Waiting on Wednesday (72)

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Freak. That’s what they called seventeen year-old Donna Underwood in high school after a horrific fey attack that killed her father when she was just a child. Her injuries and rehabilitation resulted in magically enhanced strength, thanks to the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. As a child of the alchemists, she is both blessed and cursed with a magical heritage that permeates her life with duty and sacrifice.

Now, after ten years of wishing for a normal life, she finally has to accept her role in the centuries-old war against the darkest outcasts of Faerie: the Dark Elves. Aided by a gorgeous half-fey dropout, Donna must race to save her best friend’s life – even if it means betraying the secret of immortality and confronting the very thing that destroyed her family. [summary from Goodreads]

I've been waiting for this since pretty much when I first heard of it, and now that it's finally got its cover from Flux, I can feature it here! After just reading Kaz's short story in The Eternal Kiss, I was hooked on her writing. It reminds me a lot of Holly Black's and Sarah Rees Brennan's, actually, which means that this will NOT be your average run-of-the-mill paranormal novel (you can read an excerpt of The Iron Witch on The Book Smugglers' website, to get what I'm saying). Add to that this gorgeous cover, and we're all set. 2011, come sooner rather than later, please!

The Iron Witch will be published in paperback by Flux on February 1, 2011.