A review by imrereads
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I definitely struggled with rating this. I enjoyed the first couple of chapters, and then felt it sort of lost me for a while until about the mid-way point where I really started enjoying myself. What I really like about it is the atmosphere. If you enjoy historical fiction and the Victorian era, then I think you'll find a lot to enjoy here. I also really loved the almost cyberpunk-feel of the clockwork items! 

What I struggled with had a lot to do with Grace. Firstly I didn't really love her "not like other girls" deal, and felt like that focus took away from her likability - because I thought the premise of her was really interesting. I couldn't quite grasps why she and Thaniel liked each other though. I think the fact that I wasn't onboard with that, took away a lot for me.

On the other hand, I found this to be a easily enjoyable mystery. I'm not massive on that genre, but I love Pulley's style of writing. This didn't land as well for me as The Kingdoms did, but still a good book! I loved the dynamic between Thaniel and Mori, and I really liked the slice of life-esque beginning with Thaniel working at the Home Office telegraph apartment. 

So all over I enjoyed the book, certainly enough for me to be curious about reading the sequel. 
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