Clockwork Heart

Title: Clockwork Heart
Author: Dru Pagliassotti
Genre: Steampunk
Published: 2008

Recommendation: Decent steampunk romance.
Rating: 7/10

Summary: Taya is a winged courier, one who can move between all castes of Ondinium. It begins with her saving a noblewoman and her child but becomes a web of intrigue and mystery she will solve.

Reactions: Clockwork Heart is a combination or a mystery, romance, and steampunk. I wouldn't say it excels at any one of the above categories, but I've formed a positive impression of the book overall.

The romance part of the novel involves a love triangle between Taya and two nobleman brothers Alister and Cristof Forlore. Alister is handsome and charming and paying special attention to Taya. Cristof lives as an outcast in the poorest section of the city and mends clocks for a living. He is serious, grouchy and described resembling a crow. It's not hard to guess who ends up being the good guy in the book, but unfortunately Cristof is not a terribly appealing character which was a drawback for me.

The mystery begins with a sabotaged ferry car and several acts of terrorism follow while Taya and Cristof investigate. There is a political background to the story centering around access to the technology of Ondinium. There are punch-card computing mechanisms the programming of which were rather entertaining for me to read about. The political background is fairly well done, though the mystery itself was fairly straightforward although with some minor twists.

The least satisfying part for me was the relationship resolution. In a few places, I felt things worked out too nicely to be realistic and I was not quite satisfied with the ending. Despite that, the book made for a fun read and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from picking it up.