Summary: Meghan Chase is just your ordinary unpopular girl trying to navigate the hierarchy of high school, get her driver’s permit, and possibly a date with the hottest boy. Her best friend, Robin Goodfellow, calls her princess, an endearment she despises.
What she doesn’t know is just how apt that nickname is because she is the bastard daughter of Oberon, King of the Seelie fairies and of Summer. When her younger half brother, Ethan, is kidnapped and taken to the Nevernever, Robin sheds his glamour and reveals that he is her protector and Puck, yes that Puck, from Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In very little time Meghan finds her whole world turned upside down and that rescuing her brother will require help, loads of help, in the form of a cat, an Unseelie prince, and her best friend.
Why I started this book:
I requested a reader copy from the publisher because I love romances and was eager to read something from Harlequin’s new teen romance line. I picked this novel also because I had seen the title appear a lot on the YA blogosphere.
Likes:
- Julie Kagawa is absolutely brilliant. Her world building is vibrant, full and lively, and it literally leaps off the page. I enjoyed her new type of fairy species—a masterful stroke that really gives the story a new dimension. I would go into more details but it’s so much more fun discovering the answer for yourself.
- Ash, the Unseelie prince, is a spectacularly drawn character. He’s that aloof hero whose motives are hard to determine. He hides a soft heart behind a cold hard façade and makes for a truly forbidden love interest. Yum.
- Puck, he’s the wayward merrymaker who at times isn’t the best judge of when too far is too far. I have a feeling he’s also in love with Meghan but as of yet hasn’t made his feelings known and Meghan views him as her best friend, not a love interest.
- Grimalkin or Grim, the cat. He reminds me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland and is another fantastic well drawn character. He’s sarcastic, condescending, and witty. He trades favors and barters without a plan seemingly in mind in order to extract another promise or favor from someone else. You can find him wherever something interesting is taking place.
Last Minute Thoughts: The worst part of the book is that it ended! The next in novel in the series cannot come too quickly for me. I can’t wait to read The Iron Daughter.