Review: Timekeeper – Tara Sim

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.

Timekeeper was chosen as a Lit Celebrasian book club pick. I’ve been meaning to read steampunk books, so I was quite happy to about the choice.

The main character is gay and there is an m/m romance.

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Clock spirits. Like actual personifications of time. And these clock spirits weren’t just mentioned, they actually were proper characters that interacted with the humans. I loved how they were described as being more metallic and how the clock parts related to their own anatomy. It was fascinating how time seemed to be its own complete character, and also numerous characters.

Danny, a clock mechanic, has anxiety, which has been increased after an accident at a clock tower. He has to find out how he can continue working in a profession that triggers his anxiety. While working at a new clock tower, he meets another boy. This leads to one of the most adorable romances that I’ve had the opportunity to read in the last months.

Due to time being controlled differently in this alternate Earth, history has also been changed slightly. Inventions have occurred earlier, and it has lead to a necessity for more working women. I enjoyed finding out how this alternate Earth was different to our Earth.

The chapter openings are beautifully illustrated in the e-book. It’s always the same clock face. I did wonder if the position of the clock hands had a certain significance that I haven’t found out about yet. If you know anything about that, do tell me down in the comments.

I’m hoping that Chainbreaker will answer some of the questions that this book brought up:

1. How exactly does blood affect the clocks?
2. Why don’t clock spirits know what time it is, if they are time?
3. Are we going to meet Aetas?
4. How does a clock spirit damage their own tower?
5. Where do clock spirits come from?
6. What do clock spirits do?
7. Who is the golden boy in the golden tower?

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I absolutely adored Timekeeper. I loved how the tangibility of time influenced the world and the people in it. I definitely recommend this book to everyone.

As you can see, I have many questions that I need answered. It’s one of the most engaging books I’ve read. I cannot wait to read the second book, Chainbreaker, soon. An added bonus of the sequel is that one of the main characters is Daphne. She is biracial (Indian and English), and I’m always excited about having some kind of representation in a book.

5 stars

Have you read Timekeeper? What did you think of it?