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The Secret Order #1
Legacy of the Clockwork Key
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.
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, uncovering evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect.
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, uncovering evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect.
409 pages, Hardcover
First published March 5, 2013
40 people are currently reading
6422 people want to read
About the author
Kristin Bailey
5 books184 followersKristin 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.
Kristin loves hearing from readers but asks that all Goodreads messages stay on the subject of books. E-ARCs are available through Edelweiss.
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.
Kristin loves hearing from readers but asks that all Goodreads messages stay on the subject of books. E-ARCs are available through Edelweiss.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
March 4, 2013
As a steampunk reader, I can be nitpicky and entirely too difficult to please and I know it. However, I don’t think I’m being unreasonable when I say that Legacy of the Clockwork Key fell short of what I had expected. For starters, it read more like Middle Grade than Young Adult and was, in many ways, far too naïve and oversimplified for my liking. In truth, I’m not sure it can even be classified as steampunk; it certainly started as one, and the author approached it very ambitiously, but the execution was lacking and the end result was a Middle Grade-ish book with lots of metal in it.
In Legacy of the Clockwork Key, Meg and her small group of new acquaintances, embark on a quest to find and destroy a dangerous device created by a secret society Meg’s family was involved with. To find the location of this device, they must find and unlock clue after clue using a creative master key Meg’s grandfather left her.
I was quite enjoying this story until things turned serious between Meg and Will. It was their relationship – Meg’s constant doubts and insecurities, Will’s inconsistent behavior and lack of any real spark between them – that really turned me off. I understood why Meg would be attracted to Will, even with all his brooding and silent treatments. His attraction for her, however, made little sense as he was right to accuse her of selfishness and pigheadedness.
I was hardly one to command the attention of a man, especially sitting next to the gilded beauty Lucinda possessed. Will couldn’t possibly fancy me, so why did he watch me so intently? I’ll admit, I had noticed he was handsome when I first met him. At the time, it might have only been my shock at seeing someone my own age.
But as difficult as the characters were, I had even more trouble with the inventions. Although there were many (I get grumpy when there isn’t enough machinery in my steampunk), and although the inventory was quite impressive (automatons, a metal Stonehenge that sprouted from the ground, a huge metal maze and a metal leviathan, to name a few), it was never explained how any of them actually worked. That, in my opinion, is simply not steampunk. And some of the minor inventions were just random modern things like night vision and infra red goggles. Those were only unusual because of the historical setting, and what’s worse, I can’t imagine they could possibly be steam powered… not that actual steam was ever mentioned.
In the end, I think it’s fair to conclude that Legacy of the Clockwork Key simply lacked steam, both between the characters and in their many inventions. It’s a good book for a younger audience; I’d probably have enjoyed it when I was twelve or thirteen, but as an older reader, I found it to be mediocre and entirely forgettable.
In Legacy of the Clockwork Key, Meg and her small group of new acquaintances, embark on a quest to find and destroy a dangerous device created by a secret society Meg’s family was involved with. To find the location of this device, they must find and unlock clue after clue using a creative master key Meg’s grandfather left her.
I was quite enjoying this story until things turned serious between Meg and Will. It was their relationship – Meg’s constant doubts and insecurities, Will’s inconsistent behavior and lack of any real spark between them – that really turned me off. I understood why Meg would be attracted to Will, even with all his brooding and silent treatments. His attraction for her, however, made little sense as he was right to accuse her of selfishness and pigheadedness.
I was hardly one to command the attention of a man, especially sitting next to the gilded beauty Lucinda possessed. Will couldn’t possibly fancy me, so why did he watch me so intently? I’ll admit, I had noticed he was handsome when I first met him. At the time, it might have only been my shock at seeing someone my own age.
But as difficult as the characters were, I had even more trouble with the inventions. Although there were many (I get grumpy when there isn’t enough machinery in my steampunk), and although the inventory was quite impressive (automatons, a metal Stonehenge that sprouted from the ground, a huge metal maze and a metal leviathan, to name a few), it was never explained how any of them actually worked. That, in my opinion, is simply not steampunk. And some of the minor inventions were just random modern things like night vision and infra red goggles. Those were only unusual because of the historical setting, and what’s worse, I can’t imagine they could possibly be steam powered… not that actual steam was ever mentioned.
In the end, I think it’s fair to conclude that Legacy of the Clockwork Key simply lacked steam, both between the characters and in their many inventions. It’s a good book for a younger audience; I’d probably have enjoyed it when I was twelve or thirteen, but as an older reader, I found it to be mediocre and entirely forgettable.
June 9, 2023
We are going to pretend that I finished this in March.
I enjoyed the beginning of this book, at first I thought the story was going to be very interesting and even creepy. I was wrong. This story was by no means bad, but it was very linear, characters go to point A, now B, ect. There was always the same villain, and there was no twists. I found myself speed reading the ending to quickly finish the book.
Not the worst book i have ever read, but by no means the best either.
I enjoyed the beginning of this book, at first I thought the story was going to be very interesting and even creepy. I was wrong. This story was by no means bad, but it was very linear, characters go to point A, now B, ect. There was always the same villain, and there was no twists. I found myself speed reading the ending to quickly finish the book.
Not the worst book i have ever read, but by no means the best either.
May 12, 2016
This review is also posted on my blog, Anatea's Bookshelf.
I am not really a steampunk reader and this is actually my first steampunk novel. And as I figured out I actually do like this genre, this novel failed to impress me. What I was expecting is a book full of thrilling and surprising clues, but instead I got a quite simple and predictable storyline.
It's not that I didn't like the story, I just couldn't get into it as much as I would have liked. I found myself wishing to be done with Legacy of the Clockwork Key just so I could read another book.
Legacy of the Clockwork Key is set in Victorian London. After Meg's parents died in a fire, Lord Rathford took her in as a maid. The only thing she had left from her family is a pocket watch. Only later she discovered it's not a pocket watch but a key, a key only she could use. Slowly the story untangled itself and she found out about the Secret Order of Modern Amusmentists and about a machine she was supposed to destroy. Along with a few other acquaintances, she tries to solve the clues and find a way to destroy a dangerous machine.
As I already said, I was expecting it to be mysterious, but it was quite predictable. You could see how it would end as soon as you started the book. I am not an experienced steampunk reader, but I had a hard time visualizing all the inventions and what really bothered me is that it was never explained how they worked. For Victorian Era, they weren't your everyday inventions, they were odd and I wanted to know on what principles they worked.
The characters were plain and quite forgettable. There wasn't much depth to them, and as I found myself wanting to know more about them and about their past, I never did found out the things I was curious about. At times, I was frustrated with Meg. She'd jump headless into some dangerous situations and then she'd fear the others not so dangerous situations. Meg and Will's relationship was sweet, but I enjoyed Lucinda and Oliver more as a couple.
While I did enjoy Legacy of the Clockwork Key to some point, I'm not sure yet about reading the sequel. If you're a steampunk novel fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as there is a lot of machinery and interesting inventions.
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I am not really a steampunk reader and this is actually my first steampunk novel. And as I figured out I actually do like this genre, this novel failed to impress me. What I was expecting is a book full of thrilling and surprising clues, but instead I got a quite simple and predictable storyline.
It's not that I didn't like the story, I just couldn't get into it as much as I would have liked. I found myself wishing to be done with Legacy of the Clockwork Key just so I could read another book.
Legacy of the Clockwork Key is set in Victorian London. After Meg's parents died in a fire, Lord Rathford took her in as a maid. The only thing she had left from her family is a pocket watch. Only later she discovered it's not a pocket watch but a key, a key only she could use. Slowly the story untangled itself and she found out about the Secret Order of Modern Amusmentists and about a machine she was supposed to destroy. Along with a few other acquaintances, she tries to solve the clues and find a way to destroy a dangerous machine.
As I already said, I was expecting it to be mysterious, but it was quite predictable. You could see how it would end as soon as you started the book. I am not an experienced steampunk reader, but I had a hard time visualizing all the inventions and what really bothered me is that it was never explained how they worked. For Victorian Era, they weren't your everyday inventions, they were odd and I wanted to know on what principles they worked.
The characters were plain and quite forgettable. There wasn't much depth to them, and as I found myself wanting to know more about them and about their past, I never did found out the things I was curious about. At times, I was frustrated with Meg. She'd jump headless into some dangerous situations and then she'd fear the others not so dangerous situations. Meg and Will's relationship was sweet, but I enjoyed Lucinda and Oliver more as a couple.
While I did enjoy Legacy of the Clockwork Key to some point, I'm not sure yet about reading the sequel. If you're a steampunk novel fan, I'm sure you'll enjoy this one as there is a lot of machinery and interesting inventions.
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May 6, 2012
Seriously guys, this book is awesome. Full of adventure and twists and just...add this to your wishlists!
maybe
July 6, 2014I KNEW IT! I knew steampunk was gonna be the 'next big thing'!
February 21, 2016
I hate writing negative reviews. And it pains me to say that for a book I was quite looking forward to, this was a major letdown. When I was thinking about what I wanted to include in this review, I struggled to come up with much that was positive. My experience with this book was pretty much: let's just get this over with.
Meg's life now is that of a maid, a complete contrast to the comfortable lifestyle she led before her parents died and Lord Rathford took her in. All she has left of her family and her past life is an old pocket watch. But one day she realises that it's not actually a pocket watch. It's a key, one that only she can use. It leads her to the discovery of a secret society made up of select members - including her parents. And with this discovery comes the knowledge that someone is murdering members of that society, and it all links back to a dangerous invention made some time ago. Meg finds herself suddenly involved in a whole new world, in which secrecy and danger play a significant part.
Meg, I think, was my biggest issue. I disliked her almost immediately. Whiny and selfish at worst, impulsive and irrational at best, she really annoyed me. She didn't actually think about what she was doing, her reasons for jumping into things were all wrong, and her attraction to Will came out of nowhere. Near the opening of the book, after first meeting the stable hand, she would continually go to him with whatever problem she suddenly faced, or whatever new bright idea she had. All I could think was, why? Why are you trying to involve him in things that have nothing to do with him? All it could possibly do was bring him trouble. Will himself I liked marginally better, but I felt no spark between them. Their relationship was tenuous and exasperating. For me, Lucinda was a far better character. She had spunk, spark and life. Yes, I'm aware they basically equate to the same thing. But that just emphasises how much character she has in comparison to Meg! Lucinda was actually pretty funny and I liked her daring nature.
