Review Detail

I love Julie Kagawa's writing. She's created this beautiful, chilling, and goosebump-raising world that has completely absorbed me. The fey are no longer the sweet, gently little creatures that prance around in pretty dresses and wave a magic wand that sprinkles fairy dust so you can fly... oh, no. This is a bunch of rabid Disney's Tinkerbells on fire raising havoc everywhere they go. And now, they're semi-invisible too (so double the trouble).
The Lost Prince is a fantastic beginning to a very promising series. It's full of heart-stopping adventures, mounts of perilous action, hot, swoon-worthy moments, and lots of familiar faces. Besides, Puck is in it, so extra brownie points for that.
I couldn't stop reading without forcing myself to. The characters were so well-played and they left this satisfying impression on me. The plot was ingenious and there was this dense atmosphere of mystery hung upon the story. And, above all else, PUCK was in it! (And so were others... but come on! This is Puck we're talking about!)

The Main Characters:
Little Ethan Chase has grown from the scared little boy into the brooding, attractive 'tough guy'. He's completely sworn off the fey and with Them, his sister. Unfortunately, They haven't sworn him off just yet. For Ethan Chase, this is all just the beginning.
What I liked best about Ethan was his personality. He's got this rugged and rebellious look stuck to him that just begs for female attention when he doesn't really want it. Seeing things through his POV was more than interesting, it was actually pretty cool. I'm not a very big fan of male protagonists, but wow... Ethan certainly made me think twice. Kagawa got the kick-butt male character down to perfection.
Ethan wasn't whiny, or full of gushy romance. He was cool and his flaws didn't make his character unbearable. He also didn't over-analyze things, which is a HUGE flaw that many female characters have.

Mackenzie, otherwise known as Kenzie, couldn't have been any more perfect for Ethan. She's a stable character, not psychotically overprotective, and rather mysterious. There's lots that's been left unsaid about her. She's a journalist. She wants to see the world one day. She's stubborn and Ethan finds her infuriating for some time. But she's also rather attaching, I sort of got a soft spot for her (Especially after I discovered the semi-truth about her). She's not a physically strong person, but she's courageous and mentally adaptable to whatever changes occur. I ended admiring her. A lot.

There were also other characters, such as Kierran, and (of course) Grimalkin, but I don't want to include anymore spoilers than I have to. I will say, though, that Kierran's love interest annoyed me. It was adorable that he jumped in to save her without even thinking twice about it, but the girl was just insufferable. Once, okay, trouble is inevitable. Twice, I get it, but try to take care next time. Third time, starts getting on nerves. Fourth time, are you kidding me? I don't know what he saw in her.
Other than that, I really liked the characters.

The Plot:
For the most part, the book revolved around an occult tone. There's a lot of things left unexplained and even more amounts of secrecy. The plot was consistently paced, though it did take up some speed around the ending.
The story itself was definitely masterful. It's as close to unique as you can get. There's a new type of fey out there kidnapping exiles and half-breeds. Next thing you know, a war is brewing between all the courts... maybe even the human world. It's a sticky situation, especially since both the Summer and Winter courts would rather not get involved. Seems like they have no choice in the end.
Ethan Chase took part in this when his half-breed friend, Todd, was kidnapped. He felt that it was up to him to save Todd... unfortunately, a stubborn journalist (Kenzie) followed him to the fey world.
It's wonderfully thrilling. I was jumping up and down in my seat as I read this. The intensity and the suspense was eating me up. And Kagawa introduced me to a truck load of new magical creatures I instantly ate up.

Overall
I really REALLY loved this first installation to the new series. It's captivating to the fullest degree. Kagawa has a magnificent style of writing that never bores you. The surroundings are detailed enough to get a clear image, but not so much as to lose the reader's interest. The characters were full of witty comebacks and impressive courageous moments.
I stayed up all night reading this one.
I've completely fallen in love with this series! (And besides, PUCK was in it!) :D