Time Weaver: Heart of Cogs (Time Collector, #1) Review

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an ARC of the book in return for an honest review. 3 stars!!! When I first saw this book, I was drawn by the cover. I absolutely love the artwork. I couldn't wait to get stuck into a beautiful steampunk world that is filled with supernatural beings such as time collectors that grant wishes for the price of one's time. I thought the premise was captivating and unique. However, I must say I am a tad bit disappointed with the story. I will expand on why this is so. Firstly, I found the worldbuilding to be very disjointed and lacking. I thought this was a steampunk book. But none of the world is exactly described in vivid detail. We are just given glimpses of it. Plus, the author mentions cars, police tape and such other modern terms in the novel that I was wondering if the world was a combination of the 21st century mixed in with steampunk elements. This was extremely dissatisfying because when I think of the Steampunk era, I think of the Victorian age with gears and automation. That's what conjures up in my head. Secondly, the MC Elizabeth Wicker is the most insipid character I have ever met. I know some people have mentioned that she is strong and brave. I found none of these qualities in her. I just found her to be a girl who gets herself into various scrapes and requires a man to get her out of them. Yes, I did find her misfortune to be utterly unbearable but she doesn't redeem herself. She is constantly being looked after by someone or the other. I wish the author made her more fierce and independent. The only character worth bothering about in the book is Klaus and Nikolas. I found that their personalities to be very engaging and complex. Their backstories were pretty interesting. As characters, I felt they were equally fleshed out. We see raw emotions in both of them plus, their struggle with their identities, situations and loyalties. Besides this, I found there to be way too many minor characters and none of them truly stuck out for me. I think the author introduced them for story progression and that was about it. Hopefully, in the sequel we see more character development as I feel this book was merely a set up for the next one to come. With regard to the plot in general, I found it to be quite engaging with plenty of action and twists though some were a bit confusing. I did feel some scenarios were resolved a bit too easily and that the author dealt with various side stories. I was sometimes puzzled as to why they were even mentioned or introduced. I feel it would have been better to stick with one major plot and build it up with a shocking reveal as opposed to multiple scenes. This gives the story clarity which this book lacked. In addition, POV shifts within paragraphs made reading a bit irritating at times. As of now, I am still unsure as to whether I will pick up the next book. I may do so. I'm giving the story three stars mainly because of Klaus and Nikolas (I would love to see what happens to them), the action scenes and some plot progression. I'd really like to see how the author intends to tie the loose ends from this book in the sequel because there are many. I would recommend reading this one if you are inbetween novels but it's really nothing to write home about. It's just an average read.

#steampunk #fantasy #youngadult #JacintaMaree