Review: The Iron Daughter (Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa

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.

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Why I read it: I've heard amazing things about this series and while I didn't like The Iron King too much, I already had this one lined up, so I thought I'd give it a go. I also got accepted for review for The Iron Knight, which I read the synopsis of and thought; 'If this is the direction the series is going, I so want it to take me there"


Review: I will be the first person to admit that I didn't enjoy the first book in this series and wasn't expecting to enjoy this one. I will also be the first person to admit that I enjoyed this one a little bit more than the first book in the series. Why did I enjoy it more? One word... Ash. Okay, make that two, Ash and Puck (so technically including the word 'and' that was three words, but never mind.) Yes, the boys were way hotter and swoon worthy here than before, and that itself made me want to keep reading.


Do you want me to elaborate on my love for this two awesome fae boys? Puck was funny and witty, as he was in the last one, but we also see his more vulnerable side when he shows his feelings for Meghan. Ash is still unoriginal as ever - a faerie prince falling in love, something that you'll find in almost all fae books, however I still loved him! He seemed so much more multi-dimensional in here, torn between his love for Meghan and his loyalties to his court. I LOVE IT!


I also like that the world was different here - more original. In The Iron King I found that the world was just the same one that I always read about in fae books, but in here the inclusion of The Briars and Leanansidhe's claustraphobic home was a nice dose of originality that I think the series needed.


One thing that I hated more in this book was Meghan, I mean, how stupid can she be?! She never does anything and always lets the decisions be made for her and the boys protect her. It's like she's helpless, stubborn (not in the right way) and very whiney and can't make her mind up between the boys and that totally annoyed me!


And the love triangle... how cliche? The best friend with secret powers and the bad guy with powers. I've said it before and I'll say it again, any book that is powered by a love triangle is going to have a bratty, vapid heroine and be too emotionally charged to handle. I really can't see what the guys could see in her!


The pacing in this book was quite slow, it took me about five tries to get into this book and after that it was slow going, I was counting down the amount of pages I had left. I was, however, impressed with the flair that Kagawa shows for description, she gives detailed descriptions of the surroundings which don't seem forced.


Overall, I was impressed with Julie Kagawa's descriptive writing and her storytelling. I was also amazed with how she threw some originality into the book. In this book, I fell in love with the boys Puck and Ash but seriously couldn't see the charm in Meghan, our heroine. I might have loved this book had it been paced better and Meghan was like... not in it, but alas, our whiney heroine really brings down this book for me.


Overall Rating: C

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Stand Alone/Series: Second in the Iron Fey series (Review for The Iron King (#1))
UK Release Date: April 15th 2011
Publisher: Mira Ink
Book received via Read It, Swap It