Off the Bookshelf: IRON DAUGHTER, by Julie Kagawa

Okay, call this the Overdrive Effect.

Take a print book off the to-be-read pile. Read it. Really like it. Want MORE. Go to Overdrive and find e-book versions of the next couple books in the series. Borrow the next 3 books from the library, in e-book format. Instant gratification.

And then you have a deadline to read those 3 books in the next 3 weeks. And you DO it. Because the stories are good. And it also helps if 2 of the 3 books are novellas ...

This is the 2nd novel, and the third story in the Iron Fey series.

IRON DAUGHTER takes up after the novella, Winter's Passage, in which Meghan fulfills her promise to go to the Unseelie Court/Winter Court in payment for Prince Ash helping to rescue her brother from the Iron King's realm.

When the story starts, she is still a miserable guest in the Winter Court. Ash is either not there, or he's pretty nasty to her. Not a good time for a girl who beat the Iron King and finds out she's a half-breed faerie princess, but basically nobody likes her. You'd think the girl would be finally coming into her own. Learning magic, finding out she's a princess, and all that. Except that her magic doesn't seem to work. Bummer.

Things get worse when she's accused of murder and theft and blamed for starting a war. Fortunately, some old friends and allies show up, and former nemeses turn into allies, as they set off on a quest -- and run from people who want to kill them all, starting with Meghan -- to return a magic scepter and stop the war. Major heartbreak. Major danger. Meghan proves she's a pretty tough kid, doing what's right no matter how much it hurts. And yeah, messing up when it comes to her love life because after all, she is still a kid in high school.

Loved it when she got to attend the prom -- purely for magical energy-gathering purposes, of course -- and the jerks who snubbed and mocked her end up hitting on her, and she's the envy of every single girl in the school because of the two guys who are her escorts. Yes, two escorts.

Can I say I'm totally tempted to download the next 3 or 4 books in the series and binge-read them, too? Alas, I must desist, because I have some deadlines to make, writing-wise. Best to save more Iron Fey books as rewards for getting work done. Reward yourself and read as many of these as you can!

Off the Bookshelf: SUMMER'S CROSSING, by Julie Kagawa

Another novella in the Iron Fey series.

This one is told through the eyes of Puck, Robin Goodfellow, and a dozen other names among the Fey. Puck is the ultimate mischief-maker and rabble-rouser. A good ally to have on your side, if you can trust him to stay on your side.

Puck was once good friends with Ash, prince of the Winter Fey, otherwise known as the Unseelie Court. Ash has vowed to kill Puck, blaming him for the death of the girl he loved. Now things are complicated because Ash and Puck are both in love with Meghan Chase, heroine of the Iron Fey books.

Ash has a vow to fulfill to Meghan, and a promise to fulfill to a rebel Fey queen that he can't get out of. Before Ash can find their ally, Grimalkin, he has to steal something from the Seelie Court. Much against his will, he accepts Puck's help.

Things get a lot more complicated when Oberon shows up and points out to Puck that if he betrays Ash while he's in the Summer Court, then his rival will be destroyed ... and Puck can finally win Meghan's heart.

Will Puck double and triple-cross and pay his debts or just add to them?
Read and find out!

Off the Bookshelf: WINTER'S PASSAGE, by Julie Kagawa

The next book in the Iron Fey series is a novella.

Right on the heels of the events of THE IRON KING, Meghan and Ash head back into the land of faery. She made a deal with Ash and now she has to follow through. In return for his help in rescuing her brother, kidnapped by the Iron King, Meghan must go with him to the court of Queen Mab.

Of course, magical creatures -- frightening ones -- are hunting for the half-blood daughter of King Oberon.

Their chase takes readers into some more creepy yet fascinating spots where the world of the faery overlaps the Human world, with magical creatures living opening among them -- and Humans don't see, or at least don't notice.

Of course, when Meghan finally gets to the icy underground kingdom of the Unseelie Court, things don't look very good at all. And that's the subject of the next book, IRON DAUGHTER.

Thank goodness for Overdrive and borrowing e-books from the library, and being able to download and start reading instantly. I wanna know what happens next!

Off the Bookshelf: THE IRON KING, Julie Kagawa

Book 1 of the Iron Fey series.

Be honest -- what girl wouldn't want to find out she was a faery princess?

Read Meghan's story, and you'll probably change your mind. For one thing, there's finding out that your father isn't your father, and this cold-hearted, coldly beautiful faery king has just announced you're his little girl, but he really, really didn't want a father-daughter reunion. Ever. Then there's the faery king's wife to deal with. She can be kind of nasty toward the illegitimate daughter. Then there are the other denizens of the faery world, who make the political game players in Congress look like a bunch of runny-nose Kindergarteners in need of a nap and a diaper change. (Well ... yeah! And a good paddling and a looooong time out. But that's another story altogether.)

Then there's the whole problem of iron being deadly to the residents of the faery realms.

So when a new king shows up, with not only immunity to, but power over iron, things are starting to get shaken up pretty badly. It's war, like the realms of faery have never known it.

And guess who's in the middle, because as a half-breed,she's immune to iron? Yep. And Meghan thought being teased by the pretty and popular and nasty kids at school was rough. Oh, yeah, and the Iron King has kidnapped her little brother and left a pretty nasty, matricidal changeling in his place. Just to force Meghan to come to him, on his turf. Because he has big plans for her. This girl's got a lot on her plate. Fortunately -- or maybe unfortunately -- she's got some magical friends, or at least allies on her side. Maybe. Turns out one isn't sure if he should help her or kill her.

Yeah, and you wanted to be a faery princess?

I gotta remember to look for the next book in the Iron Fey series when I hit the bookstore tomorrow. Fascinating.