The Iron Fey #2: The Iron Daughter

Finished this in five hours. God a new record for me! I present before you all The Iron Fey #2 The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa.

Here is the summary of the book:

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 one starts starts of where Winter's Passage leaves off. As part of the contract between Meghan and Ash, she would willingly go to the Winter realm if Ash helps her to get back who was kidnapped by the Iron King and replaced by a violent changeling.

So Meghan is now in enemy territories a.k.a the winter court and she must tread with caution. Even if she puts one foot out the Unseelie Court, be it the Queen of the court or any of her subjects wouldn't think for a second before turning her into an icicle for the simple reason that she is the Erlking Oberon's daughter (half-daughter). Ash, the mysterious and gorgeous Ash is of no use because well he is loyal to his queen and would have to keep his pokerface on there even if it hurts to watch Meghan be mistreated there. Worst of all Meghan's Summer powers are locked away there in the winter realm.

But the worst is yet to come. During the handing over of the scepter of seasons to the winter court from the summer court the scepter is stolen by the Iron fey. And since no one believes Meghan and Ash about the existence of these new fey species no the blame is put on the summer court. War is upon the horizon for the two courts and the iron fey are on the rise again but this time acting under a false King. So only Meghan and Ash know that the Iron Fey have the scepter and that it must be brought back in order to avert the storm but first they must find out a way out of the Winter court undetected....Will they be able to get the scepter back in time?.......Worry not Puck and Grimalkin are there too.

So The Iron Daughter came as a total surprise. While the previous books of the series both Iron King and the novella Winter's Passage were awesome but this was even better and not to question that I finished it five hours. But Iron Daughter really changes our perceptive around to the corner.

All of our characters evolve her even more. We see new shades of Ash's character - his loyalty - even times when he is angst ridden - his time in the Winter Court with an indifferent mask over his face and even the passionate Ash when he is with Meghan. And his declarations of love for her enough to walk in exile leaving the life of the court behind for her. (Ideal boyfriend material don't you all think? Kinda hard to come by these days unfortunately)

Puck, as mischievous as ever. Definitely living up to his reputation rather thoroughly enough. But even Puck shows more in here. All of his disobeyed orders from Oberon regarding Meghan. Well he's in love with her too. He'd do anything for her but he knows he's late for Ash got there first and he is content to play the over protective best friend for now. Grimalkin as mysterious as ever with all of his "I am a Cat" talk and that tail held high and strutting along.

Don't forget Meghan, she definitely grew ten-folds as a character here. Nevernever is new to her so she is still clueless about the fey realms but she is more wiser now. She is rather the ideal heroine who has absolutely no clue about a thing called self-preservation and definitely has got a giant streak of stubborness in herself. Meghan is faced with some rather important decisions here and some pretty ginormous responsibilities not to mention making calculating moves when dealing with the fey. Its rather interesting to watch all this unfold not to mention her deciding between Puck and Ash (both rather strong contenders for her love).

Thus once again Julie Kagawa astounds us with her lovely writing and all the excitement she has infused in the pages of The Iron Daughter for her readers. I highly recommend to all read the Iron Fey and prepare to be sucked into the nevernever.

The Iron Fey #2: The Iron Daughter