C. J. Archer

India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and the only person who'll employ her is a mysterious man from America. A man who possesses a watch that keeps him alive.

The Watchmaker's Daughter

C.J. Archer

"It was wonderful! Full of mystery, intrigue, a hint of romance and of course the witty humour." ★★★★★ Google Play reviewer Cindy Jean "This is a great read with many twists and turns that are extremely interesting. The characters are excellent." ★★★★★ Google Play reviewer Cherry Malone "I absolutely loved this book! Can not wait for the next book in the series. The characters are easily lovely and the plot is one of a kind! Super excited for this new series!" ★★★★★ Google Play reviewer Lori Yedor DESCRIPTION India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and no one will employ her, despite years working for her watchmaker father. Indeed, the other London watchmakers seem frightened of her. Alone, poor, and at the end of her tether, India takes employment with the only person who'll accept her - an enigmatic and mysterious man from America. A man who possesses a strange watch that rejuvenates him when he's ill. Matthew Glass must find a particular watchmaker, but he won't tell India why any old one won't do. Nor will he tell her what he does back home, and how he can afford to stay in a house in one of London's best streets. So when she reads about an American outlaw known as the Dark Rider arriving in England, she suspects Mr. Glass is the fugitive. When danger comes to their door, she's certain of it. But if she notifies the authorities, she'll find herself unemployed and homeless again - and she will have betrayed the man who saved her life. With a cast of quirky characters, an intriguing mystery, and a dash of romance, THE WATCHMAKER'S DAUGHTER is the start of a thrilling new historical fantasy series from the author of the bestselling Ministry of Curiosities, Freak House, and Emily Chambers Spirit Medium books. KEYWORDS: historical mystery, historical fantasy, victorian era, victorian fantasy, steampunk, historical romance, paranormal romance, romantic fantasy, paranormal fantasy, magic, fantasy mystery, wild west, oulaws, victorian romance, alternate reality, magical realism, bestselling, bestseller, gaslamp fantasy, similar to Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, the Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn, Amanda Quick, Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, ve schwab, Theodora Goss

Book 1 of the Glass and Steele series

Divisha 

Things tend to fall into perspective when your life hangs in the balance.

altlovesbooks

"I'd wanted to be a little reckless and experience something I'd never done before, but staying in with a good book now seemed more appealing."

India Steele is the daughter of a watchmaker who has passed away, and whose store was left to India's ex-, and not to India herself. Women can't own property, you know. On her initial quest to see a wrong righted she meets Matthew Glass, mysterious man from America who's trying to find a specific man who created a specific pocketwatch who once resided in London. India is hired to help him look, having no job and no boarding and needing a roof over her head. So begins a bit of a meandering quest to find this watchmaker, where India meets Matthew's friends and family, visits watchmaker after watchmaker, all the while suspecting Matthew of being more than he seems.

I don't normally read YA and I don't normally read romance, but I was willing to overlook these personal hangups because it was the book being read in my book club on Discord this month and because it was a relatively easy read. The chapters are a bit on the long side, but it still was a very quick read by my standards. I didn't particularly care for how India was written, being that she's supposedly 27 or 28, but waxes wildly between being incredibly capable and incredibly helpless. That bit of inconsistent character development sort of grated on me after a bit. I also felt like the book spins its wheels a bit in the beginning, before we get an infodump about what all this is supposed to mean near the end. I know this is part of a longer series, but I feel like things could have been paced just a bit better. Finally, my old nemesis "we are both attractive and in close proximity to each other, we must fall in love" romance trope reared its ugly head again. I guess I just wish for a bit more...meaning, intent, something, to two people who are suddenly just together after less than a week. 

All that said... the idea of clock magic was appealing, it's a unique take on magic I haven't read before. I liked the cast of characters surrounding Matthew, and thought the story itself was well written beyond my pacing hangups. It's an intriguing beginning to a lengthy series, but I'm not sure I'll be continuing with it.

natalie

every time i stopped reading, i just wanted to keep going :) it’s not worthy of 5 stars, but i definitely enjoyed it. 

now i have to read the other 10 books in the series🙄

India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and no one will employ her, despite years working for her watchmaker father. Indeed, the other London watchmakers seem frightened of her. Alone, poor, and at the end of her tether, India takes employment with the only person who'll accept her - an enigmatic and mysterious man from America. A man who possesses a strange watch that rejuvenates him when he's ill. Matthew Glass must find a particular watchmaker, but he won't tell India why any old one won't do. Nor will he tell her what he does back home, and how he can afford to stay in a house in one of London's best streets. So when she reads about an American outlaw known as the Dark Rider arriving in England, she suspects Mr. Glass is the fugitive. When danger comes to their door, she's certain of it. But if she notifies the authorities, she'll find herself unemployed and homeless again - and she will have betrayed the man who saved her life.With a cast of quirky characters, an intriguing mystery, and a dash of romance,

Elisa Bieg

I have been reading C. J. Archer’s Ministry of Curiosities series and quite enjoying it, so when I saw this for 99 cents on Amazon and read the plot summary, I decided to check it out. 
I like the author’s blend of historical fiction, mystery, paranormal and romance, and I like that her female MCs are usually outspoken and independent — though to be honest, they do get “saved” by guys, and I don’t love that, especially because the one doing the saving ends up being the romantic lead.

Anyway, if I had to judge this on its own merits, I’d say it’s pretty ok. Some of the twists in the plot are a bit predictable, but the characters are charming and there are some unusual and interesting details. 

A light read, but a fairly good one. However I don’t find myself feeling the need to read the rest of the series at the moment.

The Watchmaker's Daughter

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