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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 but rounded up to 4 stars.
so at first this was a solid 5 stars. we meet nathaniel (thaniel) steepleton in the first chapter. i liked thaniel's quiet character and to be completely honest, i could read about his extremely organized, boring, quiet life for DAYS. the prose was so delicate and careful in the beginning and i liked how thaniel handled things with ease and efficiency. this reminded me very strongly of cyril depaul from [b:Amberlough|29939270|Amberlough (The Amberlough Dossier, #1)|Lara Elena Donnelly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462547662l/29939270._SY75_.jpg|50329881]. we also meet grace carrow, a scientist and a student at oxford who has a very very brilliant mind, and her friend, akira matsumoto, who reminded me of aristide makricosta from [b:Amberlough|29939270|Amberlough (The Amberlough Dossier, #1)|Lara Elena Donnelly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462547662l/29939270._SY75_.jpg|50329881], which is why i was so convinced he and thaniel would eventually end up together, but i'm glad they didn't. once we are introduced to keita mori and his strange antics, the book really hit 3 stars. i didn't like keita mori that much [i know, everybody loves him], but i liked to read about thaniel and keita's friendship. unfortunately, it was just very boring in the middle that i don't remember much about what happened. also, this book is very hard to review without spoilers, but i wasn't expecting where this would go at all. basically, there are some very interesting elements of chance, choice, fate, and those kind of future aspects. and in the end, thaniel is trapped between grace and keita. something that was strange was but anyway i love grace carrow with my whole heart.
but speaking of characters:
thaniel steepleton: i loved his quiet aspect. there was a point in the book where grace realizes that he's angry because all of sudden he gets really quiet and patient. i also liked the fact that he played the piano, but i wished it were more fleshed out. i'm pretty sure he had synesthesia, which helped him play the piano better.
keita mori: i was so surprised i didn't like him. he's a watchmaker with a quiet demeanor and a pet octopus, what's not to like? i don't know, i just never liked him. his powers were cool, and there were some very big themes with fate and decision and choice and chance, but his character never resounded or stood out to me. i also don't know his true character. but not matter how much i didn't like him, i still liked some parts of him. he was a foreigner in a time where foreigners were not accepted well into society and he was trapped between embracing his culture and adapting to the new one. either way, his powers were very cool.
grace carrow: moving on to talk about my favorite character. i don't think i've ever liked an antagonist this much. she wasn't a villain, but she was definitely working against the interests of the main characters - the protagonist. if i had it my way, she would be the main character.. grace is a scientist, an insanely intelligent one, who was trying to prove the existence of ether. an interesting concept, because she, for all her wit, was trying to prove the existence of something that doesn't exist. of course she didn't know that, but rarely do we see scientists in books fail because they don't understand a concept that is taken for granted these days. anyway, she was so smart in the end, because of that whole scheme she thought of. that was ingenious: to have the scheme in your head, but not really and holding it there and not intending to do it, but thinking about it, letting the plan unfold so that keita mori wouldn't realize what she intended to do. that bumped my rating up to 3.5 stars and pushed me to round it up to 4 stars. really, i understand her motives and sympathized with her. i couldn't tell if keita was really tricking thaniel. i don't think i could automatically say that keita would never manipulate thaniel because they were in love, because that's just lazy. we know keita has manipulated thaniel before (e.g. the piano, the watch) so according to grace, why could he not do it again? also, since he threatened her, and grace is inclined to believe he will actually do it, the logical thing to do is to get rid of keita without him ever knowing. and it works, except that she forgot about thaniel's knowing. now, i like thaniel a lot, but if i were to chose between grace and thaniel, if it were a decision, like it was for grace, between life and death, i would definitely chose the route grace took. it makes sense.
akira matsumoto: another favorite character. he didn't do much, but his flamboyant style and the care with which he moved around London really shone. he had to deal with the same issues that keita did, but since he was younger, he didn't know how to handle things. again, trapped between his culture and the new one, he only knew oxford in the perspective of a young student with friends who adored him. i think he gravitated to grace so much because he didn't have to try that hard, didn't need that constant affirmation of someone else's affection. with grace, he knew that she was a friend and he could be completely himself around her. their romance also gave this book that extra star. they were SO much more interesting than keita and thaniel.
