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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just read a #book that I very much enjoyed. “The Watchmaker of Filigree Street” by Natasha Pulley is steampunk-ish, Victorian, gently queer, and mostly vibes. It’s got a touch of mystery, a little bit of fantasy, and was totally engaging. It will make you think about the nature of the future and intention. A real pleasure.
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a gentler take on steampunk (if one could call it that) and after a slow start, I really enjoyed the storytelling.
The whole concept of a clairvoyant masterminding his entire life to meet his best friend and lover? Glorious. I’m 1000% here for it. That same clairvoyant foiling assassination plots with the same diligence as setting up his best friend’s surprise return to a beloved passion he thought he’d given up for good? Also glorious. I really loved that Mori just wanted to be a watchmaker who lives in domestic happiness even though he had the capacity to literally shadow rule the world.
Thaniel’s development from sad, ex-pianist government clark to confident, clever and back to following his passions was nicely done. I also found his reaction to learning what Mori could do was realistic, even with allowing for Thaniel to essentially decide he didn’t care about the precognition because he saw Mori’s kindness, first and foremost.
Grace. Oh, Grace. First, I really liked her character (badass scientist who crossdressed to get into libraries unescorted, hell yes) and then I was mildly annoyed by her (not into the suffragette movement because it was a lot of talking? Hmm. Generally a little racist? Sign of the times, to be fair) and then I vehemently disliked her (essentially trying to manipulate Thaniel because she was afraid of Mori manipulating him instead, and taking away Thaniel’s agency because she didn’t think him smart enough to see villainy if it happened, just like the men in her life took HER agency away under the assumption she wasn’t smart enough herself) to being mildly annoyed by her again (at least her intentions were good; trying to protect herself and Thaniel, and she had been mistreated all her life because of her gender and interests, which isn’t an excuse but still).
All in all, my biggest peeve was the pacing. I got LOTS of detail in some places, and basically time skips where I’m meant to assume large chunks of the story in others.
The whole concept of a clairvoyant masterminding his entire life to
Thaniel’s development from sad, ex-pianist government clark to confident, clever and back to following his passions was nicely done. I also found his reaction to learning what Mori could do was realistic, even with allowing for Thaniel to essentially decide he didn’t care about the precognition because he saw Mori’s kindness, first and foremost.
Grace. Oh, Grace. First, I really liked her character (badass scientist who crossdressed to get into libraries unescorted, hell yes) and then I was mildly annoyed by her (not into the suffragette movement because it was a lot of talking? Hmm. Generally a little racist? Sign of the times, to be fair) and then I vehemently disliked her (essentially trying to manipulate Thaniel because she was afraid of Mori manipulating him instead, and taking away Thaniel’s agency because she didn’t think him smart enough to see villainy if it happened, just like the men in her life took HER agency away under the assumption she wasn’t smart enough herself) to being mildly annoyed by her again (at least her intentions were good; trying to protect herself and Thaniel, and she had been mistreated all her life because of her gender and interests, which isn’t an excuse but still).
All in all, my biggest peeve was the pacing. I got LOTS of detail in some places, and basically time skips where I’m meant to assume large chunks of the story in others.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's hard to review this book. It took me a bit to get into, then I practically devoured the rest. The pacing was meandering in a charming way then skipped along too quick. The style has an inscrutable plainness that leaves a lot unsaid. On one hand it felt like it was respecting my intelligence as a reader to put things together, but as it went on it felt like most of the emotion, deeper thoughts, and motivations of the characters were left offscreen. I loved the idea of the world and the clockwork wonders it evoked, but I felt distant from it - like watching it behind a foggy pane of glass - because of the sparse style.
As for the characters, the concepts were fantastic and bursting with not-quite-realized potential. I adored every little bit of information we got about the talented and mysterious Mr. Mori, but I felt that much of Thaniel's character was left between the lines to the point of him becoming quite boring as things went on. (How this was managed despite having unique narration tics with his synesthesia, I've no idea). And while I found the drag-wearing, anti-suffragette physicist Grace quite fun and offbeat in the beginning - especially her banter with Matsumoto, the dandy friend who lets her raid his closet - she had an abrupt change of priorities and comprehensibility halfway through the book that left me disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing Mori and Thaniel's relationship growing, especially since this book's been recommended for its LGBTQ+ representation, but all the heart of it was left offscreen in a way that left me feeling hollow - like Katsu curled around the cold space in Mori's bed where he should've been.
But what soured what had still been an enjoyable read for me was when I figured out where the final act was going. I nearly threw my phone at the wall. I almost DNF'd with just chapters left. I only skimmed through to the end to see ifKatsu was alright (more on this in the content warnings) and then reluctantly turned back for the characters I still cared about - ie. Mori and Matsumoto. Grace, who I'd enjoyed despite her purposeful dash of unlikability, made some truly baffling choices in the back half the book that felt like the author's invisible hand squashing a square peg in a round hole marked 'villainess' instead of an organic character arc and was ruined for me. Thaniel still felt like a rudderless mystery even after spending so much time with him. Convoluted plots and character arcs were introduced then quickly wrapped up in neat little bows in a way that felt more like a convenient epilogue than a true finish. Even now I feel overly critical writing about it, but that's how much the climax soured me on the rest of the story. It made those things I'd brushed aside before weigh a little more heavily against it.
