Fairie Queen Eugenie Markham has a tough balancing act between her job in Tucson as a ghost buster and all-around paranormal problem solver, and her duties to the land her soul has adopted in the Otherworld. The Tucson job pays the bills, but the tie to her Otherworld realm is more than political, it has a real physical component. Neither she nor her kingdom are healthy if she stays too long away.

She is more than lucky in the people she has helping administer her Queenly duties, as well as in her allies. In particular her lover Dorian the Oak King has enough political acumen and tactical skill to keep her from blundering too much during the ongoing war with Rowan. More than that he provides a safe and sexy haven where she can lose herself in the sexual games he relishes.

She and her half-sister Jasmine are the heirs to one of the most feared leaders in Fairie history, the Storm King. Prophecy has it that any child they bear could conquer Otherworld entirely. As the Storm King was known for inordinate cruelty and a lust for power, Eugenie has made the decision to avoid having children. Her half-mad teenage sister, however, seeks only to fulfill her father's dream of domination.

In the mundane world a persistent ghost and her former half-Kitsune lover Kiyo are adding to her stress levels, making neither world the sanctuary she craves. IRON CROWNED is book 3 in the Dark Swan series and has plenty of paranormal elements as well as some steaming hot sex scenes. Mead has brought in some interesting plot twists based on previous elements in the series as well as a brand new quest which may provide hope for ending the war.