Review: Like Clockwork by Bonnie Dee

Like Clockwork-Bonnie Dee
Publisher: Carina Press
Publication Date: December, 2010
Source: Netgalley
Author Website

Victoria's work with automatons has gained her renown and changed the face of London. But her concern that the clockworks are taking too many jobs away from humans, creating social unrest, is ignored. Given the ugly mood of the underclass, she fears more outbreaks of violence similar to the murder spree of the notorious Southwark Slasher.
Dash, unemployed thanks to the clockworks, has pledged fealty to The Brotherhood, a group determined to bring about the downfall of the automatons by any means necessary. His plan to kidnap Victoria goes awry when the unorthodox scientist pledges her assistance to their cause.
Despite their opposite social classes, a bond grows between them, and Victoria begins to feel emotions she never expected for the passionate Dash. But when the Slasher strikes close to home, Dash and Victoria realize that the boundaries of polite society are far from the only threat to their happiness...
(Amazon)


I have to admit that this was another case of my becoming intrigued by a book because of the cover. When I read the description and confirmed it was a steampunk romance, I became even more intrigued. That said, I feel that this novel was 'steampunk light'. That's not a criticism, as I think this novel would be a great introduction to the genre if you're not sure where to start.

I really enjoyed the main characters, especially Victoria. She's a no-nonsense scientist who works on the automatons who have taken over a lot of the jobs in London. Her meeting with Dash is quite auspicious and the relationship that forges between the two is a wee bit unrealistic, but I guess to be fair, so are automatons! Regardless of how they met, I really enjoyed the chemistry between Dash and Victoria. There's real passion between them, and it's hard not to get caught up in their romance.

 My only real complaint about this novel is that, well, it's not really a novel. It's a novella, clocking it at ninety-eight pages. I really wish that it was at least twenty pages longer, to give the reader time to get to know the characters and to delve a bit deeper into the story and for some additional steampunk details. The ending felt a bit rushed as well.

I would recommend Like Clockwork to fans of romance and steampunk fans who are okay with a book that isn't as in-depth with details as others in the genre.