Review: The Lost Prince

Author: Julie Kagawa
Date of Publication: October 23 2012 (solid day)
Pages: 377
Source: Library

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.

Review:

I would normally be sleeping around now, but I just finished The Lost Prince and I want to finish this review first. I read the book in one go. After I started it, I couldn't muster the self control to put it down except to eat dinner. Now I'm finished and as always, dying for the sequel.

The Lost Prince builds off of Meghan's story, albeit years later. That means there is a new cast of characters featuring Ethan, Mackenzie, Kierran, and more. Ash and Meghan are still in the story. They're just not the focus.

My biggest issue with The Lost Prince is that I wanted the old story. I'm a hopelessly loyal reader so whenever there is some sort of spinoff, I always prefer the original characters. That means my favourite scenes were within Meghan's court to see how she has grown and everything has changed. I frankly still connect emotionally and care more about the first few books.

That's not to say the cast of The Lost Prince isn't likable. They're different and sometimes irritating due to the awful decisions they make (like, it's a wonder they're still alive). Ethan is interesting. Finally, we get the PNR romance from the guy's POV. And Kenzie is meant to be likable, but does that mean I like her? Yeah, but not too much.

Ethan harbours a lot of rage and that's very obvious in his narration. He's bitter and angry and feels completely alone. I sympathized with him. While he does get into a relationship, I thought it was not instalove. Maybe insta-attraction but there is definitely buildup.

I won't say much more about the setting and premise beyond how much I adore it. I love reading about the courts and the faeries are quite entertaining. There's this stunningly enchanting feel to Kagawa's series that brings the world to life.

There was one thing I didn't like early on that still stands out to me. Ethan seems to be a bit of a judgmental character and it's annoying. I hate how he thought of the jocks and cheerleaders. I don't think it's fair to look down on them the way he does. Obviously, all jocks aren't meatheads and not all cheerleaders are bitches. I'm particularly sensitive to this issue and while it wasn't present for the vast majority of the story, I was irked by it when it existed. That being said, this is probably just the way Ethan views the world.

It's hard to rate The Lost Prince because so much of my love and enthusiasm for the book comes from the series. Ir's hard to judge how good this book right here was. After some consideration, I feel like 3 is appropriate. I liked the plot, nice characters, amazing world. However, Ethan still hasn't won me over. So, 3 hearts.

-P.E.