** spoiler alert ** Donna Underwood is just trying to have a normal life but that’s a pretty difficult task given who she is and what she’s been through. The survivor of a horrible wood elf attack when she was a child, an attack who killed her father, left her mother all but a an empty shell and destroyed her own forearms – later rebuilt with iron tattoos that give her super-strength, Donna lives with her aunt and is home- schooled by alchemists. Her only connection with the normal world is via her best friend Navin (who knows nothing of her past nor even about her hands) but then he is kidnapped by the elves and is brought into her world – and now there is not more evading or escaping who she is and Donna will do anything to save her friend.

The Iron Witch is a wonderful combination of a Coming of Age story and a Quest. The first deals with Donna having to come to terms with who she is, how she lives, and the truths about her world (revelations galore but also quite a few mysteries still to be revealed) which mixes alchemy and the Fey. That mixture is interesting not only because of the world-building created by the author (with four different Orders of alchemists; a lot of details about how alchemy works without being extremely info-dumpy and then the juxtaposition with the Fey world) but also because some of the specific terms and principles of alchemy are actually incorporated into the story as themes. In that sense transformation as the cornerstone of alchemy is actually the main theme of the novel, as Donna has to grow up and accept herself (and her arms, and her powers). The alchemists and Fey’s search for immortality and the elixir of life are also reflected by Donna’s search for normalcy – both of each seemly impossible aims. Or are they?

As for the writing itself, I already knew from reading Karen’s short stories that I enjoyed her writing style but The Iron Witch settled it for me as I found myself liking her prose – but not as much as I liked the strength of her characterisations.

As much as I liked the world-building and plot, for me, the strength of the novel lies with its main character, Donna Underwood. It is easy to understand her need to be normal: it can’t be easy to feel like a freak, with iron tattooed arms that can be (and are) used as weapons that can actually hurt people (as cool as it may sound). Similarly, it is also easy to understand why she never told Navin about her past or her hands and I felt for her when the time came to actually tell all – I truly felt for her and her fear that he would not accept her. I love the fact that she has all this potential for kicking-ass but is also quite vulnerable. Don’t get me wrong though, when the time comes for kicking some serious ass, she does it: and she even saves Xan, the guy who she is falling for. She does not just sit down and waits to be rescued and that’s another thing to love about Donna: how proactive and independent she is.

Also, her steadfast loyalty to Navin and how she will stop at anything to get him back. I truly appreciate the fact that she is not distracted by the appearance of the Romantic Interest or that there is no undercurrent of romance between Navin and Donna. It’s friendship and friendship alone – at least I did not read it like that although I have seen between already picking Teams. I don’t think this series is about Teams at all unless it’s Team Donna in which case, sign me up.

I would also give credit where credit is due: there is a lot of diversity in the novel as well, and this is something I really like. Navin for example is of Indian descent and I liked Mahoney’s portrayal of his family; there are also a couple of secondary male characters in a stable sexual relationship.

I am not a huge fan of the insta-attraction between Donna and Xan to be honest although I can somewhat understand their connection (both have been terribly attacked by the Fey losing something important). I think Xan is quite shaddy and I am not entirely convinced about this character. Having said that and in all fairness, even though there is this immediate attraction, there are no love words exchanged or vows or anything like that. The relationship is actually progressing slowly. Plus, Donna has a powerful personality that does not disappear when falling in love. For example, there is this one scene when Xan tries to pull a Edward Cullen and control how Donna is going to behave next Navin and she just cuts him off:

"What I do or don’t tell Nav is none of your business"

AHA!

The best thing though is that I don’t think that Donna’s Quest is done – I think (as I hope) that Donna still has a long way to go, maybe even something to do with her mother. Bring on book 2.