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The Nightmare Garden (Iron Codex #2)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 622 ratings · 130 reviews

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 s...more

Hardcover, 417 pages

Published February 14th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

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Feb 02, 2012 Ashleigh Paige rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, main-character-needs-to-shut-up, e-arc-via-netgalley, the-decent-shelf-of-meh, whoops-threw-it-across-the-room

Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Engine is destroyed, monsters and Fae can freely travel through the Gates to the Iron Land, and Aoife is on the run after a series of revelations about who she is. As she runs with her friends from both the Proctors, led by the monstrous Grey Draven, and Tremaine, who doesn't appear to be finished with her yet, the iron that drove her mother and brother insane starts to take its toll on her mind....more Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Engine is destroyed, monsters and Fae can freely travel through the Gates to the Iron Land, and Aoife is on the run after a series of revelations about who she is. As she runs with her friends from both the Proctors, led by the monstrous Grey Draven, and Tremaine, who doesn't appear to be finished with her yet, the iron that drove her mother and brother insane starts to take its toll on her mind. Aoife sees only one way to fix everything she has done wrong: finding the nightmare clock and setting back time to keep it all from happening. But getting to the clock will be difficult and more than a few people will do whatever they can to keep her from it.

Aoife spent most of the book frustrating me and making me wish I could kick her. This appears to be a Kittredge specialty; I read all five of her Nocturne City books and rare were moments I didn't want to throw a barefoot Luna into an endless sea of Legos. She spends most of the book going "I can fix this! We just have to turn back time" and it strikes me as inconsistent characterization for her to be so naive and cling to that idea considering the life she has lived and what she has been through. She remains difficult to like, though it is understandable in certain ways, and the way her creeping insanity wormed its way into the narrative occasionally was perfect.

Cal and Dean, both central characters in the first book, fade into the background this time around, Cal moreso than Dean. As much as I would have liked to see Bethina developed beyond her role as Cal's love interest and Archie's maid, we learned nothing more about her. The connections Aoife had with her brother (who is, for the record, a high-level jerk), dad, and (for all intents and purposes) stepmother Valentina were tenuous at the best of times but nevertheless written well. But what was up with Valentina talking to someone suspiciously and that possible plot thread being dropped just like that?

The Nightmare Garden does improve on a few of the flaws of The Iron Thorn by speeding up the pacing and smoothing out some of the writing, but it still feels overwritten more often than I would like and lines like "I pulled out a handful of Valentina's hair curlers out of the bag and, using a careful, delicate touch, shoved them one by one between all the circuits (The Nightmare Garden, ARC p. 242)" make me raise an eyebrow. Nevertheless, this book easily evaded the Middle Book Slump and kept me entertained the entire time.

The shocking ending and the cliffhanger that goes with it hooked me for the final book of the trilogy, and I hope for Aoife to demonstrate more maturity than she has in the last two books. This is going to be an unpopular opinion, but the twist at the end of the book? I hope Aoife doesn't end up fixing it. Leaving it as is opens a new, more exciting door for her as a character than the door she would go through while trying to "fix" the twist. Once you read the book and figure out what I'm talking about, you'll know what I mean and probably hate me for it. Fans of the first book will certainly enjoy The Nightmare Garden just as much.(less)

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Ashleigh Paige You can recommend it to me all you want, but that won't make me read it! I've seen yours and THT's reviews and I'm thinking, "Thank goodness I didn't...more
updated Feb 02, 2012 06:23pm

Braiden Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Oh yeah and you did just remind me about that Valentina episode with the microphone thing. It was dropped but I reckon s...more
Mar 04, 2012 06:17pm

Apr 02, 2012 ◕ ◡ ◕ Arooj rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: covers-to-die-for, own, favorites, books-i-fell-hard-for

Totally awesome!
Though, it wasn't as good as the first.
Just sayin'.

Before I start this review, I just wanted to clear something first. As excited as I was to finally read this book (I totally loved The Iron Thorn), I sort of had a hard time reading it. But that wasn't the books fault - not entirely. Mostly it was because I've been in a reading slump for the past week. I don't know why. Guess it could be because of all the school work, or I maybe it was because I was having a crappy week. So it r...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Elizabeth Mock rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: steampunk, young-adult, recommended

I have a mad girl-crush on Aoife. For serious.

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Apr 12, 2013 Dark Faerie Tales rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-by-emmy

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: An improvement on the first installment, creepy and fast paced, but our heroine is still whiney and I’m still not impressed with anything but the world-building.

Opening Sentence: In my dream, I am alone.

The Review:

If you read the synopsis, you’ve already spoiled yourself for The Iron Codex, but reading this review will make it worse! If you haven’t read book one, you don’t need to read this review yet. SPOILERS AHEAD.

