Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Ironside: A Modern Faerie Tale
    Unavailable
    Ironside: A Modern Faerie Tale
    Unavailable
    Ironside: A Modern Faerie Tale
    Audiobook7 hours

    Ironside: A Modern Faerie Tale

    Written by Holly Black

    Narrated by Kate Rudd

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    Read the ebook instead

    About this audiobook

    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 drunkenly declares herself to Roiben, he sends her on a seemingly impossible quest to find a faerie who can tell a lie. Unable to see Roiben until she has fulfilled his quest, Kaye finds herself in the center of the battle of wits and weapons being waged over his throne.

    "Decadent and deadly, the urban fantasy setting is not for the faint of heart. . . . Fans of faerypunk will eat it up." -Kirkus Reviews

    "Ironside is a compelling, thrilling read. . . .
    The way it sucks you in, one would almost believe the book itself had an enchantment on it." -The-Trades.com
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 20, 2011
    ISBN9781455813339
    Author

    Holly Black

    Holly Black is the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of speculative and fantasy novels, short stories, and comics. She has been a finalist for an Eisner and a Lodestar Award, and the recipient of the Mythopoeic and Nebula Awards and a Newbery Honor. She has sold over twenty-six million books worldwide, and her work has been translated into over thirty languages and adapted for film. She currently lives in New England with her husband and son in a house with a secret library. Visit her at BlackHolly.com.

    More audiobooks from Holly Black

    Related to Ironside

    Related audiobooks

    Young Adult For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      'Dread Nation' Is A Rollicking 'Gone With The Wind + Zombies' Adventure

      Apr 20, 2018

      But don't underestimate the latest YA novel by activist Justina Ireland – it's also a biting commentary on contemporary race relations in America.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Fact To Fiction

      Jan 29, 2024

      From an intriguing interview with popular ‘whodunnit’ author Richard Osman, to more contentious non-fiction that bravely addresses difficult issues and feelings, these reads will not fail to grab your attention. “I love these characters and that's wh

      3 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Feb 16, 2024

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Norwegian Noir That’s Impossible To Put Down

      Nov 14, 2020

      YOU don’t have to be a Buddhist to recognise the bad karma accumulating year by year for the Opgard brothers, Roy and Carl, in The Kingdom, a dense, suspenseful bundle of Norwegian noir by Jo Nesbo, the author of the esteemed Harry Hole police detect

      2 min read

    • Article

      Spiderman Meets Batman | Books

      Apr 5, 2019

      I remember the utter surprise and unbridled pleasure of reading Paul Zacharia's Malayalam stories in translation in the early 1990s, in a volume titled Bhaskar Patellar and Other Stories. I relived some of that pleasure as I read Zacharia's first nov

      2 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Sep 8, 2021

      Rebecca Price was five when her big brother, Conrad, disappeared. While her parents sank into a twilight existence awaiting their golden boy’s return, the shock left Rebecca troubled and isolated. Over the years, Rebecca’s memories of the trauma inte

      1 min read

    • Article

      Norwegian Noir That’s Impossible To Put Down

      Nov 14, 2020

      YOU don’t have to be a Buddhist to recognise the bad karma accumulating year by year for the Opgard brothers, Roy and Carl, in The Kingdom, a dense, suspenseful bundle of Norwegian noir by Jo Nesbo, the author of the esteemed Harry Hole police detect

      2 min read

    • Article

      Le Carré's Dirty Linen

      Oct 18, 2023

      The Secret Life of John le Carré By Adam Sisman Profile Books £16.99 Halfway through Adam Sisman's 2015 biography of John le Carré, something odd occurs. The book simply shuts up shop. You can all but hear the rattle of the roller shutter as if it's

      3 min read

    • Article

      In 'Martyr!,' An Endless Quest For Purpose In A World That Can Be Cruel And Uncaring

      Jan 29, 2024

      Engaging and wildly entertaining, Kaveh Akbar's debut novel will undoubtedly be considered one of the best of the year because it focuses on very specific stories while discussing universal feelings.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Unknown Forces

      Jul 15, 2021

      Of all the writers ever to win the Nobel Prize, it’s hard to think of any who were as obsessed with fortean subjects as Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991), whose given name was Yitskhok Bashevis. Often stereotyped as a specifically Jewish author, he m

