I very much enjoyed TimeKeeper from Tara Sim

I will admit that it took a chapter or three to get used to how the nature of time is handled in TimeKeeper. In this universe, the progression of time is malleable and governed locally by mysterious clock towers. If a clock tower fails, time grinds to a halt within that tower’s locality. Our hero, Danny, is a mechanic – the title for those with the gift and training to fix the clock towers. The towers are inhabited (though most folks think this is superstition), by clock tower spirits. And the particular spirit that reveals himself to Danny is quite handsome.

Once I became engaged with the story, it fully had me in its grip. It still does, as presently I’m listening to ChainBreaker, the second book in the trilogy. The trilogy only deepens and becomes more fascinating as we learn more history of the characters and the world. I’m still not entirely sure where the trilogy is going, but it is fun to embark on a rollercoaster of words with complete faith that the author is taking me someplace interesting.

I listened to an audio version of the book while driving between Seattle, WA and Ashland, OR. It kept me wide awake.

* * * *

Two o’clock was missing.

In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time–and a destroyed one can stop it completely.

It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors.

And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny’s new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower’s clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield’s time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he’s fought to achieve.

But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he’ll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever.

The stunning first novel in a new trilogy by debut author Tara Sim, Timekeeper is perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare and Victoria Schwab.

 

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