This sequel picks up wh...more

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Jul 10, 2012 drey rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, steampunk, ya, horror

Aoife knows the truth now – about the Necrovirus, about going mad, about her mother and her father. And the world’s gone to heck in a handbasket, all because she destroyed the Engine. Lovecraft is a mess, and Aoife’s on the run.

You’d think that one big mess is enough to make a girl stop and think, but Aoife’s too busy – she’s trying to stay ahead of the Proctors, there are Erlkin to meet, and the Brotherhood to find. In short, she does a lot of running away and running around. She’s trying to fi...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: on-the-shelf

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Apr 17, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, steampunk, urban, young-adult

Second in the Iron Codex steampunk urban fantasy series for young adults.

My Take
I'm half and half on this. Kittredge wrote a great story, but Aoife drove me nuts. She is such a typical charge-in-and-pay-no-attention-to-the-consequences kid. I couldn't decide if I wanted to smack her or shoot her. She keeps charging into situations just to satisfy her own needs. She whines. Omigod, she whines on and on. Dork. She rushes off to rescue her mom without any planning. She runs away to find the Brother...more

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Feb 26, 2012 Amy Lignor rated it 3 of 5 stars

What began in an amazing fantasy story called, The Iron Garden, continues in this fast-paced book that follows the clan that survived a truly horrendous scheme that turned into a nightmare.

Aoife Grayson is a young woman who is allergic to iron, and when she gets near it - if exposed long enough - can go mentally insane…just like her mother did. Her father is nowhere near the type of man she thought he was. In essence, he’s a man who simply left his family behind and disappeared without a care in...more What began in an amazing fantasy story called, The Iron Garden, continues in this fast-paced book that follows the clan that survived a truly horrendous scheme that turned into a nightmare.

Aoife Grayson is a young woman who is allergic to iron, and when she gets near it - if exposed long enough - can go mentally insane…just like her mother did. Her father is nowhere near the type of man she thought he was. In essence, he’s a man who simply left his family behind and disappeared without a care in the world. Her brother is a real pain in the butt and feels as if he is in charge of everything and that all people should follow him.

When Aoife destroyed the Lovecraft Engine, she destroyed her past and the people she loved. Now, she lives as a fugitive in the Mists - the place between the Iron Land and the Land of Thorn. Here, she is surrounded by Dean, the love of her life; her friends Cal and Bethina; and her brother, Conrad - who still seems to order everyone around like he’s the General and they are the pawns.

What Aoife wants more than anything is to return home in order to save her mother and fix what she destroyed, but in order to do that, the gang must find a way to keep from getting caught by Grey Draven (who wants nothing more than to get at Aoife’s father), as well as Tremaine, a Fae who is desperate to make sure that he’s the one in charge when everything is all over.

Within the Mists they are captured by Dean’s old friends and taken to The Wytch King, where they will have to find a way to escape and survive the attack that’s about to commence. When the savior arrives, and it’s her own father, who Aoife never wanted to see, the story turns a corner. Aoife finds herself plagued by nightmares leading her to the Arctic Circle, the Nightmare Clock, and the next part of her journey to mend broken fences and save lives.

As with the first in this series, readers must always pay attention to the roster of characters that are highlighted. The best relationship this time around is Cal and Bethina. Cal has his own issues, yet he has fallen for Bethina and struggles with the fact that once she sees “who” he is, she’ll never speak to him again.

A good, solid sequel to a truly unique series.

Until Next Time, Everybody.
Amy
(less)

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Sep 18, 2012 Christine Rains rated it 4 of 5 stars

Aoife Grayson has destroyed everything she cares about. All she has left is her family and Dean, and she'll do anything to keep them. She's a fugitive hunted by both the Proctors and the Fae. Each have their own plans for her, but she has her own. To save those she loves, she needs to find the Nightmare Clock in the World of Dreams. A world that doesn't really exist but is more real than all worlds. Will Aoife be able to save everyone or will she unleash the Old Ones and destroy their entire uni...more

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Mar 14, 2012 Justine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopia-march-reading-challenge, 2012-dystopian-challenge

This is the second book in the Iron Codex series about Aoife Grayson the half human half fae girl.

*SPOILER ALERT*
They have escaped Lovecraftand are now traveling through Windhaven, the flying city run by Erlkin. The are captured and are being held for trespassing. They know that Aoife and Conrad are halfbreeds. Aoife just wants to save their mother. So they escape from Windhaven and Aoife uses her weird to open the gate back to Lovecraft.