      7 min read

    • Article

      Peaces

      Nov 3, 2021

      Peaces
      1 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Apr 16, 2021

      Books
      4 min read

    • Article

      Setting Sail In A New YA Direction

      Jul 7, 2022

      ‘Genealogy has always fascinated me, and when I decided to do an Ancestry DNA test I had no idea it would set my writing career in a new direction,’ writes subscriber Shelley Wilson. ‘The (spit in a tube and send it off) results were interesting. I h

      1 min read

    • Article

      Setting Sail In A New YA Direction

      Jul 7, 2022

      ‘Genealogy has always fascinated me, and when I decided to do an Ancestry DNA test I had no idea it would set my writing career in a new direction,’ writes subscriber Shelley Wilson. ‘The (spit in a tube and send it off) results were interesting. I h

      1 min read

    • Article

      Roller-coaster Ride

      Feb 3, 2023

      By JANE HARPER Macmillan A new book from Australian crime-thriller writer Harper is always something to be excited about. In this, her fifth novel, she brings back Melbourne investigator Aaron Falk introduced in her amazing first novel, The Dry. Aar

      3 min read

    • Article

      Good Reads

      Mar 28, 2024

      By SIERRA GREER Mariner It’s impossible not to like Annie. She’s empathetic and warm, intelligent and funny. But although she’s hailed as “the perfect girlfriend”, Annie isn’t a real woman – she’s a sex robot. Her whole life centres around her owner

      3 min read

    • Article

      'Children Of Blood And Bone' Is A Feast For Hungry Readers

      Mar 10, 2018

      Tomi Adeyemi's debut novel is a fast-paced hero's quest through a rich, West-African-inspired fantasy world-- and a seamless mix of empowerment and rip-roaring storytelling.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Hot Right Now!

      Sep 7, 2023

      Hot Right Now!
      2 min read

    • Article

      'Dunbar' Is A Moving, Brutal And Apt Update Of 'King Lear'

      Oct 5, 2017

      For centuries, Shakespeare's tragedy was too painful for audiences; it was performed with an altered happy ending. But Edward St. Aubyn has never flinched at inflicting pain on his readers.

      4 min read

    • Article

      3 Young Adult Novels To Help You Out Of Hibernation

      Apr 9, 2019

      It's getting too nice to stay inside, but when you venture out into the sunshine, be sure to take a good book with you. And if young adult fiction is your favorite, we've got three great spring reads.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Simantov

      Apr 22, 2020

      RELEASED OUT NOW! 392 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Asaf Ashery Publisher Angry Robot Jewish mythology is fertile ground for a fantasy novelist. This rich, strange book – originally written in Hebrew – makes dazzling use of it, though you do sometim

