The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

April 2011, Mira Ink
430 pages, Paperback,
Review copy, Young Adult, Fantasy

Summary from Mira Ink 
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.

To find out the reason why I read this book, check out my review of the first book, The Iron King. Meghan is still a brilliant character. Ok, so personally it was a bit annoying at how gooey eyed she went over Ash, even when he was colder than ice to her, but I admit she makes good decisions. That isn't to say everything ends up smelling like roses. It doesn't. Some of the modes of transport must make the air smell distinctly unpleasant. Parts of the story might look like a rose, in so far as there is a fair amount of deep, red blood, caused by weapons much bigger and deadlier than tiny annoying thorns.

Time to quit the rose analogy :) Meghan was really living among the enemy when she was at the winter court. Her dire circumstances plummeted even more when An Event happens with the court, making her a fugitive (again - this happens quite a bit in this book). I thought the situation couldn't get much worse, but it really does. Thankfully when life is pelting her with rocks and 'stuff', she doesn't have to face it alone. Allies - not necessarily friends but they do help her occasionally - as well as friends fight beside her as they race to secure the source of the war. I wished she could use her magic more - the little she did she wasn't sure what had happened (I think I figured it out). She had to think. She managed to get rescued a few times, usually acquiring a bruise or cut along the way.

Her brother barely features in this book - and when he does I had an awww moment when I found out something relating to him. It was sweet and touching that even when things were turned upsidedown, Meghan didn't have to worry about him. She did have to worry about making sure a disguise stayed in place, as well as surviving a school dance (of all the things to happen!), the humour of the lovely cat Grimalkin, and the power of her fairy father, Oberon. Yes, he's quite the authority figure in this book. Especially at the end. Which is good. Very, very good. And that's all I'm saying on the  matter.

As it turns out, I've written this up without realising Cem has already reviewed the trilogy. Her review is here. I'm glad to see that we both liked Puck & Ash more in this book than the first.

This book certainly lived up to expectation, and I happily give it 9/10.

Make sure you check out more information about The Iron Fey series on Julie's website,