Clockwork Heart

Today's post is on Clockwork Heart by Liesel Schwarz. It is the second in her Chronicles of Light and Shadow series. The cover has the main character on it looking over London. The intended reader is someone who has read the first novel, likes steampunk, and action. There is no sex, mild language, and violence in this book. The story is told from third person close of the characters moving from one to another has the story goes. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- For better or curse. That might as well have been the wedding vow of Elle Chance and her new husband, the ex-Warlock Hugh Marsh. For the couple has scarcely returned from their honeymoon when the ancient battle between Light and Shadow tears them apart.
As Elle devotes herself to her duties as the Oracle- who alone has the power to keep the dark designs of Shadow at bay- Marsh finds himself missing the excitement of  his former life as a Warlock. So when Commissioner Willoughby of the London Metropolitan Police seeks his help in solving a magical mystery, Marsh is only too happy to oblige. But in doing so, Marsh loses his heart, literally.
In place of the flesh-and-blood organ is a clockwork device- a device that makes Marsh a kind of zombie. Nor is he the only one. A plague of clockwork zombies is afflicting London, sowing panic and whispers of revolution. Now Elle must join forces with her husband's old friend the Nightwalker Loisa Belododie to track down Marsh's heart and restore it to his chest before time runs out.

Review- Not a bad second book. I like that she killed Marsh and I hope that he stays dead. Not that he is a bad character but I want Elle to really be her own woman. From what little married interaction they had I did not think that she could be her own woman while married to Marsh. Schwarz took some risks with this novel and I am curious about where she is going to go next. The plot is very fast, everything happens within a week or so. I like how the magic grew over the course of the story. Elle is still not very happy with her place in this world but I think that she is prepared to do whatever she must. I am very curious about where Schwarz is going to go with the story now.


I give this book a Three out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.