Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa 
Published: August 1st, 2010
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Pages: 358
Challenge: 100+ Reading Challenge, 350 Page Books Challenge, YA Series Challenge
Other: Second book in the Iron Fey series. The fourth book, The Iron Knight, will be published on October 4th, 2011.
Buy the book: Bookdepository

Warning: this review may contain (slight) spoilers for those of you who haven't read the first book in the series yet. Reading is at your own risk.


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.

After loving The Iron King, I had extremly high expectations for The Iron Queen. While it was a really good book, it didn't quite live up to the high expectations that that first book set for its sequel.

We start off with Meghan fulfilling her part of the bargain she made with Ash in order to get to Machina. When she arrives at the Winter Court, the threat of the iron fey is undeniable, but because Meghan and Ash are the only ones who have seen them, nobody believes them. This sequel contains a lot of betrayal, quit wit and carefully constructed ways of not telling the truth without actually lying. It was intruiging to see how much further the faerie world expands outside of what we've already seen and Kagawa did not disappoint in her disctriptive world building - it was as breathtaking as ever.

The Iron Fey Series has certainly gained a fan in me. I loved not only the world building, but also the faeries themselves and the whole politics surrounding them - it never ceases to amaze me how much thought was put in their way of life. Kagawa's writing style is brilliant and her characters spring to life from the pages. I've grown particularly fond of Puck..

My overall rating:


And a promise to pick up The Iron Queen as soon as  I possibly can.