this narrative.

The author’s focus on Puck was an inspired choice, as the infamous trickster and longtime ally of the original protagonists of the series got a much-needed look into his past and character arc overall. The emotional and physical journey he takes in this narrative are nail-biting, to say the least, and his new relationships with characters like the assassin Nyx are engaging to read.

Fans of the fantasy genre as a whole will absolutely love the amount of mythos that went into this book. As a newcomer to the series myself, it was great to see not only the Fae represented, but so many other magical creatures, from the goblins and redcaps found in the Goblin Market early on in the book to the powerful threat introduced into this narrative with this shadowy creature, this book’s core rests within the fantasy realm the author has crafted, making the setting as much of a character as Puck himself.

The Verdict

A beautifully written, entertaining, and magical new chapter in the world of the Iron Fey, author Julie Kagawa’s “The Iron Raven” is a fantastic start to this spinoff series. With a heart-pounding and almost cinematically written final few chapters that see this massive battle unfold and a cast of characters that readers are going to be able to invest in easily, this is a must-read fantasy book of 2021. Be sure to grab your copy today!

Immensely Entertaining…
* Julie Kagawa kicks off her newest trilogy, The Iron Fey: Evenfall, with fantastic adaptation of English folklore in The Iron Raven. A spinoff of her wildly popular Iron Fey series, Julie takes us on an epic adventure with one of her most memorable side characters, Robin Goodfellow, aka Puck. Yes, this is the infamous and mischievous trickster of Shakespearian fame (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) but on a whole other level!

When a malignant shadow starts infecting the Between, Prince Keirran, King of the Forgotten, tries to get a message to his mother, the Iron Queen, and his father, the Ice Prince, in the Iron Kingdom. After multiple attempts he seeks out his trusty friend Robin to help. With his typical audaciousness, Robin convinces the prince that they should contain this dreadful scourge themselves and not involve the other Courts, not knowing that there will be three undertaking this mission. Having been apart from the Prince for awhile, Robin surprised by the fact that Kierran is now served by the most beautiful, otherworldly, and ancient Sidhe he has ever seen, and according to him he has seen almost every being in his long existence. A deadly assassin, Nix, proves to be a valuable asset but they quickly find that this task, and their attraction, is way more than either anticipated. Even with the help of the Iron Queen and the Ice Prince, the Nevernever may still not survive.

Julie is an amazing and highly talented author, no matter the genre, whose books you buy just because she wrote it. The Iron Raven is one more demonstration of that skill in that it is a perfectly crafted tale with suspense and adventure while also being so stinkin’ funny to boot. I absolutely loved Robin. He is ornery and snarky and just simply hysterical at times while slowly revealing a deeply hurt and lonely side that is hidden behind all his shenanigans. Nix is the perfect foil and shows again why opposites do attract, which is exactly what Robin, and the reader, need after he lost the girl to his best friend in The Iron Fey series. I am so glad Julie chose to pick up Robin’s story. You will love it from beginning to its satisfying end and be eager for book two after she hooks you with a tantalizing lead in to the next adventure. As of this date, there is no information on its release.