The Iron Raven: The Iron Fey: Evenfall, Book 1

The famous trickster faery Puck gets his own spin-off series, and so far it's full of cool magic, wild kingdoms, angry tentacled monsters, and Puck's mischievous charm. There's even some romance, too, between Puck and a mysterious faery assassin (whose forgotten past will probably play an important role later in the series). You don't need to remember every detail of the seven-book Iron Fey series that came before this one, or even have read it at all, because author Julie Kagawa's world of faery kingdoms is well drawn throughout. Every place on the map, every faery creature, every kingdom association is well explained without slowing the story down or taking away from the main attraction: a monster full of negative energy that must be defeated. Puck's war with his past self that emerges because of the monster adds a nice layer to the tale and to Puck as a main character.

The only place The Iron Raven falters is in following the quest-tale formula. When Puck and friends go see an oracle after quite a dangerous, boggy journey, she's got nothing for them -- no history about the creature they are dealing with, no advice on how to defeat it. At their next stop -- which is really another detour to take care of some rabid trees -- there's barely any information to glean about the creature either. And at their final destination, a mad faery leaves us hanging as well. Here was Kagawa's chance to build the intrigue for the big monster showdown. Still, the showdown is exciting, and Puck comes through in heroic fashion as only Puck can, laughing his way through it.