Book Shelf: Time Weaver: Heart of Cogs (Time Collector #1) by Jacinta Maree

I have a clock for a heart…
And the man who put it there tried to take it out.

Time Collectors are modern day genies capable of exchanging wishes for time. Elizabeth Wicker lives within a steampunk world riddled with the supernatural. Among the stories of witches, Bacts and other monsters, Time Collectors remain as the greatest hushed secret among the noble families.

They are temptation's greatest tools. A contract with a Time Collector is a guaranteed death sentence, and for some the prize isn't worth the price.
But when Elizabeth is struck down by a fatal heart attack, she finds herself trapped beneath a Time Collector's blade. With no time left to offer, she makes a desperate sacrifice at a second chance of life.

If there's only one truth, it is a Time Collector will always come back to collect.  

More info on Goodreads.....


Review:

Time Weaver: Heart of Cogs is the first novel in Australian author Jacinta Maree’s new Time Collector series and is a riveting and engaging tale that introduces readers to a deeply mysterious but alluring world of steampunk and hair-splitting danger.

Elizabeth Blackmore is a young woman living on borrowed time. Suffering a dangerous heart problem, Elizabeth’s whole world changes forever when her mother passes away. With no one else, Elizabeth faces two choices; find herself sold off to a cruel lord as a maid, or reach out to her estranged father, the eccentric and mysterious Doctor Wicker in the hopes he will take her in. Becoming a Wicker changes everything Elizabeth knows as she finds herself discovering the dangerous world of Time Collectors; immortal beings who exchange wishes for time but whose inhuman abilities come with a price. When Elizabeth suffers a heart attack and she faces death, will the ultimate sacrifice be made to keep her alive? And what will happen when the Time Collector responsible for so much death catches up with Elizabeth?  

I’ve previously had nothing by good experiences with Jacinta Maree’s books and was super stoked to read Time Weaver: Heart of Cogs. Drawing us into a vivid steampunk world, Time Weaver was highly entertaining. The tale primarily follows Elizabeth, but also often details situations concerning and featuring a few other minor characters including Klaus, who readers will quickly come to like and learn plays an intricate part in the story. 

Time Weaver was quite an interesting book. Maree details a gritty Steampunk/Victorian world where magic and monsters exist and multidimensional and complex characters bring the story to life. I’ll admit there was a few times where the multitude of minor characters confused me and I needed to focus to keep track of everything that was happening; but I have no doubt there’s a reason behind each and every character and situation and that Jacinta Maree will let us all know and understand in time.

Personally I quite liked Elizabeth as the main character and thought her easy to follow and likable, but found myself most intrigued with Klaus and the Time Collectors. Maybe it was just me, but Time Weaver made me think about human complexity and human nature; especially as the novel progressed and some of the seemingly “bad guys” became more than they first appear.  

Take Klaus for instance. The fact that he’s a love interest aside—I always seem to adore them regardless—Klaus is a very complex individual who brings about a range of emotions in me. What he is means he’s often the perpetrator of many questionable acts where lives are taken. Yet this is a fundamental part of what Klaus is. He can’t help it. There’s a coldness to him that Elizabeth is slowly starting to thaw and I actually felt sorry for him a lot of the time; especially towards the end of the novel where so much happened that was out of his control or he just didn’t mean to cause happen. 

It’s fascinating to read a book and have a character start out as villain you anticipate hating, yet instead you see them in an almost human light as time goes on. Another strong personality within the story is Nikolas, whose determination knows no bounds and who towards the end of the novel finds himself experiencing emotions he wasn’t expecting. It’s intriguing, as so many of his actions have been out of love and the binds he experiences as a Time Collector. 

As the first novel of a series, Time Weaver: Heart of Cogs offers us a glimpse and taste of this steampunk world Jacinta Maree has brought to life. There’s a lot going in within the story with various characters introduced and little snippets left to hint at more. The world of Time Collectors, Guardians and other creatures are full of possibilities and I for one am looking forward to seeing more of Elizabeth and Klaus and seeing where Jacinta Maree plans to take this promising series!

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by Xpresso Book Tours and Jacinta Maree (Thank you ladies!)
Publisher: Ragnarok Publishing      
Format: Kindle ebook
Release Date: February 14th 2017
Purchase: The Book Depository | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
Final Thoughts: I highly enjoyed this book and am super excited to see where Jacinta Maree takes the series next!