Thursday, March 10, 2011

Iron Daughter by Julia Kagawa

Iron Daughter by Julia Kagawa
2010; Harlequin Teen


Summary

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

I really enjoyed Iron Daughter. Even more than I liked Iron King. The biggest improvement in the sequel is Meghan. In Iron King, I thought she was simpering and boring (Meghan and I got off to a bad start when she went after the football star out of her school who was both a jerk and way out of her league). Now, she is self-confident and strong. She grew into these characteristics throughout the course of Iron King, but I had to slog through pages of annoying Meghan before she turned into a really cool girl. Now we have a great female protagonist right from the beginning.

Iron Daughter is full of action. Some new danger or adventure faces Meghan in every chapter. The conflict in this book begins early when the new Iron King steals the Scepter of Seasons and kills the oldest Winter Prince; Meghan is the only witness. No one believes that the Iron fey are still a presence, and it is up to her to seek the return of the scepter.

Thankfully we see lots of our favorite love interests, Ash and Puck. Ash begins the book by acting horribly toward Meghan. He insisted that all his feelings toward her were merely a farce. The betrayal actually made the book hard to read at first. But things progress quickly from there. I still don't like Puck all that much. He is slightly less irritating than he was in the first book, but I just don't see him as a good love interest. It's probably because the funny best friend stereotype has always irritated me.

I really admire the complexity of the faerie world that Kagawa has built. All the different creatures, lands, and customs turned my head in the first book. I've become accustomed to it somewhat in the second book, but there's still so much to learn. I feel like I could reread this book numerous times and pick out new details each time.

All in all, Iron Daughter is a great sequel to Iron King!

Rating: 4 / 5

14 comments:

  1. Great review! This series is great and just gets better and better!

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  2. Thanks for the review. I am going to start this either today or tomorrow, so excited!
    NC
    Truly Bookish

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  3. I'm getting ready to start reading The Iron King this afternoon! I've heard a lot of good things about this series =)

    New follower, btw!

    violethourbr.blogspot.com

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  4. I felt the same way about Meghan. The Iron Queen finally changed my perception of her.

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  5. I enjoyed this one much more than The Iron King as well! Even though I liked the Iron King, it took me a while to get into, but this one I was involved from the beginning, wanting to slap Ash for seemingly abandoning Meghan at court. Can't wait for your thoughts on the Iron Queen!

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  6. I had to keep reminding myself that Ash has reasons for acting like that, but he was convincing as all
    Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog

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  7. With all this talk about this series, I have to definitely check it out. I'm curious about the half human and half faerie concept and I admit..figuring out who this Ash guy is that everyone seems to be swooning over. ;) Just out of curiosity, which team are you on? I think I'll start this series once I finish the "Wicked Lovely" series, which I really enjoy. Thanks for the review!

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  8. I liked this one better than the first in the series, too. I've still got to buy Iron Queen but I hope it's just as great!
    Meghan grew a lot, you're right - that was the first thing I realized. I liked this one much more because, also, the romance fleshed out. Wonderful review!

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  9. I really need to read the first one. So many great things has been said about this series that I cannot wait to read them. ;) Great review.

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  10. This is a great sequel! I can't wait to read The Iron Queen. Love the series. It's so magical. I so want to live in Meghan's world. Julie Kagawa writes some cool stuff. I agree with you on the football star. I don't know why a lot of authors have the girl going for the football jock. He's definitely a jerk! As for the betrayal at the end of The Iron King, I thought it was an interesting twist. Not sure about the love triangle in this one though. I'm happy with her being with just Ash.

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  11. I'm one of the few that has yet to start this series, though I do have the books on my shelf now. I love the sound of the faerie world in these stories though! Fabulous review :)

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  12. Haha, I felt the exact opposite. I liked Meghan in the first book but then I thought she took a major turn for the worse in this book! I love seeing different blogger opinions.

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  13. Just got a copy of Iron King to start, am looking forward to it. Great review, sounds like the books get better as they go. :D

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  14. I've only read the first one and loved it - can't wait to read the followups! Thanks for the review.

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