Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter 
(The Iron Fey Series, #2)
Written by Julie Kagawa
Release Date: August 1, 2010
Published by HarlequinTeen
*Arc bound copy provided by HarlequinTeen and e-book copy provided by NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved The Iron King!  The Faery World that Julie Kagawa created in it was so vivid and enchanting.  I was crossing my fingers that the sequel would live up to its predecessor.  Let me just say....I LOVE JULIE KAGAWA!!  She not only wrote a sequel that lived up to the first book- it was BETTER!!  Is it possible to improve on perfection?  Yes! 

Summary provided by Goodreads:
"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." 

My Thoughts:

Ok... So I am thinking of doing a little double dating!  I just can't decide which fae hottie I love more! Puck or Ash???  I will admit that in The Iron King I was Team Ash, but after reading The Iron Daughter, I am so torn- I love them both!!  On one hand you have Ash~ Unseelie Prince, so gorgeous it hurts to look at him, plays hard to get etc.. Then you have Puck~ cute, loyal, up front about his feelings for Meghan, is a summer fae like her, and has been her protector and best friend long before all the fae craziness began.  Oh decisions, decisions!!  So it must be pretty obvious that there is plenty of romance in this one!  We do get to meet some interesting new characters this time around, like Leanansidhe, but I really loved meeting back up with some of my favorites from the first book (Grimalkin!!).  Grimalkin lazily pops up from time to time in this book, always when needed, always bored, but always exactly right about what should be done!  (I am not a cat person-allergies- but I would sneeze all day if I could have my own Grim!)  We also get to know Mab (Unseelie Queen) better.  She is still cold and scary as crap, but seeing the Winter Court in action was so interesting.  The Winter Court is vastly different (obviously!) from the Summer Court, and seeing Ash and his family's interactions with their subjects was very enlightening.  Ash did act much differently towards Meghan once they arrived at the Winter Court, and I found myself (as did Meghan) wondering if he was acting so distant and cold because he was protecting her from the wrath of Mab or if he truly didn't want her, only saying and doing the things he did with her in the first book as a means to get her to the Winter Court as ordered.  You will have to read the book to find out more about that because I don't want to spoil anything for you!  

So you may be wondering about The Iron Fey???  Well, The Iron King ended with Meghan killing the Iron King, Machina, and one would think that the Iron Fey would now leave Meghan alone.  Unfortunately, that wouldn't make for good reading and adventure, so brace yourself for another awesome showdown!!  Meghan finds herself in more of an iron mess this time around and the adventures will keep you glued to the page!!  In other words, this book is full of adventure and suspense, and moves at a fast pace.  The ending...... WOW!!  It was explosive and left me reeling!!  I cannot wait for The Iron Queen to release (February 2011) so I can see what kind of new magic Julie Kagawa weaves for Meghan and her friends!

*If you haven't read The Iron King then go out and get it NOW and make sure you pick up this book too- you will want to read it asap!  If you read the first one, then I have no doubt that you are already chomping at the bit for The Iron Daughter!!  Bravo Julie Kagawa- you are faery royalty!!