The plot, sadly, did little to redeem the book. I love steampunk, and I loved all the different inventions that had been thought of. There was definitely some originality there. But some of those inventions were complex to the point where I couldn't really imagine them properly. More than that, I wanted to know how they worked. How were they able to do all these amazing things? The storyline became repetitive and consisted of one simple layer. Even in the opening, after the first few pages I was unconvinced by what was happening, having too many questions going around in my head. I did actually have to really force myself to read this by the time I was a quarter of the way through. There was so much potential here, but unfortunately the book was sorely lacking.
Legacy of the Clockwork Key was massively disappointing, though somehow I still can't say whether I can find it in me to read the sequel. I'm curious about the murderer, and yet I'm not sure it's worth coming back to the series, so chances are I probably won't. Characters like Lucinda and Oliver helped liven it up a bit, but ultimately I'm sorry to say that this was not a book that worked out for me.
This review is also posted on my blog.
Meg's life now is that of a maid, a complete contrast to the comfortable lifestyle she led before her parents died and Lord Rathford took her in. All she has left of her family and her past life is an old pocket watch. But one day she realises that it's not actually a pocket watch. It's a key, one that only she can use. It leads her to the discovery of a secret society made up of select members - including her parents. And with this discovery comes the knowledge that someone is murdering members of that society, and it all links back to a dangerous invention made some time ago. Meg finds herself suddenly involved in a whole new world, in which secrecy and danger play a significant part.
Meg, I think, was my biggest issue. I disliked her almost immediately. Whiny and selfish at worst, impulsive and irrational at best, she really annoyed me. She didn't actually think about what she was doing, her reasons for jumping into things were all wrong, and her attraction to Will came out of nowhere. Near the opening of the book, after first meeting the stable hand, she would continually go to him with whatever problem she suddenly faced, or whatever new bright idea she had. All I could think was, why? Why are you trying to involve him in things that have nothing to do with him? All it could possibly do was bring him trouble. Will himself I liked marginally better, but I felt no spark between them. Their relationship was tenuous and exasperating. For me, Lucinda was a far better character. She had spunk, spark and life. Yes, I'm aware they basically equate to the same thing. But that just emphasises how much character she has in comparison to Meg! Lucinda was actually pretty funny and I liked her daring nature.
The plot, sadly, did little to redeem the book. I love steampunk, and I loved all the different inventions that had been thought of. There was definitely some originality there. But some of those inventions were complex to the point where I couldn't really imagine them properly. More than that, I wanted to know how they worked. How were they able to do all these amazing things? The storyline became repetitive and consisted of one simple layer. Even in the opening, after the first few pages I was unconvinced by what was happening, having too many questions going around in my head. I did actually have to really force myself to read this by the time I was a quarter of the way through. There was so much potential here, but unfortunately the book was sorely lacking.
Legacy of the Clockwork Key was massively disappointing, though somehow I still can't say whether I can find it in me to read the sequel. I'm curious about the murderer, and yet I'm not sure it's worth coming back to the series, so chances are I probably won't. Characters like Lucinda and Oliver helped liven it up a bit, but ultimately I'm sorry to say that this was not a book that worked out for me.
This review is also posted on my blog.
dnf
January 18, 2022DNF @ 25.9%
One of my reading goals for 2022 was to DNF more and spend more time on the books I enjoy. I don't see myself enjoying this story even if I read any more, hence the DNF.
One of my reading goals for 2022 was to DNF more and spend more time on the books I enjoy. I don't see myself enjoying this story even if I read any more, hence the DNF.
March 6, 2013
*A copy was provided by Simon & Schuster for review purposes*
Coming into this book, I was unbelievably excited. The summery looked absolutely amazing…but unfortunately the book wasn’t. And it’s such a shame because Bailey had such an awesome idea. I just felt like the story line was so see-through, the whole mystery aspect of the book was way too easy, and the staging was atrocious. I also didn’t enjoy the romance AT ALL! I think it was very badly written, and so cliché and done before. I literally rolled my eyes when I read the little twist in the romance. This book was just a very simple read, and not really thrilling. Like I said, I really loved the idea, and I liked the little mythology she put into the tasks, but it was just such an easy plot I couldn’t stand it. The romance was what really threw me off though. Bailey introduced it really badly, and it was kind of insta-love, even though it lasted for the entire book. I didn’t like it because Bailey didn’t develop it. I realize there was more going on in the book, but if you’re going to make your characters profess their undying love for each other at the end of the book (oops, spoiler) than you’ve got to have put some work into the romance and have built it up. Sadly, Bailey didn’t, and it really annoyed me how Bailey tried to grow the romance over the course of the story.
I wish I could say that I liked the main characters even a little bit, but unfortunately I can’t. I hated them to no end. First off, the romance was just atrocious, and that involved these two bimboes, Will and Meg. Neither character was really developed at all, they were kind of just there. Will was like a stick of wood, no personality, and really annoying. Meg was no better, only she was stupider. Some of the things she said just annoyed me to no end.
I know it’s hard for an author to write their debut novel, and hard to put it out there for people like me to either love or hate, and I really don’t want to be mean, but it just really wasn’t my book. The combination of a horrible written romance and a horribly written plot was enough to make me not enjoy this book at all, and not recommend it to anyone.
Please note: I don’t like bashing authors. I respect the hard work they put into writing their books, and how hard it must be for them to lay their work on the line, but some books I just don’t like, and I feel like I would be lying to everyone if I said I loved this book. Please don’t take any offense, anyone, this review was not meant to be malicious.
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Emily's Crammed Bookshelf
Coming into this book, I was unbelievably excited. The summery looked absolutely amazing…but unfortunately the book wasn’t. And it’s such a shame because Bailey had such an awesome idea. I just felt like the story line was so see-through, the whole mystery aspect of the book was way too easy, and the staging was atrocious. I also didn’t enjoy the romance AT ALL! I think it was very badly written, and so cliché and done before. I literally rolled my eyes when I read the little twist in the romance. This book was just a very simple read, and not really thrilling. Like I said, I really loved the idea, and I liked the little mythology she put into the tasks, but it was just such an easy plot I couldn’t stand it. The romance was what really threw me off though. Bailey introduced it really badly, and it was kind of insta-love, even though it lasted for the entire book. I didn’t like it because Bailey didn’t develop it. I realize there was more going on in the book, but if you’re going to make your characters profess their undying love for each other at the end of the book (oops, spoiler) than you’ve got to have put some work into the romance and have built it up. Sadly, Bailey didn’t, and it really annoyed me how Bailey tried to grow the romance over the course of the story.
I wish I could say that I liked the main characters even a little bit, but unfortunately I can’t. I hated them to no end. First off, the romance was just atrocious, and that involved these two bimboes, Will and Meg. Neither character was really developed at all, they were kind of just there. Will was like a stick of wood, no personality, and really annoying. Meg was no better, only she was stupider. Some of the things she said just annoyed me to no end.
I know it’s hard for an author to write their debut novel, and hard to put it out there for people like me to either love or hate, and I really don’t want to be mean, but it just really wasn’t my book. The combination of a horrible written romance and a horribly written plot was enough to make me not enjoy this book at all, and not recommend it to anyone.
Please note: I don’t like bashing authors. I respect the hard work they put into writing their books, and how hard it must be for them to lay their work on the line, but some books I just don’t like, and I feel like I would be lying to everyone if I said I loved this book. Please don’t take any offense, anyone, this review was not meant to be malicious.
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Emily's Crammed Bookshelf
March 6, 2013
Actual rating 2.5 stars
LOL.
Where is that special something I was looking for?
Where is it?
Yea, it reads like a steampunk book, it's good, the plot was nice, the prose okay. But guys, for a traditionally published book, this was just not good enough. If this was published three years ago, I'd go ballistic for it but at the current standard, this just didn't cut it.
You know, if this book was made into an epic-fantasy video game, I'd be happy to play it. But as a book, it lacks powerful characters and substantial plot. Seriously guys, it felt very video-game-ish to me - so you are this girl who is thrown into this adventure to unlock the mystery bla bla bla.
Meg as the main protagonist was absolutely pathetic. She has zero self-confidence but at the same time likes to do things without proper planning and consideration. She trust people. Too easily.
It was very unwise to trust him, but in my heart, I knew it was the right thing.
I understand that women during that era tend to be poise and gentle but even after I factored that into account, Meg is still a weak and uninspiring character for me.
Page 110: A mystery lingered, a deadly one. I needed to reach the heart of it before someone took my life.
Page 384: This was all my fault. If I had never opened the key, none of this would ever happened.
Uh...girl, I think opening the key to save your life is the wisest thing you ever did.
She describes a lot of her emotions but I couldn't feel them, I couldn't connect with them at all. She narrates like a freaking news presenter!
The romance. Jeez, I didn't get it at all? First, obviously because I didn't find Meg as likeable and second, people don't fall in love just because they spend a lot of time together LOL. So Will spent a good proportion of the book saving Meg's ass and they supposed to love each other? I can understand it from Meg's point of view because she repeatedly thinks Will is handsome plus she practically owes her life to him but from Will's point of view? Meh. You wouldn't love a girl just because she sewn your shirts, would you?
And at third quarter of the book, Will backs up because he thinks Meg deserves better than him because he is penniless?
It's not like you are quadriplegic! You can still feed the girl you said you love by gee...I don't know...working?
The supporting characters? Double meh. Plain and boring, won't waste time talking about them because then, I'll get grumpy.
The plot.
THE PLOT.
Ugrhhh~
Like I said before, everything was too well-planned like a video game plot. Coincidence? Well, Meg certainly is a bloody lucky person then.
I better stop now before I rant on and on because actually, the book isn't too bad. I finished it so that's something. But would I recommend it? Probably not.
**An ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
LOL.
Where is that special something I was looking for?
Where is it?
Yea, it reads like a steampunk book, it's good, the plot was nice, the prose okay. But guys, for a traditionally published book, this was just not good enough. If this was published three years ago, I'd go ballistic for it but at the current standard, this just didn't cut it.
