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Título: The Iron Witch
Author: Karen Mahoney
1º book of the trilogy
2º book: The Wood Queen (2012)
3º book: The Stone Demon (2013)
Plot
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.
Review
I have to confess that I'm a lover of the covers. Guilty! Plus, I read the plot of this book and I loved too. I don't read usually many books about magic but this book has convinced me. Sadly, I have to wait the next book of the trilogy until the next year.
The main character, Donna Underwood, is member and daughter of members of the Order of the Dragon, one of the four orders which control the alchemy since time immemorial. Her father, Patrick, gave his life for her when she was kidnapped and dragged to Elfland when she was a child. Her mother lost her mind and she is admited in an institution. Now it's her aunt Paige and the Order who take care of her. Alma Kensington is the responsible of her education in Quentin Frost home, the leader of the Order. She must to learn the subjects of secondary school as well as the magical subjects for her future development inside of the Order.
The thing which makes her special is have survived to Skriker, a monster of the Queen of the Wood and her elfs (it sounds me like HP). However, the monster hurt her arms. The alchemists achieved a great work doing operations which included silver and iron setting up an incredible tattoos since her elbows to her doigts. The tattoos give her a superior strength to the normal one.
Her secret has been kept close to every person beyond the Order. Even her best friend Navin Sharma and the family of this boy, they don't know anything about her double life. It will be when she meet the handsome Alexander Grayson in his birthday party, she will share her secret with him and Navin. Step by step, it will emerge chemistry between them, Donna and Xan, but a serie of events will put their relationship in a second level. Elfland has rebelted against the alchemists and it seems that they're going to cause many problems. Only she, with the help of Xan, could order all the chaos that these little beings have done.
I give it 4 out of 5 because, though I loved all the plot, I've seen there were few obstacles in the path and they were solved very fast. I'm used not to have a close end in the first book of a trilogy and wait to the next book.
I recommend totally this book because is a convincing story and its characters demonstrate us its weakness and its strengths, making up us in the story as one more.
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