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 ex More...

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 famil More...

Seriously guys, this book is awesome. Full of adventure and twists and just...add this to your wishlists!

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 Me More...

Meg has nothing. No parents. No home. No money. No secure future. She is alone and destitute after her parents die in a fire. What she has left is a fire damaged timepiece and she soon knows there is something very different about this timepiece. When advised to take a position as a maid, Meg doesn't want to give up the life she had but she has to.

Legacy of the Clockwork offers readers a wonderful blend of genres from the allure of steampunk-ish machinery, historical details of London, mysteries More...

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 a More...

I gotta say the cover of this book is fantastic! Very eye catching! This book is considered YA Steampunk. It does have elements of steampunk, a Victorian era feel taking place in England with a thrilling adventure full of inventions, secrets and murder. In my opinion a great read for the young adult world.
The main character Meg has recently been orphaned with the tragic death of her parents. All she has left is a pocket watch that she keeps around her neck.
As a young girl being raised in a soci More...

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 More...

Legacy Of The Clockwork Key
By
Kristin Bailey

My" in a nutshell" summary...

Alone in the world, her fortune and family gone, Elizabeth must work as a housemaid in a very unusual house.

My thoughts after reading this book...

Poor Meg...her parents are gone...her house destroyed...she is left alone with only a necklace from her grandfather. But...the necklace turns out to be a key that opens up the most amazing things! And...poor Meg...she is the only one who knows the song and has the flowery key that More...

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It all started with a cleaning girl, a maid, mooning about her lot in life. About what fate had dealt her with. She lost her station, she lost her home, she lost her parents, she lost the life she used to live. And now she was just a common maid taken in by the supposed friend of her parents, out of charity. All she had left was this pocket watch that she had taken from the charred remains of her father.

But fate was not done with her y More...

3.5 Stars

Legacy of the Clockwork key is one of many steampunk books I've read this year. I think what set this apart was the Gothic elements that brought a little something extra to the story. Instead of a paranormal element, which is often present in this genre, the mysteries are purely mechanical and quite numerous. There is everything from a clockwork minotaur to a sort of steampunk GPS system. Reading about all of the different devices was just as fun as the story itself. Meg's newly humble More...

ARC Giveaway and review at http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com

There were several things that really drew me to this book from Simon Pulse when it first came in the mail. The first was the cover, which is different form the final shown above. Mine shoes main characters Will and Meg holding the clockwork bird. You can tell Will is a handsome Scottish lad just by the dark hair and brooding face. The setting is obviously Victorian and steam punk.

All of this rolled into a perfect read for me since I More...

This book caught my attention on Edelweiss because of the title. I have a thing for keys and am just naturally drawn to them. I’m glad that my obsession brought me to this whimsical book by Kristin Bailey who is also from my neck of the woods. Legacy of the Clockwork Key has a lot of elements that will be sure to capture many readers. Readers who enjoy historical romance, steampunk and adventures like Sherlock Holmes with a little surprise science fiction will become a fan of this series; this b More...

The most unfortunate thing about this book is that it's the first book in a series that's not yet completed. That means you have to wait for the next one to know what happens. This has always been a problem for me and my books, but I was too curious about this one to wait a couple years for the continuation. As it happens, I plowed through the entire 400 pages of witty, imaginative writing in about two days.

It was a pretty addicting read, with a bright heroine following a long-cold trail of clu

More...

DNF
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.

DNF 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.

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 mentio More...

Still being fairly new to the genre of steampunk, I did enjoy this book even though it did have its flaws. As far as the characters go, I'm not overly fond of Meg as she is very self-centered,whiny,careless,and insecure. I never connected with her nor felt any emotion for her. Will on the other hand was likeable but I didn't particularly care for his willingness to ALWAYS save Meg when she would make an unwise,rash decision. I was much more interested in Lucinda and Oliver's stories,as they were More...

I am not the most familiar with the Steampunk genre. And I will be the first to say that I am always hesitant with this genre because sometimes I feel like I am missing something. But while reading Legacy of the Clockwork Key I never felt confused or disoriented. I was transfixed by the writing and the story line. It was captivating while satisfying my need for romance :)

We meet Meg, a young girl who is orphaned by a tragic fire and left with only one memento; a watch. But as it turns out this m More...

I wanted to like this book a lot, as I really enjoy a lot of steampunk novels. Sadly, it was not to be. The characterization was flat, there were weird dead ends in the plot, the transitioning wasn't good, and the end was abrupt.
That said, I enjoyed the descriptions of the different mechanical wonders in the book. They were pretty amazing, and unique as far as I've seen so far. And the plot could have been very entertaining, had it been better expanded upon. Same for the characters. I could imag More...

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 suprising clues, but insead 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 whishing to be done with Legacy of More...

I was really excited going into this book. After reading the synopsis I was immediately reminded of Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series, which I love. Unfortunately, this book fell a little short.

My main problem was with the way that the characters were written. Meg was selfish, and whiney in an annoying way. At some parts of the book that was okay, knowing her backstory, but at other points it got on my nerves. Will was the other character that I didn't really understand. His personality More...

This review also appears on my blog at http://www.thegoldenruleof666.blogspo...

I can't even describe how much I adored this book! Legacy of the Clockwork Key was an absolutely brilliant YA steampunk romance.

I've read a lot of historical YA, but I don't think I read a steampunk YA before reading this book. So, this genre was a little new to me. But, I'm so glad I gave it a try because this book was amazing.

Meg was a strong heroine. She hasn't had the easiest time for the past several months, but More...

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 More...

The Legacy of the Clockwork Key has one intriguing premise. A young girl who has lost her father and her home and now has become a maid at a home with that is creepy and quite mysterious. Setting out with only clue she is in for one major mystery to solve.

Meg is young and quite naive when it comes to the way of the world. Learning that her Grandfather is still alive and she is not alone as she thought, she sets out to find him. Meg learns that she is a lot stronger than she thought, she makes so More...

I'm sorry. I really couldn't finish this. I tried to, but I can't. Review soon.

EDIT:

So I felt so bad not finishing the book, that I finally decided to actually read the remaining 158 pages that were left.

This is the story of Meg, and how she, after being orphaned and forced to work for an extremely mysterious man. She's never actually seen the man, but everyone that works in the house is absolutely terrified of him. When Meg discovers a secret she may not have wanted to, she's fired from her More...

Meg's family and everything she owned was consumed by a fire. Only a pocket watch crafted by her grandfather remained. She gets taken in by a family friend who works her like a maid, until she finds out what the timepiece actually is. Friendship, romance, and adventure await within this book's cover, and you won't regret starting it.

In the beginning, the story was pretty slow and it took me a while to get into. But, once Meg began her journey, the pace picked up and then I couldn't set the book More...

Meg's parents were killed in a fire that consumed their house and now she has lost everything and must serve as a maid in the house of Lord Rathford. All she has left if a tarnished pocket watch that belonged to her grandfather. However, this clock turns out to be a mechanical key that can open various contraptions that will lead Meg on an adventure that will put her life in danger. With the help of Will, the stable boy and possibly the love of her life, she must follow the clues to discover who More...

I KNEW IT! I knew steampunk was gonna be the 'next big thing'!

Thoughts on the Overall Book: Well, I really wanted to like this book, and it started out good, and I could have forgiven Meg's character even if the plot had been really good, but unfortunately, everything just kind of fell flat for me in this one.

Cover--Yea or Nay: I like the background and especially the skyline of London and the gears but the bird is silly and it didn't play hardly any part in the plot at all! I think they should have put Meg's key locket on the cover instead.

Characters: I h More...