      1 min read

    Reviews for Ironside

    4/5

    839 ratings41 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Kaye, whose lover, Roiben, rules the Unseelie Court, has a quest so she can stay by Roiben's side: find a faery who can lie. Problem is that faeries can't lie.'Ironside' performs just as well as 'Tithe' and 'Valiant' do. It is well written, clever, gritty, and certainly worth buying.
    • 4/5
      Holly Black is so talented- I can't get enough of her tales of faeries. I don't understand Kaye's guilt over being a changeling, but I'm happy with how getting back her sister works out. Roiben needs to get over his emo tendencies. I did think that it was interesting that there was a tie-in to "Valiant."
    • 4/5
      Another quick, interesting read. I really enjoyed how this tied up the trilogy. I thought some of the story line was a little over the top, but in general the dark urban fantasy had a good plot and very imaginative writing. I certainly wouldn't let a young teen read it, but for older lovers of fantasy, I thought it was enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Summary: After a bloody battle of succession, Roiben is poised - if not exactly ready and willing - to become the King of the Unseelie Court. When Kaye finally confesses her love for him at his coronation, he uses a faerie tradition to send her on an impossible quest: to find a faerie who can speak a lie... and she won't be allowed to see him until she has. Heartbroken, she flees back to her life as a human, but things there aren't much better: her friend Corny is feeling self-destructive and wants the things (and people... and fae) that are the most dangerous for him, and her mother reacts badly when Kaye finally admits she's a changeling. Kaye has to venture to the Seelie court to find her mother's real child... but when she's there, she learns that the Bright folk can be every bit as nasty as the Unseelie fae, and that the Queen of the Seelie Court has designs on Roiben's throne... and his life.Review: Ironside is much more of a direct sequel to Tithe than Valiant was - it picks up Kaye and Roiben's story not long after the end of Tithe. In theory, Valiant could be skipped, but one of its characters does play a fairly large role in Ironside, and this book does assume that you already know who he is. In any case, it was nice to return to the characters I already knew and cared about, and I think it made the book much more of a compelling read. As you may have been able to tell from my summary, there is a lot going on in Ironside. It wasn't so noticeable when I was reading; the story flows quickly and smoothly between various scenes and shifting points-of-view. After the fact, though, it was hard to put a pin on a single through-line of story. Nevertheless, Black's brutally dark writing effectively conveyed each of the various pieces, and managed to make the book feel like a single seamless piece. Her world is as gorgeously built as ever, and I found all of the various loyalties and schemes much easier to detangle here than I did in Tithe.However, while I enjoyed the story, and certainly devoured it really quickly, I never got as emotionally attached to any of the characters as I normally would have wanted. It could be that I simply didn't identify with any of them, but something was keeping me at arm's distance. I was also a little disappointed with the ending. I'm trying to avoid spoilers, but one piece of the way that everything worked out just felt too cheap, too easy given the weight of importance that had been put on it throughout the book. 4 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: If you liked Tithe, you'll want to read this one for sure, but it's really not something that could stand alone.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. So far I have really loved all the books in this series. This books continues where the book Valiant left off. Roiben is set to become king of the Unseelie court. Roiben struggles with what will happen when he is crowned king and the uncomfortable treaty with the Seelie court is broken; he wonders if war is inevitable. Kaye struggles with her place with Roiben and the Unseelie court. She is also struggling with the knowledge that the baby human whose place she grew up in is still alive and Kaye feels that she needs to reunite her "mother" with her true daughter. Corny struggles with his fear of fairy and his grief over the death of his sister.This book is an easy read. The characters are all likable. A few new main characters are introduced. Luis is a great character and as likable and angsty as the rest of them. The book is fast paced and is a great book about faery. I have always loved urban fantasy, Charles De Lint being the first urban fantasy author I ever read. This book is a great addition to my collection. There are new fairies, action, duels, riddles, curses, you name it. I love how there is a little romance in the book but it is not overpowering; relationships are kept to simple hugging, kissing, and cuddling. There are too many fantasy book out there that get too physically in depth with the love thing, if you know what I mean (see Laurell Hamilton book review). This book leaves you with a happy pleasant feeling at the