tiggytiggy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kappareads's review
4.0
Real rating: 3.5 stars
The last 30% was good, but the middle really sagged. Usually, I'm fine with books everyone else says is slow, but it wasn't like that for me this time. The characters were good, they didn't feel flat, especially Danny, but I think the relationship didn't help me not feeling invested or wanting to read. The problem is
The last 30% was good, but the middle really sagged. Usually, I'm fine with books everyone else says is slow, but it wasn't like that for me this time. The characters were good, they didn't feel flat, especially Danny, but I think the relationship didn't help me not feeling invested or wanting to read. The problem is
Spoiler
the love interest, the clock spirit, is a mix of "thousand year old being who looks 17" but also "naive to the point of being childish" and it's a weird combination and felt kinda weird to read about a romantic relationshipavery_switch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
309804490's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
madivanthof08's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ratgrrrl's review against another edition
3.0
Very Charming with Some Serious Issues
For the most part this is a genuinely lovely young adult alternative history fantasy romp with a fascinating approach to time that is both amusing and sad. I do wish it had explored this a little more and made more of a connection between the whimsical introduction of the strangeness of time and the more central aspects of time and the clock towers.
There is an absolutely gorgeous little Queer story here that brought me a lot of joy, but the decision to set this in alternative historic England with some right on, but largely handwavy comments on homophobia and colonialism were very clunky. If these weren't things that the book didn't really want to acknowledge or deal with appropriately, simply porting Big Ben into a fictional setting or making the world significantly different, beyond low steampunk and time oddity, as in the Oxford and beyond of His Dark Materials.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the narration was wonderful (putting me in mind of a more well-behaved Tim Key), but with the above, the thoughtless acceptance of prison as a solution (prison abolition now, ACAB), and the way it ends with a character self-harming to get attention from their lover, something already addressed as not being OK in the book, played off as actually rather charming and cute, rather than incredibly abusive and indicative of someone needing serious mental health support, meant that an enjoyable read ended rather sourly and I don't think I will continue the series.
For the most part this is a genuinely lovely young adult alternative history fantasy romp with a fascinating approach to time that is both amusing and sad. I do wish it had explored this a little more and made more of a connection between the whimsical introduction of the strangeness of time and the more central aspects of time and the clock towers.
There is an absolutely gorgeous little Queer story here that brought me a lot of joy, but the decision to set this in alternative historic England with some right on, but largely handwavy comments on homophobia and colonialism were very clunky. If these weren't things that the book didn't really want to acknowledge or deal with appropriately, simply porting Big Ben into a fictional setting or making the world significantly different, beyond low steampunk and time oddity, as in the Oxford and beyond of His Dark Materials.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the narration was wonderful (putting me in mind of a more well-behaved Tim Key), but with the above, the thoughtless acceptance of prison as a solution (prison abolition now, ACAB), and the way it ends with a character self-harming to get attention from their lover, something already addressed as not being OK in the book, played off as actually rather charming and cute, rather than incredibly abusive and indicative of someone needing serious mental health support, meant that an enjoyable read ended rather sourly and I don't think I will continue the series.
kindredkayjay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
duqenglishgeek's review against another edition
3.0
Note: I'm reviewing this book from a teacher's perspective. Overall, I struggled making my way through this book. The concept of the book was intriguing, and I found myself not wanting to put the book down for small parts, but overall I found it somewhat tedious. I was able to predict who the primary antagonist would be early on, and while I didn't predict the very end of the book, most of what happened in the plot was as I expected. The author is rather heavy handed in her writing, especially as it related to the greater thematic elements. I do appreciate that the book presents an LGBTQ protagonist in a positive, normalized way, but even that aspect of the text felt forced to me. The subject matter of the book also doesn't seem like it would appeal to most lower-level readers, which is who I would first think to recommend this book to.
elm's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting premise but wrapping my head around the whole 'time connected to clocks' thing was a bit difficult. This book was a Good Time though once I decided to not think about it Too Hard.
vivri's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0