It's really hard to get into faerie books after reading Holly Black & Melissa Marr's stuff. They've upped the ante, giving us the strange and fantastical creatures of myths & legends, but with a new twist. As such, their books are the golden standards that everyone else has to live up to. While there are quite a few good faerie books out there, they don't fully measure up to these two. The Iron King comes pretty darn close, though. 
 I'll admit that Meghan isn't really a "take charge, kick butt" type of girl for a good chunk of the book. She's a brave character, but much of the book has her relying on others to keep her from harm. This actually works out well as far as I'm concerned. Someone who just discovered that faeries exist shouldn't immediately turn into a prodigy or become all that accustomed to the world. Meghan is a nice mixture of "getting used to everything" & "gawking newbie". 
 The story was a decent one. The plot really isn't anything new (girl goes to save a younger brother, discovers she's half-fae, etc), but Kagawa really is talented at turning a phrase & I literally sped through this book as fast as I could. The book does end on a cliffhanger, but luckily the second book is already out for your reading pleasure. (Which is now going on my 'to read' list.) 
 Bottom line is that this book is a darn good read & if you're into stuff like Black & Marr, you'll probably like this one as well.