Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
The Iron Fey #2
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.
This book starts with Meghan as a prisoner of the Winter Court with Ash apparently having abandoned her to her fate. As she nurses her "wounds" she slowly starts to gain strength and her determination starts to show through. Ash's older brother Rowan, continues to taunt her while trying to gleam information out of her. It seems the two brothers have a ages old feud between them, and Rowan will use anything he can to damage Ash. Meanwhile, even though no one believes her the Iron fey continue their conquest of destruction despite their king's death. With the war looming between the Summer and Winter Courts, Meghan is stuck in the middle without her powers, and an all too broken heart. Can she put all that aside to save the Nevernever before it's too late?
Meghan really grew in this book. Her iron will and determination shined through despite the terrible obstacles she faced. In the last book it was much easier for her to stay on her course as it was her little brother who was directly in trouble. Now, however, so much more is at stake and most would have long crumbled under the pressure. In this book even though her powers are supposed to be locked we start to get a glimpse at her potential and if she is who I think she is, the Nevernever will be forever changed by the decisions she makes. I only hope she continues in her determination to save it and works to bring a balance between all the courts. If anyone could do it, it would be her. Not only doesn't she have eons of prejudice holding her down, but she also has the perseverance to see things through to the end no matter the cost to herself.
Ah, well I cannot say I am surprised the love triangle reared its ugly head in this series. I had suspisions from the beginning that Puck had feelings for Meghan. Now, I don't really have anything against love triangles in books, but I just really wasn't feeling it in this book. I just didn't find it believable that so shortly after she was pining for Ash that she all of a sudden has these deep feelings for Puck. Don't get me wrong, Puck's feelings are very believable considering all that he has done for her, it's just her's that I question. Hopefully either the love triangle will fizzle in the next book, or at least become a lot more substantial. The way it stands now really detracted from the book.
Despite my frustrations with the underdeveloped love triangle, I did enjoy this book, although not quite as much as the first one. The resolution at the end seemed tenuous at best. I just cannot imagine things being left as they are, and it should be interesting to see exactly how things unravel in the next book.
Rating:
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The Iron Daughter (Harlequin Teen)
