Customer Reviews

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey - Book 2)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bailed at page 60.

One of my New Year's Resolution that I seem to be sticking to is that I no longer continue to read books that are just a complete drag. Both of the books I rated two stars or less in January this year I bailed on after sampling quite enough of them. I know some people advocate 100 pages, but I'm not really inclined to even get to that part of the book. Don't worry, I will try to finish most of the books I read, but I just couldn't be bothered with this one.

Around 9 months has passed since I read The Iron King, and I was hesitant to continue. The titles are so similar and for ages, I had no freaking clue which book to read next in this series. Because of all the in-between e-books that have been released, searching for this series on the Kindle store was a bit of a mess. I also didn't quite enjoy The Iron King as much as I had hoped for it, so it was with a cautious hand that I decided to pick up The Iron Daughter.

At the end of the last book, Meghan winds up contracting Ash to save her, and her character does a complete 180. All of a sudden, she's head-over-heels for Ash and heartbroken over his indifference to her. You see, he's the prince of the Winter Court, and naturally his demeanour is going to be ice cold. (Yes, I thought of Mr. Freeze for a while too.)

So, Meghan is brought to the castle of the Winter Court, and Queen Mab proceeds to be mean to her. Also, she WAAANGSTS for an eternity about how Ash no longer loves her, even though they had such a special bond when he killed some wolf that King Oberon sent to bring her back to the Summer Court? I don't know.

"You're playing with fire, you know that?"

"That's weird, considering you're an ice prin-" I didn't get any further, as Ash leaned down and kissed me. I looped my arms around his neck as his snaked around my waist, and for a few moments the cold couldn't touch me. (Page 18 of the UK edition.)

Excuse me while I go and vomit.

Oh, also, the female characters in this book are another bugbear of mine. So, we have our main character Meghan, who is insecure about her looks because... I guess she's got pointed ears because of her fairy heritage. Okay, fair enough. She also goes on about what a Plain Jane she is, and after a while, I began to picture her as sitting in a boat fishing for compliments.

On the other hand, the other female characters in this book are seen as 'dangerous'. Why? Because... they dress fashionably, apparently? Wear make-up?

When I saw her last, Mab had worn a flowing black dress that writhed like living shadows. Today, she was dressed in white: a white pantsuit, opal-tinted nails and ivory heels, her dark hair styled elegantly atop her head.

Oh, how terribly awful. The villain dresses better than you do. Clearly she is evil! There's also a few other females who do nothing but gossip amongst each other, laugh at Meghan for being a 'half-breed', and... yep, you guessed it. They're all dressed up, popular and naturally beautiful, to contrast with Meghan who, boo hoo, is not as pretty as them. Man, this is like... stock characters from a stupid high school drama, except they're wearing pointy ears and fairy wings.

Mercifully, Meghan does have a few moments where she does have a bit of a backbone. She stands up for herself against those mean girls, and she refuses to cry when given bad news about her predicament. Fine, fine. That's good and all... but it doesn't exactly save the reader from all these tedious bouts of Meghan whining about how unfair everything is at the moment.

I'd also like to add that the writing is a little bit too flowery for my tastes. There are so many unnecessary descriptions that really do take on a shade of purple after a while.

"Rowan smiled at me, a slit-eyed, dangerous smile. (Page 29)

"It was the fruit I'd dropped, a single bite taken out of the flesh, like Snow White's poisoned apple. Only it wasn't an apple now, but a big spotted toadstool, the fleshy insides white as bone. My stomach heaved, cramping violently, and I nearly lost the bite I'd taken. (Page 47)

The Iron King stood before me, magnificent in his beauty, silver hair whipping about like an unruly waterfall. His long black coat billowed behind him, accenting the pale, angular face and translucent skin, the blue-green veins glowing beneath the surface.

Lightning flickered in the depths of his jet-black eyes, and the steel tentacles running the length of his spine and shoulders coiled around him like a cloak of wings, glinting in the light.

Like an avenging angel, he floated towards me, hand outstretched, a sad, tender smile on his lips. (Page 10)

And the latter quote is just page one...

When your book starts with sixty pages of whining, sprinkled with tidbits of recap and purple prose, I'm sorry, but no. Really disappointed in this. 2/5.

In this second installement of the Iron Fey series, we return to the world of the NeverNever in order for Meghan to fulfill her contract. You may remember from the previous books (and the short novella inbetween the first and second books - Winter's Passage) that Meghan made a deal with the Unseelie, or winter, prince Ash that if he helped her to rescue her brother from the Iron King, Machina, she would go with him to the winter court without trouble.

