The Iron Thorn

The Iron Thorn
Author: Caitlin Kittredge
Page Count: 492
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers 
Series: Iron Codex #1 
Source: Purchased

Read the summary here on Goodreads.

 

My Review:

I've heard a lot of different opinions about this book; some good and some bad. In my opinion, it was an excellent book.

There were a couple of times were the pacing was slow and a little draw out, but other than that, The Iron Thorn was a very well paced novel.

The characters were amazing. You think you know who they really are, but as the novel progresses, you learn that the characters are not really who you thought they were. They all have their secrets, but those secrets eventually come to the surface. Aoife is a strong female character who sticks up for herself and doesn't listen when others try to tell her what to do. While I didn't agree with her attitude all the time, I still like her as a character and thought she grew throughout the novel. Dean starts out as her guide, but eventually becomes much more. He is also not who he seems to be. Cal got on my nerves a bit during the novel, but all-in-all, he's a good guy and Aoife's best friend. No one's secret shocked me more than his.

The storyline of this novel was very intriguing. The novel takes place in an alternate version of the 1950s in Massachusetts. Aoife lives in a world where belief in magic and such are forbidden and condemnable by death. Her family suffers from an illness that causes them to go mad. Her mother is locked in a madhouse and her brother disappeared. Aoife attends the School of Engineers and is a ward of the state. After she receives a strange letter from her brother, she and Cal escape from the school and set off to save him and enlist the help of Dean, who becomes their guide. There is a lot the happens in this book from the time the set off to the end. There is hardly ever a dull moment.

You definitely get the steampunk aspect in this novel. It takes a little getting used to. I had some trouble with the lingo that it used in this novel because I had no idea how to pronounce some of it. Other than that, a great steampunk novel.

My only really big problem with this book was that I could not figure out how to pronounce Aoife's name. I finally just pronounced it the way I thought it was supposed to sound and went on. I found out once I finished the book that it is pronounced "EE-fah". Maybe I should have looked it up before I read the book.

The end is most certainly a cliffhanger and leaves you eager to read the next book.

While The Iron Thorn is about 500 pages long, I thought every page was worth the time I put into reading it. I look forward to reading The Nightmare Garden.

Rating: 5/5

Review also posted on Goodreads. 

 

Dearly, Departed

Dearly Departed
Author: Lia Habel
Page Count: 470
Release Date: October 18, 2011
Publisher: Del Rey
Series: Gone With the Respiration #1
Source: Won from Lisa Loves Literature blog. Thanks!

Read the summary here on Goodreads. 

My Review

I thought I'd never enjoy about book about a zombie romance, but I was wrong! This book was amazing. Also, a perfect read for Halloween.

The characters are very well written. You get a strong female character, which doesn't happen in a lot of books. Nora wasn't afraid to stand up for herself when she needed to. Yes, she was kind of scared at first when it came to the zombies, or the undead as they prefer to be called, but seriously, what person in their right mind wouldn't be a little scared when surrounded by dozen of people who could quite literally eat you at any moment. She does break down a couple of times throughout the book, but she had very good reasons for it. Nora is also interested in war and politics, unlike the other girls her age, who are interested in making their debut. I can relate to that; I am the kind of person who was never really interested in what everyone else my age was interested in. Then you have Bram, who is very intriguing and later in the book, Nora's love interest. He is also dead. He is one of the zombies who has managed to maintain his mind, thanks to science.

The descriptions were very vivid. You don't find many books that are able to draw you into the character's world as if you were really there.

Dearly, Departed, in my opinion, had a very original and somewhat unique plot. While there are plenty of zombie stories out there, this one has a spin to it. You experience many different genres in the book. There's a horror and a dystopian aspect to it and there is even some steampunk aspects in the story. You also have romance and action and suspense. Honestly, what more can you ask for in one book. The romance between Nora and Bram is one of the focuses of the novel. Even though their relationship develops in a short span of time, it didn't feel like it was rushed.

Now, about the multiple POVs. Some people have liked them, others not so much. While I am not usually a fan of multiple POVs, I actually liked them in this novel. While most of story is told by Nora and Bram, the POVs from the other characters help to develop the story and to build the suspense of the story. In my opinion, if there had not been the multiple POVs, the story just would not have developed the way it did.

The novel is very well paced. Even though it is 470 pages long, it is not long and drawn out. So often, you find novels of this length that you could have cut out at least a hundred pages and still would have had the same story. That was not the case with Dearly, Departed. I felt that every page was necessary.

The ending was a bit of a cliffhanger. While the book wraps up nicely, you are most definitely left wondering what will happen in the next book. What will happen with Bram and Nora and the other characters?

Lastly, the cover. While I felt that I didn't really relate to the story all that much, I still liked it.

All-in-all, this was an absolutely amazing book. I honestly wasn't able to find anything in the book to criticize. At times, I had to force myself to put the book down so I could turn my attention to other things. I would recommend this book to people who are fans of THE WALKING DEAD or zombies in general.

I look forward to reading Dearly, Beloved. 

Rating: 5/5 

Review is also posted on Goodreads. 

 

Stacking the Shelves (01)

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we highlight the books we receive each week.

Library

• Try Not to Breath by Jennifer R. Hubbard
• Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr
• The Diviners by Libba Bray

Bought

• Keep Sweet by Michele Dominguez Greene

• False Memory  by Dean Koontz

All link are to Goodreads.

If you are seeing this, then you have found my new blog. This is my first time trying to manage a blog. I am a follower of many book blogs and decided that it was time for me to make a blog of my own. I have always been hesitant about it because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it. Now I am going to put that fear aside and take a stab at it.

To begin with, I am going to take some of my better reviews from Goodreads and post them hear. After I get the blog established, it will be the first place I post the reviews and then they will be posted secondarily on Goodreads.

As for now, I will not be doing giveaways. I plan to in the future, but I want to get the blog up and running first.

Lastly, I can't promise everyday updates. I'm going to try my best to update frequently, but I can't promise anything. I am currently in the process of getting my LPN license and then finding a job, so I am a little short on time.