If you’ve read the Iron Fey series about Meghan and Ash and Puck, then you should be familiar with Ethan’s backstory with the fey, since that’s pretty much the catalyst for The Iron King, the first book in the Iron Fey series. It’s kind of necessary to read at least The Iron King first so you know said backstory since it’s only briefly mentioned around the middle of the book.
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.
The Lost Prince picks up thirteen years after The Iron King takes place and Ethan is now 17 years old. Being fully human, but able to see the fey, his life has not been the greatest. It actually reminded me a bit of Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, with the main character trying to avoid and ignore all fey so they wouldn’t take note of a human who can see them, but failing and becoming reluctantly embroiled in their world and conflict.
Ethan is a boy full of anger, toward the fey, toward Meghan and some of it is toward himself, due to past events you find out about during the course of the book. He’s a very different character from Meghan, but it fits him and his life after she left for the Nevernever and never really came back.
Thankfully the love interest is not fey, but she does come with her own problems and possible future heartbreak, so beware of that while reading and falling for them together. She’s very tenacious and I ended up really liking her, almost more than Ethan himself, and much more than I liked Meghan after the first book of her series.
The mystery presented in this series was quite intriguing. It kind of calls back to The Iron Knight and something that happened there, which I kept waiting for someone to bring up, but only Grimalkin said something (rather vague) about that event. And yes, Grimalkin makes an appearance, as does Puck, Ash and Meghan. It was nice to see the old gang again.
Overall, The Lost Prince was a good start to a continuation series and I’m looking forward to the next one, as I think we’ll see even more of Ash, Meghan and Puck, if it goes the way I think it’s going to go. The end kind of sets up the next book, The Traitor Son, but it could go several ways. Unfortunately, we won’t know how it turns out until September of next year. Sigh. I am the worst at waiting patiently.
Basically, if you read and liked the Iron Fey series, there’s no reason you won’t like The Lost Prince as well. You can get The Lost Prince at your local library, bookstore or online retailer when it’s released on October 23rd from Harlequin Teen.