Lovecraft is in ruins. The buildings are crumbles, there i...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Anna Dase rated it 5 of 5 stars

Caitlin has done it once again. She wrote an outstanding book. I love Caitlin’s writing style it is FANTASTIC. I love Aoife I love the way her character is so realistic. I liked the way she sorta makes the same mistake in this book has she did in The Iron Thorn. Her character did not grow as much as some of the other characters but that is part of why I like her so much. And in this book she is determined to fix the mess she created when she broke the Lovecraft Machine by finding The Nightmare C...more

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Mar 04, 2012 Vanya D. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012, dystopian, paranormal-urban-fantasy

I received this book to review from Netgalley. I have not read the first installment, but as it happened, it wasn't really necessary. "The Nightmare Garden" was written in such a way, that a new reader, who has no idea what she's got in her hands - what world she's entering - would have no problem to follow the story. I sure did, you would too if you like a mix of steampunk, paranormal, dystopian kind of thing that has a tinny tiny flavor of romance underneath all the drama.

Well, unfortunately,...more I received this book to review from Netgalley. I have not read the first installment, but as it happened, it wasn't really necessary. "The Nightmare Garden" was written in such a way, that a new reader, who has no idea what she's got in her hands - what world she's entering - would have no problem to follow the story. I sure did, you would too if you like a mix of steampunk, paranormal, dystopian kind of thing that has a tinny tiny flavor of romance underneath all the drama.

Well, unfortunately, for the time from 33% to 80% the story got so boring, I was a second away from putting it down and just dismissing it. I was totally ready to do it, but decided against it out of respect for the author who put so much time and effort into writing this story. Instead, what I did was skip around and read just the dialogues and some of the descriptions. It's unbelievable how good it felt to read it this way. No tedious explanations that repeated themselves, no descriptions that went beyond the necessary... And then at 80% the action, tension and drama picked up, and with them so did my interest. It's why I gave it the 3 star rating.

I was annoyed by the repetitive explaining of the main character, Aoife, how terrible she felt for leaving her mother in Lovecraft. That happened at least once every couple of pages, and after the first several times, I got tired of it. Then Aoife was saying how much regret she felt for ever trusting the Fae Tremaine, but she did it again and oh, how terrible she felt!!!

Also, there was so much telling, that the showing kind of got lost somewhere in between the lines. So, me skipping around was kind of helpful. And with reading so little of the overbearing descriptions, I was still well aware of what and where was going on. So why make a novel so unbearably heavy with needless narrative?

I don't think I liked Aoife. She felt superficial and lost in herself for the better part of the book. She didn't really care what anyone else around her felt like or thought. The only important thing to her was... well... herself. Her feelings, her inner turmoils... It was too much.

And Dean, her Erlkin boyfriend, never got angry at her even though she had to be yelled at at least half the time. It was unnatural, like he was a toy and he had to be played.

Conrad, her brother was more with his wits than Aoife wanted to portray. He saw things in their real image, he saw what was right and did it. I can say that I liked that guy.

I don't think I will recommend this book to my friends, seeing that it was too long for its own good. One must really be into extensive descriptions to like The Nightmare Garden.(less)

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Apr 13, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: all-things-fae, steam-punk

The Nightmare Garden, hmmm what can I say but it drove me CRAZY! I thoroughly enjoyed the first book but this one stole my imagination and refuses give it back. I truly enjoyed it. Its fast paced and captivating, probably because she doesn't have to explain as much. You should already know most of it based on The Iron Thorn. Now, Aoife is the main reason for my insanity. I want to love her but she is that annoying little sister that can't quite see past her own needs to know what she should or s...more

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Apr 29, 2012 Pauline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I found this story about a post apocalyptic world interesting and refreshing. Don't know why YA authors start by making their heroines stupidly determined to do what their emotions dictate even while showing evidence said heroine has the brains to see what she's doing is dumber than dirt in a park pathway but ignores it because "she just has to do this" while everyone around her gets blottoed like bowling pins while she speeds toward certain destruction. Of course, to make such plots work, the e...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Liz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: dystopian, read-2012, steampunk

I enjoyed reading this sequel to The Iron Thorn. It continued fluidly and answered some of the many questions set up in the first book. Caitlin Kittredge knows how to tell a good story with lots of world-building and character development. I was slightly bothered by the amount of times that the author built up an emotional storm with the main character and then immediately followed it with an explanation that all the emotion drained away completely. This is believable sometimes, but those emotio...more

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May 06, 2012 Neile rated it 4 of 5 stars

A worthy successor to The Iron Thorn, this picks up immediately after the end of that one with the Lovecraft Engine destroyed and Aoife reviled for it. She travels between the worlds, in hopes of finding a way to rescue her mother, evade the enemies pursuing her, and stay far from the iron that will make her as mad as her mother is. She's running from place to place, so the story feels a little episodic and as well Aoife is just a touch too impatient and willful in a world this dark and dangerou...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Isamlq rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-galley

Thank the gods, for the recap moments in Nightmare Garden which caught me up on the details that were fuzzy at best. As much as I loved whole chunks of Part One, the book is simply too long to bother with. The thing that’s stuck this long is how much I liked how different Cal turned out to be.

