For my character spotlight this week, I wanted to pick another kickass heroine. While hero’s are lovely and swoonworthy, the girls deserve some credit too. So I went with Meghan Chase from The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa. Be warned, in order to fully capture Meghan’s character I included some pretty big spoilers in this post if you have not read the original Iron Fey series.
Meghan was a character I knew I was going to love from the moment I met her. She is just so strong and so determined and she never lets anything get her down. The minute her brother is dragged into the Nevernever she goes in after him. She doesn’t even debate it really. Her brother is gone and she is going to get him and nothing and no one will stand in her way. Not even an incredibly schmexy ice prince who has been ordered to capture her. Instead of letting Ash (the schmexy ice prince) capture her, she ends up recruiting him to her cause. We all know that this leads to a romance that is so sweet and so wonderful, but that is off topic. Anyhoo, Meghan takes crap from no one!
I think my favorite thing about Meghan is her stubbornness. When she makes a decision, she sticks to it and there is nobody who can make her change her mind. Now I know stubbornness can be a flaw for heroines, not taking good advice and whatnot. However, that is not the case with Meghan. She makes decisions for the right reasons. She is not the kind of heroine that is stubborn just because she is trying to prove a point or prove that she is strong. Meghan just stuck by her choices and her beliefs.
While I always knew Meghan was a strong character, I never realized just how incredibly strong she is until the end of the third book (The Iron Queen). This book not only sees Meghan defy all sorts of odds and defeat all kinds of villains but it also sees her make an incredibly selfless and heart wrenching decision. I think I cried like a little baby and I immediately picked up The Iron Knight and did not stop until I had my happy ending. The end of The Iron Queen sees Meghan give up Ash for the betterment of everyone. She takes her place as Queen of the Iron Realm and literally saves all of the Nevernever, but Ash could not survive in the Iron Realm and in order to save him, she gives him up and sends him away. This act just proved how selfless and amazingly strong Meghan is. After everything these two went through and they finally fought to be together; she then had to give him up and she did. I remember being so proud of her in that moment and so heartbroken all at once. I was a mess.
All in all, Meghan is one of my all time favorite heroines for so many reasons. She is everything I want in a heroine and so much more!
Favorite Meghan Quotes:
“I wished that, for once, faery tales – real faery tales, not Disney fairy tales – would have a happy ending.” – The Iron Queen
“A little warning would’ve been nice. You couldn’t have said, ‘Hey, as part of your training today, I’m going to beat you senseless’?” – The Iron Queen
“He was my best friend, and I'd always have a spot for him in my heart, but... it was you, Ash. I didn't really have a choice. It's always been you.” – The Iron Queen
“He sighed, and his eyes closed. "You were right," he murmured, his voice nearly lost in the darkness. "I couldn't do it alone. I should have listened to you back in Tir Na Nog."
"Yes, you should have," I whispered. "Remember that, so that next time you can just agree with whatever I say and we'll be fine.” – The Iron Daughter