There's also an honestly uncomfortable amount of casual racism and xenophobia from the white characters' perspectives. It's clearly meant to be period-typical and reflect the society they grew up in because it disappears in the POV chapters set in Japan, but it still felt excessive. Japanese and Japanese-British characters (including Mori) are constantly referred to as small and delicate and juvenile, and they're described by these racialized features exponentially more often than the white characters, even late into the story. For example, Thaniel's grey eyes and other physical descriptors are mentioned offhandedly, meanwhile each time Mori is described physically - like his tanned skin or short height or small hands - it's always tacked on with some remark inexplicably tying it up with him being Japanese. (Matsumoto, being a tall man, is described as being 'English-raised' instead.) At some point I was just desperate for ANY descriptor for these characters that wasn't racialized and was left disappointed.
Overall, I wanted to fully love this book (and nearly did for awhile!) but the overall execution and the plot choices in the climax unfortunately killed a lot of my enjoyment. I did love the premise of a mysterious, talented-beyond-his-time clockwork maker in his wondrous workshop - and I felt the middle portion of the story was the strongest in part because it focused on unveiling Mori's world. But as the book went on and we were moved from his workshop into the strange 3rd act drama with less compelling characters, I wondered if what I loved about it was more about the possibilities I was imagining for myself than what was on the page. Katsu the adorable clockwork octopus, kind and lonely Mori, and dearly underused Matsumoto were the shining stars for me, though I'm not sure I'll be tuning into the next book to see how they fare.
As for the characters, the concepts were fantastic and bursting with not-quite-realized potential. I adored every little bit of information we got about the talented and mysterious Mr. Mori, but I felt that much of Thaniel's character was left between the lines to the point of him becoming quite boring as things went on. (How this was managed despite having unique narration tics with his synesthesia, I've no idea). And while I found the drag-wearing, anti-suffragette physicist Grace quite fun and offbeat in the beginning - especially her banter with Matsumoto, the dandy friend who lets her raid his closet - she had an abrupt change of priorities and comprehensibility halfway through the book that left me disappointed. I was looking forward to seeing
But what soured what had still been an enjoyable read for me was when I figured out where the final act was going. I nearly threw my phone at the wall. I almost DNF'd with just chapters left. I only skimmed through to the end to see if
There's also an honestly uncomfortable amount of casual racism and xenophobia from the white characters' perspectives. It's clearly meant to be period-typical and reflect the society they grew up in because it disappears in the POV chapters set in Japan, but it still felt excessive. Japanese and Japanese-British characters (including Mori) are constantly referred to as small and delicate and juvenile, and they're described by these racialized features exponentially more often than the white characters, even late into the story. For example, Thaniel's grey eyes and other physical descriptors are mentioned offhandedly, meanwhile each time Mori is described physically - like his tanned skin or short height or small hands - it's always tacked on with some remark inexplicably tying it up with him being Japanese. (Matsumoto, being a tall man, is described as being 'English-raised' instead.) At some point I was just desperate for ANY descriptor for these characters that wasn't racialized and was left disappointed.
Overall, I wanted to fully love this book (and nearly did for awhile!) but the overall execution and the plot choices in the climax unfortunately killed a lot of my enjoyment. I did love the premise of a mysterious, talented-beyond-his-time clockwork maker in his wondrous workshop - and I felt the middle portion of the story was the strongest in part because it focused on unveiling Mori's world. But as the book went on and we were moved from his workshop into the strange 3rd act drama with less compelling characters, I wondered if what I loved about it was more about the possibilities I was imagining for myself than what was on the page. Katsu the adorable clockwork octopus, kind and lonely Mori, and dearly underused Matsumoto were the shining stars for me, though I'm not sure I'll be tuning into the next book to see how they fare.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Stalking, Classism
Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, Grief
Animal death: Personally, even though it's not really graphic and technically about a clockwork animal (though one that is so lifelike it seems to have the soul of an artificially intelligent lapdog), I found it so distressing that I had to skip over it and it still ruined the book for me. Apparently (potential book 2 spoilers) he returns in the next one, if skimming goodreads reviews is to be believed, but I'm not sure how or in what form.
Stalking: Doesn't turn out to be true, but it's discussed frequently in depth and may still be distressing, especially for people who are sensitive to discussions about domestic stalking.
Body horror: One scene's setting that includes skeletons and some gruesome medical items. If you want to skip it, keep an eye out near the end when Thaniel is waiting in the hospital. Skip the part about the gallery until Thaniel's back outside.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Impossibile da descrivere, ma bellissimo. Un romanzo storico ambientato in un periodo dell'epoca vittoriana poco esplorata (1980s), un po' magical realism, un po' giallo con l'incontro di 2 anime al centro di tutto. Consigliatissimo
Ik ben eigenlijk nu al weer vergeten wat ik net gelezen heb.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was an excitable enough story - albeit plainly-written - but then the timeskip made it dive into "insufferably boring" territory about two thirds of the way though.