The Nightmare Garden - Caitlin Kittredge

Title: The Nightmare Garden
Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Pages: 417
Genre: Young Adult|Steampunk|Fantasy (eARC provided by NetGalley/Delacorte)
Publication Date: 2/14/2012
Rating: ****

Everything Aoife thought she knew about the world was a lie. There is no Necrovirus. And Aoife isn't going to succumb to madness because of a latent strain—she will lose her faculties because she is allergic to iron. Aoife isn't human. She is a changeling—half human and half from the land of Thorn. And time is running out for her.

When Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft engine she released the monsters from the Thorn Lands into the Iron Lands and now she must find a way to seal the gates and reverse the destruction she's ravaged on the world that's about to poison her.

*May Contain Spoilers from The Iron Thorn*

The Nightmare Garden picks up where The Iron Thorn left off, after Aoife destroyed the engine of Lovecraft. Aoife now knows that she is half fae and that the madness that overtook her mother was not the necrovirus, but iron poisoning. By destroying the engine, she has broken the gates of the Thorn lands and now is set out to fix them -- to keep the creatures of Thorn away.

I really love the world created by Ms. Kittredge. I feel like it is unique and original and so vividly described. The supernatural elements mixed in with the steampunk setting is fantastic.

I really enjoyed reading this one and I feel like it did not lack the adventure the first one had. The only real issue I had was with Aoife. While I still feel that she was a great heroine, her attitude nipped at me a bit. She started out so strong and courageous in The Iron Thorn whereas her I feel like she reverted in maturity a bit. While acting brave and mature in the last book, here she acted more of the sixteen year old girl that she was - sassy, rebellious and hard headed. With that said, I think some of it could very well be due to some of the events that occurred throughout the book. In the end, she did redeem herself, so it was incredibly disappointing and I hope her attitude in the end continues in book three, which I am impatiently waiting for.

This one has the same dark, foreboding feel that the first had and I was excited to continue unraveling mysteries and learning more of the Thorn lands, Lovecraft and Aoife. If you enjoyed the first installment, I really think you will love this one too and you will be eagerly awaiting the third.

Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 476
Genre: Young Adult|Steampunk|Urban Fantasy
Publication Date:
Rating: ****

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

I have to say that I enjoyed this one more than City of Bones and it was a lot easier for me to get in to. However, after gaining a little more knowledge of what exactly is going on, I do want to go back and try to read The Mortal Instruments again.

This was a slowly progressing read to me, until the last 100-150 pages, where it did finally pick up. I did really enjoy reading about the world Ms. Clare created, but I felt like it could have been a little more fast paced. It would pick up a bit, then slow down, then pick up, etc. I still enjoyed it, however.

There were dark bits and humorous bits. There were secrets to reveal and mysteries to unravel. I know there were things I didn't see coming and it was exciting at those times. I was disappointed in the lack of romance. There is a little, but not like I had hoped for. I liked the steampunk and historical aspects and the paranormal parts that were intertwined were good as well. Really the only complaint I have is the slow pace of the story/plot.

Would I recommend this? Sure. It's a great story if you don't mind the slowness of it. I feel like it had good, strong characters, although I know some readers have compared them to the characters from The Mortal Instruments, which I haven't really read, but if you have that's a possibility.

There is a huge cliffhanger ending, just so you can be prepared, and I already want to get the next book, Clockwork Prince, to find out what is going to happen! I am hoping that now that a lot of the details and explanations of things are kind of out of the way the next book will be a little faster paced. I truly am excited to see what is going to happen next (and to read more about Will, who is one of my new story crushes *girly squee!*).

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne - Kady Cross

Title: The Strange Case of Finley Jayne
Author: Kady Cross
Pages: 78 (Kindle)
Genre: Young Adult/Steampunk
Publication Date: 5/1/2011
Rating: ***

Finley Jayne knows she's not 'normal'. Normal girls don't lose time, or have something inside them that makes them capable of remarkably violent things. Her behavior has already cost her one job, so when she's offered the lofty position of companion to Phoebe, a debutante recently engaged to Lord Vincent, she accepts, despite having no experience. Lord Vincent is a man of science with his automatons and inventions, but Finley is suspicious of his motives where Phoebe is concerned. She will do anything to protect her new friend, but what she discovers is even more monstrous than anything she could have imagined…

This was a pretty decent read. I was struggling with whether or not to give it 2 stars or 3, but decided on 3 in the end just simply because it has gotten me interested to continue reading The Girl in the Steel Corset again, which I had picked up a couple of times but haven't finished.

The Strange Case of Finley Jayne is somewhat of a mini-mystery. We are introduced to Finley - a young woman with some incredible abilities. When we first meet her, she is in the process of being fired from her job for hitting a governess. Eventually, she acquires another job, which is to be a companion to Lady Morton's daughter, Phoebe.

Throughout the story, we are basically led along to discover the true motives of Phoebe's fiance.

One thing I can say I was not crazy about was Finley's constant talk to herself of 'there's something wrong with me, I'm not normal, I have a dark side, blah blah...' It might just be me, but it grated on my nerves a little after the first few comments made about this. In general, I did like Finley, so don't get me wrong there. It was this one minor thing I had issues with.

Overall, this wasn't bad and the good news is that it is free (ebook only). You can pick that up here.

2012 Challenges

Along with a new year comes new...

CHALLENGES!

There are a few challenges I am signing up for this year, one being the 2012 100+ books in a year challenge. I didn't meet that goal last year, but I will be trying again this year.



Here are some other challenges I'm participating in:

Here are the links to the sign up for these challenges:

100+ Books in a Year

Zombie Challenge 2012

Speculative Romance Challenge 2012

The Dystopia 2012 Challenge

Get Steampunked! 2012


Are you participating in any challenges this year? If so, what are they? :)

The Iron Thorn - Caitlin Kittredge

Title: The Iron Thorn
Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Pages: 493
Genre: Steampunk/Young Adult
Publication Date: 2/22/2011

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.

Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

Before I go on with the review I would just like to say that the main character's name is pronounced EE-fah. I had to look it up after a few pages because I knew without a doubt that I was pronouncing it wrong, so I figured I would save you the trouble. I had started out with something that sounded more like Oy-f.

This was my first venture into the steampunk world (and yet it still mixes in a little dystopia) and I have to say that I was quite impressed. At almost 500 pages long (hardback version), it was quite a long read, but well worth the time put into it. The Iron Thorn has an intricate plot, filled with mystery, secrets, and lies.

Aoife is fifteen years old and is dreading each day that brings her closer to her sixteenth birthday - the day she will surely go mad, the same as her brother and mother before her. Until she starts receiving mysterious letters from her brother that is. Aoife soon discovers that her whole world may not be as it seems.

There was so many twists and turns, background information, new information to take in, that it was like I was living in a different world while I was reading this and I loved every bit of it. Ms. Kittredge paints such a vivid world - from Lovecraft to Arkham - that it is easy to lose yourself in it. There was a lot to discover about Aoife and her friends Cal and Dean that it would have you hanging at the edge of your seat just waiting to see what on earth could possibly happen next. I am not giving away any secrets because I would have never have guessed the truth that was in the pages of The Iron Thorn.

The second in this series, The Nightmare Garden is to be published in February 2012. So here I am, yet again, waiting for 2012 to get here and give me my sequels!

What I give this book: