The Iron Daughter

Still not sure precisely what the title The Iron Daughter refers to since the main character is the daughter of the Summer King, not the Iron King (and the Iron Court is the "bad guy") but whatever. This is still a fun series, well written and page turning. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, but until then, here is my review for your perusal.

In this sequel to The Iron King, Meghan Chase, daughter of King Oberon of the Summer Court, is being held by Queen Mab of the Winter Court. Ash, prince of the Winter Court and the love of her life, is distant and cold (in more than one sense of the word) and she doesn't know if fellow faery friend Puck is recovering after his brush with death. In this uncertain, lonely world, Meghan witnesses the exchange of the Sceptre of the Seasons between the Courts, and when the Sceptre goes missing, the Courts are pitted against each other, putting Meghan and Ash even more in the middle than usual. Add in some Iron faeries, a bunch of mythical creatures, and yes, Silicon Valley, and you've got The Iron Daughter.



With the characters loosely based on A Midsummer Night's Dream, there's a whole lot of action and deception going on in this book; Meghan's still desperately in love with Ash, but Ash is doing the noble thing by trying to remain aloof. The two are thrown together, however, by the need to retrieve the Sceptre from the Iron Court and of course they can hardly fight their attraction. With Puck's admission to Meghan that he loves her, the Summer Princess finds herself torn between the two, both of whom she loves in different ways. But will any of it even matter if the a war between the Summer and Winter Courts cannot be thwarted?


Ms. Kagawa's writing is fun and action-filled, and while the story is naturally fairly predictable, it doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the tug-of-war between the Courts and Meghan and her loves. With the addition of some odd quirks, Meghan's beginning to realize that she's not just a Princess of the Summer Court but a force to be reckoned with, and she's going to have to make some serious decisions. The mooning over Ash does get a bit old at times, but such is young love that it's entirely believable. There's lots of blood and gore and a pretty big cliffhanger ending that has me already looking up the release date of the next in the series. It's not high literature but it is good, exciting fun which more than fulfills its purpose. Bring on the next!
 
~taminator40