Review: Timekeeper by Tara Sim

Book: Timekeeper
Author: Tara Sim
Series: Timekeeper #1

I was in an accident. I got out. I’m safe now.

An alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, where a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.

A prodigy mechanic who can repair not only clockwork but time itself, determined to rescue his father from a Stopped town.

A series of mysterious bombings that could jeopardize all of England.

A boy who would give anything to relive his past, and one who would give anything to live at all.

A romance that will shake the very foundations of time.

A very charming story, with an extremely neat premise!

Basically, in an alternate Victorian England, the world is run by time, and the clock towers that control them. If these clocks are damaged, time in the towns or cities around the clock tower start to do funny things, like speed up/slow down instantaneously for a few seconds or just blip out of existence. But the kicker here is that people are actively conscious of time, and are thus aware of when time is acting strange. And have absolutely no control over it. If a clock tower is destroyed, then the city/town in tune with it are Stopped, meaning no time runs in that area. They are forever trapped in a time loop until the clock is somehow fixed. Which is kind of impossible, since the clock is inside the Stopped town, and no one can get in or out.

Enter clock mechanics, like Danny. Their sole job is to keep the clocks of the world running, making sure time flows normally. Danny is the youngest clock mechanic there is, but after two rather traumatic experiences, he's a bit shaky at times. Add repeated malfunctionings at a clock tower in Enfield he's assigned to handle, various bombs being planted inside clocks all over, the mystery of clock spirits, and you have one very intriguing tale.

I liked how clock mechanics were people with an innate ability to sense Time, in a supernatural sense. The concept of Time itself was very well done, and it definitely rubs all the metaphysics in me in the right way.

Romance arguably is one of the driving points for Danny's actions, which thereby indirectly  affects the plot. I really liked how this was LGBQT story, but without the entire plot being centred towards it. Rather, Danny is just acting like any other boy in love; intrigued, confused, and a little bit stupid. Though I will say that there were points were Danny's immaturity seeped through a bit too much, leading to some extremely obvious impulsive decisions. However, Colton! Is! Adorable! (Even if he doesn't really get much development.)

Overall, I really enjoyed the world-building of this book and how the characters interacted with each other. I'm a bit wary of Danny and his habit for making decisions based sheerly on anger and need, but other than that, it was a really good book!