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A review by audreychamaine
The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
3.0
Donna Underwood has always felt like a freak. She has to constantly wear long gloves to cover her arms: arms that are covered in intricate ironwork, repaired with magic within and without after an encounter that left her father dead and her mother as good as dead. Donna is a part of a society of alchemists, both seeking the philosopher’s stone and protecting the world from elves, fae, and other magical creatures. When Donna’s best friend Navin is stolen by the wood elves, she must enlist the help of her new half-fae friend to find a way to get her friend back.
The Iron Witch is a fast-paced read involving magical creatures, attractive boys, and lots of alchemy. My favorite parts of the book involved learning more about the alchemical society to which Donna belongs, and the different parts of the alchemical laboratory.
I liked the set-up of the book. Navin’s a really great best friend/cute boy character, and Xan also seemed like he might have a lot to him. Watching Donna reveal herself to these two guys took up a great deal of the book. The second half of the story, after Navin is kidnapped and Donna and Xan go on a quest to save him, felt a little rushed. I could have done with more dramatic tension and more obstacles to get to where Mahoney wanted to go and to balance out the character introductions. This is the frst book in a series (I believe it is a trilogy), so hopefully the next two books will be a bit meatier since they don’t need to set up the initial character introductions.
The Iron Witch is a quick read, and one that I did enjoy. If it seemed too short to me, that just says that it really did leave me wanting more. Needless to say, I’ll be picking up The Wood Queen when it comes out next year.
The Iron Witch is a fast-paced read involving magical creatures, attractive boys, and lots of alchemy. My favorite parts of the book involved learning more about the alchemical society to which Donna belongs, and the different parts of the alchemical laboratory.
I liked the set-up of the book. Navin’s a really great best friend/cute boy character, and Xan also seemed like he might have a lot to him. Watching Donna reveal herself to these two guys took up a great deal of the book. The second half of the story, after Navin is kidnapped and Donna and Xan go on a quest to save him, felt a little rushed. I could have done with more dramatic tension and more obstacles to get to where Mahoney wanted to go and to balance out the character introductions. This is the frst book in a series (I believe it is a trilogy), so hopefully the next two books will be a bit meatier since they don’t need to set up the initial character introductions.
The Iron Witch is a quick read, and one that I did enjoy. If it seemed too short to me, that just says that it really did leave me wanting more. Needless to say, I’ll be picking up The Wood Queen when it comes out next year.