There be SPOILERS for the first book ahead...
(view spoiler)...more Thank the gods, for the recap moments in Nightmare Garden which caught me up on the details that were fuzzy at best. As much as I loved whole chunks of Part One, the book is simply too long to bother with. The thing that’s stuck this long is how much I liked how different Cal turned out to be.

There be SPOILERS for the first book ahead...
(view spoiler)

This second book did take things up a notch in terms of pace. My primary complaint in the first was how needless some moments were. And while this second installment is along one, most everything in it didn’t drag by. If anything it was one chase then another then another. Now, if that were all to be said, I’d stop. But there’s a couple of things nagging at me:

Foremost of which is Aoife. I could never settle what I felt for her. Did I like her? Was I annoyed by her? Did she make me sad? And it seems she made me feel all these things but never too deeply. One thing was clear to me: she was doing the same wrong things she’d done in the first book. And it had me wondering if she’d she ever learn. Add the fact that I did not like what Cal had become in this one. If in the first he was a major player (BFF and all that,) here little was heard from him. His presence felt like an afterthought to me.

If there’s one thing that’s got me more than a little excited it’s Dean. We finally know a little more of who he is. That aside... I need to find out what’s to come for him. Because that damned ending (cliffy or not) was effective.

3.5/5

Thank you Edelweiss!(less)

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Feb 19, 2012 Anjana rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read The Iron Thorn a few days ago and I was glued. This is a series with a bit of everything - romance, steampunk, dystopia, paranormal and even a little bit of darkness. How on earth Kittredge managed to create such a world and still make it likable, I'll never know. It's like having every genre I like blended into one, which I'll admit sounds weird but it seriously wasn't! I cannot emphasize enough on the absolute awesomeness of the world created by Caitlin Kittredge! It's undoubtedly one o...more I read The Iron Thorn a few days ago and I was glued. This is a series with a bit of everything - romance, steampunk, dystopia, paranormal and even a little bit of darkness. How on earth Kittredge managed to create such a world and still make it likable, I'll never know. It's like having every genre I like blended into one, which I'll admit sounds weird but it seriously wasn't! I cannot emphasize enough on the absolute awesomeness of the world created by Caitlin Kittredge! It's undoubtedly one of the most imaginative settings I've read about. I mean, come on! Faeries, monsters, machines and magic! Do they sound like they go together?

While I loved the world created in The Iron Thorn, I wasn't a fan of Aoife - the protagonist in The Iron Codex series -, I just couldn't decide if I loved her or hated her, she really frustrated me. Although there was nothing specifically wrong with Aoife, I just could't connect to her. However, despite the lack of character development with Aoife, I still couldn't put the book down.Um, I guess the fact that I was crushing on Cal helped a little.

Having said that, the previous book had a few flaws but The Nightmare Garden was fantastic on so many levels! Well, I'm still not a fan of Aoife but the story got much more interesting. If you recall, the first book ended with quite a few plot holes which made me feel unsettled but some of them get cleared up in this book. Cal isn't around much in this one, in fact, we barely see him which was highly disappointing! But we do learn more about Dean, who was a bit of a question mark to me in book one but had me lusting after him in this one! The story played out smooth, exciting and interesting. It was a huge improvement from The Iron Thorn, which got a little draggy in between. Aoife's brother Conrad was really annoying but Kittredge managed to work the broken/dysfunctional family pretty well.

Finally, Caitlin Kittredge is certainly an impressive writer. I can vouch for the awesomeness of The Nightmare Garden - this one definitely kicks its predecessor's ass.
The ending was a shock and left me speechless! I mean, where did that twist come from? I HATE cliffhangers because they have me going crazy and wanting more and this book did exactly that. I have so many questions and thoughts going on in my head that it's driving me insane! *sigh* This is why I shouldn't get attached to fictional guys. (less)

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Mar 18, 2012 Carina Olsen rated it 5 of 5 stars

After I finished The Iron Thorn I knew I needed to read the sequel right away. And I did. Meaning I read over 600 pages yesterday; so my head ain't feeling too good :p But anyway. I didn't love this book as much as I loved The Iron Thorn, but I still loved it a whole lot :D It is a really, really good sequel.

