The Iron Witch

On the iPod: Lights - Ellie Goulding

News first: You guys, I HAZ 14 FOLLOWERS. I find that amazing that you 14 follow me and my crazy shenanigans and still read this. I find that pretty rocking!!! And to all you 14: you make my day. Oh gosh you make me wanna dance.

Anyway, I think I'll review the Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney.

Goodreads says: Freak. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic—the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie—the vicious wood elves—abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend—even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

Whoa, Iron Witch was pretty cool and offers a new take, blending alchemy with faeries. Iron Witch has Donna, our socially awks teen who people talk behind her back and her best friend Navin, who, people like. But not his freaky friend. So as per usual, this story starts off with our protagonist being all normal and stuff and going to a party with Navin AND THIS IS WHERE THE WEIRD SHIZ HAPPENS. Donna, to escape the raging drunks downstairs, goes up to the roof to clear her mind and there (at the roof) she meets Xan. Xan is mysterious and gorgeous and there's that bond between him and Donna (roll your eyes but this bond makes sense!). So, when these two meet up again, it's for a different purpose. Navin's been kidnapped by the fey and it's up to Donna to save him. Of course, their journey takes longer and there's bits of action but it's setting the story up for the next series.

The alchemy part of Iron Witch is basically how there are Orders, and they're involved with the faeries. It seemed pretty grounded with the other stuff but I felt as if Karen Mahoney could have expanded it to really tie it in with the book.

I thought that Maker was pretty cool, in that mad scientist quirky way, and there were parts that creeped me out. I basically imagined Maker as Doctor Finklestein in Nightmare Before Christmas.

rating: 7/10