Review: An entertaining, if involved, read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 7, 2012
I received this book free from the author through my Goodreads book club, in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All thoughts and conclusions are my own.The story revolves around the creation of a mystical, enchanted color called 'Clockwork Blue', that was inspired by the heavens and contains the power to alter destiny. Malcolm, the dastardly Earl of Ravenwood, is determined to get his hands on the rights to the color, and will stop at nothing (or noone) to get what he wants. Nicola Moore is the secret creator of said color, who had to give rights to the color to her father, because in those times (I'm thinking 1800s...it's kind of vague) a lady couldn't take on that sort of occupation and be taken seriously. Malcolm devises a plot to force Nicola to marry him (and thus give him rights to the Clockwork Blue, through her dowry), in order to save her hot-headed cousin Ramsey from certain deportation for crimes of mischief. Flitting around and helping Nicola with her destiny, are two pesky pixies named Glissando and Allegro. Their mission is to ensure that Nicola and Malcolm truly fall in love with each other...or else certain calamity will befall the world as they know it.This story has a lot going on -- the manner in which it is written reminds me of a Jane Eyre-type of tale, with the speech patterns and idiosyncrasies of the time. It is confusing at times -- example: near the end of the story, a couple of times Nicola is referred to as 'Derryth'....this seems like an oversight on the author's part, as I can not figure out where else the name 'Derryth' would come from. A couple of side-stories are going on that aren't crucial to the main plot, and as such, you don't get a lot of detail about them. So when they pop up later in the story, you have to re-calibrate yourself a bit to figure out what is going on.The character development of Nicola and Malcolm is enjoyable -- their tale is romantic and chaotic, and it is fun to read. I enjoyed this story, and I recommend to any reader who enjoys 19th century romantic stories.