The Nightmare Garden has a lot of action going on. So much happens in it. But it is all exciting to read about :) Not all good things, though. Mostly just bad things happen. But it is all so...more After I finished The Iron Thorn I knew I needed to read the sequel right away. And I did. Meaning I read over 600 pages yesterday; so my head ain't feeling too good :p But anyway. I didn't love this book as much as I loved The Iron Thorn, but I still loved it a whole lot :D It is a really, really good sequel.

The Nightmare Garden has a lot of action going on. So much happens in it. But it is all exciting to read about :) Not all good things, though. Mostly just bad things happen. But it is all so good to read about, so I didn't mind that much :D At least not in the beginning. I minded a whole lot at the end.

The plot in this book is just as good as the plot in book 1. I liked it all. Don't want to spoil it; so if you have not read book one you really should not read the summary for The Nightmare Garden :) It spoils a whole lot. I didn't read it before I read the book though; so I didn't mind :)

There is a lot of bad guys in this book. And they are really bad. But I liked that they were there; it made the story much more interesting :) Although something didn't need to be, to be honest. There is some new characters in this book; and I did like some of them :) Although we didn't get to see too much of them.

Most though, there are the same characters from book one :) And I liked that. Although I still felt like this book didn't focus much on the people. Like, we barely saw something about Cal at all. And even though I didn't like him that much; I wish there had been more of him :) I was a tiny bit disappointed in Aoife in this book. Not much, just a tiny bit.

She was alot more grumpy in this book, especially towards Dean and I didn't like that. But she wasn't that bad; so I can forgive her for it :) I think. But then she also did something really stupid near the end of the book that I did not approve of. But it did fit with the story; so I dealed with it ;)

She was still a great character though. I really did like that the book was from her POV :) I really loved Dean in this book. He just gets better and better. He is the best character. <3 And I love him so much. What I was a bit disappointed in though, was how little romance there was in this book :( There was more in the first book. Even though they are together in this book; there was little romance.

And then that beyond horrible thing happened at the end. And I'm just really pissed about it. You really should now that the book ends really bad. Really, really bad. And oh so sad :'( But. There is a tiny hope at the end. And I'm extremely happy about that. But how in the world I will survive waiting a year for the next book, I do not know. I need it! <3

Anyway,. this book is awesome. Really good. So if you have read the first book, you must read this! :D It is so good. And if you still haven't read book one, what are you waiting for? This series is amazing.(less)

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Mar 02, 2012 Trisha Wolfe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Kittredge’s writing is always the first thing to hook me in her books. Her style, and the way she paints each scene with description and emotion pulls me into the story, and promises amazing things to come. The Nightmare Garden is the second book in the Iron Codex Series, and it picks up right where the first one left off. Aoife (pronounced EE-fa) destroyed the Lovecraft machine, and is on the run with her friends, wracked with guilt over the destruction she caused. Despite the real possibility...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Karissa rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the Iron Codex series by Kittredge. This third book is supposed to be titled, The Mirrored Shard, and from what I could find is scheduled for a late 2012/early 2013 release. I absolutely loved the first book and couldn't wait to read the second. In this book we venture into the Mists and get to meet the secret Brotherhood that Aoife's father was part of. I love the world and the characters created in this series; although I was a little disappointed that Aoife kept mak...more This is the second book in the Iron Codex series by Kittredge. This third book is supposed to be titled, The Mirrored Shard, and from what I could find is scheduled for a late 2012/early 2013 release. I absolutely loved the first book and couldn't wait to read the second. In this book we venture into the Mists and get to meet the secret Brotherhood that Aoife's father was part of. I love the world and the characters created in this series; although I was a little disappointed that Aoife kept making the same mistakes over and over again.

Aoife has destroyed the Great Engine, unintentionally loosing the monsters of the Thorn (faerie lands) into the Iron lands (our world). She is forced to flee into the Mists with her brother, Cal, Dean, and Bethina. Eventually Aoife meets up with her father back in the Iron land. She finally decides that rather than slowly go insane in the Iron land waiting for her father to do something, she is going to take matters into her own hands and try to find the Nightmare Clock. With the Nightmare Clock she should be able to turn back time and mend the world.

I know a lot of people are upset that Aoife makes the same huge mistakes in the second book that she does in the first. In a way though I kind of liked this, it made the story ironic and makes Aoife a perfect tragic heroine of sorts. I love Aoife's blend of toughness, rashness, tenderness, and vulnerability. This blend makes her a very realistic character. The fact that she makes her decisions out of a well-intentioned need to protect those she loves makes the whole story all that more gothic and tragic.

