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bookworm1858 's review for:
Legacy of the Clockwork Key
by Kristin Bailey
Source: Received an e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I don't remember exactly how I stumbled over this book but I remember perusing Goodreads and adding it to my to-read list and then hoping it would show up on Netgalley or Edelweiss; then it did and I prayed to be accepted. Let's just say there was some serious happy dancing when I received notification I could download this.
The plot summary just sounded so exciting: secret societies, mechanical inventions, cute stable boys named Will...what more could you ask for in a book? Well, unfortunately I did want something more although it's the kind of something that is difficult to put in words. Basically as I was reading this, I never felt connected to the characters, the setting, the plot, the overarching mythology. I flipped the pages in a daze, hoping for something to spark my interest but never found it.
The main character, Meg, is a very young recently orphaned teenager who has accepted employ as a maid before embarking on an investigation of a mysterious clockwork key in her possession that holds the answer to questions about her family. The stable boy Will reluctantly comes along and a romance blossoms. I mentioned that Meg is very young-I don't remember if her age is mentioned but she seemed really young and naive to me. I don't know if it's because I'm more used to reading savvy contemporary teenagers or if it was some other reason. Will is confusingly hot and cold to Meg, annoyingly hot and cold to me, which just about breaks my heart because if there's a book boy name that I love, it is Will.
There are some other characters and I'll admit that the plot picked up a bit once Meg and Will began their search but it was never full-throttle action or anything exciting like that. I found the writing competent and that there were some cool concepts (I'm thinking of the maze as well as all the inventions in general) but nothing extraordinary.
Overall: I was completely unable to form a bond with the main character and trudged through the book, mostly being too stubborn to DNF.
I don't remember exactly how I stumbled over this book but I remember perusing Goodreads and adding it to my to-read list and then hoping it would show up on Netgalley or Edelweiss; then it did and I prayed to be accepted. Let's just say there was some serious happy dancing when I received notification I could download this.
The plot summary just sounded so exciting: secret societies, mechanical inventions, cute stable boys named Will...what more could you ask for in a book? Well, unfortunately I did want something more although it's the kind of something that is difficult to put in words. Basically as I was reading this, I never felt connected to the characters, the setting, the plot, the overarching mythology. I flipped the pages in a daze, hoping for something to spark my interest but never found it.
The main character, Meg, is a very young recently orphaned teenager who has accepted employ as a maid before embarking on an investigation of a mysterious clockwork key in her possession that holds the answer to questions about her family. The stable boy Will reluctantly comes along and a romance blossoms. I mentioned that Meg is very young-I don't remember if her age is mentioned but she seemed really young and naive to me. I don't know if it's because I'm more used to reading savvy contemporary teenagers or if it was some other reason. Will is confusingly hot and cold to Meg, annoyingly hot and cold to me, which just about breaks my heart because if there's a book boy name that I love, it is Will.
There are some other characters and I'll admit that the plot picked up a bit once Meg and Will began their search but it was never full-throttle action or anything exciting like that. I found the writing competent and that there were some cool concepts (I'm thinking of the maze as well as all the inventions in general) but nothing extraordinary.
Overall: I was completely unable to form a bond with the main character and trudged through the book, mostly being too stubborn to DNF.