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5.03.2010

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

digital galley provided by NetGalley
Releases Aug 1, 2010

 
PJVs QUICKIE POV: As impressed as I was with The Iron King, I was dually impressed with book two of Julie Kagawa's Iron Series. Full of adventure, detailed world building, sly wit and charming romance, The Iron Daughter lives up to it's predecessor. I think I went through all the range of emotions on this one... happy, outrage, fear, sadness... my husband probably thought I was bipolar during this particular reading adventure.

REVIEW:  I am keeping this brief because this is a galley and could differ from the published version and also to avoid spoilers. Meghan Chase finds herself the guest of Queen Mab in the Unseelie court, per her agreement with Prince Ash. Freezing cold, with creatures that would rather eat her than speak to her, and no sign of Prince Ash since he delivered her to the palace, Meghan is not in a good place. When finally Queen Mab agrees to see her, the Ice Queen doesn't believe a word that Meghan has to say about the Iron King, even with Ash backing up her story. The monarch is so blinded by her view of the world, and her hatred of the Summer Court that her denial just might lead to war. War with King Oberon, Meghan's father.

When a magical scepter is stolen along with other heinous crimes committed to the Unseelie court, Mab believes it is the Seelie Courts doing. To prevent war, Meghan must find the true thieves, not just to save her own life, but all of faerie. Along the way Meghan must also sort out her relationship with Prince Ash and his sudden coldness towards her, protect her family in the human world, reunite with Puck whom she left in a tree healing in the last book and also maybe learn a bit about her own magic. The Iron Daughter is quite an adventure. If you read The Iron King, you don't want to miss out on this second installment and if you haven't what are you waiting for?

The Iron Series has to be one of the best faerie young adult books on the market. I've read most of them, though I was impressed with the Wicked Lovely series...this one blew those books away.  Meghan Chase is a strong character that is very easy to relate with and sucks you right into her world, pointy ears and all. The novels are both very well written and Kagawa builds a faerie world that is both startlingly macabre and devastatingly enticing.

I had very few dislikes in this novel and I'm only mentioning them lightly because of it being a galley. There were a few teen trappings, makeovers and formals, that turned our little pig farmer into a faerie princess. I thought that these two scenes were really unnecessary and could have been handled in other ways. I felt like I jumped from a Quentin Tarantino film to a Sandra Bullock film in one little swoop. Threw me through a loop, even though teens galore would probably be swooning at those scenes. Besides that excellent, excellent, excellent. I am now loathe to think that I will have to wait that much longer for the third book.  Word on the street (aka Julie Kagawa's blog) is that Harlequinn will be releasing an eBook novella (free?) called Winter's Passage on June 1. So, look for that coming out soon.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Younger to mature teens should enjoy. Also great for adults, there was nothing too juvie about this one. Fans of the Wicked Lovely series, The Dark Divine, Twilight, Shiver, etc. should really enjoy.





9 comments:

Joanne Brothwell said...

Beautiful cover art. Thanks for the review.

Anonymous said...

Excellent Review...I loved this one as well..:)
Im unsure as when to post reviews on these Galleys I have read....

Melissa @ Mel's Books and Info said...

Great review! I too loved Iron Daughter. Kagawa has me hooked! I think she is turning into one of my favorite YA authors. I can't wait to read the novella in June, and I know what you mean about loathing the long wait to book three...it's going to be too long!

Tina said...

Good review. I enjoyed the first book in this series. This one looks just as enjoyable.

Sandy said...

"I think I went through all the range of emotions on this one... happy, outrage, fear, sadness... my husband probably thought I was bipolar during this particular reading adventure." I laughed when I read this line. xD!

Great review of The Iron Daughter! I haven't read the first book (I know, that's a mistake...but I'll be correcting that soon!) but it's good to know that the sequel is every bit as awesome as its predecessor. OH, and about me posting my WoW despite that it's not Wednesday: I just post it early sometimes. I do that mostly because I'm planning on putting up a review and I don't like having multiple posts on the same day.

Emily said...

I'm reading this right now, in between a couple of other books, and it's kind of unfair to the review titles because I keep getting distracted. Great review! :D

Lola said...

Eeek! I am so jealous! Wonderful review! The cover is amazing! :)

Melissa (My World...in words and pages) said...

This is a series I need to get to. Thanks for the great review of the book. These sound wonderful with the Fae.

Alyssa Kirk said...

I'm reading this right now. I'm really enjoying it too!

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