I continue to absolutely love this world. In this book we get to venture deeper into the Mists and deeper into the land of Thorn. We also join the characters on a trip to the Brotherhood's icy and distant headquarters. The worlds are beautifully described and absolutely came alive for me. I was sucked into these worlds and really want to read more about them.

I enjoyed most of the characters as well. There are no simple characters in this story; they all have tragic backgrounds and complicated motives. Dean is another favorite of mine; he continues to be supportive and respective of Aoife in a way that makes me just love him. Cal also continues to be a wonderful addition to the story.

I will say that the story starts to a get a little ambiguous at parts. Especially as Aoife begins to teeter on the edge of insanity again, sometimes it is hard to tell her dreams from her real actions. Some readers may not enjoy this, but I thought it was cleverly done and gives the reader an excellent feel for what Aoife is going through.

The end of the book is heart-rending and ends on a super horrible cliffhanger. It had me dying to know what happens in the final book, The Mirrored Shard.

Overall I absolutely adored this book. I love the dark and gothic steampunk world that the story takes place in. I love Aoife's realistic personality and how she is a tragically flawed heroine. I love the supporting characters. I love the strange and unpredictable shifts in the plot and I love the new worlds we get to explore in this book. I highly recommend this book to steampunk and fantasy fans of all ages.(less)

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May 07, 2012 StorySnoops rated it 3 of 5 stars

Picking up right where The Iron Thorn left off, The Nightmare Garden continues the story of Aoife Grayson. This series fits squarely into the steampunk genre--a fantasy set in an alternative version of an historical period where steam power is widely used. In this case, the story is set loosely in 1950's New England and describes old-fashioned values about good breeding. Main character Aoife has come a long way from the days when she was concerned about... (click for full review http://www.story ...more

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Mar 24, 2013 Erica Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: series, teen-paranormal, faeries-pixies, dystopia, scifi-fantasy, 2013-reading-list

I thought Caitlin Kittredge had opened an exciting new world in the first book of this series The Iron Thorn. I didn't realize then that she had only given me a glimpse of so many fantastical things to come. She introduces new worlds, new creatures and a whole lot of new problems for Aoife, Dean, Cal and Bethina. The Nightmare Garden was full of tension, sweet romance and plenty of edge-of-your-seat action.

The Nightmare Garden opens in a the Mists, where Aoife's brother Conrad has taken her and...more I thought Caitlin Kittredge had opened an exciting new world in the first book of this series The Iron Thorn. I didn't realize then that she had only given me a glimpse of so many fantastical things to come. She introduces new worlds, new creatures and a whole lot of new problems for Aoife, Dean, Cal and Bethina. The Nightmare Garden was full of tension, sweet romance and plenty of edge-of-your-seat action.

The Nightmare Garden opens in a the Mists, where Aoife's brother Conrad has taken her and all of her friends to hide. But Aoife's nightmares haven't stopped and she's about to be catapulted right out of the supposed 'protection' of the Mists and back into the dangers of the now ruined city of Lovecraft. Aoife is determined to get her mother back after feeling as though she'd abandoned her after destroying the engine below Lovecraft. But it seems like everything in the world is going to stop her from finding Nerissa. Including her father and his much younger girlfriend, Valentina, who come crashing into the story quite suddenly. That was something I honestly wasn't expecting, but enjoyed very much.

I enjoyed getting to know Aoife's brother, Conrad, in this book even though after awhile I started to find him really annoying. Watching how Aoife noticed the change in her brother's behavior was interesting but we also get to see just how much Aoife has come into her own after everything she's been through. She's no longer worried about being the 'proper young lady' that everyone told her she should be when she lived in Lovecraft. There were a couple of more steamy moments between her and Dean, but the romance was still as sweet as it had been in the first book. I loved them to pieces in this book!! Aoife discovers in this book that being near Dean makes everything better for her. She doesn't realize it, but in this book we watch how every reaction she has to Dean makes her truly fall in love with him. I loved how the author weaved their romance so gently into the story, it was perfect.

