Romeo and Juliet - The Killers

The Iron Daughter
Iron Fey, Book 2

Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: fantasy, romance, ya
Pages: 304
Publisher: Harlequin

The Iron Daughter definitely feels like Romeo and Juliet in some ways. Girl and boy from rival groups meet at a party. They dance and fall immediately in forbidden love and passion. They manage to spend time together and begin a forbidden, star-crossed relationship. Her friends and family want him dead; his want nothing more than to see her frozen alive or killed. Of course, this doesn't happen, because the book series would have to end.

When the story diverges from it's star-crossed inspiration, boy leaves girl, trying not to get them both killed. Girl feels betrayed even though he warned her eighty-five bajillion times what was going to happen. Girl decides to lead on/flirt with her best male friend who is in love with her too. She does this while continuing to want nothing more than forbidden boy. Seriously? This story is supposed to be really romantic, but how can I want this obnoxious girl to end up with any of these guys (except maybe the jackass from her high school who she still finds attractive) when she clearly will go with whoever happens to be there at any given moment? This little side plot is just what was needed to make the whole forbidden love angle even better.

Meghan has not improved much as a main character, mostly for the reason above. She continues to save herself and others sometimes, which is nice, but she generally expects the menfolk to save her, which is less nice. The other really frustrating thing about her is that she continues to be an airhead. So-called plot twists are obvious, but she never sees them coming (i.e. Ash being all ice prince-y to her in front of his mom). Smaller things baffle her as well. For example, she tries on a dress that has just been finished for her to wear to a prom-like event (at her high school that she no longer really attends) and observes that "it fit perfectly, sliding over my skin as if made for me." Umm, yeah, hon, that's because they made it for you! Also, don't get me started on the whole the-only-way-to-heal-the-faery-prince's-injuries-is-to-go-to-a-school-dance-thing.

"Juliet, the dice was loaded from the start
And I bet and you exploded in my heart
And I forget, I forget the movie song
When you gonna realize, it was just that the time was wrong, Juliet?

Come up on different streets, they both were streets of shame
Both dirty, both mean, yes and the dream was just the same
And I dream your dream for you and now your dream is real
How can you look at me, as if I was just another one of your deals?

you can fall for chains of silver, you can fall for chains of gold
You can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
You promised me everything, you promised me thick and thin
Now you just say, "Oh, Romeo, yeah, you know
I used to have a scene with him"