conclusion.That being said I am always surprised that these are considered young adult books. There is a lot of swearing and also more "adult" topics to deal with. For example Corny is gay and the Unseelie court revels in a number of horrific forms of torture and killing. None of these things are gone into in overly explicit detail but still. I would say that mid to upper teens would be okay with these books; they are not books that I would read to my 10 year old or younger.Still these books are fun and enjoyable. The author definitely has a love of fine literature and I enjoy all of the fine literature quotes at the beginning of each chapter. Black seems to pick these quotes with care so that they reveal and foreshadow the chapter to come. I love it!I hope there will be another book; although this book is wrapped up pretty nicely so who can say.
    • 4/5
      Kaye declares herself to Roiben, her Unseelie lover, and must complete an impossible quest before she can become his consort.This was yet another wonderful read in Holly Black's Modern Tales of Faerie series. Once again, I found myself sucked into the dark, seductive world she's created. The characters are great, the plot twists are clever, and the book just flies by.But despite all its good points, I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as the first two. It wasn't quite as dark, and I wished that some things had been fleshed out a bit more. There are three main stories here, (Kaye's quest, Roiben's struggle to deal with what the Unseelie court has made him, and Corny's... well, spiritual journey, I guess you'd call it), and they sometimes feel a little rushed. I think each storyline could have benefited from just a little more attention. They work, as written, but I would have liked to see Black spend more time on each one.All in all, though, this is a good book that's certainly worth your time. There's quite a bit of overlap with both TITHE and VALIANT, though, so read those first.
    • 4/5
      Very intriguing continuation of the first book. I find myself absorbed by the Robyn-Kaye relationship. Not many authors are capable of writing a story that has you questioning the characters motives. This story had me guessing right up to the last page.
    • 5/5
      Ironside starts off a few months after the events of Tithe and Kaye has been feeling lost as she doesn't know where she belongs, so she drunkenly declares herself to Roiben, and he sends her on an impossible quest. Meanwhile Queen Silarial is still trying to kill Roiben, so Kaye also has to prevent her, though they don't know what she's planning. She is joined on her quest by Corny, and also someone from Valiant(I wont give away who) which I was pleased with because i had not really seen Valiant as a sequel but more of a companion book. I have to agree with the previous reviewer that Ironside completely lives up to it's prequels. It is a great book that will not disappoint.
    • 4/5
      I liked this series. I think that Holly Black has created three-dimensional characters that are interesting and compel the reader to care about what happens to them. The imaginary world in which they reside is believable and worth exploring. The series is gritty enough to not be trite, while benign enough not to worry parents or teacher. However, this is definitely a book for an older adolescent--no middle school kids.
    • 4/5
      This is by far and away the best of the series. Not only is Black's writing good, but we get to know Kaye and her best friend Corny much better than in the first book. What I also liked was that Black incorporated characters from Valiant into this book. Again I was reminded of Marr's series, but I don't think that's a bad thing.
    • 3/5
      Third in the Modern Tales of Faery series, but second focusing on Kaye. This volume takes place mostly in the Faerie world, as Kaye tries to prove her love and loyalty to Roiben, and figure out her place in both worlds, as someone not really of either.I liked this one better than Tithe, and read it quickly, but it faded just as fast. There's not much of substance here, and that's probably just fine for most readers. Like a mediocre Chinese meal, it will remind you of the real thing, and briefly scratch the itch, but ultimately will make you long for something more authentic and fulfilling.
    • 4/5
      Pixie changeling Kaye is in love with the king of the Unseelie Court. There is war brewing with his kingdom and the rival Seelie Court. Kaye finds herself in the middle as the possible key to bringing peace and stopping death on the faerie and human side. She also struggles with the desire to tell her human mother that she is not the daughter she gave birth to while her best friend, the human Corny, joins her on this quest.
    • 4/5
      Like Tithe, I finished Ironside, its sequel, in a day. It wrapped everything up very well, and I really liked how it brought in characters from Valiant.
    • 4/5
      Maybe shy of four stars but easily tops 3-1/2. I really should have read this sooner after the first two books. The first two were so independent of each other that it didn't occur to me that the characters of the first two would come together in the third. It wasn't critical but it would have been advantageous.

