The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

I liked it even more than the first book!

The Iron King began a bit too Alice in Wonderland for me, and as I was reading The Iron Daughter, Queen Mab, ruler of the Winter realm was like White Witch of Narnia deja'vu (only more like the book than the movie - you know stunningly beautiful not, umm well, just not like the movie) and then when the wars began I kept having Lord of the Rings flashbacks!

SOOO when I read this praise:

"The Iron King has the...enchantment, imagination and adventure of...Alice in Wonderland, Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, but with lots more romance." -Justine magazine 

dingdingdingding bells went off! Great minds think alike!

First Line: The Iron King stood before me, magnificent in his beauty, silver hair whipping about like an unruly waterfall.

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 ...more 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."

I'll admit that the ending threw me. I don't know what I expected to happen but not really THAT!
The beginning was a tad redundant, it reviewed the first book maybe a little too much - but of course I read them only weeks apart not months or years - so it's good she goes back over some of the details.  My heart was torn in two with the whole love triangle. LOVE Ash, love puck - what to do?  I have a love/hate thing with love triangles! I loved Meghan discovering and embracing her powers - she is one tough half fey, half human teenage chick!  

Iron Fey Series

Book 1: The Iron King, released February 1, 2010

Book 1.5: Winter's Passage, released June 1, 2010

Book 2: The Iron Daughter, released August 1, 2010

Book 3: The Iron Queen, to be released February 1, 2011

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

First Line: Ten years ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared.

Meghan begins her sixteenth birthday wanting what any other teen girl wants: her drivers license, to be noticed by the cutest boy in school and respect from her parents (oh, and a cell phone).  Her life focuses very quickly on what is important when she gets home from school that day with her mom lying in a pool of blood and her four year old brother kidnapped by creatures from the nevernever.  She acts fast following her "not as he appears" best friend Robbie into another world and an adventure that will leave her permanently changed.  

I struggled getting into this book, it was just too 'Alice in Wonderland' for me.  I never really 'got' or liked Alice in Wonderland, not sure why. 

ANYWAY...  Things really pick up and when 'Alice in Wonderland' collides into 'Transformers' meets 'World of Warcraft' - it became a bit more my mythical style - lol.

The imagination of Julie Kagawa is insane - in the best way possible.  Her attention to detail, the explanation of the surroundings both familiar and extreme, Her description of both the characters and the land made me think that this would make an awesome movie.  I could see the landscape sprawling out before me as Maghan was discovering it for the first time herself.  Stinkin cool!

There where sporatic swear words tossed in that I HATED.  Really I have issues with swearing - especially in Young Adult books.  It wasn't super extreme, but I really could have done without it.

Overall I did end up loving the book, I am excited to read the next one and if you are a fantasy lover I definitely recommend it.

 

Iron Fey Series

Book 1: The Iron King, released February 1, 2010

Book 1.5: Winter's Passage, released June 1, 2010

Book 2: The Iron Daughter, released August 1, 2010

Book 3: The Iron Queen, to be released February 1, 2011