Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Iron Daughter
Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: The Iron Fey, #2
Format: Paperback, owned
My rating: 2.5 / 5
Pages: 406

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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.

-- As seen on Goodreads

My Thoughts

I’m not too sure what exactly I was expecting from The Iron Daughter, but for me, it didn’t deliver. I was expecting Meghan to be the strong character she was in The Iron King. I was hoping for lots of Puck and Grimalkin. I wanted Ash to… disappear. Ok, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but I just cannot take to that boy at all. I will admit and hold my hand up and say he improved… slightly... in this book.

Despite loving the idea behind the series, I didn’t feel like the grander series plot moved forward much. The Sceptre of the Seasons is stolen from the Winter Court and the Summer Fey are blamed, sparking a war between the opposing fey. Naturally, it’s up to Meghan to prove that the Iron Fey actually exists and she needs Ash’s help to escape from Tir Na Nog and get the sceptre back. While lots happen in the book, I felt this aspect was overshadowed too much by the love triangle and Meghan’s constant moping over Ash.

Let’s tackle what I did like first. I love the way Ms Kagawa tells a story. I love the writing style and how I’m instantly transported back into the books world once I started reading. I mentioned it in my review for The Iron King and I’ll echo it here again: I adore the concept of the Iron Fey, and how they are taking over from the original fey as technology grows in the human world. And the ultimate positive for me: PUCK! I love the humour he brings to the story and his mischievousness and calculated recklessness is so entertaining to read about. Unfortunately, Puck isn’t the main character and can’t carry this story on his own, and this is where the negatives start to creep in.

My biggest problem was Meghan. At times – ok, most of the time – I felt she was a nightmare to read about. I really liked her character in The Iron King, but after reading this book, I’m starting to question what I actually liked about her in the first book. I thought she regressed terribly. All she did was wallow in self-pity and mope over Ash after he treated her like pond scum, and in honesty, I was sick to death of it. Thinking back to The Iron King again, Puck was one of Meghan’s only friends back when she believed she was fully human. I don’t understand why that bond isn’t shown more in the series, and it certainly shouldn’t disappear! She uses Puck and treats him like crap, and he will go to the ends of the Earth (and the Nevernever and Tir Na Nog combined) to give her anything she wants! Helloooo! Meghan! What is wrong with you?! You want the Ice Prince that’s in love with and pining for his ex-girlfriend, but you don’t want a guy that makes you laugh, treats you like an equal, has your back, was there for you when nobody else was, and will give you the world? I. Just. Don’t. Get. It! Maybe if I could see one positive thing about Ash, I could at least try and see why one look at him has Meghan forgetting about everything else.

When I find a series I like, I usually stick with it to the bitter end – unless something drastic happens that puts me off *cough* Allegiant *cough*. I didn’t go into The Iron Daughter with any illusions that Meghan would end up with Puck. It was pretty obvious from book one – hell, the blurbs and even all four book titles give so much away! – that Ash is her Chosen One. Since I don’t have anything invested in Ash and Meghan’s relationship, or in either of their characters, I’m not sure if it’s going to be worth it to continue on with the other books. I hate saying it, but for the short term at least, this will be where I step away from The Iron Fey series. If I do come back to it, I at least hope to see a somewhat happy ending for Puck…