Well now Meghan has to keep that promise and she's not too happy about it. The Winter Court and ruler, Queen Mab, is just a little too frosty for her liking. But more than that Queen Mab is a cruel queen with every intention of making Meghan's stay as awful as possible; with the help of Ash's two brothers. As if that wasn't bad enough, now Prince Ash, the guy she thought loved her, wants nothing to do with her and makes no secret of it.

The story really kicks off when the Iron Fey infiltrate the Winter Court leaving casualties behind and stealing the Sceptre of the Seasons (This Sceptre has infinite power to those who control it and is passed between the winter and summer courts at the passing of the seasons). The problem is, nobody believes her; the Iron Fey are not thought to exist by the Winter and Summer Courts. I don't want to give too much away but from this point we see Meghan set off on her most challenging adventure yet to reclaim the Sceptre and prove her honesty.

So who will help her? Well along the way we revisit Grimalkin, the witty and slightly grumpy cat, who I was thrilled to read more about! Additionally, we of course learn about the fate of Robin "Puck" GoodFellow, who after the previous book was left injured and recovering. I really like the characters in this book. Puck never fails to make me laugh aloud, resulting in some very funny looks, as does Grim. But the love triangle between Ash, Meghan and Puck also keeps me hooked throughout; I'm finding it especially difficult to decide who I prefer of the two!

But the best part of this novel, and of the series? It's got to be the new take on the world of the Fey. Humans for centuries believed in the stories of the Fey, keeping them alive in their belief, but with new generations comes new technology and so the Iron Fey are created. This is such a fantastic concept and at first I thought these books were named "Iron..." because of the well known idea that faeries are adverse to Iron but of course this is not the case. I really think Kagawa has come up with a truly brilliant idea by mixing traditional faerie legend as we mostly know it with evil and corrupt techno-faeries.

So overall, I'm happy to say that this book doesn't suffer from what I like to call "middle-book-syndrome" and is by no means a filler leading onto the next book. Before stumbling across this series I hadn't really enjoyed the faerie world but Kagawa has completely changed my mind! New ideas, new characters and Meghan's developing powers kept me glued to this book from start to finish. I more than recommend this book and this series to young adults and adults alike. A must-read! Hope this helps.

second book of four .... Let me start by saying that I don't really like fairy books and was bought the set as a present from my children. However, I was quite surprised at how good these books actually were! If you like adventure with a touch of romance then read these books. They certainly keep you up until early hours of the morning. It keeps you in suspence not just about the forbidden love but with the events that unfold. They are written in the first person. I'm not going to write a review because it's already been done. I luv the third book in the series called Iron Queen best of all. Iron Queen gives closure on the events in the first two books and a romance simmering in the background. Then you have to read the final book called the Iron Knight which is written in the first person 'Ash', which is about his journey to receive a 'soul' so that he can be with the Iron Queen, the love of his life who lives in the Iron Realm where he can not go without dying. In parts of the books, the context is a little immature and you can tell it's written for young adults, but I enjoyed them all the same ...............good teen and adult book collection not to be missed!

The Iron Daughter had me crying, laughing, smiling, irritated, annoyed and so completely messed up I couldn't get to sleep! I recommend this to everyone who loves a good twisted romance!

The characters. Wow, the characters...They were brilliant! I fell in love with all of them. Meghan, she's definitely got stronger as a person and as a fey! I'm incredibly jealous of her. She's got such a nice boy, who loves her and would do ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING for her! Now, everyone who's read The Iron King knows who I'm talking about, right? ASH! PRINCE ASH! PRINCE FLAMING ASH, OF COURSE! Sigh, he's such an amazing character to read about. Totally swoon-worthy. Unfortunately, (My darling) Ash had some competition. You want to know who it is? Read the book. Sorry guys, I can't tell you, it would be spoiling it for you.

I fell in love with some unexpected characters. Iron Horse? Wow, I never expected him! As you read about him, you realize that he does have a heart, that just because he's made of iron doesn't mean he's unbreakable. Puck, Meghan's best friend, was charming and funny as usual, always trying to lighten the mood with his jokes and opinions! But...we saw a different side to him in this book, he showed more emotion, but they all seemed to be negative? Anyhow, I want Puck as my best friend.

The Iron Daughter's plot was a little more dangerous. We saw some good heart ache from Meghan, but she pulled through. We saw some pretty good action from (My) Prince Ash and Puck. Damn, it was just so good! There were extreme twists and hard-hitting situations for the characters to deal with. I never expected what was just around the corner!

