When a fire consumes Meg’s home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key that only Meg can use—that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg is compelled to follow.
Meg has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect—and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg is swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny in this captivating start to a trilogy.
About the Author
Kristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.
Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.
In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.
It all started with a cleaning girl, a maid, mooning about her lot in life. About what fate had dealt her with. She lost her station, she lost her home, she lost her parents, she lost the life she used to live. And now she was just a common maid taken in by the supposed friend of her parents, out of charity. All she had left was this pocket watch that she had taken from the charred remains of her father.
But fate was not done with her yet and the pocket watch was more than it seem. Something that would lead her throughout England, trying to search for her grandfather (who was supposed to be dead), uncovering secrets untold, discovering things only those with vivid imaginations could ever dare to invent.
The story was straightforward, clean and simple. Really simple. The story was driven by Meg's need to find the only remaining relative she had and along the way discovered that there was more to her family than simple clockmakers. The main quest was broken down into different little quests that marked each stage of the story and the development of the characters. I did not care much for the backgrounds of Meg and Will - they were boring. I was leaning more towards the background stories of Oliver and Lucinda. Their life stories were worth delving into.
But oh my gosh, it was pure steampunk goodness! If any of the automatons and the inventions of the Amusementists (I assume this word is invented) were anything to get by. The descriptions of the machines of the were just awe-inspiring and to be honest, I've never read this much number of machines in other steampunk YA I've read before nor other books mention characters interact much with the machines. If anything, the inventions of the Amusementists were awesomesauce.
But fate was not done with her yet and the pocket watch was more than it seem. Something that would lead her throughout England, trying to search for her grandfather (who was supposed to be dead), uncovering secrets untold, discovering things only those with vivid imaginations could ever dare to invent.
The story was straightforward, clean and simple. Really simple. The story was driven by Meg's need to find the only remaining relative she had and along the way discovered that there was more to her family than simple clockmakers. The main quest was broken down into different little quests that marked each stage of the story and the development of the characters. I did not care much for the backgrounds of Meg and Will - they were boring. I was leaning more towards the background stories of Oliver and Lucinda. Their life stories were worth delving into.
But oh my gosh, it was pure steampunk goodness! If any of the automatons and the inventions of the Amusementists (I assume this word is invented) were anything to get by. The descriptions of the machines of the were just awe-inspiring and to be honest, I've never read this much number of machines in other steampunk YA I've read before nor other books mention characters interact much with the machines. If anything, the inventions of the Amusementists were awesomesauce.
Good review. Thanks for participating!
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