Danny was in an accident. But he’s okay. It’s over. Danny’s father is trapped in a Stopped town, a town where time stopped because the clock tower stopped ticking. When more towers are bombed, in the same fashion as Danny’s accident, it becomes obvious that someone is trying to something more than Stop time.

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Why this book?: I’ve heard amazing things, plus it sounds amazing. Steampunk, M/M romance, and time-magic stuff? Sounds right up my alley.

Picture this entire review to be me screaming/crying about this book.

In the beginning, I really wasn’t sure how this review would go. It was a really good story in the beginning, making it a really solid four star read, but really nothing more. It was intriguing, but repetitive, where Danny would go back and forth from a town called Enfield to repair their old tower, and go back to London to bother the Lead Mechanic about working on a certain project. Danny was fairly annoying at first, and filled me with second-hand embarrassment. He was so indignant and entitled that it was almost infuriating.

And then Colton revealed himself. And then the bombings started. Events started piling up and endangering more people, incriminating people and then clearing their names. When Colton showed up, Danny changed, the story changed, and I was SHOOK. The next thing I knew, I was crying about clocks.

Timekeeper had a lot of layers that took a lot of time and thought for me to unravel but, wow, Tara Sim put a lot of effort into this book, and it really paid out. Danny’s PTSD and anxiety felt so real to me, and all I wanted to do was hug him for the majority of the book. There were also personal streaks, from the author, for queer teens, all throughout the novel, and these were probably what made the book for me.

There was just so much emotion and love behind each word, that it was hard not to love this book as much as I did. The creativity. The love, the care, the personal touches and the absolute and utter emotion that went into this book really drew it together for me. I feel in love with every single character, even the ones that I grew to hate, and I just couldn’t get enough of the book. I legit stalled finishing it because I just didn’t want it to end, and it got too emotional for me.

Final Rating: ★★★★★

Overall?

Timekeeper was just so emotionally solid for me, that I just couldn’t get enough of it. I loved the characters, the plot, the setting, the ideas. The relationships in this novel are so heartbreaking and heartwarming, and really. Tara Sim is magical, and Chainbreaker will break me.

Would I Recommend?

If it hasn’t been obvious yet, yes. Please. For me. If not for me, for yourself. Come cry about clocks with me.

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Additional Information:

Published: November 8th, 2016

Publisher: Sky Pony Press

Page Count: 414

Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult/Steampunk

Synopsis: via Goodreads

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.