The Nightmare Garden

The Nightmare Garden by Caitlin Kittredge
4/5 stars
Delacorte Press, 2012
417 pages
YA Steampunk Fantasy

Source: Purchased

The Iron Thorn was a surprise favorite from last year so I was very excited to pick this up. Unfortunately, due to poor planning, I had a huge stack of review books to get through first, meaning that this book has been staring at me for too long before I finally picked it up to read. Of course, it had also been about a year since I read the first one which mean that it took me a while to get back into the groove of the characters and the story.

While I remembered the uniquely named Aoife, I couldn't entirely remember the circumstances in which we last saw her. That made the beginning pages a struggle especially as I could not remember Conrad, who as Aoife's brother is actually an important character. Happily as the book progressed, most of the first book returned to me while Aoife's adventure in this book developed, giving her purpose and the book its own plot within the larger framework of the series.

That plot is Aoife's search to fix the damage caused by her opening the Gates in her world and specifically to find her mother who was lost in Lovecraft. To save her mother, Aoife would do almost anything, something I identified very strongly with. I would go to great lengths to protect my family and face the same things Aoife does.

However as the book progresses we focus almost entirely on Aoife. Understandably since she is the main character but sadly to me because I really liked Dean and Cal in the first book while they are almost entirely sidelined in this book. We also meet some new characters who do have bigger parts, most notably to me as Aoife's almost stepmother Valentina and the intriguing Rasputina, who gives Aoife a lift when she needs one.

Overall: I didn't like it quite as much as the first book but I wonder if that would be the case if I had saved them to read one right after the other. I bet that would have helped me to keep everything on track.

Cover: I don't think she looks quite human here; I guess her Fae side is being pulled out more but it looks really weird to me. I do really like the blues used though.

The Iron Thorn

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

Delacorte Press, 2011

492 pages

YA; Steampunk; Fantasy

4.5/5 stars

Source: Won

I wanted to read The Iron Thorn because I remembered how much I had enjoyed Kittredge’s story in Kiss Me Deadly.   Some of the same things I remember liking about that story reappear here-a sympathetic heroine, evocative descriptions, and a story that drew me in.  However as a full-length novel, there is more opportunity for world-building and character and plot development.

The world is a sort of steampunk 1950s New England, based on the writings of HP Lovecraft, which I must confess I have never read or even really thought about reading (I don’t think he has many female characters in his canon).  Thus there are probably many references to his writing that I missed.  Regardless I enjoyed the world created and I’m going to attempt to break down the plot in an effort to give you insight into my impressions.

The novel opens on Aoife with her mother, who resides in an insane asylum in the city of Lovecraft (I think it used to be Boston but perhaps it did not replace one of our cities).  Consequently Aoife is a ward of the state with very little knowledge of her father and with an older brother who has also been deemed insane.  She goes to the School of Engineering, the only female student (in her year or overall, I’m not sure) where she takes comfort in numbers, iron, and the other tenets of the Lovecraftian faith.  Anything outside of this rationality is dubbed heretical and causes suspicion.  When Aoife receives a letter from her on-the-run brother, Conrad, she sets out to leave Lovecraft for Arkham, their family’s ancestral home.  Compounding her desire to find her brother is her fears about her possible pending insanity.  The theory is that it begins at the age of sixteen and Aoife’s birthday is approaching.  In order to escape, Aoife and her only friend Cal engage the services of a guide Dean and flee the city.

Once they have arrived at Gatestone, her father’s home, there is no sign of Conrad but there is an extraordinary house and collection of books just waiting for Aoife to learn about.  Through them she begins to discover her ancestral gift and the terrifying world of the Kindly Folk (who are misnamed; us YA readers may know them better as the Fae, a capricious and wily people).

Aoife was a great heroine.  She bristles at those who would treat her differently because of her gender and she’s incredibly headstrong.  She’s also loyal and curious, which is good for that spurs on her adventures.  Her best friend Cal alternately pleased and annoyed me.  I was glad that he traveled with her because she needed company but as the book progressed, his patronizing attitude toward her increased.  Then came a surprise that twists everything but confirms Cal as loyal to Aoife.  Then there was their guide Dean, the love interest.  Although many times his attitude was also annoying (calling her “princess), something about him made me melt; this was helped by his willingness to believe Aoife even when she feared she was going crazy and he always gave her a (figurative) shove to keep going.  Unfortunately Dean smokes, a habit he’ll need to kick if he wants to secure a coveted place on Bookworm1858’s Top Ten Boys in Books list.


Overall: A long, luxurious read full of details and atmosphere. While I loved this, I would definitely recommend doing a bit more research before you buy it to make sure that it really appeals to you.

Cover: Not a fan; I guess it conjures up darkness and fear but I don't find it very enticing.

Read for YA Debut Author Challenge.

