Julie Kagawa
Iron Daughter
Iron Fey Series, Book #2
Brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell Cadiz
Warning: There are some spoilers!
Synopsis:
“I’ve been in the palace of the Winter fey for a while now. How long exactly? I don’t know. Time doesn’t flow right in this place. If I ever get out of here. I might find a hundred years have passed and all my family and friends are long dead.
I try not to think about that, but sometimes I can’t help but wonder.
My name is Meghan Chase.’
Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey–ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.
Worse. Meghan’s own fey powers have been cut off. She’s stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can’t help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.”
Review:
At the ending of Iron King, fans were left with a cliffhanger as Meghan said goodbye to her family and ventured into Winter Court to fulfill her contract with Prince Ash. Upon her return into the world of NeverNever, Queen Mab holds Meghan as her prisoner. Meghan is scared and feeling very much alone since Ash has yet to step into court since bringing her into the Winter fey kingdom. Meghan attempts to plead her case to Queen Mab, desperately trying to have her understand that the Iron fey are real but Queen Mab turns a deaf ear believing Meghan to be nothing more than a liar. But when the Scepter of Seasons is stolen, Queen Mab accuses Meghan’s birth father, King of the Summer fey, and declares war. The Iron Faeries see this as their advantage to take over all of NeverNever. Megahn sets out on a journey with the help of Puck, Grim, Ironhorse, and Ash to retrieve the Scepter of Seasons, return it to Queen Mab, stop the bloodthirsty war between Summer and Winter, and find a way to decide what her heart really wants: will it be Puck or Ash?
Iron Daughter turned out to be better than the first book. The pacing is wonderful throughout the novel. You get absorbed by the story and find yourself unable to stop turning pages. The author does a better job bringing NeverNever to life as well as the Iron fey. The descriptions are more lush in Iron Daughter, less over dramatic. There are a great deal of dangerous and fun twists to the plot this time around.
Meghan is still not my favorite character. I did like her a lot more in this novel than in the previous one. She is still whining far too much and carrying on over dramatically, but she is stronger than in the first novel. She stands her ground a lot better this time around. She still makes absolutely stupid mistakes! And I still found myself wanting to strangle her a few times throughout the novel, but I also found myself warming up to her. She is still a pretty weak female character until third way to the end but she has matured emotionally more in Iron Daughter and faces a lot more fears without the aide of her usual male leads.
Ash is still as sexy and dark as ever. He is torn between doing what is right for his kingdom and following what his heart wants though the consequences can be fatal. I liked his emotional growth as well. You wind up seeing a lot more of Ash’s heart throughout the plot. Puck is just as sexy and still deliciously mischievous. I loved the way he made his comeback into the story. Very like Puck! I was also happy when he finally opened up to Meghan about his feelings. I knew from Iron King that was the case and didn’t understand why the author didn’t reveal it in the first one when it was obvious from the beginning. I liked the war inside of Ash about his feelings for Meghan and I like the way Puck is so free with his feelings. Great character development.
Ironhorse is fantastic! I was happily surprised with how much of a roll he played in the story behind Iron Daughter. Even though he’s made completely of iron, there is still a gentleman like demeanor to Ironhorse, he somehow comes off being gallant even as a horse! Grim is still the BEST character ever! That darn cat continues to crack me up and as rude (and cunning) as he can be, I wouldn’t mind getting to hang out with him. I love when he gives the explanation when he thinks Meghan’s questions are stupid and just says, “I am a cat,” like it should be the most obvious reason in the world as to why he can do what no one else can.
A story full of romance, vastly entertaining characters, and an action packed plot, Iron Daughter is a sequel that, surprisingly, turned out to be better than it’s predecessor. Fans of the Iron Fey Series will have a great deal of fun returning to Meghan’s world and the battle to decide just which faery is right for her.
