Mini Review: The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge

• Pub. Date: February 22, 2011
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Pages:512
• Series: Iron Codex #1
• Goodreads/Amazon/Book Depository

      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.

First Line: There are seventeen madhouses in the city of Lovecraft.

Review: I really need to read more steampunk because I really enjoyed The Iron Thorn. Now it did take me a few chapters to get fully sucked into the story since I felt it started off a little slow but once things took off and all these crazy twists kept being thrown in and people not being who you think they are ... well I was totally invested in the book.

The romance scenes could have been done more better they were a little lackluster but the characters Aoife ( I still am not sure how to pronounce that), Dean and Cal were all very intriguing. I loved Dean because of how strong of a character he was and then there was Cal who is Aoife's best friend and was a total surprise in many ways. And then Aoife who was just as strong of a character as her male counterpart Dean. The girl had balls and was not afraid of a little adventure.

Overall the world building was done very well and quite unique. I found this to be an enjoyable read and will be picking up the next book soon.