all in all, a book that had a great beginning, boring middle, and amazing end. although, i don't see why so many people take thaniel's side over grace's. they say that they don't understand the illogical moves she made, but it makes sense if you read the context. she was being threatened for her life and she knew that keita could indirectly kill her. if keita could kill his cousin and threaten the wife of ito, then he could easily get rid of grace, especially if he and thaniel had that special relationship. doing what grace did was the natural and logical response in getting rid of someone who knows your every move. unfortunately, it didn't quite work out - i blame thaniel.
she did end up with akira in the end, but i felt like she deserved so much more, maybe a sequel about her life after that whole experience. she went through a lot in one book. i am glad a little bit that her scheme didn't work out completely, because i did like thaniel and keita, but still... i'm not 100% on them.
so at first this was a solid 5 stars. we meet nathaniel (thaniel) steepleton in the first chapter. i liked thaniel's quiet character and to be completely honest, i could read about his extremely organized, boring, quiet life for DAYS. the prose was so delicate and careful in the beginning and i liked how thaniel handled things with ease and efficiency. this reminded me very strongly of cyril depaul from [b:Amberlough|29939270|Amberlough (The Amberlough Dossier, #1)|Lara Elena Donnelly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462547662l/29939270._SY75_.jpg|50329881]. we also meet grace carrow, a scientist and a student at oxford who has a very very brilliant mind, and her friend, akira matsumoto, who reminded me of aristide makricosta from [b:Amberlough|29939270|Amberlough (The Amberlough Dossier, #1)|Lara Elena Donnelly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1462547662l/29939270._SY75_.jpg|50329881], which is why i was so convinced he and thaniel would eventually end up together, but i'm glad they didn't. once we are introduced to keita mori and his strange antics, the book really hit 3 stars. i didn't like keita mori that much [i know, everybody loves him], but i liked to read about thaniel and keita's friendship. unfortunately, it was just very boring in the middle that i don't remember much about what happened. also, this book is very hard to review without spoilers, but i wasn't expecting where this would go at all. basically, there are some very interesting elements of chance, choice, fate, and those kind of future aspects. and in the end, thaniel is trapped between grace and keita. something that was strange was
Spoiler
at the end, the author chose to write more in grace's perspective and talk more about her thoughts and feelings than thaniel. to be fair, thaniel never really expresses his feelings at any given moment, but i felt way more connected to grace than thaniel, so i was totally on grace's side when she felt like she was loosing thaniel. i mean, it makes sense. if i were married to someone who wanted to spend all his time with someone that wanted to kill me, i, too, would freak.but speaking of characters:
thaniel steepleton: i loved his quiet aspect. there was a point in the book where grace realizes that he's angry because all of sudden he gets really quiet and patient. i also liked the fact that he played the piano, but i wished it were more fleshed out. i'm pretty sure he had synesthesia, which helped him play the piano better.
keita mori: i was so surprised i didn't like him. he's a watchmaker with a quiet demeanor and a pet octopus, what's not to like? i don't know, i just never liked him. his powers were cool, and there were some very big themes with fate and decision and choice and chance, but his character never resounded or stood out to me. i also don't know his true character.
Spoiler
did he want to kill grace? apparently not, but then why did he threaten her? and did he really kill his cousin? or did he just not prevent the death? would he have met thaniel if he hadn't perfectly orchestrated everything? or is the relationship forced because he knew it would happen (or wouldn't) and made it happen? it's all very baffling.grace carrow: moving on to talk about my favorite character. i don't think i've ever liked an antagonist this much. she wasn't a villain, but she was definitely working against the interests of the main characters - the protagonist. if i had it my way, she would be the main character.. grace is a scientist, an insanely intelligent one, who was trying to prove the existence of ether. an interesting concept, because she, for all her wit, was trying to prove the existence of something that doesn't exist. of course she didn't know that, but rarely do we see scientists in books fail because they don't understand a concept that is taken for granted these days. anyway, she was so smart in the end, because of that whole scheme she thought of. that was ingenious: to have the scheme in your head, but not really and holding it there and not intending to do it, but thinking about it, letting the plan unfold so that keita mori wouldn't realize what she intended to do. that bumped my rating up to 3.5 stars and pushed me to round it up to 4 stars. really, i understand her motives and sympathized with her. i couldn't tell if keita was really tricking thaniel. i don't think i could automatically say that keita would never manipulate thaniel because they were in love, because that's just lazy. we know keita has manipulated thaniel before (e.g. the piano, the watch) so according to grace, why could he not do it again? also, since he threatened her, and grace is inclined to believe he will actually do it, the logical thing to do is to get rid of keita without him ever knowing. and it works, except that she forgot about thaniel's knowing. now, i like thaniel a lot, but if i were to chose between grace and thaniel, if it were a decision, like it was for grace, between life and death, i would definitely chose the route grace took. it makes sense.
