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    Like Clockwork
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    Like Clockwork
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    Like Clockwork
    Ebook122 pages2 hours

    Like Clockwork

    By Bonnie Dee

    2.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook


    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...

    31,000 words
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCarina Press
    Release dateDec 13, 2010
    ISBN9781426890963
    Unavailable
    Like Clockwork
    Author

    Bonnie Dee

    Whether you're a fan of contemporary, paranormal, or historical romance, you'll find something to enjoy among my books. I'm interested in flawed, often damaged, people who find the fulfillment they seek in one another. To stay informed about new releases, please SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER. Help an author out by leaving a review and spreading the word about this book among your friends. You can join my street team at FB. Learn more about my backlist at http://bonniedee.com or find me on FB and Twitter @Bonnie_Dee.

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    Reviews for Like Clockwork

    2.5/5

    24 ratings7 reviews

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    • 3/5
      3.5 stars

      This story was better than I was expecting. I liked Victoria and Dash as characters, though I didn't think there was much chemistry between them. I did admire that they were trying to fix a mess created by society's need for the automatons. There was a side story involving a Jack the Ripper type serial killer that was interesting and surprising. This was my first Bonnie Dee read and I'm curious to read something else by her.
    • 2/5
      This book was perfectly average.
    • 3/5
      Victoria is a young scientist who contributed to the invention of the automatons, a great innovation that quickly expanded to the industrial area, causing the dismissal of hundreds of people. Being a woman doesn't help in the scientific department but she's ready to fight to defend her opinions.Dash is one of the leaders of the Brotherhood, a group of unemployed people forced to live underground and eager to take revenge.From their first meeting, when Dash kidnaps Victoria in the hope that the Brotherhood's needs will finally be considered, they both feel an undeniable attraction for each other, but they both try to put it aside for obvious reasons. Victoria agrees to help Dash's cause and two of them are obliged to spend more and more time together, not that they seem to mind.At the same time, a serial killer is acting in the shadows, tearing the heart out of his victims, and the two protagonists will get in his way.This book expressed an interesting concept that we will probably be forced to face in a not-so-distant future: will technology get hold of our lives? It surely has its positive aspects, but the Brotherhood was the perfect example of the other side of the coin.Victoria and Dash were both great characters, I love the way they interacted with each other and the fact that he kidnapped her only to realize that she was an ally. Like Clockwork was fast-paced and enthralling, although pretty short. The end was a bit rushed and out of place, but it was still a good read.
    • 2/5
      Imagine - if you will - a fantastical world where artificial beings made out of inanimate objects have taken the place of humans...Cogworth and Lumiere: NOOO! Not again! Oh, the animated-inanimate-objectivity!In Like Clockwork, these beings called automatons, built with pistons and gears, look just like us and have begun filling most job positions, leaving living humans to fend for themselves in unemployment. Unfortunately, this idea isn't to far off base. It's all too familiar a theme for many people these days. Just replace the automatons with our own modern technology.Victoria Waters, a young woman working toward a better and more balanced society between humans and automatons, is kidnapped. Her kidnappers intend to hold her for ransom in order to force action within the government. Their end-game is to have the automatons destroyed and jobs returned to the people. Honorable intentions? Yes. Ridiculous expectations? Certainly. Craaaaaaaazy? No doubt.Right on the very first page, Dee sets up an deeply intense and violent scene of dissection and dismemberment. Immediately, I felt disturbingly interested in this unknown character. Referring to his night of dark deeds as "pleasant", he seems much to satisfied with himself for being such a twisted individual. Needless to say, the prologue drew in me in close. But we are abruptly torn away from this mystery.I enjoyed learning the scantly few facts about the automaton based society. However, I did not care for Victoria or being inside her head.Her kidnapper-slash-love interest isn't any better. He gets aroused immediately after abducting her. I think that could be toned down a bit. A hot stab of lust, really? Because you knocked out some chick and are now lugging her around over your shoulder - riiiiight. I'm really sympathizing with you on that one. Kidnapping gets me all worked up, too. It really makes me want to just go completely crazy, get all sweaty and you know.... PUNCH YOU IN THE JUNK!!Apart from the prologue, the beginning especially was very lack luster and disconnected. Girl running to her meeting. Guy kidnapping her and getting turned on (and getting an imaginary punch in the junk from me). Guy running to hideout.Meanwhile, I want to know what's with the guy dissecting people in the prologue?!?!The book is mainly about the relationship which is entirely lackadaisical. It takes much too long to get into the mystery part and when it does - it's predictable and monotonous.Another INSTA-FOREVER relationship. The so-called romance is dispassionate and banter between the two is cliched and too often blown out of proportion.There just weren't enough pages in this novella for a true connection to develop. So once again, were stuck with token soul mates. It leaves me wondering if am I missing something.Is there a machine for this?! Put in a quarter and out pops your soulmate doubloon?The clockwork world, in general, shows great promise but the characters took it down a notch. Well, more than just one notch. Maybe it was just really not my thing. It's difficult to get invested in something without more time and pages. And without passion.Then there is an entire epilogue, as long as the chapters, solely for the purpose of another sex scene. Five months after they got together. After the plot is over! I kept expecting craziness to ensue, like a huge gear pops out of her chest or something as they both realize that she is an automaton. That would have been an ending I could go for. But alas no, it was just another languid love scene.Although I was intrigued by the attempt at world-building, it was greatly lacking. It begs the question: Do some authors even research the actual technology of automatons and steam-powered devices?With the recent influx of steampunk and clockwork books, most can leave a lot to be desired. There is such a rich and interesting history when it comes to such things. I feel like people just see this steam-powered engine huffing along and think "I don't know what it is or where its going - but look at all the people on there!! Let's go!" They write steampunk just for the sole purpose of joining the party, not because they are truly passionate about the technology.However, the struggles of this clockwork world, trying to find a balance between automation and natural life, seems to parallel some of our own dilemmas in this age. With so much going digital, I constantly find myself asking "How far is too far?" Our female lead poses this argument from the start and plants a seed of suspicion in your mind. Be wary of technology, it says. If an automated device causes harm to a human, is it just a freak accident? Or is it subterfuge?Overall, this novel was short but not sweet. In fact, it left a bland taste in my mouth. Maybe had the world been developed further and had it held the deeper atmosphere of mystery that the prologue did, things could have been different.I've just started another book for review called Badlands and it is already much more intriguing. So I will be crossing my fingers for it throughout the rest of my reading time. Well, maybe not the entire rest of the time, because that would make things rather difficult.(I received this book as a free review copy from Netgalley. Thanks Netgalley and Carina Press!)
    • 3/5
      This novella from Carina Press sounded highly intriguing: A young woman named Victoria has pioneered work on automatons, originally intending for them to replace humans in dangerous jobs. However, society quickly latched on to her invention and started using automatons to replace humans in other positions as well, creating mass issues of unemployment. Fearing social unrest and more potential deaths from disillusioned individuals like the notorious Slasher (who has been killing young women and removing their hearts), Victoria travels to a meeting of scientists and political leaders in order to plead her case: Restrict use of automatons before it's too late.Of course, she never makes it to the meeting. She's kidnapped by an underground faction who are willing to do anything necessary to create the downfall and destruction of the automatons... but her kidnapper's plan gets skewed when Victoria pledges her assistance to the cause.Naturally, Victoria and her kidnapper Dash fall in love... and quickly, at that. It seems to just happen, without any real lead-in, and becomes a backdrop for the resolution of the Slasher plot, the automatons, and the underground's unwillingness to resolve the problem peacefully.It's an interesting story, with interesting characters. The problem I found was that the story was too big for its format. Dee could have written a full-length novel with this plot, and been able to better explore the themes of automatons and humans being replaced by machines, social unrest, and so forth. In this short 31,000-word novella format, she's forced to rush through the causes and consequences, leaving out crucial elements of character development and logical sequencing, resulting in a rushed story and a forced romance.Naturally, the hero and the heroine defeat the odds and rise above the confines of polite society to be together. That's fine, as unbelievable as the romance is because of its rushed nature, readers expect the main characters to be together at the end of a romance book.What I didn't expect, however, was the randomly tacked on, extremely graphic sex scene at the end of the book. Out of the blue, the main characters consummate their relationship and then the story ends. There's no lead-in, and there's no wrap-up. It felt like the author submitted the book, the editor said "okay, that's good, but we need more heat", and the author tacked a sex scene on to the end because it was 'required'. I'm not saying that's what happened, it just read that way.If you want a quick, entertaining steampunk novella, it's not bad. It has its flaws, but it's a decent story and will quench your steampunk thirst without demanding a commitment to a longer book or series. I'd simply recommend that you stop reading before the final chapter -- trust me, the story will make more sense and you'll enjoy the book much better that way!
    • 3/5
      When I first started reading this I didn't realize it was a short story. That explains the rush through the ending, everything is "resolved" with a few snaps. I liked the characters though, Victoria has a good head on her shoulders and she is a scientist (kudos). Dash is a "streetrat" but he still has morals and works towards what he believes in, he also has a cute dream for his future. The attraction between them is instant (too instant for my taste, but I have to remind myself again that this is a short story) without giving anything away I will say that they way these two ah *meet* is my favorite part of the whole story. Their relationship is sweet, he thinks she's too good for him and she doesn't care... even though I've read plenty of relationships like this, they still get me every time. A quick romance murder mystery read!
    • 3/5
      In my search for a short and interesting read, I happened upon Like Clockwork on NetGalley. Of course you know that as soon as I saw the words "Steampunk" and "Romance" I was in. This is a subgenre I truly feel love for, and so I dove right in.

