{Review} Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey

Legacy of the Clockwork Key
by Kristin Bailey
Series: The Secret Order #1
Pages: 403
Release Date: March 5, 2013
by Simon Pulse (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)

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A teen girl unravels the mysteries of a secret society and their most dangerous invention in this adventure-swept romance set in Victorian London.

When a fire consumes Meg’s home, killing her parents and destroying both her fortune and her future, all she has left is the tarnished pocket watch she rescued from the ashes. But this is no ordinary timepiece. The clock turns out to be a mechanical key—a key that only Meg can use—that unlocks a series of deadly secrets and intricate clues that Meg is compelled to follow.

Meg has uncovered evidence of an elite secret society and a dangerous invention that some will stop at nothing to protect—and that Meg alone can destroy. Together with the handsome stable hand she barely knows but hopes she can trust, Meg is swept into a hidden world of deception, betrayal, and revenge. The clockwork key has unlocked her destiny in this captivating start to a trilogy.

*A copy was provided by Simon & Schuster for review purposes*

Coming into this book, I was unbelievably excited.  The summery looked absolutely amazing…but unfortunately the book wasn’t.  And it’s such a shame because Bailey had such an awesome idea.  I just felt like the story line was so see-through, the whole mystery aspect of the book was way too easy, and the staging was atrocious.  I also didn’t enjoy the romance AT ALL!  I think it was very badly written, and so cliché and done before.  I literally rolled my eyes when I read the little twist in the romance.  This book was just a very simple read, and not really thrilling.  Like I said, I really loved the idea, and I liked the little mythology she put into the tasks, but it was just such an easy plot I couldn’t stand it.  The romance was what really threw me off though.  Bailey introduced it really badly, and it was kind of insta-love, even though it lasted for the entire book.  I didn’t like it because Bailey didn’t develop it.  I realize there was more going on in the book, but if you’re going to make your characters profess their undying love for each other at the end of the book (oops, spoiler) than you’ve got to have put some work into the romance and have built it up.  Sadly, Bailey didn’t, and it really annoyed me how Bailey tried to grow the romance over the course of the story.

I wish I could say that I liked the main characters even a little bit, but unfortuantelyI can’t.  I hated them to no end.  First off, the romance was just atrocious, and that involved these two bimboes, Will and Meg.  Neither character was really developed at all, they were kind of just there.  Will was like a stick of wood, no personality, and really annoying.  Meg was no better, only she was stupider.  Some of the things she said just annoyed me to no end.

I know it’s hard for an author to write their debut novel, and hard to put it out there for people like me to either love or hate, and I really don’t want to be mean, but it just really wasn’t my book.  The combination of a horrible written romance and a horribly written plot was enough to make me not enjoy this book at all, and not recommend it to anyone.

Please note: I don’t like bashing authors.  I respect the hard work they put into writing their books, and how hard it must be for them to lay their work on the line, but some books I just don’t like, and I feel like I would be lying to everyone if I said I loved this book.  Please don’t take any offense, anyone, this review was not meant to be malicious.

1.5 pink flowers