akira matsumoto: another favorite character. he didn't do much, but his flamboyant style and the care with which he moved around London really shone. he had to deal with the same issues that keita did, but since he was younger, he didn't know how to handle things. again, trapped between his culture and the new one, he only knew oxford in the perspective of a young student with friends who adored him. i think he gravitated to grace so much because he didn't have to try that hard, didn't need that constant affirmation of someone else's affection. with grace, he knew that she was a friend and he could be completely himself around her. their romance also gave this book that extra star. they were SO much more interesting than keita and thaniel.
all in all, a book that had a great beginning, boring middle, and amazing end. although, i don't see why so many people take thaniel's side over grace's. they say that they don't understand the illogical moves she made, but it makes sense if you read the context. she was being threatened for her life and she knew that keita could indirectly kill her. if keita could kill his cousin and threaten the wife of ito, then he could easily get rid of grace, especially if he and thaniel had that special relationship. doing what grace did was the natural and logical response in getting rid of someone who knows your every move. unfortunately, it didn't quite work out - i blame thaniel.
she did end up with akira in the end, but i felt like she deserved so much more, maybe a sequel about her life after that whole experience. she went through a lot in one book. i am glad a little bit that her scheme didn't work out completely, because i did like thaniel and keita, but still... i'm not 100% on them.
Beginning was a bit slow but the second half was surprising and a fun read!
So I finished it, maybe because I just really wanted to like it, but I can't remember the last time I've been so glad to be done with a book.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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:
No
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I liked the writing style, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the story. I thought this was a mystery in a historical setting, but there's a paranormal/supernatural element to the story. Maybe I'd liked it better if I'd thought of it as a fantasy.
I always have such a hard time writing reviews for books that I loved; it seems incredibly difficult to put all the reasons and all the emotions from the experience into words without explaining things that are likely spoilers, but just. GOSH.
It's clear this is a debut novel: this is another book best read in large sittings and letting yourself get into a rhythm with the sentences. It does help build the setting, but there are definitely paragraphs and entire scenes that are helped by a re-read (though even beyond clarification purposes, there's a story mechanic that makes a full re-read really rewarding).
The story unfolds somewhat slowly, to the point where it becomes a little stressful towards the end as you can see how things could go wrong but not yet how they could go right. Really, though, it does all contribute to building the atmosphere of the book, of the slightly steampunk (it's not quite, I want to build a new category of karakuri, just intricate clockwork or mechanical wonders that are not typical for the world but aren't quite steampunk) London and the questions of free will and human nature that it raises.
Also I defy anyone to read this book and not want a clockwork octopus.
It's clear this is a debut novel: this is another book best read in large sittings and letting yourself get into a rhythm with the sentences. It does help build the setting, but there are definitely paragraphs and entire scenes that are helped by a re-read (though even beyond clarification purposes, there's a story mechanic that makes a full re-read really rewarding).
The story unfolds somewhat slowly, to the point where it becomes a little stressful towards the end as you can see how things could go wrong but not yet how they could go right. Really, though, it does all contribute to building the atmosphere of the book, of the slightly steampunk (it's not quite, I want to build a new category of karakuri, just intricate clockwork or mechanical wonders that are not typical for the world but aren't quite steampunk) London and the questions of free will and human nature that it raises.
Also I defy anyone to read this book and not want a clockwork octopus.
Good stuff. The ending was not what I was expecting. As long as you can suspend disbelief and overlook a few holes in the logic of how things work in the book, then it's enjoyable, though not a traditionally structured book from a narrative standpoint.