I have been amazingly fortunate in my book choices recently...or more accurately I have been taking reading suggestions from excellent sources. While reading The Iron King I put the second book, The Iron Daughter a few books down in my TBR pile, but since finishing I have taken the second book out and placed it within reach so when I need a break from some work I need to do tonight, I can start reading it. Partly that attests to how much I liked The Iron King, and partly it shows how impatient I am....I just NEED to know what happens to Meghan Chase, Ash, Puck, Oberon and all the other inhabitants of the Nevernever.
Initially I thought this book resembled The 13 Treasures but really the similarities are superficial. I am sad I missed so much YA literature over the years when I was not paying enough attention, but now that I am back, I am thrilled to see so many strong heroines. Meghan is half human and half fey giving her extraordinary powers without some of the weaknesses. As Meghan is told, her real weakness is her concern for others. So that takes care of the fantasy.
The steampunk elements come from the iron king who rules a strange steampunk underworld that exists because humans have stopped believing in nature and magic and instead love only technology. Not a new idea, but certainly a unique approach.
The romance is the usual..girl meets boy, boy tries to kill girl, girl and boy fall in love, boy still needs to turn girl over to his evil queen. Just your typical teen angsty romance, yet you cannot help but root for something to change so they can be together. This is why I MUST read the second book NOW. The third book should arrive about the time I finish the second. And rumor has it a fourth in the works. If Julie Kagawa would hurry up I will be just fine.