Book Bindings Blog

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

My review:

Having read the previous books, I already had an idea of what to expect from The Lost Prince. I was especially excited to read this book because, this time, the story is told from Ethan’s perspective as a teenager. In the other books from the series, the main narrator is his older sister, Meghan. I found his voice very well projected throughout the novel, flowing quite nicely with the storyline. His opinions and interests seem to really match the context of the story. I do wish, however, that there was less thought and description from Ethan and more dialog between the other characters. At times, especially in the first one hundred pages or so, it seems very focused on him. After a while, I got bored of hearing his same problems over and over again. Nevertheless, this repetition could be helpful if one is new to the series as it revisits some of the events in the past four books, giving the reader a better understanding of the character’s history. This does make the plot line move more slowly, but when supporting characters do show up, they’re very enjoyable.

Because this is technically a new trilogy, but part of the same series, we get to enjoy small cameo appearances from returning characters, and to meet new ones as well, including the new secondary character, Mackenzie St. James. Not only is she smart, funny, and brave, she has a well developed back story that broke my heart. I look forward to reading what happens to her in future books. Ethan’s nephew, Keirran, makes his first appearance as well. My biggest criticism is that there is not enough of him throughout the novel. He is there, but not really enhancing the scene in any way. In the climax of the book he starts to play more of a role, although I found it short lived and unresolved. He did, however, seem to really fit well with the setting. I could just picture him blending in with the magical world of the fey.

I love how Kagawa’s imaginative worlds seem to have such inventive connections to reality. For instance, she writes that whenever a computer glitches in the real world, it is because a gremlin’s deviance is at work. Furthermore, the entire existence of feys’ homeland, the Nevernever, is built on the dreams and imaginings of “mortals”. This provides the opportunity for a modern twist by adding a technological side to the feys. Kagawa has taken something as stereotypical as faeries and found a way to give them her own little flair, making them unique. I had much fun trying to picture these wonderfully described places and characters.

Overall, I enjoyed The Lost Prince. There were some slow moments in the beginning and it seemed to move at a slow pace for a while, however, it eventually picked up speed and progressed faster towards the ending. The ending was good, slightly predictable, but still exciting. It left me ready to read the next installment. I would recommend this book to fans of magical worlds and elaborately thought out settings.

I give The Lost Prince, by Julie Kagawa, 4 out of 5 stars.

Have you read The Lost Prince or any of Kagawa's other books? If so, what did you think?

Hope you enjoyed my review!

Stay nerdy,
Julia