Review: Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
Iron Witch #1
290 Pages

From Goodreads: 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.


I was very excited to read this book, the cover was intriguing (it's even better in person) and hey it has fey in it. It started off well, we meet Xan almost immediately and the two hit it off. From then on it was difficult to get into the book. I felt that the characters were not well developed and the plot overall was lacking depth. I wished we had learned more about Donna's childhood and the world she grew up in. We learn a bit about Alchemy and the order which Donna's family is a part of, but it wasn't enough to spark my interest. Navin, Donna's best friend, was loyal and yet he leaves her alone at a party filled with Donna's former classmates who once bullied her. I'm not sure about his feelings for Donna, there were times where I thought that maybe he had a thing for her and there were other times where I felt he really was just a friend and nothing more. The story had more of a short-story feel to it like a drawn out short-story, I have read a short-story by Karen Mahoney that I enjoyed and I hope she will write more. Xan was the most interesting character of all, his story is sad and I found myself wanting to know more about him and his background rather than Donna's. The writing in this book was a little stiff and there was more "telling" than "showing". The ending had some action and ends with an entry from Donna's journal (there are more throughout the book) that added some charm to the book. I hope the next Iron Witch novel sheds more light on the fey and develops characters and relationships. 

I give this book 2.5 stars!

The Iron Witch