What a laugh on me! I read (well, only got halfway through, as I couldn't take it anymore) the wrong book! I didn't realize this until just now when I read din155's review.
I jumped on "The Iron King" when I saw it available for free from my local library's OverDrive collection. But it was
"The Iron King" by Julie Kagawa.
I kept trying to read it despite hating it, so that I could see others' comments here, and try to understand what I presumed was the fantasy genre so many on here like. It was a kid's book, probably the biggest waste of time for my tastes that I've ever spent. Certainly the most ridiculous book I've ever read, IMO. Oops, I've now ventured into reviewing the wrong book!