So worth the 5 stars and with an ending that left my stomach in knots, The Nightmare Garden didn't top The Iron Thorn, but sure came close!(less)

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Jul 05, 2012 Latoya rated it 3 of 5 stars

Thoughts: This was an okay read. There seems to be a theme for taking the fairy world and adding an iron twist. As I was reading, I was reminded of Kagawa's Iron Fey series. However, Kittredge has taken it to another level by implementing a dystopian, steam punk feel to this work. In the previous book, Aoife has destroyed the home that she once knew and now is on the run from those that want to use her for personal gain. Aoife is a frustrating, stubborn and strong-willed character, who is easily...more Thoughts: This was an okay read. There seems to be a theme for taking the fairy world and adding an iron twist. As I was reading, I was reminded of Kagawa's Iron Fey series. However, Kittredge has taken it to another level by implementing a dystopian, steam punk feel to this work. In the previous book, Aoife has destroyed the home that she once knew and now is on the run from those that want to use her for personal gain. Aoife is a frustrating, stubborn and strong-willed character, who is easily tricked into doing things. Apparently, she didn't learn her lesson from the last book and should think harder before making rash decisions. My favorite character in this story is surprisingly one of the villains, Tremaine, devious and crafty; he is always one step ahead of Aoife. No matter how many times she thinks she has thwarted his plans, he just switches his angle and comes up with a new avenue that is a satisfactory channel to getting closer to what he desires. Have to love a cunning and calculating villain.

In this book, the major problem that Aoife must face is finding the nightmare clock in order to reverse the mess she has made and to find the mother she left behind. She is willing to do anything to make this happen and this is where she messes up. There is always a consequence and Aoife may just end up paying more than she bargained for. The pace was faster than the first book but still slow. Aoife is a hard to character to connect with as she is so misguided, naive and impulsively focused on the end rather than the individual steps to get to that point.

The characters and plot are more fleshed out but I still feel like that spark is missing to truly ignite a magical connection for me. It’s a good story, though; Kittredge has done a fantastic job of creating this world, which makes it visually appealing in the minds’ eye. I wasn't prepared for that ending, interesting surprise! This book gives a better understanding of what or better yet who Aoife is but the questions still remains…what is her purpose?(less)

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Mar 19, 2012 Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-ya, fantasy-fiction, cover-pretty-white-girl

This garden contained the seeds of an interesting book, but I don't think that they received the necessary attention to allow them to sprout and blossom properly. I think too much time was spent getting from point A to point B — the most important thing turned out to be getting Aoife to the villains' lair (I'm oversimplifying), and we didn't even find out about that until a point that was fairly close to the end. Lots of traveling, lots of teenage moping and backbiting, as others have noted. To...more

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Jul 12, 2012 MaryBookSwarm rated it 4 of 5 stars

Aoife is clued in to what's really going on now--she knows the Necrovirus is made up and she knows she's a changeling, which is why, with her iron allergy, she will eventually go mad like her mother unless she can figure something out. But she doesn't really have time to ponder things over a cup of tea. The damage she and her friends wrought might have made their world even worse than it previously was. The gates are down and creatures of all sorts are free to roam the world.

At times rather anno...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Ash of Typing Tiara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-have-won, read-in-2012, reviewed-typing-tiara-blog

After having finished The Nightmare Garden it feels as though The Iron Thorn was merely a set-up novel in a lot of ways, a novel I liked but didn't love. Having read The Nightmare Garden I see now why it had to be that way. There were tons of concepts, characters and settings that had to be set up for the reader in just the right way for the story as a whole to fall into place. A sort of having all of the planets align in just the perfect order kind of thing.

The Nightmare Garden just wowed me wi...more

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May 22, 2012 Syahira Sharif rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: action, alternative-dimension, dark-fiction, steampunk, sidhe, young-adult, mild-romance

This book has one awfully good storytelling for a sequel. I love the way Miss Kittredge weave her stories in a way that its entertaining and intriguing at the same time. Its been a long time since I last read the first book but in this book, I find myself back to where I was in the story which is by its own way, are not fillers. I like Kittredge's Nocturne adult series but I gave up after 5th or 6th book since the series is pretty familiar with Keri Arthur's Riley Jenson books so I probably will...more

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Jun 22, 2012 Leanne Bell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternative-dystopian-realities, blue-green-grey, cliffhanger, demons-and-other-beasties, didnt-see-that-coming, faerie-stories, fantasy-sci-fi-paranormal, prettiful-covers, read-2012, read-june-2012, seriously-evil-bad-guys, troubled-lead-guys-girls, wtf, young-adult

I loved this book, I really really did. But why oh why the cliffhanger ending?! Maybe I'm feeling particularly sensitive at the moment, but when I have to wait ages to find out the outcome of of a Trilogy I get a wee bit antsy with cliffhangers.*bangs head of sofa in frustration*
Right, feeling more sensible now :) On a more serious note though, that is not the reason it didn't get a perfect score.

