The Doomsday Vault

by Steven Harper

Reviewed by Ruby

Alice has found the man of her dreams…well, sort of. Norbert Williamson is a rich, charming factory owner- and with her finical situation and the fact her family has been struck with the Clockwork plague several times, killing her mother, brother and fiancée and leaving her father paralyzed – Alice doesn’t have the luxury of being choosy. And he is what she needs, but he is also completely boring. That is when Gavin comes into her life. He is everything Norbert isn’t; fun and adventurous, loving and full of life. After he was basically abandoned in London, he and Alice meet up and together are thrust into a world of Clockworkers, mad geniuses working with automatons the likes no one has seen before or know really how to deal with.

In the midst of that adventure, the two meet up with The Third Ward; a secret government agency sent to deal with the Clockerworkers and their inventions. They want the two of them on the team, Gavin immediately says yes, but Alice refuses, choosing instead the life with Norbert. With the hopes of getting her father well, paying off their debts and marrying Norbert, she cuts all ties with The Third Ward and Gavin. Unfortunately that life isn’t ready to let her go as one particular Clockworker seems determined to draw her back in.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a great read, with an excellent story and awesome characters. I was a little weirded out by one sub plot dealing with Norbert but it wasn’t dealt with in great details, so I was thankful for that. There were a few twists and turns that, I’m not going to lie, I saw coming, but it was still very enjoyable.

Grade: B