      This was a very good series. The Spiderwick Chronicles were very much fun. I think I'll be moving White Cat to one of my short lists now that it's finally out.
    • 4/5
      This drew back together everyone I'd already grown rough and rugged little soft spots for. It's still gritty and dark, and some of the characters never lose their edges, but I loved seeing how it all came together. How the lies and the laughter and the magic and too sharp world all worked itself out.

      I was far happier by the end of this book than I ever expected to be.
    • 4/5
      I like the way she ended Kaye and Roiben's stories. I wish she would have finished up, or tied in Val's story. I felt like she kinda left us hanging, and it made Valiant not make sense in the series.
    • 4/5
      Gritty and brash. It was great to be following Kaye's story again (I found Valiant to be trying). The book really picks up three quarters the way through.
    • 4/5
      Wasn't *quite* as good as the first two, in my opinion. It was still good, but I think I wanted a little more action. Or something. I hope she writes more books in this world, though. I really have become attached to the characters.
    • 3/5
      Ironside is the third and final book in the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy and it was a pretty good end. Valiant is still my favorite of the three, however I really did like this book.Ironside was hard to put down. It didn't pull me in as much as Valiant, or even Tithe, but I still wanted to keep reading to find out how it all would end. I have to admit though that I was just a tiny bit disappointed in the ending. It just didn't feel finished.Holly Black is a fabulous writer. She creates a gripping story filled with friendship and danger. So of course I would definitely recommend this trilogy to everyone. All three books are fast, fun and well written.
    • 4/5
      I accidently read this series out of order - starting with Tithe and then reading Ironside before Valiant. I am glad I did because while Ironside is a direct sequel to Tithe, Valiant is a new cast of characters - and even though some of those have a place in Ironside you don't need to know them. You do need to read Tithe to follow the threads of the story. If you liked Tithe then Ironside is a must read.I liked Ironside more than Tithe in terms of plot and motivations, it isn't quite as dark though still twisted, the relationships are stronger and the flow is better, which is why I gave it 4 stars where as the others only 3.It does feel like this should have been the second in the trilogy however - the business idea could have been a great source for further stories combining the strongest characters.
    • 5/5
      I was so impressed with how much the writing improved from the first book to the last. I found myself truly rooting for Kaye to accomplish her quest. I felt much more connected to Kaye and Roiben in the book than the first. I thought the plot twists were clever. All in all, I really enjoyed this series and would definitely read more works by Holly Black.
    • 4/5
      Corny, Roiben, and Kaye return with all the other familiar characters in this satisfying sequel to Black's first YA novel "Tithe". The story opens with Roiben's coronation as King of the Unseelie Court. As a result, the longstanding peace between the Seelie and Unseelie courts is broken and the Faerie world finds itself in the midst of war for the first time in an age. With a backdrop of war and court intrigue Kaye is dealing with serious relationship problems and is coming to grips with the knowledge that she's faery, not a human girl she like she thought she was. A great read, but I highly recommend you read "Tithe" first.
    • 5/5
      Once upon a time a pixie who thought she was human helped a knight of the Seelie Court become the King of the Unseelie Court. But that was only the beginning. Kaye has only recently discovered herself to be a changling, a pixie switched at birth for a human child. This discovery has left her feeling as though she has no true place that she belongs, except with Rath Roiben Rye. Unfortunately when Kaye is tricked into declaring herself at Roiben's coronation, it is Roiben himself that chooses to send her away on an impossible quest, to find a fairy that can lie.I really, really liked this book. It brought together the characters from both Tithe and Valiant in a surprising way. As in Tithe Roiben is a hero who tugs at my heartstrings. Tormented by memories of what he has been forced to do in the service of the Unseelie queen, he is determined to somehow overcome his hatred of the Unseelie fairies and lead them in an effort to defeat the Seelie Queen who is also his former lover. I loved that this story was told in part from Roiben's point of view and I enjoyed learning more of his past and his motivations for his actions. I could also empathize with Kaye and found the subplot involving her best friend, Corny and Luis intriguing. Another aspect of the story, is that many of the quotes and references the author makes throughout the book are, in fact, ones that I am not only familiar with but am very fond of personally. The quote, "living is like licking honey off of a thorn" is one of my favorites from the poster on the back of my bathroom door (long story). All in all it seems that Holly Black has wrapped up her trilogy of modern faeiry tales in a very satisfying way, although I wouldn't protest further stories in this series should she choose to write them.
    • 3/5
      while this book didn't blow me out of the water this time, I have really impressed at Holly's ability to weave a really colorful and interesting fairy tale. I know she uses alot of real references to fairylore, but I'm not fairytale afficionado, so I couldn't tell you which ones are what, but there are a few details I knew I had heard before as I read them.I didn't like this book as much as the first two, as it seemed to take a different turn, but I enjoyed it all the same!
    • 4/5
      This is the third (and I am assuming the last) in Black's 'Modern Faery's Tale' series. I don't know if the authors writing matured or I have grown used to her style. But I didn't get as annoyed with Kaye's immaturity as I did in the first novel. Yea for progress.I enjoyed the tangle she got herself into by being peer pressured into declaring herself to Roiben. I enjoyed that we were shown Roiben and given flashes of his feelings and priorities.I feel that by the end of this book Kaye matured enough that I would really love to read about her being Roiben's consort in future books. For all this series flaws (the writing just doesn't flow very well) I think the story and imagery more than make up for it.
    • 3/5
      Ironside is the third and final book in the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy and it was a pretty good ending. Valiant is still my favorite of the three, however I really did like this book.Ironside was hard to put down. It didn’t pull me in as much as Valiant, or even Tithe, but I still wanted to keep reading to find out how it all would end. I have to admit though that I was just a tiny bit disappointed in the ending. It just didn’t feel finished.Holly Black is a fabulous writer. She creates a gripping story filled with friendship and danger. So of course I would definitely recommend this trilogy to everyone. All three books are fast, fun and well written.
    • 5/5
      this one of hollys faerie books. all of them is great and you defently want to read them all.
    • 4/5
      felt it closed up the series nicely. there was a few parts that surprised me and all in all, i love kaye so i'm glad i read the book.
    • 4/5
      The story of Kaye continues to evolve in interesting and unique ways. Black does a very good job of taking seemingly inane ideas and making them new again.
    • 5/5
      Roiben is great, Kaye is great, and the Corny romance is great. This was my favorite in the series, so if you've enjoyed the other you'll love this too! And the narrator was great. Two thumbs up!