You know, if this book was made into an epic-fantasy video game, I'd be happy to play it. But as a book, it lacks powerful characters and substantial plot. Seriously guys, it felt very video-game-ish to me - so you are this girl who is thrown into this adventure to unlock the mystery bla bla bla.
Meg as the main protagonist was absolutely pathetic. She has zero self-confidence but at the same time likes to do things without proper planning and consideration. She trust people. Too easily.
It was very unwise to trust him, but in my heart, I knew it was the right thing.
I understand that women during that era tend to be poise and gentle but even after I factored that into account, Meg is still a weak and uninspiring character for me.
Page 110: A mystery lingered, a deadly one. I needed to reach the heart of it before someone took my life.
Page 384: This was all my fault. If I had never opened the key, none of this would ever happened.
Uh...girl, I think opening the key to save your life is the wisest thing you ever did.
She describes a lot of her emotions but I couldn't feel them, I couldn't connect with them at all. She narrates like a freaking news presenter!
The romance. Jeez, I didn't get it at all? First, obviously because I didn't find Meg as likeable and second, people don't fall in love just because they spend a lot of time together LOL. So Will spent a good proportion of the book saving Meg's ass and they supposed to love each other? I can understand it from Meg's point of view because she repeatedly thinks Will is handsome plus she practically owes her life to him but from Will's point of view? Meh. You wouldn't love a girl just because she sewn your shirts, would you?
And at third quarter of the book, Will backs up because he thinks Meg deserves better than him because he is penniless?
It's not like you are quadriplegic! You can still feed the girl you said you love by gee...I don't know...working?
The supporting characters? Double meh. Plain and boring, won't waste time talking about them because then, I'll get grumpy.
The plot.
THE PLOT.
Ugrhhh~
Like I said before, everything was too well-planned like a video game plot. Coincidence? Well, Meg certainly is a bloody lucky person then.
I better stop now before I rant on and on because actually, the book isn't too bad. I finished it so that's something. But would I recommend it? Probably not.
**An ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.
March 28, 2014
I also read this book for free on Pulseit. This was the first book that I read that I was aware was steampunk. I've read Pullman's His Dark Materials series. And after reading this book, I became obsessed with steampunk. Since reading this book, I have read at least a dozen steampunk books and I am never looking back.
After Meg's mansion is set on fire, her family and the wealthy life she once had are gone. She has nothing left. With no money left to her name, she must become a servant. The house she now works on is definitely strange. She has no one to talk to and the house seems off. She learns that there's a stable boy, Will, and has him look at her necklace. The thing is, it isn't a necklace. It's a key.
When Meg is fired from the house by the owner, she searches for answers. With Will to help her, they travel across the United Kingdom, desperate to find the truth.
I felt bad for Meg. She lost her family and everything she had. She was lonely. She wanted someone to talk to. Then she meets Will and it's annoyance at first sight. They can't stand each other. But they only have each other to talk to. I felt bad for Will, too. He was also lonely.
I read this book a while ago, so I'm not sure what else to say...
Meg
I thought she was great. I mean she was lonely, but she just wanted to interact with someone. She went through so much during this book, she loses everything and then she has the chance to undo everything that happened, but then she never would have met Will.
Will
I love me some snarky British boys. I can't help myself. It's one of my weaknesses. I just want him to be happy, too. He and Meg MUST be together. It just HAS to happen!!!
Overall, this book was great. Because of this, I now love and am obsessed with steampunk. I can't wait to read the next book! I have such high hopes!!
For this review and more, go to my blog Lizzie the Sarcastic Blonde
After Meg's mansion is set on fire, her family and the wealthy life she once had are gone. She has nothing left. With no money left to her name, she must become a servant. The house she now works on is definitely strange. She has no one to talk to and the house seems off. She learns that there's a stable boy, Will, and has him look at her necklace. The thing is, it isn't a necklace. It's a key.
When Meg is fired from the house by the owner, she searches for answers. With Will to help her, they travel across the United Kingdom, desperate to find the truth.
I felt bad for Meg. She lost her family and everything she had. She was lonely. She wanted someone to talk to. Then she meets Will and it's annoyance at first sight. They can't stand each other. But they only have each other to talk to. I felt bad for Will, too. He was also lonely.
I read this book a while ago, so I'm not sure what else to say...
Meg
I thought she was great. I mean she was lonely, but she just wanted to interact with someone. She went through so much during this book, she loses everything and then she has the chance to undo everything that happened, but then she never would have met Will.
Will
I love me some snarky British boys. I can't help myself. It's one of my weaknesses. I just want him to be happy, too. He and Meg MUST be together. It just HAS to happen!!!
Overall, this book was great. Because of this, I now love and am obsessed with steampunk. I can't wait to read the next book! I have such high hopes!!
For this review and more, go to my blog Lizzie the Sarcastic Blonde
May 8, 2013
When Meg’s home is destroyed by a fire and her parents are killed, her fortune and future are gone. She is left with only the tarnished pocket watch of her dad’s. She is offered a job as a housemaid in Lord Rathford’s mansion and this is really her only option. Strange things are always occurring there as each day she must get up and clean the house and place everything back exactly the way that it was the day before, the tea cup on it’s side on the table, the rug askew in the hall and it was Meg’s job to make sure it never moved again. Meg asks the stable boy to help fix up her watch and discovers it is not an ordinary watch – it is actually a mechanical key that unlocks time travel and a dangerous series of events that could change people’s lives forever. Meg discovers evidence of an elite secret society of inventors and a dangerous invention that they will stop at nothing to protect. However, Meg has the power to destroy it and they want her dead. The clockwork key has unlocked Meg’s destiny and she is in a world of revenge, betrayal and deception that involves her past, her new friend’s and Lord Rathford and his deceased family.
This is book one is the clockwork key trilogy. It leaves you wanting to read the next one immediately! Set in Victorian England, it is filled with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing! a super YA work!
This is book one is the clockwork key trilogy. It leaves you wanting to read the next one immediately! Set in Victorian England, it is filled with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing! a super YA work!
July 18, 2016
I actually immensely enjoyed this book! I wasn't expecting to love it as I did, but it was wonderful. I loved all of the characters so much, and I definitely want to continue with this series eventually. The only problem I had with it was that it was a bit confusing for me sometimes, and it was annoying to read it for school, but I still loved it.
May 23, 2013
Cover Blurb: Yes or No? I absolute love the cover art, with the wheels in the upper corners, and the clockwork bird, and the skyline of London. It's extremely attention-grabbing for a Reader like me, who loves Victorian mysteries. Unfortunately, the cover is a bit misleading.
Characters: The biggest problem was Meg Whitlock, the protagonist. Quick to take offense to the slightest tease or criticism, Meg spent the majority of the book angry at someone - usually Will MacDonald. Her foul temper caused her to seem immature and rude, and that isn't something I like in a heroine. Poor Will, who does his best to protect her, doesn't deserve her ungratefulness, especially when he is under no obligation to help her. And yet she expects him to, flying off the handle and taking it personally when he voices his doubts and caution. Meg isn't willing to consider the dangers of her endeavors, so Will is obliged to be the voice of reason in their little expedition. Needless to say, I did like Will, but not enough to redeem the whole book. I enjoyed his quiet demeanor and applauded his patience with Meg - a girl so bratty that no average human being would give the time of day to. But because I was stuck inside Meg's irritating little head, as a Reader, I gradually began to get tired of Will simply because of Meg's constant flipflop between her feelings for him. Do you hate him or do you like him, Meg? Trust or suspect? Make up your mind!! In short, my slight dislike for Will had nothing to do with the character himself, but had everything to do with the protagonist. I began to view his (perfectly reasonable) mood swings with as much annoyance as Meg, and I didn't like it. Thankfully, though, the two side characters - Lucinda and Oliver - are entirely bereft of wearisome personality flaws. In fact, it is my opinion that Lucinda would have made a much better protagonist than Meg ever did. Lucinda was much more level-headed and practical, and her emotional issues were entirely relateable. Meg may have just lost her parents to a fire but five months ago, but I don't think it's her grief that makes her as bratty as she is. Clearly Lucinda was not always the timid, sorrowful creature we initially meet, as her personality comes through when she begins to shed her mourning for her lost husband. Now for the villains. To put it bluntly, they are obvious. One of them screams red herring so loudly that I knew he couldn't be the "100% villain." There had to be another one. And I was right. Neither of them, though, are intimidating or even especially evil. One is a brute, and the other is a mad inventor, but neither have especially dastardly plans for the main characters.
,b>The Romance: With a "handsome stable hand" that Meg has been forbidden from seeing, romance is inevitable. And the sparks between Meg and Will practically send the Reader flying across the room, they happen so quickly and with such force. Meg's first meeting with Will leaves her hating him for no good reason, and yet she can't ignore how handsome he is, how warm she finds his skin, or how well-muscled he is. Please; these are the obvious symptoms of an adolescent crush and nothing deeper. If I meet an attractive guy for the very first time, good looks go to the back of my mind, especially if I am approaching this person because I need their help with something (which is why Meg goes and finds Will in the first place). And if I find said attractive person rude, their good looks fly out a window. And quite honestly, I could not figure out why Will liked Meg back. She is nothing but a brat who takes offense far too easily. Unfortunately, the romance is a pretty constant element throughout the book. It isn't the story's main focus, but it definitely gets a great deal of attention.