Absolutely breath-taking.

Abandoned by the prince she thought loved her, Megan is slowly freezing in the Winter court. She stuck by her oath to Ash and agreed to go with him back to Tir Na Nog in payment for his help on the journey to find her brother.

Megan is hated within the Winter Court. Accused of lying about the impending threat of the Iron fey and the daughter of Winter's enemy, she has every reason to fear the Unseelie fey.

When the Sceptre of the Seasons is stolen from the Winter Court, Summer is quickly blamed, and war soon to follow. Only Megan knows the truth, that it was Iron behind the theft, with traitors inside the court aiding the Iron fey. Megan knows she must retrieve the Sceptre before both courts destroy each other when instead they should be allying.

Iron Daughter didn't feel like a sequel. It stood just as strong as the first book in the series, and in a way, supports the first. We get more background development and character growth, making it even more easy to fall for Ash and Puck. Megan herself is a stronger character, though she herself would never admit it.

We see plenty of action in Iron Daughter, impossible situations and deadly missions. Megan is more than adequately equipped with help on her travels, with unlikely protectors and feline guides cropping up.

This is one of the best YA fantasy series out there. It is expertly written with extremely loveable characters and a storyline to keep you on the edge of your seat. And the kissing...oh, Lord, the kissing.,,

This book is fantastic! It is filled with romance and fantasy being perfect for teens. I would advise people to read the 1st iron fey book first to know what is going on!!! They are all amazing!!! so if you like books like Harry Potter and Twilight, you will fall in love with this series. Can not wait to read the next one!! xxxx

After a whole night reading the book (with my fiancé sleeping in our bed and my doggy and I in the couch) all I can say is: AWESOME! Seriously, I wish I could create a new world for this book like Barney in HIMYM created "possimpible", hahahaha. Don't pay me to much attention, I'm sleepy. But yeah, I'm sure you want me talk about the book so here we go:

At the end of the first book we saw Meghan saying good-bye to her family to go fulfill her promise to Ash: she is now in Winter Court and is Queen Mab's prisoner...
Somehow she expected that by doing this she was going to see Ash more but turns out that they see each other only a few times and Ash is always cold and distant.
Trying to forget Ash' behaviour she speaks with Queen Mab about the Iron Fey but it doesn't work, the Queen does not believe a word she says and when the Scepter of the Seasons is stolen the Queen vibrates with anger.
And so the war between Summer and Winter Courts begin. Now is up to Meghan and her friends to recover the Scepter of the Seasons, if not the war with not only affect their world but the human world as well...

The writing, once again, is wonderful. Julie, I believe, is a master creating and showing us the world she created. The way I could feel Meghan's difficult times trying to understand her feelings for Ash were touching and the way I laughed with Puck and Grimalkin have not price.

Nothing more to say, I'm going to read "The Iron Queen" today. If by any chance you don't have the books yet please, I'm begging you here, buy them now!

I enjoyed this one even more than the first- now that the 'deja vu' that I felt with the first book is over and most of the background story that prompted it is out of the way.

There are plenty of action and battle scenes to keep the plot moving, and lots of romance and emotion to keep you gripped. I'm torn between Ash and Puck like Meghan, but I think she made the right choice.

Some interesting characters were introduced that I hope we will see again like Leanansidhe. There was an overall darker tone to this book that I really enjoyed and I can't wait to pick up The Iron Queen to see how the story develops.

This were delivered Quicker than was stated............seriously amazed!! Have enjoyed reading this book, if this one is anything to go by the rest should be just as good.

The second book in the Iron Fey series is a great read. After Meghan fought Ogres, gremlins, goblins, redcaps, spriggans, kobolds, phoukas, hobs, faeries and the Iron king, she though that the nighmare was over.

Keeping her promise to go back with Ash to the Winter Court, she is prisoner there. All alone and unsure of Ash's feelings for her and the taunts from the Unseelie, it's like high school all over again!

Though when Sage, the Winter Queens eldest son, is killed by Iron Fey and the scepter is stolen, Meghan is framed as prime suspect #1 and is now on the run, to figure out who is controlling the Iron Fey,to get the scepter back and to stop Summer and Winter going to War.

With battles ahead, hurt, love and losing allies, this book is a roller coaster of emotions and adventure and will keep you spellbound to the pages.

A great read, now looking forward to reading the third book, the Iron Queen.