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A review by kkulmel
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
4.0
flash review:
loved: katsu the clockwork octopus, steampunk and magical realism imagery (and synesthesia), quiet acts of love and care, unique style of clairvoyance, green tea in a clockwork shop, things that are beautiful and functional
hated: flat and inconsistent characterizations (thaniel says he’s good at keeping secrets, immediately tells grace all of them, etc), very slow start to the plot, hostile and mistrusting relationships almost exclusively (even between “love interests”), confusing plot points and references to things i hadn’t heard of (can someone please tell me what that reference to oranges in america is!!!), so much spoiled potential!!!!, icky orientalism, unchallenged xenophobia/racism, like every single character being against women’s’ sufferage (including the female mc!!!)???? also not loving “irish people” or “japanese people” being the bad guys for most of the book. for a book about magical realism there isn’t a whole lot of magical components. i wanted more.
overall could’ve been a better book with more editing but i still enjoyed the experience of reading it and will be continuing on to the sequel.
loved: katsu the clockwork octopus, steampunk and magical realism imagery (and synesthesia), quiet acts of love and care, unique style of clairvoyance, green tea in a clockwork shop, things that are beautiful and functional
hated: flat and inconsistent characterizations (thaniel says he’s good at keeping secrets, immediately tells grace all of them, etc), very slow start to the plot, hostile and mistrusting relationships almost exclusively (even between “love interests”), confusing plot points and references to things i hadn’t heard of (can someone please tell me what that reference to oranges in america is!!!), so much spoiled potential!!!!, icky orientalism, unchallenged xenophobia/racism, like every single character being against women’s’ sufferage (including the female mc!!!)???? also not loving “irish people” or “japanese people” being the bad guys for most of the book. for a book about magical realism there isn’t a whole lot of magical components. i wanted more.
overall could’ve been a better book with more editing but i still enjoyed the experience of reading it and will be continuing on to the sequel.