Plot: After Meg's parents die in a fire, the mysterious Lord Rathford - an "old family friend" - takes her on as a housemaid (or is she a kitchen maid?). Meg has never seen Rathford; no one in the house has. Her job is to just keep everything in the house exactly the way it was the day Rathford's wife died. That includes refilling a teacup every day and tipping it on its side, stepping carefully around the shards of a broken vase (and heaven help her if she accidentally touches one!), and keeping the dead lady's room free of dust. Meg may have never seen Lord Rathford, but she knows that he's always watching her, so she goes about her duties, regardless of how odd. But when Meg goes out to the forbidden carriage house to see if the mysterious groomsman can fix her father's pocket watch, everything changes. The watch isn't a pocket watch at all, but a strange mechanical key, which opens a secret panel in Lady Rathford's bedchamber. What Meg discovers there is shocking; her grandfather, long thought dead, may in fact still be alive, but hiding from a mysterious murderer. Her parents had secrets, too - they belonged to a secret society called the Secret Order of Modern Amusementists. And someone has been killing off members - someone who is now after Meg, and the clockwork key that is now in her possession. Meg ends up dragging an unwilling Will into her adventure, as she searches for clues to her parents' murderer and pieces together a puzzle that her grandfather and his friend, Simon Pricket, left behind. It seems that one of the society members did the unthinkable: built a weapon, and Simon and Meg's grandfather were determined to destroy it. The clockwork key and their clues will lead Meg to the machine so she can fulfill their last wishes - to rid the world of it for good. My first problem with the plot was the pacing. The Author didn't give herself nearly enough time to built a sense of mystery and tension. With the setting of Lord Rathford and his eerie home, she had a perfect opportunity to create a unique - and spooky - ambiance. But instead, the book launches straight into secret passages, strange puzzles, and fantastical inventions - and all without any build-up. Legacy of the Clockwork Key could have very easily began with Meg's arrival at Lord Rathford's, discovering what her duties would be, and her puzzling over the strangeness of it all. She could have observed the mantelpiece clock and its strange flower impression, and then realized that her key went to it when she and Will discover the pocket watch's secret. The way it is, the plot felt far too rushed and the mysterious ambiance the story could have had comes crashing down. My next problem is with the Secret Order of Modern Amusementists itself. It is a really awesome concept, and I absolutely love their inventions. Automatons have never been this awesome. But what was the purpose? Why did they build these extravagant machines - some of which require entire hillsides to be hollowed out so they can be stored away. With something like this, it has to be for more than just entertainment. While quaint, I didn't find this excuse to be wholly realistic. Even with these flaws, the general storyline was entertaining. It reminded me of an adventure/puzzle-solving computer game, kind of like The Omega Stone or The Crystal Key. It could have even been a Nancy Drew PC game, and that isn't necessarily a criticism; just an observation. I constantly kept picturing Nancy Drew-like graphics, and a little tool bar where the player could select the clockwork key when it was needed, or Oliver's handy-dandy night vision goggles that also helped solve the hedge maze. The player's goal is to collect the six mysterious plates that will unlock the final puzzle, and you have this awesome automaton carriage to take you to places on your navigation map. Actually, Legacy of the Clockwork Key would make a perfect PC game.
Believability: This was a book that I couldn't help but be nit-picky about. The little historical details are often some of the most important, to help create a believable Victorian ambiance, and I hate to say that the book failed in this respect. I will take these one at a time, in the order I encountered them, and not by importance. First off, housemaid and kitchen maid are not interchangeable terms, nor are their duties. Meg refers to herself as a housemaid in the beginning, and then later calls herself a kitchen maid. Which is she? Probably the most grievous error is when Meg is forced to rip her skirts off. At one point, a carriage overturns and Meg's skirt gets caught on a wheel. As Will pulls her out, her skirt - and petticoat - rips all the way to her knee, exposing her ankle, her calf, and her knee. Meg isn't mortified by this at all, and instead rips the skirts off all the way, to just above her knee, so she can walk. She now has both legs exposed, including a goodly part of her drawers. And she's only worried about her ankle. Now, the reason the ankle was considered scandalous in the Victorian era is because it was part of one's leg, and one's legs were so scandalous that polite people didn't even call them legs - they were "limbs." So if Meg has her skirts to knee-length, her ankle is the least of her worries, and she would not be mortified that Will could see her feet; she would be utterly mortified that he could see all the way up to her knees. And she wouldn't continue to traipse about in it, unless she has as much disregard for propriety as prostitutes did. To make this even more ridiculous, Lucinda later appears in a pair of trousers, and Oliver and Will are positively embarrassed. Meg is baring a lot more skin, and the boys never react to her. I also have a very hard time believing that in 1861 London, Meg has never heard of coffee.
Writing Style: First person, past tense. For once, I wish it hadn't been in first person, because I grew extremely tired of being locked up in Meg's head. The style itself was nothing special. There were lots of short sentences, and there was no poetry to the narration, no beautiful descriptions beyond mention of the automatons, and no Victorian flavor.
Content: None.
Conclusion: Meg comes face-to-face with her villain. Or is he? He might be responsible for a lot of things, but is it possible that there was a second party that is behind her parents' deaths? Or even a third? I will leave the Readers to ponder these tantalizing questions, or I can just tell you: Despite the lack of earth-shattering revelations at the climax, at least neither villains monologue much, their comeuppance is surprisingly not all that cliche, and there's a big bang to finish things off. Quite literally. I knew what I was stepping into when I picked up Legacy of the Clockwork Key, thanks to a friend who had already read it, so I didn't have any high expectations. And I'm glad, because they would have been crushed pretty ruthlessly. The concept was good, and I did really like the society's inventions, and I even kind of liked the PC game feel it had. But Meg was a horrible protagonist, and the romance was thoroughly irksome. Combine that with the historical inaccuracies, the unspectacular writing style, and the plot holes, and even the awesome automatons couldn't make up for this book's flaws.
Recommended Audience: Girl-read, fourteen-and-up, fans of historical mysteries with a steampunk flair, and don't mind an annoying girl protagonist.
Characters: The biggest problem was Meg Whitlock, the protagonist. Quick to take offense to the slightest tease or criticism, Meg spent the majority of the book angry at someone - usually Will MacDonald. Her foul temper caused her to seem immature and rude, and that isn't something I like in a heroine. Poor Will, who does his best to protect her, doesn't deserve her ungratefulness, especially when he is under no obligation to help her. And yet she expects him to, flying off the handle and taking it personally when he voices his doubts and caution. Meg isn't willing to consider the dangers of her endeavors, so Will is obliged to be the voice of reason in their little expedition. Needless to say, I did like Will, but not enough to redeem the whole book. I enjoyed his quiet demeanor and applauded his patience with Meg - a girl so bratty that no average human being would give the time of day to. But because I was stuck inside Meg's irritating little head, as a Reader, I gradually began to get tired of Will simply because of Meg's constant flipflop between her feelings for him. Do you hate him or do you like him, Meg? Trust or suspect? Make up your mind!! In short, my slight dislike for Will had nothing to do with the character himself, but had everything to do with the protagonist. I began to view his (perfectly reasonable) mood swings with as much annoyance as Meg, and I didn't like it. Thankfully, though, the two side characters - Lucinda and Oliver - are entirely bereft of wearisome personality flaws. In fact, it is my opinion that Lucinda would have made a much better protagonist than Meg ever did. Lucinda was much more level-headed and practical, and her emotional issues were entirely relateable. Meg may have just lost her parents to a fire but five months ago, but I don't think it's her grief that makes her as bratty as she is. Clearly Lucinda was not always the timid, sorrowful creature we initially meet, as her personality comes through when she begins to shed her mourning for her lost husband. Now for the villains. To put it bluntly, they are obvious. One of them screams red herring so loudly that I knew he couldn't be the "100% villain." There had to be another one. And I was right. Neither of them, though, are intimidating or even especially evil. One is a brute, and the other is a mad inventor, but neither have especially dastardly plans for the main characters.
,b>The Romance: With a "handsome stable hand" that Meg has been forbidden from seeing, romance is inevitable. And the sparks between Meg and Will practically send the Reader flying across the room, they happen so quickly and with such force. Meg's first meeting with Will leaves her hating him for no good reason, and yet she can't ignore how handsome he is, how warm she finds his skin, or how well-muscled he is. Please; these are the obvious symptoms of an adolescent crush and nothing deeper. If I meet an attractive guy for the very first time, good looks go to the back of my mind, especially if I am approaching this person because I need their help with something (which is why Meg goes and finds Will in the first place). And if I find said attractive person rude, their good looks fly out a window. And quite honestly, I could not figure out why Will liked Meg back. She is nothing but a brat who takes offense far too easily. Unfortunately, the romance is a pretty constant element throughout the book. It isn't the story's main focus, but it definitely gets a great deal of attention.
Plot: After Meg's parents die in a fire, the mysterious Lord Rathford - an "old family friend" - takes her on as a housemaid (or is she a kitchen maid?). Meg has never seen Rathford; no one in the house has. Her job is to just keep everything in the house exactly the way it was the day Rathford's wife died. That includes refilling a teacup every day and tipping it on its side, stepping carefully around the shards of a broken vase (and heaven help her if she accidentally touches one!), and keeping the dead lady's room free of dust. Meg may have never seen Lord Rathford, but she knows that he's always watching her, so she goes about her duties, regardless of how odd. But when Meg goes out to the forbidden carriage house to see if the mysterious groomsman can fix her father's pocket watch, everything changes. The watch isn't a pocket watch at all, but a strange mechanical key, which opens a secret panel in Lady Rathford's bedchamber. What Meg discovers there is shocking; her grandfather, long thought dead, may in fact still be alive, but hiding from a mysterious murderer. Her parents had secrets, too - they belonged to a secret society called the Secret Order of Modern Amusementists. And someone has been killing off members - someone who is now after Meg, and the clockwork key that is now in her possession. Meg ends up dragging an unwilling Will into her adventure, as she searches for clues to her parents' murderer and pieces together a puzzle that her grandfather and his friend, Simon Pricket, left behind. It seems that one of the society members did the unthinkable: built a weapon, and Simon and Meg's grandfather were determined to destroy it. The clockwork key and their clues will lead Meg to the machine so she can fulfill their last wishes - to rid the world of it for good. My first problem with the plot was the pacing. The Author didn't give herself nearly enough time to built a sense of mystery and tension. With the setting of Lord Rathford and his eerie home, she had a perfect opportunity to create a unique - and spooky - ambiance. But instead, the book launches straight into secret passages, strange puzzles, and fantastical inventions - and all without any build-up. Legacy of the Clockwork Key could have very easily began with Meg's arrival at Lord Rathford's, discovering what her duties would be, and her puzzling over the strangeness of it all. She could have observed the mantelpiece clock and its strange flower impression, and then realized that her key went to it when she and Will discover the pocket watch's secret. The way it is, the plot felt far too rushed and the mysterious ambiance the story could have had comes crashing down. My next problem is with the Secret Order of Modern Amusementists itself. It is a really awesome concept, and I absolutely love their inventions. Automatons have never been this awesome. But what was the purpose? Why did they build these extravagant machines - some of which require entire hillsides to be hollowed out so they can be stored away. With something like this, it has to be for more than just entertainment. While quaint, I didn't find this excuse to be wholly realistic. Even with these flaws, the general storyline was entertaining. It reminded me of an adventure/puzzle-solving computer game, kind of like The Omega Stone or The Crystal Key. It could have even been a Nancy Drew PC game, and that isn't necessarily a criticism; just an observation. I constantly kept picturing Nancy Drew-like graphics, and a little tool bar where the player could select the clockwork key when it was needed, or Oliver's handy-dandy night vision goggles that also helped solve the hedge maze. The player's goal is to collect the six mysterious plates that will unlock the final puzzle, and you have this awesome automaton carriage to take you to places on your navigation map. Actually, Legacy of the Clockwork Key would make a perfect PC game.