      Now I probably should have noted at the beginning that I didn't realize the page count was so low. I'm not complaining, as I wanted a short read anyway, but that means this story has to wrap up quickly. Barbara Dee packs a punch into these 95 pages for sure. However people who are uncomfortable with inexplicably quick attractions may not be happy with the romance aspect. I, on the other hand, actually quite enjoyed the fact that there were no really messy parts. Attraction is enough for me.

      At the heart of this Steampunk novel is a rather interesting story about automotons and their continued widespread use. Victoria is at the forefront of this movement, but not by choice. It was interesting to see how people so willingly accepted these humanoid lookalikes as replacements for actual humans. I don't deny what draws me to steampunk in the first place are ideas like this. Although she much build it quickly, Barbara Dee does build a nice world for the reader to be immersed in. Victorian London meets steampunk. Delicious.

      Character wise, I liked Victoria and Dash equally. I enjoyed the fact that there were from two different parts of society, and yet they found so much in common. My one gripe was that in such a short book there seemed to be a lot of focus on their inner monologues. I realize it helps the reader get to know them better. However I wanted much more Victoria/Dash interaction time. Much more stolen time under the trees. That was the part of this book that really drew me in.

      Honestly I rather enjoyed this read. My only gripe is that it was so short. Had it been 200 pages, I still would have read and probably enjoyed it that much more. Still, Barbara Dee has written a hidden gem that I see lovers of steampunk, and romance, thoroughly enjoying.