Paste Magazine Best Book 2016
Barnes & Noble Teen Blog Best Queer Fantasy 2016
"Timekeeper is an extraordinary debut, at once familiar and utterly original. Between its compelling world, its lovely prose, and its wonderful characters, the pages flew by." —Victoria Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Alive with myth, mystery, and glorious romance, Timekeeper will keep hearts pounding and pages turning til the stunning conclusion. Reader beware—there's magic in these pages." —Heidi Heilig, author of The Girl from Everywhere
"Timekeeper is a triumph . . . If you read only one such book . . . let it be this one." –Bustle
"Timekeeper’s premise is original and its world unique." —EW.com
"While the world is wildly interesting and fantastic, with broken clock towers that have left towns frozen in time, it’s the emotional impact and diverse cast of characters that make this book soar . . . The resulting story is an exciting and inclusive one, drawing in elements of magic, mystical spirits, swoon-filled romance, and just so much more.” —BookRiot
"Part mystery and part romance, this fantasy novel delves into what it means to grow up and make important decisions. With an easily relatable main character struggling to fit in, the novel has a realistic and contemplative voice. VERDICT: A must-have richly written fantasy novel that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next volume." —School Library Journal
"Sim creates a cast of complex and diverse characters, as well as a mythology to explain how the clock towers came to exist . . . an enjoyable, well-realized tale." —Publishers Weekly
“[M]ystery, LGBTQ romance, and supernatural tale of clock spirits and sabotage that explores how far people might go for those they love. Its strongest elements are the time-related mythology and the supernatural gay romance.” —Booklist
"This LGBTQ steampunk romance sports a killer premise and admirably thorough worldbuilding, helpfully annotated in the author’s afterword. The characters—even the bad guys—are sympathetically drawn and commendably diverse in sexuality and gender." —Kirkus Reviews
"An enjoyable start to a promising new trilogy." —BookPage
Paste Magazine Best Book 2016
Barnes & Noble Teen Blog Best Queer Fantasy 2016
"Timekeeper is an extraordinary debut, at once familiar and utterly original. Between its compelling world, its lovely prose, and its wonderful characters, the pages flew by." —Victoria Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Alive with myth, mystery, and glorious romance, Timekeeper will keep hearts pounding and pages turning til the stunning conclusion. Reader beware—there's magic in these pages." —Heidi Heilig, author of The Girl from Everywhere
"Timekeeper is a triumph . . . If you read only one such book . . . let it be this one." –Bustle
"Timekeeper’s premise is original and its world unique." —EW.com
"While the world is wildly interesting and fantastic, with broken clock towers that have left towns frozen in time, it’s the emotional impact and diverse cast of characters that make this book soar . . . The resulting story is an exciting and inclusive one, drawing in elements of magic, mystical spirits, swoon-filled romance, and just so much more.” —BookRiot
"Part mystery and part romance, this fantasy novel delves into what it means to grow up and make important decisions. With an easily relatable main character struggling to fit in, the novel has a realistic and contemplative voice. VERDICT: A must-have richly written fantasy novel that will have readers eagerly anticipating the next volume." —School Library Journal
"Sim creates a cast of complex and diverse characters, as well as a mythology to explain how the clock towers came to exist . . . an enjoyable, well-realized tale." —Publishers Weekly
“[M]ystery, LGBTQ romance, and supernatural tale of clock spirits and sabotage that explores how far people might go for those they love. Its strongest elements are the time-related mythology and the supernatural gay romance.” —Booklist
"This LGBTQ steampunk romance sports a killer premise and admirably thorough worldbuilding, helpfully annotated in the author’s afterword. The characters—even the bad guys—are sympathetically drawn and commendably diverse in sexuality and gender." —Kirkus Reviews
"An enjoyable start to a promising new trilogy." —BookPage
Narrator Gary Furlong immerses listeners in a steampunk Victorian world that is controlled by ancient clock towers. Clock mechanics ensure that the flow of time isn’t disturbed, and 17-year-old prodigy Danny Hart is the most talented among them. After an accident on the job, Danny is sent on a low-risk assignment, where he meets and falls for Colton. Seemingly a young man, Colton is actually the town's clock tower spirit. As the story develops, bombings threaten clock towers across England, and may be tied to Danny’s accident and the trapping of his father in a time-stopped town. With Furlong’s stellar voice acting, the story's many characters are distinguishable and memorable. As written, Danny and Colton’s forbidden romance veers towards the saccharine, but Furlong keeps it on the side of sweet and believable. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
2016-08-17
“Two o’clock was missing.”A lost hour can be catastrophic in an alternate Victorian England where the ancient clock towers actually regulate the temporal flow. At 17, Danny Hart is the youngest clock mechanic on record, with the innate ability to sense the realm of time. Depressed and guilty after his father was trapped in a time-Stopped city and also plagued with panic attacks and nightmares from a near-fatal accident on the job, Danny is desperate to excel at this current assignment—but his work is complicated by a passionate, mutual, and absolutely forbidden attraction to the clock’s handsome tutelary spirit. Meanwhile, the campaign of protests and sabotage against the clock towers is turning deadly….This LGBTQ steampunk romance sports a killer premise and admirably thorough worldbuilding, helpfully annotated in the author’s afterword. The characters—even the bad guys—are sympathetically drawn and commendably diverse in sexuality and gender (the one non–Anglo-Saxon character, a blonde woman with a half-Indian father, demonstrates the slipperiness of ethnic and racial identity). Unfortunately, the execution of the narrative is awkward at best. The prose alternates between stilted lyricism and flat-footed exposition and is marred by clumsy word choices and jarring shifts in perspective. The plot meanders at a frustrating pace, relying on implausible coincidences, only to start hurtling madly near the end to a quite literal deus ex machina climax. The numerous mysteries left unsolved point to potential sequels; here’s hoping that their craftsmanship lives up to the concept. (Steampunk. 14-18)
