Crawling Over the Pages: Book Review: The Iron Daughter

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.

Okay, I really don't know how to start this. I know I was hesitant with the first book but this book cemented my high expectation about the book. This book was even more adventurous than the first book. There were a lot of missions and a lot of new characters to meet. There were stronger villains who will fight Meghan and her group.

The Winter Queen doesn't still believe Meghan and Ash's claim that there was a growing group of Iron Faeries. What she didn't know was that one of her sons, will sell them out to the Iron Faeries. In the first book, Machina, who was the king of Iron Faery, was killed by Meghan. When they left, a fake king assumed the position of becoming a king. The Iron Faeries were divided into two.

Ash, on the other hand, was missing in action. He didn't talk to Meghan but little did she know, he sent Taiothin, the phouka, to keep track of Meghan for him. He made Meghan believe that he just played with his feelings.

Prince Rowan was very determined to learn about the Iron Faeries. At first, he pretended that he wasn't interested. He tried to get the truth from Meghan by feeding her a toadstool that made her spill what really happened between her and Ash. And because Meghan was not a pure faery, her body didn't take the effect of toadstool just like a normal faery would. This caused her to be in a state of coma for a long time and fortunately, she woke up before The Exchange took place.

The Exchange. This is a magical talisman that the courts pass between them with the changing of the seasons. Six months out of the year, Oberon holds it, when spring and summer are a their peak, and winter is at its weakest. Then, on the autumn and equinox, it is passed to Queen Mab, to signify the shift of power between the courts. The Summer courtiers will return The Scepter of the Seasons. Oberon changed the tradition when he himself delivered the scepter to the queen. It turned out that he wanted to get back his daughter, Meghan, in exchange of the two Winter prisoners. But then Queen Mab refused ad so did Meghan she made a contract to Ash.

When it was Prince Sage's turn to guard the scepter, he brought Meghan with him. When they were inside, they were ambushed by an army of Iron Faeries led by Tertius to steal the scepter. Sage was killed while protecting the scepter and Meghan from the Iron Faeries. Ash appeared out of the blue and rescued Meghan only to be stopped by Rowan. The two brothers fought and Ash almost succeeded in killing Rowan. Then they fled the Winter Court. This caused quite a stir in the Winter Court and they were both hunted by Rowan's guards.

Puck returned again after being healed and Grimalkin also helped them to find the right people to help. Iron Horse turned his back on the fake Iron King and took and oath to protect and help Meghan find the scepter. Ash didn't join them and decided to do find the scepter on his own. Grimalkin led them to The Briars which is like a scary maze. This led them to Leanansidhe.

Leanansidhe. The Dark Muse. Queen of the Exiles. She was one of the most powerful beings in all the Nevernever. She was called Dark Muse because she inspired many great artists, helping them produce their most brilliant works. She was the one who helped them trace the location of the scepter. She used her minions to track it and made a way for them to enter into SciCorp where the scepter was being held. And in order for Meghan to look like a true professional, she transformed her. She brought her to a salon and spa for faeries and groomed her. She even shopped for her outfits.

Puck had already admitted her feelings and I feel sorry for him because Meghan can't reciprocate his feelings. I just wish he'll meet someone who'll love him too.

Virus. It turned out that to be the one leading the Iron Faeries protecting the Scepter. She has her own ambitions and plans to use the scepter to gain more power. She bugged Ash's brain and used him to manipulate Meghan. She sent Ash to kill Meghan's family. But then Meghan used the Iron glamour to extract the bug implanted in his brain.

Meghan's Power. During their second attempt to retrieve the Scepter, Meghan's real power was unleash. Venus was furious when she witnessed her stopped even the Iron Faeries from attacking them. It turned out that Meghan was The One they were looking for. She was the one meant to take over the throne. Machina transferred all his power on her when she killed him.

Iron Horse sacrificed his self to protect Meghan. He shielded Meghan with his body when an arrow almost shot her. I was saddened by this one. I really thought they will all remain alive by the end of the book.

In the end, Ash, Meghan and Puck were able to return the Scepter while Summer and Winter Court were having a war. They may have been late but they still prevented a lot of Faeries from dying. They told the truth about Rowan. Queen Mab gave Ash a chance to deny his relationship with Meghan but in the end, he admitted that he loved her. So Queen Mab banished him from Nevernever to the Mortal World. Puck asked Meghan not to follow him, but she insisted to go. Since it is against the law for a Summer and a Winter Faery to have an affair, Oberon warned her daughter that if she went against the law, she'll never be welcomed to their world again. Ash and Meghan were both banished from Nevernever. The book ended with both of them in the Mortal World.