I seem to differ from the majority of reviews on this book, in the way that I preferred The Iron Tho...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Kaye rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: steampunk lovers

Shelves: 2012-reads, dystopian, fantasy, steampunk, netgalley

To start off with the good points: just like in The Iron Thorn, you can see how much time and patience must have been placed into the world-building - both within Lovecraft and the outer borders of civilization. Aoife is finally reunited with Conrad (but unfortunately, their relationship hasn't gotten much better) and the two of them, plus Cal (who doesn't get a lot of screen time this novel, unfortunately), Bethina and of course Dean, are on the run after what Aoife's powers have wrought on the...more To start off with the good points: just like in The Iron Thorn, you can see how much time and patience must have been placed into the world-building - both within Lovecraft and the outer borders of civilization. Aoife is finally reunited with Conrad (but unfortunately, their relationship hasn't gotten much better) and the two of them, plus Cal (who doesn't get a lot of screen time this novel, unfortunately), Bethina and of course Dean, are on the run after what Aoife's powers have wrought on the city.

Now, before I get too far into the review, let me warn you right up front: you thought The Iron Thorn was angsty? This is major A N G S T. I fluctuated every other page from loving Aoife, to hating her, to just feeling sorry that her life turned her into such a moody second-guesser. She's just as brave as in the first installment, but she's gotten totally stubborn and more than a little difficult to work with. Conrad, I'm sorry to say, is pretty much a major jerk for the entirety of the novel, which leads to total sibling head-butting ("I'm the big brother!" "You held a knife against my throat! I think that pretty much negates any big brother responsibilities!").

Since Lovecraft is pretty much a dead zone, we don't get to see much of it until the end. There are new territories to be explored, and the return of a character I must say I'm not too fond of - *organ music* Aoife's dad.

...And his new girlfriend, who isn't much better in my opinion. At this point, I had to stop and say out loud, "Okay - you didn't learn your lesson about non-marital relationships the first time?" But I guess that's just another sign of how dysfunctional the family is.

Of course, the book wouldn't be complete without a reappearance of Tremaine - ugh, hate that guy. And there's a surprise twist (!!!) that Aoife has to deal with and reconcile herself to, concerning her mom...that's all I'm going to say.

One thing I can tell you: die-hard Dean fangirls? The ending is going to kill you. It's a good thing I'm reading this from a purely fair, unbiased point of view.

And now that we've covered the main aspects of the story, let's turn to...

Warnings: Aoife and Conrad were born out of wedlock; and considering that their dad has a new girlfriend, doesn't seem like their parents are going to rectify that anytime soon. Dean's in the same boat. Poor kids. As mentioned before, there's also a ton of ANGST and character death and destruction and the like - this is dystopian steampunk. There's also the brief appearance of a female captain that's not exactly...straight, if you know what I mean.

Also, a little side-note about Dean and smoking: despite Dean being a character and impervious to death unless his author dispatches him (cruel woman that she is....ahem). Keep that in mind, kids. Don't try it at home.

Summing It Up: Major angst. Daddy issues. And a killer ending. Take that as you will. (less)

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About Caitlin Kittredge

Caitlin started writing novels at age 13. Her first was a Star Wars tie-in. Fortunately, she branched out from there and after a few years trying to be a screenwriter, a comic book writer and the author of copious amounts of fanfiction, she tried to write a novel again. Her epic dark fantasy (thankfully) never saw the light of day but while she was struggling with elves and sorcerers she got the i...more

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“My eye was caught by movement from behind the automaton. Just a flicker, but my heart clenched with surprise and fear, and I tapped Dean on the arm, pointing. “Something’s over there.”
He followed my finger, and we both saw the flicker of red on the unbroken gray brick of the foundry walls.
“Son of a bitch,” Dean growled, jamming his hand in his pocket and pulling out his switchblade. “Hey!” he bellowed at the moving shadow. “Hey, you!”
“Dean …,” I started, thinking that perhaps shouting at the figure wasn’t the best idea.
“I see you!” Dean shouted. “No point in hiding.”
“Dean, we don’t know what it is,” I whispered, worried that if he made a move, whoever or whatever lurked beyond the automaton would take it badly. Dean shook his head.
“Relax, princess. It’s a kid.” He advanced on the shadow. “Aren’t you?”
“Up yours, mister!” the shadow shouted back. I pressed a hand over my mouth, both to stifle a laugh and from relief. To find another person in this wasteland was ten times more unexpected than finding a creature like the nightjars and ghouls that populated Lovecraft’s underground.
“Say,” Dean drawled, brows drawing together. “I know you, kid.”
“I know your mother!” the kid retorted. “And she has some disappointing things to say about you.” — 4 people liked it

“I am alone. Alone except for the sirens, alone except for the burning, empty city on the edge of a rotting, pollutedriver green with algae, host to rubber-skinned, gibbous-eyed things with mouths large enough to swallow me whole andprotruding stomachs ready to digest me.” — 2 people liked it

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