3.7 AVERAGE

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
mysterious relaxing slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
emotional mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4 stars instead of 5 only because it was such a slow build ...but by the end I couldn’t put it down. What an interesting and imaginative story! There were many characters but paying attention to the dates helped keep them in order. I would love to read more from this author!

How to describe a book like The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton? The story itself is delicate, like spun sugar. It is timeless, not bound by a single story thread, but comprised of a tangle of threads that weave backwards and forwards like the winding of a clock. In that way, The Clockmaker’s Daughter couldn’t have a more perfect titular figure and motif.

I found this book to be thought-provoking and haunting, but not in the way you’d expect. There is a ghost, of course. But this book is haunting in the way a beloved place can be haunting. The feeling that the moment you return to the place, all of your memories and the memories of others flood back, and you’re surrounded by everything that place has experienced. At its core, that is what I’d say The Clockmaker’s Daughter is about.

Full review to follow :)
challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

I received this book as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Kate Morton has been one of my favourite authors for a while now after reading The House at Riverton and loving it -- so I always keep my eyes peeled for a new book. When I'd seen on her Instagram account that she was writing a new novel, I was eagerly waiting its release. I couldn't believe my luck when I saw it for request on NetGalley and was even then approved! Needless to say, I was hoping this book was going to live up Morton's previous captivating storytelling. And ultimately, this book didn't disappoint either. There was a fair bit of detail to wade through at the beginning of the book, and it probably wasn't until I'd reached the halfway point that the pull of the book really began to take hold. But once it did, oh boy, I couldn't put it down! Morton's books always centre around a family mystery and I'm always fascinated by such things so it definitely held my interest, the ending was in-keeping, and the standard of writing was equally high. There were some characters that I didn't completely gel with or weren't particularly memorable but I think this is OK. Rating it as 4 stars just because it did take longer to get into than I would've liked and I may have put it down if weren't for my prior experience with her books. I'm glad I persevered!
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thmartin's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 2%

I read about 60 pages and didn't finish for a couple reasons.
1.  I just couldn't get into it. I've been trying to read it for a month and had only gotten 60 pages in... that says something. 
2. I couldn't relate with the main character. She seemed a touch dramatic.
Like getting pissy and being short with her best friend because she used the word "nostalgia" incorrectly.

3.
There were ghosts. I'm not a big fan of ghosts in books in general, but this book hadn't given me any clue that there would be a supernatural element, it seemed out of place in something I had the impression was a historical fiction type book.
mysterious reflective slow-paced

A slow read with an unsatisfying end.