I wanted to know how it ended, but it was a bit of a struggle to get there, what with the unconvincing declarations of love for Dean. It never got quite Cthulu-esque enough for me. Oh well, it was a library kindle. ( )

The Mirrored Shard (Iron Codex Series #3) The Mirrored Shard opens on an Aoife much different than before. After everything that has brought her to this point in the series, she is a shell of her former self. With Dean gone, the world descending into madness, and her essentially being the cause for it all, I can't deny her demeanor was easy to understand. Still, I instantly missed the Aoife from the other stories. Strong and witty Aoife. I crossed my fingers that things would resolve themselves, and read on.
 
Now, what first drew me into this series was the world building. Kittredge's writing would flow onto the pages, and I was so drawn in to Lovecraft that I couldn't look away. She built a world where I was able to visit an airship and meet some Fae in the same breath. So imagine my chagrin when I realized that The Mirrored Shard was lacking the descriptive writing I fell in love with. Actually, it is still here. Just less of it. I wanted more of the eerie Deadlands, more of the cold and calculating Fae.
 
Which brings me to my final issue, and in truth the reason why this book garnered fewer stars than the previous two for me: the plot. In previous books Aoife's adventures have always been daring and grand. Filled with danger, narrow escapes, and requiring quick thinking on her part. I loved the camaraderie between the characters. In The Mirrored Shard, I felt like a lot of that was pressed into the background. Aoife is so focused on getting Dean back that she acts much like a petulant child most of the time. The Fae, the Old Ones, everything that kept the story moving, is shoved back for Dean's rescue. It just felt off.
 
That's not to say that I didn't enjoy this book. There were portions that shone for me, and others that were slow to get through. I will admit that I was very glad to see everything finally wrapped up neatly. I wouldn't say no to another book, especially because I'd love to see where things go with Aoife. For now, I'll say goodbye to this series with a smile on my face. Thank you to Caitlin Kittredge for allowing me to escape into Lovecraft. I can't wait to see what comes next. ( )

Oh this book was so disappointing. I loved the first two books and was eagerly awaiting the third and final installment but then when it arrived I couldn't believe how short it was. It's almost 200 pages less than the other two and frankly it feels like it's missing about 200 pages. I have been left feeling like Kittredge got bored with the series and simply stopped writing. She only wrapped up the Dean portion of the story and left the Old Ones portion completely wide open. So disappointing... ( )

Good ending...but me thinks there will be another book. ( )

All hail, Aoife, Queen of the Bad Plan and Hasty Journey. In this series' mech-mysterious language of magic and machine, Aoife would be a dark perpetual motion machine, barreling onward with a seemingly terrible success rate. Miss, miss, miss, until by book's end, hit.

THE MIRRORED SHARD starts in a tricky place for a series. Many of Aoife's secrets are out (if not entirely understood), and she starts the story at the bottom of an emotional well. Or at least, I assumed she was at the bottom, but found she had to continue sliding for a few more chapters before digging her way out. My previous affection for this series hinged more on the world than the characters, which made the first few dramatic, character driven parts of the book pretty rough. By the time Aoife and Cal commandeered a zombie zeppelin, I was more than ready to park the drama and get on with the swashbuckling.