The Iron Witch (The Iron Witch 1) by Karen Mahoney

I have had this book on my to read list for a long time.  I finally got a chance to sit down and read it.  Karen Mahoney's beautifully urban tale of fairies in our modern world did not disappoint!  Here is the lovely cover and the Goodreads blurb:

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.

If you know me, I love fairies.  Love them.  They are EVERYWHERE in my house.  There are almost as many fairies in and around my house as there are action figures in my sons' room.  (And that is alot.)  I try to get my hands on every fae book I can and when I first saw The Iron Witch, I had to read it.  It sounded great and the cover is gorgeous.  (This is also a recurring theme with me, I often buy books and comics based on an awesome cover.)  After looking into Karen Mahoney herself, I have to say that she gets the highest of fives from me.  She loves Wonder Woman (my daughter's room is done in Wonder Woman) and she is as big a geek as I am.  I highly approve of her.  But on to the Iron Witch.  This book is so intriguing.  It reminded me slightly of Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely books in how it manages to capture the feel of fairy existing in our modern world.  It felt so real, as if you really could happen upon a wood elf in the park.  This book also deals with the darker side of the fae which gives it an almost paranormal feel.  I just loved it.  The characters were also a home run, in my book.  I really enjoyed that Navin and Donna are such good and close friends.  It was a great dynamic.  Donna also refuses to play the whiny, needy girl who has to be saved.  Screw that!  Donna saves herself and her BFF while she is at it.  Xan is an interesting character as well because he is a slightly conflicted guy who just wants to belong.  He's also perfectly happy working with Donna and supporting her without trying to be her savior.  He's comfortable with a strong female in his life.  All around this story is amazing and it reeled me in.  I have to say that maybe my favorite moment in the book is when Navin calls Donna Wonder Girl.  It made me geek out more than a bit because the original Wonder Girl (who no longer exists thanks to the DC reboot of 2011) was named Donna.  I love those geeky moments in books when you see something and it just makes you giggle.

You can click here to add The Iron Witch to your Goodreads.  You can find Karen Mahoney on her website, LiveJournal, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.  The second book in the Iron Witch series is The Wood Queen which is already out.  The third book, The Stone Demon, will be released in April of this year. I give The Iron Witch 4 Fairies for a highly anticipated read that completely met my expectations.