Believability: This was a book that I couldn't help but be nit-picky about. The little historical details are often some of the most important, to help create a believable Victorian ambiance, and I hate to say that the book failed in this respect. I will take these one at a time, in the order I encountered them, and not by importance. First off, housemaid and kitchen maid are not interchangeable terms, nor are their duties. Meg refers to herself as a housemaid in the beginning, and then later calls herself a kitchen maid. Which is she? Probably the most grievous error is when Meg is forced to rip her skirts off. At one point, a carriage overturns and Meg's skirt gets caught on a wheel. As Will pulls her out, her skirt - and petticoat - rips all the way to her knee, exposing her ankle, her calf, and her knee. Meg isn't mortified by this at all, and instead rips the skirts off all the way, to just above her knee, so she can walk. She now has both legs exposed, including a goodly part of her drawers. And she's only worried about her ankle. Now, the reason the ankle was considered scandalous in the Victorian era is because it was part of one's leg, and one's legs were so scandalous that polite people didn't even call them legs - they were "limbs." So if Meg has her skirts to knee-length, her ankle is the least of her worries, and she would not be mortified that Will could see her feet; she would be utterly mortified that he could see all the way up to her knees. And she wouldn't continue to traipse about in it, unless she has as much disregard for propriety as prostitutes did. To make this even more ridiculous, Lucinda later appears in a pair of trousers, and Oliver and Will are positively embarrassed. Meg is baring a lot more skin, and the boys never react to her. I also have a very hard time believing that in 1861 London, Meg has never heard of coffee.
Writing Style: First person, past tense. For once, I wish it hadn't been in first person, because I grew extremely tired of being locked up in Meg's head. The style itself was nothing special. There were lots of short sentences, and there was no poetry to the narration, no beautiful descriptions beyond mention of the automatons, and no Victorian flavor.
Content: None.
Conclusion: Meg comes face-to-face with her villain. Or is he? He might be responsible for a lot of things, but is it possible that there was a second party that is behind her parents' deaths? Or even a third? I will leave the Readers to ponder these tantalizing questions, or I can just tell you: Despite the lack of earth-shattering revelations at the climax, at least neither villains monologue much, their comeuppance is surprisingly not all that cliche, and there's a big bang to finish things off. Quite literally. I knew what I was stepping into when I picked up Legacy of the Clockwork Key, thanks to a friend who had already read it, so I didn't have any high expectations. And I'm glad, because they would have been crushed pretty ruthlessly. The concept was good, and I did really like the society's inventions, and I even kind of liked the PC game feel it had. But Meg was a horrible protagonist, and the romance was thoroughly irksome. Combine that with the historical inaccuracies, the unspectacular writing style, and the plot holes, and even the awesome automatons couldn't make up for this book's flaws.
Recommended Audience: Girl-read, fourteen-and-up, fans of historical mysteries with a steampunk flair, and don't mind an annoying girl protagonist.
February 3, 2022
Originally posted at: Girls on YA Books
~Review:
The Legacy of the Clockwork Key is one of those other 2013 debuts that just rock your socks! I loved it to absolutely no end!! There have been about 4 books that have been released this year that have already made my top 5! This my friends, would be one of them. I absolutely love steampunk novels but I read them so rarely. So it’s one of those genres (and I am sure you have heard me mention this several different times on SEVERAL different occasions and are probably tired of it but I shall say it one more time!!) that are kind of savored. There are SO many dystopian and SO many vampire books, werewolf books, etc. that there tends to be nothing special about them. Ok, so there is a lot of special going on with them. Each author has their own way of making it unique and absolutely fantastic but what I mean to say is that..well…
Ok, so let’s say that your favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies but your mother (husband, wife, brother, sister, best friends…dog! Whoever is going to buy you a chocolate chip cookie!!) only buys you one per month. Are you going to savor that cookie? Yes. Why? Because it’s a rare gift. You only get it once a month. Its holds value because of its ????. Now if your friend started you getting you a cookie every day would you look forward to it as much? Again, you are still going to enjoy it because well..it’s one of your most favorite desserts! Its good. It could be great but because of that lack of rarity you don’t enjoy it as much.” Oh ya! A chocolate chip cookie. I get one of those every day…” See my point?
Anyways!! Enough about chocolate chip cookies. This is supposed to be about Kristin Bailey, The Legacy of the Clockwork Key and Kristin Bailey’s debut of The Legacy of the Clockwork Key. I think you are beginning to see my love of steampunks and how that all goes now right? Yes, so wow. Just wow. I never could have guessed what I was going to receive after I opened Bailey’s debut. I knew it was going to be steampunk. I knew it was set in Victorian London. I knew it had something to do with a clockwork key and the legacy it withheld. I knew that more than likely it would be good. I knew that I enjoyed steampunks. What I didn't know? I didn’t know that there was going to be all sorts of genius wrapped up in ??? pages. I was blown away. Kristin Bailey has one talented hand that’s for sure! The amount of imagination and detail that went into this book is unbelievable. She has made a favorite out of me! A HUGE one I might add.
The voice she puts into ??? is transfixing. The story flowed so well there was no way I could put it down. I didn't WANT to put it down. The characters were a joy. The mystery was very much enticing. The automatons were magical. There were times I had to remind myself that this was indeed a steampunk and not one once of fantasy or magic was a part of this book. THAT is how amazing Kristin Bailey’s writing is. THAT is how incredible this book is. I felt as if I had jumped into the pages and joined Will and Meg on their adventure. Oh how I wish I could have! Especially just to meet Will ;D
This book had everything. The romance was splendid. Not only did we have some romance going on between our main characters but also from the side characters. Oliver and Lucinda were just plain out adorable! You guys seriously have to try this book on for size. If you haven’t ever touched a steampunk book, start with this one, fall in love and thank later ;D I know I always say “this is a book you don’t want to miss out on”, but it’s true. When I say that line I mean it with every fiber of my body. I literally want you to understand that missing this book will be a tragic book crime. So, people, go out and get your little hands on this book ASAP. You do NOT want to miss out on the start to what I can tell is going to be a phenomenal series. (see that I changed the words up a bit ;D Same meaning though. ;P). I seriously don’t think I can wait a whole year for book two. Why do book releases have to be so tormenting ;)
~Rating:
5 of 5 stars!!!! <3
~Review:
The Legacy of the Clockwork Key is one of those other 2013 debuts that just rock your socks! I loved it to absolutely no end!! There have been about 4 books that have been released this year that have already made my top 5! This my friends, would be one of them. I absolutely love steampunk novels but I read them so rarely. So it’s one of those genres (and I am sure you have heard me mention this several different times on SEVERAL different occasions and are probably tired of it but I shall say it one more time!!) that are kind of savored. There are SO many dystopian and SO many vampire books, werewolf books, etc. that there tends to be nothing special about them. Ok, so there is a lot of special going on with them. Each author has their own way of making it unique and absolutely fantastic but what I mean to say is that..well…
Ok, so let’s say that your favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies but your mother (husband, wife, brother, sister, best friends…dog! Whoever is going to buy you a chocolate chip cookie!!) only buys you one per month. Are you going to savor that cookie? Yes. Why? Because it’s a rare gift. You only get it once a month. Its holds value because of its ????. Now if your friend started you getting you a cookie every day would you look forward to it as much? Again, you are still going to enjoy it because well..it’s one of your most favorite desserts! Its good. It could be great but because of that lack of rarity you don’t enjoy it as much.” Oh ya! A chocolate chip cookie. I get one of those every day…” See my point?
Anyways!! Enough about chocolate chip cookies. This is supposed to be about Kristin Bailey, The Legacy of the Clockwork Key and Kristin Bailey’s debut of The Legacy of the Clockwork Key. I think you are beginning to see my love of steampunks and how that all goes now right? Yes, so wow. Just wow. I never could have guessed what I was going to receive after I opened Bailey’s debut. I knew it was going to be steampunk. I knew it was set in Victorian London. I knew it had something to do with a clockwork key and the legacy it withheld. I knew that more than likely it would be good. I knew that I enjoyed steampunks. What I didn't know? I didn’t know that there was going to be all sorts of genius wrapped up in ??? pages. I was blown away. Kristin Bailey has one talented hand that’s for sure! The amount of imagination and detail that went into this book is unbelievable. She has made a favorite out of me! A HUGE one I might add.
The voice she puts into ??? is transfixing. The story flowed so well there was no way I could put it down. I didn't WANT to put it down. The characters were a joy. The mystery was very much enticing. The automatons were magical. There were times I had to remind myself that this was indeed a steampunk and not one once of fantasy or magic was a part of this book. THAT is how amazing Kristin Bailey’s writing is. THAT is how incredible this book is. I felt as if I had jumped into the pages and joined Will and Meg on their adventure. Oh how I wish I could have! Especially just to meet Will ;D
This book had everything. The romance was splendid. Not only did we have some romance going on between our main characters but also from the side characters. Oliver and Lucinda were just plain out adorable! You guys seriously have to try this book on for size. If you haven’t ever touched a steampunk book, start with this one, fall in love and thank later ;D I know I always say “this is a book you don’t want to miss out on”, but it’s true. When I say that line I mean it with every fiber of my body. I literally want you to understand that missing this book will be a tragic book crime. So, people, go out and get your little hands on this book ASAP. You do NOT want to miss out on the start to what I can tell is going to be a phenomenal series. (see that I changed the words up a bit ;D Same meaning though. ;P). I seriously don’t think I can wait a whole year for book two. Why do book releases have to be so tormenting ;)
~Rating:
5 of 5 stars!!!! <3
dnf
March 6, 2015Oh, the miserable, sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when the awkward, clunky romance lumbers into a book like a kaiju and demolishes all of the pretty things the author has built.