Kiss Me Deadly

Kiss Me Deadly, Ed. Trisha Telep

Running Press Teens, 2010

401+ pages*

YA; Short Stories; Paranormal Romance

3.5/5 stars

Source: From 1 ARC Tours

Summary: A collection of short stories from some of today's most popular authors including Maggie Stiefvater, Carrie Ryan, Michelle Zink, and more!

Some spoilers but I tried not to ruin the stories if they have twists.

Thoughts: I always find it easiest to talk about short story collections by just going through them and listing what I did and didn't like so this will be LONG. My particular favorites are highlighted. I had a quibble with these "short" stories as many of them were quite long; I was expecting twenty pages to be the max but that was more like the min. I'm not complaining because of course I want more to read but it made it difficult to fit in to the little snatches of time I have to read throughout the day unlike say the short sections of Terry Pratchett's books.

I'm evaluating these stories on the paranormal elements and the romance given the subtitle of "paranormal love" although writing and sheer enjoyability play a part.

The Assassin's Apprentice by Michelle Zink: It felt rushed-I was unsure of the mythology surrounding the story. And most disappointing to me, I didn't really feel the romance as there wasn't much build-up: they saw each other and they knew. Very unsatisfactory for me. 3/5

Errant by Diana Peterfreund: I think this is connected to her series of unicorn books, which I have not read, but the story still made sense. The romance was also lacking in this but it ended with the empowerment of Elise who was able to draw unicorns to her land for protection against the vile men while Gitta will continue to travel with her unicorn Enyo. 4/5

The Spirit Jar by Karen Mahoney: This features vampires, or rather one named Moth who apparently was in The Eternal Kiss but I don't think you need to have read this in order to follow the story. I liked Moth who is conflicted over being a vampire, specifically whether or not she has a soul. But the romance wasn't very good and I didn't love it. 3/5

Lost by Justine Musk: I would classify this as an updated version of a Greek myth (I think it would be spoiled if I told you which one). Sasha (I have loved this name ever since I first heard it as the name of Sasha Cohen the ice-skater) is good at finding things and Haiden helps her develop and strengthen the those abilities in paranormal terms. The romance was a little half-baked although I can see it growing and flourishing. 4/5

The Spy Who Never Grew Up by Sarah Rees Brennan: This took me a while to get in to but I liked it, probably the second funniest story. It is a sort of sequel to Peter Pan, incorporating spy thriller elements. There are references to Wendy, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell, and Tiger Lily although sadly no Crocodile. It was interesting to see how Pan might be after approximately six generations have passed in human years. 4.5/5

Behind the Red Door by Caitlin Kittredge: An incredible ghost story: I would say both elements of paranormal and romance were probably strongest in this one. Jo and the ghost Nicholas had a unique relationship that culminated in some frightening moments. 5/5

Hare Moon by Carrie Ryan: I believe this is the story of the character Sister Tabitha from The Forest of Hands and Teeth who was once in love with a boy named Patrick. I felt their love but I'm still not a fan of the world and the Unconsecrated. If you loved the book, you'll probably love this story. 3/5

Familiar by Michelle Rowen: I would call this the funniest story although not many even included any funny bits. Brenda is a witch who needs to get a familiar who ends up being Owen. This had a strong romantic element with a light sprinkling of several paranormal elements. 5/5

Fearless by Rachel Vincent: Another rather scary story: Sabine is a mara, someone who feeds on humans's nightmares and Nash is another paranormal creature who understands and loves her. Sabine is sent to a halfway home to help her straighten up but she finds it even worse there 4.5/5

Vermillion by Daniel Marks: This was another outstanding story about Velvet and Nick who had one of the best romances of the stories. The paranormal elements also kicked my butt which I'm sure would please Velvet. 4.5/5

The Hounds of Ulster by Maggie Stiefvater: Bryant's best friend Sullivan is a brilliant musician who also happens to fall in love with one of Them, thereby destroying their friendship and their usual jam sessions. Another great story from Stiefvater 4/5

Many Happy Returns by Daniel Waters: I didn't really like this story but I'm not familiar with the Generation Dead universe where it takes place. It's one of the sadder stories, which I think accounts for why I didn't like it very much. 3/5

Dungeons of Langeais by Becca Fitzpatrick-when I started this I was worried I wouldn't be able to follow it since it's a Hush, Hush story and I haven't read that yet. It focuses on Chauncey who is apparently in Hush, Hush but I could follow it anyway. Because it is about Chauncey, one quite hates the evil angel who bamboozled him; said angel being Patch who is apparently the romantic hero. I already don't like him. But it was very readable. 3.5/5

Overall: Because I didn't like the first few stories that much, it lowered the rating of the book as a whole. However I would still recommend the collection especially if you've had the pleasure of reading books by these writers and are familiar with the universes. I definitely felt that romance was lacking in a few stories but they all had their unique mythologies which made the paranormal aspects pleasing to me.

Cover: Kind of creepy which is appropriate.

*I received this from the publisher with Becca Fitzpatrick's story typed on regular pages and inserted folded in to the book.