Received through PaperBackSwap.com.

This is the 3rd Faery Tale book by Holly Black, though it's actually a sequel to the first book, Tithe, with the intervening title, Valiant, being more of a stand-alone.

In the realm of Faerie, the time has come for Roiben's coronation. Uneasy in the midst of the malevolent Unseelie Court, pixie Kaye is sure of only one thing—her love for Roiben. But when Kaye, drunk on faerie wine, declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest. Now Kaye can't see or speak to Roiben unless she can find the one thing she knows doesn't exist: a faerie who can tell a lie.

Miserable and convinced she belongs nowhere, Kaye decides to tell her mother the truth—that she is a changeling left in place of the human daughter stolen long ago. Her mother's shock and horror sends Kaye back to the world of Faerie to find her human counterpart and return her to Ironside. But once back in the faerie courts, Kaye finds herself a pawn in the games of Silarial, queen of the Seelie Court. Silarial wants Roiben's throne, and she will use Kaye, and any means necessary, to get it. In this game of wits and weapons, can a pixie outplay a queen?

Holly Black spins a seductive tale at once achingly real and chillingly enchanted, set in a dangerous world where pleasure mingles with pain and nothing is exactly as it appears.

Ironside is the third book in Holly Black's Faerie Tale series, though it's actually a continuation of book one, Tithe. The second book, Valiant, takes place in the same world as books one and three but with different characters, some of which appear here as well. Kay and Roiben's stories however, are pretty much found only in books one and three. :)

Roiben is now King of the Unseelie Court, and against his wishes, Kaye has declared herself to him, thereby swearing loyalty to the Unseelie Court in the process... assuming that is, that she can complete the seemingly impossible quest set before her—find a faerie who can tell a lie. This book follows Kaye's adventures alongside her old friend Corny as they travel between the human and faerie realms, not necessarily keeping a low profile along the way. LOL

I enjoyed this third book in the series and look forward to more of Ms. Black's Faerie Tale universe.


This is now reserved for Xeyra, who won it in the March Mt. TBR Swap at BookObsessed. I will be sending it to her m-bag via PepperVL shortly.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending off to PepperVL for Xeyra's m-bag. Mailed 9/8/08 via Media Mail (to Pepper).

Arrived yesterday. As tempting as it is to read myself, I doubt I will. I read Tithe years ago, and I have Valiant on my bookshelf waiting to be read, and I know I'm going to want a copy of Ironside to join them (I've been waiting for it to come out in paperback to match the other two on my shelf). So into the m-bag box this is going... and I may pull it out later to read, but likely not. :D

Arrived yesterday. As tempting as it is to read myself, I doubt I will. I read Tithe years ago, and I have Valiant on my bookshelf waiting to be read, and I know I'm going to want a copy of Ironside to join them (I've been waiting for it to come out in paperback to match the other two on my shelf). So into the m-bag box this is going... and I may pull it out later to read, but likely not. :D