This book starts out rather well: our heroine, Meg, has lost everything--parents, wealth, position, and home--to a catastrophic fire. The only link she has to her past life is a tarnished old watch that she found by her father's body. Her father's solicitor informs her that she must find employment to survive, but that a peer named Lord Rathford has specifically requested her services as housemaid. Feeling the sting of her social fall, as well as mourning her parents, Meg must nevertheless accept, for what other option is there for a young lady in 19th century London? Well, I suppose I can think of at least one, but it's not an option for Meg.
So, she enters the service of the mysterious Lord Rathford, also referred to as "the Baron." After much poking and prodding of the English peerage system, I've managed to conclude that barons are addressed as lords and that there is no lordship, only a baronage. ANYWAY. I got confused a bit, because I kept thinking that Meg worked for two different people, but they're one and the same.
Every day, Meg performs the same tasks. She starts the fire. She brews the tea. She cleans the spilt tea in the sitting room, refills the cup halfway, and then re-spills the tea. She makes unmade beds and avoids shattered porcelain on the steps, taking care to keep the shards just so. Meg states, "I had moved in to a place where timed had stopped altogether. It was my job to make it certain it never moved again."
Now, come on. Aren't you intrigued? Don't you want to know more about the mysterious and probably sinister baron who sits in the upper rooms of the house, spying on his servants and ensuring that nothing is ever changed? I was. It was very Bertha-Rochester-in-the-attic with a twist.
Ooh, that makes me think I could use a drink. With a twist.
My apologies for the digression. Things progress rather spookily until Meg meets the mysterious Scottish stablehand, of whose existence she's known vaguely, but it never occured to her to, you know, meet the guy. Of course he is tall, dark, and mysterious, with an air of danger. The cook warns her to stay away from him, but does Meg listen? Nooooo. Of course not. She makes a trade with Stable Boy Will (dear lord, authors: there are more male names in the English language than Will. I am so sick of reading about "Will"s). She'll mend his shirts and he'll try to fix her watch.
Now, "fixing the watch" consists of Will prying it open and finding a SUPER SECRET MAGICAL SURPRISE inside that Meg could have totally found all along, being that she works in a kitchen with knives and such. But poor Meg was worried that she'd not be able to put the watch back together. It's actually not a watch at all, but rather a music box and shhhh secret key! Whilst poking around the house that she helps maintain in stasis, Meg discovers that her watch opens a clock above a fireplace. She has to finish playing a tune that only she and her grandfather knew. Gasp! He is involved somehow.
Meg discovers a laboratory and evidence that her grandfather was part of a secret society conducting possibly unethical experiments. He's not dead, as she thought, but in hiding. Thus begins Meg's quest to find her not-dead grandfather. She keeps dragging Hots McScots into the deal, and he keeps going, "Nae, I willnae help you!" and then proceeds to help her because she is, obviously, hot. This seems to be the extent of their relationship, but I'm sure they fall in SO MUCH LOVE at the end.
What was an interesting premise faltered under the weight of stilted "dialogue" and a confusing set of quests that Meg must complete. I could just see the downward spiral. I wasn't interested in this secret society, or her grandfather, or the murder plots, or anything anymore. And I'm rather unsure how this ends up being steampunk.
Some people loved this; I did not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This book starts out rather well: our heroine, Meg, has lost everything--parents, wealth, position, and home--to a catastrophic fire. The only link she has to her past life is a tarnished old watch that she found by her father's body. Her father's solicitor informs her that she must find employment to survive, but that a peer named Lord Rathford has specifically requested her services as housemaid. Feeling the sting of her social fall, as well as mourning her parents, Meg must nevertheless accept, for what other option is there for a young lady in 19th century London? Well, I suppose I can think of at least one, but it's not an option for Meg.
So, she enters the service of the mysterious Lord Rathford, also referred to as "the Baron." After much poking and prodding of the English peerage system, I've managed to conclude that barons are addressed as lords and that there is no lordship, only a baronage. ANYWAY. I got confused a bit, because I kept thinking that Meg worked for two different people, but they're one and the same.
Every day, Meg performs the same tasks. She starts the fire. She brews the tea. She cleans the spilt tea in the sitting room, refills the cup halfway, and then re-spills the tea. She makes unmade beds and avoids shattered porcelain on the steps, taking care to keep the shards just so. Meg states, "I had moved in to a place where timed had stopped altogether. It was my job to make it certain it never moved again."
Now, come on. Aren't you intrigued? Don't you want to know more about the mysterious and probably sinister baron who sits in the upper rooms of the house, spying on his servants and ensuring that nothing is ever changed? I was. It was very Bertha-Rochester-in-the-attic with a twist.
Ooh, that makes me think I could use a drink. With a twist.
My apologies for the digression. Things progress rather spookily until Meg meets the mysterious Scottish stablehand, of whose existence she's known vaguely, but it never occured to her to, you know, meet the guy. Of course he is tall, dark, and mysterious, with an air of danger. The cook warns her to stay away from him, but does Meg listen? Nooooo. Of course not. She makes a trade with Stable Boy Will (dear lord, authors: there are more male names in the English language than Will. I am so sick of reading about "Will"s). She'll mend his shirts and he'll try to fix her watch.
Now, "fixing the watch" consists of Will prying it open and finding a SUPER SECRET MAGICAL SURPRISE inside that Meg could have totally found all along, being that she works in a kitchen with knives and such. But poor Meg was worried that she'd not be able to put the watch back together. It's actually not a watch at all, but rather a music box and shhhh secret key! Whilst poking around the house that she helps maintain in stasis, Meg discovers that her watch opens a clock above a fireplace. She has to finish playing a tune that only she and her grandfather knew. Gasp! He is involved somehow.
Meg discovers a laboratory and evidence that her grandfather was part of a secret society conducting possibly unethical experiments. He's not dead, as she thought, but in hiding. Thus begins Meg's quest to find her not-dead grandfather. She keeps dragging Hots McScots into the deal, and he keeps going, "Nae, I willnae help you!" and then proceeds to help her because she is, obviously, hot. This seems to be the extent of their relationship, but I'm sure they fall in SO MUCH LOVE at the end.
What was an interesting premise faltered under the weight of stilted "dialogue" and a confusing set of quests that Meg must complete. I could just see the downward spiral. I wasn't interested in this secret society, or her grandfather, or the murder plots, or anything anymore. And I'm rather unsure how this ends up being steampunk.
Some people loved this; I did not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
March 5, 2013
Meg is orphaned after a fire killed both her parents, and with nowhere to go she takes a position of a housemaid in a big ol’ creepy mansion. Day in and day out she cleans room after room, keeping everything as is since the day the baroness of the house passed away. As for the Baron, she has never met him but all the servant says he watches over them and knows everything that goes on in the mansion. On one of Meg’s usual cleaning routine she stumbles upon a wall clock with the same three pedals flower as her broken clock necklace. It turns out that the clock isn’t broken at all; it’s really a key. What Meg learns is that the key unlocks a lot of clues about her grandfather, that he isn’t dead and was in a secret society. Only Meg knows how to use the key, and a lot of people are willing to do anything to get their hands on the key…even murder.
Legacy of the Clockwork Key is a fun and engaging steampunk adventure as readers joins Meg in search of her grandfather and to stop members of the secret society from retrieving the key to unlock their dangerous inventions. This book kind of reminded me of the Amazing Race as Meg with the help of Will, Lucinda, and Oliver solves clues after clues. The clues take them all over London to different sites of the Aumusementists’ inventions and some of the inventions incorporate a bit of mythology! For example one of the clues took them into a labyrinth, and with special goggles Meg was able to find a yellow thread buried within the sand, Ariadne’s thread. As the tale goes, Prince Theseus had to solve the labyrinth to save his people. The King’s daughter, Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and to help him through the maze she gave him a golden thread that led to the exit. Meg and Will follow the thread to the clue (plate) and to their horror find the plate is on none other than a metal-geared Minotaur! There’s a lot of other surprise along the way, and with each new clue solved I get more excited to see which inventions Meg will discovers next.
As for characters, I didn’t really warm up to Meg right away …she was kind of whiney and never thought things through before jumping into danger in the beginning. Towards the middle-end of the book she got better, after she realizes what she’d been doing. One thing I like about Meg was she didn’t care what society thought was proper. She liked Will, a stable boy who came from nothing and saw him for who he was and it didn’t matter that he was poor or that she was technically middle-class. I liked Will, even though he knew Meg kept taking major risks he jumped in as well just to keep her safe. Although, he was frustrated half the time, he didn’t mind giving Meg a piece of his mind. Legacy of the Clockwork Key is the first book in a planned trilogy, so be aware that not all questions get answered and the ending is left open for the next book.
I absolutely loved this book, and would highly recommend it to those who enjoy the steampunk-fantasy genre. The gadgets, gears, and clockwork inventions will have you in awe; from clockwork ravens, steel horses, flying apparatus, to a giant kraken-like monster! Legacy of the Clockwork Key was a nonstop action- mystery from start to finish…definitely a debut not to be missed!
Legacy of the Clockwork Key is a fun and engaging steampunk adventure as readers joins Meg in search of her grandfather and to stop members of the secret society from retrieving the key to unlock their dangerous inventions. This book kind of reminded me of the Amazing Race as Meg with the help of Will, Lucinda, and Oliver solves clues after clues. The clues take them all over London to different sites of the Aumusementists’ inventions and some of the inventions incorporate a bit of mythology! For example one of the clues took them into a labyrinth, and with special goggles Meg was able to find a yellow thread buried within the sand, Ariadne’s thread. As the tale goes, Prince Theseus had to solve the labyrinth to save his people. The King’s daughter, Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and to help him through the maze she gave him a golden thread that led to the exit. Meg and Will follow the thread to the clue (plate) and to their horror find the plate is on none other than a metal-geared Minotaur! There’s a lot of other surprise along the way, and with each new clue solved I get more excited to see which inventions Meg will discovers next.
