Review: THE IRON DAUGHTER by Julie Kagawa

TITLE: The Iron Daughter
AUTHOR: Julie Kagawa
AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.juliekagawa.com
GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy, Faeries
PUBLISHED: Harlequin Teen
MY RATING: 4
FIND ON: Amazon



SYNOPSIS: 

(Provided by Publisher)
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, iron-bound 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 alone 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:

I really enjoyed this book. I love the concept of the clash of the worlds: Winter, Summer and Iron. Winter and Summer go to war. And no one, beside Meghan and Ash, know that the Iron court exists, the impending danger, and the new Iron King caused the war so he can swoop in to kill whomever is left after they’ve battled each other.

The beginning started out slow, with all the waiting (I hate waiting—characters seem to get weird and too observational—even though the winter court is beautiful looking.)
In an effort to not give too much away, there is a love triangle forming in this book. I think it’s believable how she goes back and forth but in my honest opinion, it’s not too annoying. It’s not “twilight-love-triangle” annoying. And we are left with a cliff hanger, setting us up for book 3: THE IRON QUEEN (to be released Feb 2011.)

Meghan’s character is changing a lot. In the first book she was a head-strong, wild teenager who blindly runs straight into danger. (Doing a whole lot of things I’d never do.) She grows in Book 2 where she seems to make better decisions even though she ends up in the middle of battle after battle. But at least she has a good guy (or two) at her side and it’s for an even bigger cause.

We’re introduced to a new “in-between-world” where some exile faeries live. (Love that! A-whole-nother world introduced.) I love the character that lives there, even though I can’t pronounce her name at all. Leanansidhe? I don’t know. (Hate when I can’t pronounce a name, makes the story slow down.)

My favorite part of this book is a character she joins forces with: Iron Horse. If you read the novella, you’ll know who I’m talking about. THE YELLING HORSE-MAN MADE OF IRON. He’s so serious that he makes me laugh and I love the way their relationship develops. He’s like a big dumb machine-animal with a heart. Love it.  And not to mention (a tiny bit of a spoiler) the neat-o powers that she develops even without her summer-faery power.

RATING:

I rate this book at a 4. It was very good. I enjoyed it very much. I hope the 3rd book won’t disappoint. (I hope we get to find out who the new Iron King is and the name of the book just gets me even more curious!!! )

SERIES REVIEWS: 


Book 1: THE IRON KING
      Novella: Winter's Passage
Book 2: THE IRON DAUGHTER
Book 3: THE IRON QUEEN 
      Novella: Summer's Crossing
Book 4: THE IRON KNIGHT
      Novella: Iron's Prophecy (not yet reviewed)
Book 5: THE LOST PRINCE (not yet reviewed)
Book 6: THE IRON TRAITOR (new in Nov 2013)