As for characters, I didn’t really warm up to Meg right away …she was kind of whiney and never thought things through before jumping into danger in the beginning. Towards the middle-end of the book she got better, after she realizes what she’d been doing. One thing I like about Meg was she didn’t care what society thought was proper. She liked Will, a stable boy who came from nothing and saw him for who he was and it didn’t matter that he was poor or that she was technically middle-class. I liked Will, even though he knew Meg kept taking major risks he jumped in as well just to keep her safe. Although, he was frustrated half the time, he didn’t mind giving Meg a piece of his mind. Legacy of the Clockwork Key is the first book in a planned trilogy, so be aware that not all questions get answered and the ending is left open for the next book.
I absolutely loved this book, and would highly recommend it to those who enjoy the steampunk-fantasy genre. The gadgets, gears, and clockwork inventions will have you in awe; from clockwork ravens, steel horses, flying apparatus, to a giant kraken-like monster! Legacy of the Clockwork Key was a nonstop action- mystery from start to finish…definitely a debut not to be missed!
February 9, 2015
Yay, I finally got to read this!! Thank you to Simon for making this available at PulseIt in anticipation of the third book. I've just started book 2 and hope I can get my hands on book 3 soon! While I agree with some other reviewers that Meg was rather naive and seemed younger than 16, we do have to remember that the story is set in the Victorian era, when girls and women did not get an education anything like boy's. Nor were they really allowed a real-world education, at least not those of the upper classes like Meg was. So I kind of forgave Meg her naivete, and it didn't bother me so much. I loved Meg's burgeoning feminism, her belief that women can and should be able to do what men can do (e.g., be a member of SOMA!), yet she was not an unbelievable, anachronistic character - she was still scandalized by Lucinda's donning of men's pants for their final adventure! I also agree with at least one review I read that said Will was a bit extreme in his emotions - straight from hot to cold to hot again, seemingly with no middle ground, but it didn't spoil the story for me. Again, this was a time in which the daughter of a merchant would not be socializing with a stable boy, normally, so I understood his feelings of inadequacy and his attempts to protect not only Meg's person but also her reputation. As for secondary characters, I loved both Lucinda and Oliver. They are great individual characters who work so well both alone and on the page together.
A few character quirks or issues aside, the best part of the book for me was definitely reading about the amazing amusements the members of the Society of Mechanical Amusementists (S.O.M.A.) came up with. Encompassing everything from mythology (e.g., the Minotaur in the Labyrinth and Icarus, to name a few) to legends (e.g., the Leviathan), these elements were just. plain. COOL. What an imagination Ms. Bailey has!! I loved reading about Meg and Will, and sometimes Oliver and Lucinda, facing these mechanical tests. I also thought the mystery was very well-done, and while I was partially right in who I thought the bad guy was, I was also surprised by some answers - *and* we are still left with a huge mystery when the book ends. I'm now reading book 2, and I can't wait to see what happens next!! One more note: I also enjoyed the clever nods to current readers, sort of a "wink, wink" from the author to us, an imagining of how the Amusementists and their mechanical creations became the source of legends we know about today - such as the shock of the residents of the Scottish village by the Amusementists' Foundry when they saw the working model of the mechanical sea monster surface, and how they would surely be talking about it for years (hello, Nessie!). The book was just full of fun things like that.
I thought this book was great fun, well-written, and full of imagination and creativity. I look forward to seeing how Meg and Will's adventures continue in RISE OF THE ARCANE FIRE!
A few character quirks or issues aside, the best part of the book for me was definitely reading about the amazing amusements the members of the Society of Mechanical Amusementists (S.O.M.A.) came up with. Encompassing everything from mythology (e.g., the Minotaur in the Labyrinth and Icarus, to name a few) to legends (e.g., the Leviathan), these elements were just. plain. COOL. What an imagination Ms. Bailey has!! I loved reading about Meg and Will, and sometimes Oliver and Lucinda, facing these mechanical tests. I also thought the mystery was very well-done, and while I was partially right in who I thought the bad guy was, I was also surprised by some answers - *and* we are still left with a huge mystery when the book ends. I'm now reading book 2, and I can't wait to see what happens next!! One more note: I also enjoyed the clever nods to current readers, sort of a "wink, wink" from the author to us, an imagining of how the Amusementists and their mechanical creations became the source of legends we know about today - such as the shock of the residents of the Scottish village by the Amusementists' Foundry when they saw the working model of the mechanical sea monster surface, and how they would surely be talking about it for years (hello, Nessie!). The book was just full of fun things like that.
I thought this book was great fun, well-written, and full of imagination and creativity. I look forward to seeing how Meg and Will's adventures continue in RISE OF THE ARCANE FIRE!
August 27, 2015
So, it was a little more than "ok" but I just had too many issues with it to give it three. Still, I enjoyed it and will probably see what the next installments have to offer. :) My rating is based more off of personal taste than of the author's skill.
There were several good points to Legacy of the Clockwork Key. I found it to be well-written with a smooth and easy flow. Bailey's strong point, I think, is her detailed descriptions of all things clockwork, and the inventions she devises are really...awesome, for lack of a more colorful word. Steampunk mechanics are hard to relate, but she did it smashingly well. The story handled being the first in a series well, giving us a complete arc while still holding a little piece of the puzzle back.
A secret association, murders, machines, mystery, a girl, a boy, an old love, a new love, a map to put together, a psycho to stop. All solid ingredients.
However, if there was a weak point of Bailey's story, it was the romance. I can't tell you how many times some version of the phrase "the heat of his skin" was used. Bleh. Meg and Will's relationship just goes round and round in circles, like it's stuck on one of the clockwork carriage's wheels. "He loves me, he loves me not," kind of thing, which gets really tedious and makes you dislike both the hero and the heroine and you start to forget who they are.
Being bad-ass should not be a requirement for a female main character, but I wouldn't have minded one with just a little more backbone. As for male romantic interests, I really don't dig angry and brooding and waayyyy too overprotective and kissing before telling her they shouldn't be together.
High points and low points all added together to make an overall enjoyable read, but not one I was super excited about picking up every night.
There were several good points to Legacy of the Clockwork Key. I found it to be well-written with a smooth and easy flow. Bailey's strong point, I think, is her detailed descriptions of all things clockwork, and the inventions she devises are really...awesome, for lack of a more colorful word. Steampunk mechanics are hard to relate, but she did it smashingly well. The story handled being the first in a series well, giving us a complete arc while still holding a little piece of the puzzle back.
A secret association, murders, machines, mystery, a girl, a boy, an old love, a new love, a map to put together, a psycho to stop. All solid ingredients.
However, if there was a weak point of Bailey's story, it was the romance. I can't tell you how many times some version of the phrase "the heat of his skin" was used. Bleh. Meg and Will's relationship just goes round and round in circles, like it's stuck on one of the clockwork carriage's wheels. "He loves me, he loves me not," kind of thing, which gets really tedious and makes you dislike both the hero and the heroine and you start to forget who they are.
Being bad-ass should not be a requirement for a female main character, but I wouldn't have minded one with just a little more backbone. As for male romantic interests, I really don't dig angry and brooding and waayyyy too overprotective and kissing before telling her they shouldn't be together.
High points and low points all added together to make an overall enjoyable read, but not one I was super excited about picking up every night.
August 16, 2015
see my full review on my blog http://crasyabout.blogspot.com/2013/0...
As though Meg has some features, not some many features of Tessa Gray, i can't say i didn't enkoy the book. The whole non-magical of it was worth it. And i do think that 2nd book will be as good as this one, so yes, one thing confused me deeply, and i guess i will find the answer in the next book, who is the man who killed Meg's parents amd tries to kill her too? I was fascinated by the all gear-invertions. And i really loved Oliver and Lucinda. Will. Is just Will, are all Wills so terribly stubborn in their feelings ( comparing to TID). So i would really recomend this book, it was pleasure to read it, and if you are a fan of Infernal devices, it's not like that, but the whole non magical mystery will leave you breathless. My rating is 4.8 sorry not 5 but i guess it deserves just that rating.
As though Meg has some features, not some many features of Tessa Gray, i can't say i didn't enkoy the book. The whole non-magical of it was worth it. And i do think that 2nd book will be as good as this one, so yes, one thing confused me deeply, and i guess i will find the answer in the next book, who is the man who killed Meg's parents amd tries to kill her too? I was fascinated by the all gear-invertions. And i really loved Oliver and Lucinda. Will. Is just Will, are all Wills so terribly stubborn in their feelings ( comparing to TID). So i would really recomend this book, it was pleasure to read it, and if you are a fan of Infernal devices, it's not like that, but the whole non magical mystery will leave you breathless. My rating is 4.8 sorry not 5 but i guess it deserves just that rating.
March 16, 2013
Couldn't finish. I liked how the story began. But as the story continued it went down hill. The main character is annoy and silly. I can't understand why she does the things she does. One example she is following clues to know more about her family and the group she doesn't stop to think things through. Or stop to think period. It is like she is following breadcrumbs without stoping to look that they lead to a open and very hot oven, dragging people who are trying to help with her. Not to mention that the writting is off and it goes at a very fast pace.
Also there is an instant attration to Will from the very start. I liked Will. Why he continued to help her when she only thought about herself is beyond me.
The other characters are just there being stupid. Very disappointed. There is a nice concept in this book. However is not for me.
Also there is an instant attration to Will from the very start. I liked Will. Why he continued to help her when she only thought about herself is beyond me.
The other characters are just there being stupid. Very disappointed. There is a nice concept in this book. However is not for me.
April 1, 2013
This is a promising beginning for a new trilogy. I will also admit that I am predisposed to like this as it deals with a dead parent and is extremely gothic in tone.
Meg is a fantastic heroine, one who is unapologetically smart but is also very relatable. While this book is very much steeped in class distinctions (Meg, especially, is very aware of how far she's fallen in London society), Meg isn't as concerned with her reputation as one might expect. Instead, her attention is focused on figuring out what the key does and what that means for her family's history.
This is such an interesting book and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Recommended.
Meg is a fantastic heroine, one who is unapologetically smart but is also very relatable. While this book is very much steeped in class distinctions (Meg, especially, is very aware of how far she's fallen in London society), Meg isn't as concerned with her reputation as one might expect. Instead, her attention is focused on figuring out what the key does and what that means for her family's history.
This is such an interesting book and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
Recommended.
January 10, 2016
An adventurous steampunk read with great mystery.. Young Meg has had her life turned upside down following the tragic fire that claimed the life of her parents.. she becomes a maid for a Lord's house then uncovers a family mystery which sends her on adventure to find the truth.. Interesting how the mystery relates to clever inventions her family were connected with.. full of mystery, twists and even a hint of romance.. pretty good read..
incomplete
March 28, 2013DNF at 25%
The plot is literally going nowhere, and the romance is uncomfortable. Meg, the main character, seems confused a lot. Her need to find out about her family's past is too dull and uninteresting. I'm sorry, but I really just can't read for another 75% about Meg's grandfather.
Not writing a full review for this, since I didn't actually finish this.
The plot is literally going nowhere, and the romance is uncomfortable. Meg, the main character, seems confused a lot. Her need to find out about her family's past is too dull and uninteresting. I'm sorry, but I really just can't read for another 75% about Meg's grandfather.
Not writing a full review for this, since I didn't actually finish this.
Read
February 27, 2013DNF
I am not rating this due to not finishing.
This wasn't bad per se, but I just could not get absorbed in the characters. Something felt flat to me and though I kept at it I just never got invested in the story.
I am not rating this due to not finishing.
This wasn't bad per se, but I just could not get absorbed in the characters. Something felt flat to me and though I kept at it I just never got invested in the story.
June 3, 2016
3.5 stars
To me, it went to fast at the start but ended up action filled and more interesting towards the end. Overall, a good book with an interesting concept.
To me, it went to fast at the start but ended up action filled and more interesting towards the end. Overall, a good book with an interesting concept.
May 26, 2017
This book was a fun read. Quick, and not too involved. I'll start with my dislikes:
I know it is young adult, and so I expected some of the silly romance and trying to please everyone. However, there were some moments with Meg, the narrator, that she was acting so stupid I wanted to turn the page and find her dead. YA has teenagers that are in adult situations, why can't they be mature for their age and not be all consumed with their harmones?
Anyway, she was about a 3 on the 'she is so dumb I'm going to die' scale.
I wished their was a little more attention to the weaving of the plot. I get that this is book one, but there were literally no resultions to any conflicts in this book. They weren't even discussed at the end. The whole book is consumed with: who is the masked murderer, where is the grandpa, who is bad-who is good, does Lucinda love Oliver, who killed Meg's parents, will Meg and Will end up together...
Guess which ONE gets answered, Will and Meg end up together-PREDICTABLE! None of the other conflicts were given resolution or contemplation. When you end a book like that you feel underwhelmed and like you wasted time.
Positives:
I enjoy this steampunk genre, and like some of the characters. I like the secret organization and clockwork machines. Loved the setting and felt the author had a good mastery of the British landscape. I like the questions and conflicts of the plot and I am interested in resolving them, if the pacing is changed in the next book. I hope she shifts focus from the twitter-pated relationships and more on the plot. Gave it 4 stars, because I couldn't give it a 3.5.
I know it is young adult, and so I expected some of the silly romance and trying to please everyone. However, there were some moments with Meg, the narrator, that she was acting so stupid I wanted to turn the page and find her dead. YA has teenagers that are in adult situations, why can't they be mature for their age and not be all consumed with their harmones?
Anyway, she was about a 3 on the 'she is so dumb I'm going to die' scale.
I wished their was a little more attention to the weaving of the plot. I get that this is book one, but there were literally no resultions to any conflicts in this book. They weren't even discussed at the end. The whole book is consumed with: who is the masked murderer, where is the grandpa, who is bad-who is good, does Lucinda love Oliver, who killed Meg's parents, will Meg and Will end up together...
Guess which ONE gets answered, Will and Meg end up together-PREDICTABLE! None of the other conflicts were given resolution or contemplation. When you end a book like that you feel underwhelmed and like you wasted time.
Positives:
I enjoy this steampunk genre, and like some of the characters. I like the secret organization and clockwork machines. Loved the setting and felt the author had a good mastery of the British landscape. I like the questions and conflicts of the plot and I am interested in resolving them, if the pacing is changed in the next book. I hope she shifts focus from the twitter-pated relationships and more on the plot. Gave it 4 stars, because I couldn't give it a 3.5.
January 6, 2017
The Legacy of the Clockwork Key is ambitious, and it begins with promise. However, it falters in the execution of its story and lacks momentum in places. The book follows Meg, a girl who is forced to become a maid for a mysterious and reclusive old aristocrat who she never sees. She feels like she is stuck in a dead end. That changes when she discovers a secret society of inventors that her family has been apart of for generations. Thrust into a chaotic world of secrets, Meg must race to uncover the secret of the key her missing grandfather left her. I enjoyed The Legacy of the Clockwork Key. Author Kristin Bailey takes an ambitious and original approach to both the steampunk and historical fiction genres, but the story drags on in too many places for the reader to appreciate this. The initial tone of the book is great. It's mysterious and creepy and makes you feel the mood of the characters. While the element of mystery is present throughout, its strength wavers as the book progresses. In addition to this, the romance aspect of the storyline feels unnecessary, forced, and intrusive to the plot. However, the book had many strengths. The dialogue is very well written, the characters are all interesting and you come away wanting to see more of them, and the inventions are all very creative while not being too numerous. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this book very much. Even though it may not have lived up to its full potential, The Legacy of the Clockwork Key is a solid entry in the historical fiction and stempunk genres that is worth reading.
December 31, 2019
Easy read, but then, most books are for me. Loved the Victorian setting. I picked this book up as it looked and sounded interesting. Never connected steampunk with it until I started reading it, so I wasn't expecting that aspect of it.
In regards to the steampunk and the poor reviews that other steampunk aficionados have given, let me just say this: 1. If you cannot utilize our greatest tool and see in your imagination the mechanics but have to have it spelled out for you; and/or 2. if you're looking for in-depth, convoluted and complicated explanations of the machines and their workings go buy a set of manuals because you obviously don't care a fig for story.
Kristin does a great job of blending suspense, mystery, intrigue, and imagination into a story for those just entering teenage years (she even spells it out that this was a story she wished to have read as a 13 year old). And yes, even a touch of romance, betrayal, and history.
In short, I recommend this story for the story itself especially since you won't get bogged down in completely unnecessary details and long drawn out technical descriptions that put most people to sleep (especially those of the early teens which this book was written for), but rather lets your imagination and creativity play as you come up with the diagrams that you think would make things work.
In regards to the steampunk and the poor reviews that other steampunk aficionados have given, let me just say this: 1. If you cannot utilize our greatest tool and see in your imagination the mechanics but have to have it spelled out for you; and/or 2. if you're looking for in-depth, convoluted and complicated explanations of the machines and their workings go buy a set of manuals because you obviously don't care a fig for story.
Kristin does a great job of blending suspense, mystery, intrigue, and imagination into a story for those just entering teenage years (she even spells it out that this was a story she wished to have read as a 13 year old). And yes, even a touch of romance, betrayal, and history.
In short, I recommend this story for the story itself especially since you won't get bogged down in completely unnecessary details and long drawn out technical descriptions that put most people to sleep (especially those of the early teens which this book was written for), but rather lets your imagination and creativity play as you come up with the diagrams that you think would make things work.
September 20, 2017
This book was. . . okay. I've had it for about three years, tried to get into when I got it, and couldn't. I came back to it this year and got all the way through this time, but still didn't enjoy it very much.
For starters, Meg was pretty boring. She basically had no skills except for being the special key. (Anyone seeing a sort of Chosen One thing here?) Her three modes were wimpy, stupid brave, and mooning over the boy.
That was the second problem. She meets Will, the stable boy in the second chapter or something like that and instantly falls for him. Just because he's good looking and around her age. Then half the book is her thinking about how much she loves him and whether he loves her back. Total instalove.
Third problem, the plot wasn't spectacular. They were running all over the place finding pieces to a puzzle and then stopping the bad guy, who wasn't that interesting himself. It wasn't surprising in any way and was almost systematic. Also, while it was steampunk, it was a bit out there, and I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. I just wasn't sure how you could pull of some of the stuff they did, and I like a bit of reality in my steampunk.
This book wasn't bad and wasn't good. It was just in the middle.
For starters, Meg was pretty boring. She basically had no skills except for being the special key. (Anyone seeing a sort of Chosen One thing here?) Her three modes were wimpy, stupid brave, and mooning over the boy.
That was the second problem. She meets Will, the stable boy in the second chapter or something like that and instantly falls for him. Just because he's good looking and around her age. Then half the book is her thinking about how much she loves him and whether he loves her back. Total instalove.
Third problem, the plot wasn't spectacular. They were running all over the place finding pieces to a puzzle and then stopping the bad guy, who wasn't that interesting himself. It wasn't surprising in any way and was almost systematic. Also, while it was steampunk, it was a bit out there, and I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. I just wasn't sure how you could pull of some of the stuff they did, and I like a bit of reality in my steampunk.
This book wasn't bad and wasn't good. It was just in the middle.
July 7, 2017
The main character is not a strong character
We don't see real evidence of her being smart or capable
She only has the "special power" of that single memory and that's sort of the only thing that makes her the main character???
She has no real friends, and somehow we're expected to believe she'll be jealous of the one female companion/mentor she has???? That was so immensely annoying
and the whole "do I love him, does he love me" came across as immature and irritating to me
I was expecting a steampunk fantasy and I liked the inventions but they were treated as just sort of /there/ in a way that made it seem more **magical** than steampunk, which I also didn't really like
And in a steampunk universe I would expect there to be no reason to still have misogynistic beliefs and yet,,, no females can join the Order??? just randomly??? like...... this universe is bound by no rules and you still decide to not let women be a part of it...without really doing anything to show it's wrong and needs to be changed......
We don't see real evidence of her being smart or capable
She only has the "special power" of that single memory and that's sort of the only thing that makes her the main character???
She has no real friends, and somehow we're expected to believe she'll be jealous of the one female companion/mentor she has???? That was so immensely annoying
and the whole "do I love him, does he love me" came across as immature and irritating to me
I was expecting a steampunk fantasy and I liked the inventions but they were treated as just sort of /there/ in a way that made it seem more **magical** than steampunk, which I also didn't really like
And in a steampunk universe I would expect there to be no reason to still have misogynistic beliefs and yet,,, no females can join the Order??? just randomly??? like...... this universe is bound by no rules and you still decide to not let women be a part of it...without really doing anything to show it's wrong and needs to be changed......
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