The Clockwork Scarab: A Review

Hello, my lovelies!

So excited for today’s book review!

The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason

4.5 Stars

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. But when you’re the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. And when two society girls go missing, there’s no one more qualified to investigate.

Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious gentlemen, and solve murder with only one clue: a strange Egyptian scarab. The stakes are high. If Stoker and Holmes don’t unravel why the belles of London society are in such danger, they’ll become the next victims.

~From Goodreads

What I Liked:

For starters I need to start with a recommendation- I actually listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Jayne Entwistle and I strongly suggest you do the same if you can. She has a lovely reading voice and hearing all the different accents in the story (Scottish, American, different English accents, such as posh, cockney, and middle-class) adds so much to the story.  Now, on with the review.

The Setting: Victorian Mysteries are my most favorite thing in the world. I always forget how much I love them until I read one and then I want to let them take over everything. I seriously don’t want to read anything else- I just want to read every Victorian Mystery I can get my hands on.

And this one doesn’t disappoint. The setting is very Victorian with light Steampunk elements.

The Characters: I love the characters in this story so incredibly much! They all not only feel real and dynamic, but they’re also just good, fun people who I wish very dearly to know.

Mina is the niece of Sherlock Holmes and the author does a good job portraying that and making her very much a Holmes while also making her likable and relatable. She does not feel like the emotionless alien Sherlock Holmes can sometimes come across, though she is much more rational than Evaline- the other main character. The book actually tends to spend a little more time with her than with Evaline, and I feel like you really get to know her in those extra pages. Her avoidance of emotions is explained in depth rather than just written off as “she’s Sherlock Holmes’ niece.” She has reasons and depth and feels real and even though she’d hate me for it I desperately want to give her a hug and let her know how much I care about her.

Evaline, little sister of Bram Stoker, is a dynamic character as well, likable and sweet. She’s much more social and concerned with her appearance than the practical Mina, would rather spend her days researching old volumes or experimenting in a lab. That was the thing I loved most about this book- Evaline is the strong one in the book, blessed with a super strength (more on that later) and the trained to fight, but she’s also the one who cares more about the dresses she’s wearing or the state of her hair. It was just really fun to see something other than the usual stereotype where the girl who is tough and strong also couldn’t care less about how she looks. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just nice to see something different than what I normally see.

And then all the other side characters are so well-done. The villain feels realistically terrifying while also being mysterious and intriguing. Definitely a well-crafted villain. Irene Adler (from the original Sherlock Holmes story) plays a role in the story and it’s so refreshing to see her not only as the strong, clever woman she was originally created as, but also to have her portrayed as something other than Sherlock’s love interest (which is interesting because she was never intended to be a love interest in the original story).

And then there are three guys who play important roles to the story- Dylan, Pix, and Inspector Grayling- and each is real and interesting and well-written. Dylan is your typical American teenager and he’s written the way all teenagers ought to be. He’s real, not a stereotype. He’s not just moody and angsty and annoying. His emotions run high but in a realistic way that is interesting to read. And his development as he comes into his own and grows is so well-done. Pix is your typical ne’er-do-well thief who you can’t help but love. He is all confidence and charm and you can’t decide if you want to kiss him or slap him (Evaline has that exact dilemma most every time she meets him). But the more he’s in the story the more you see his depth, his mask slipping so that you can see the fear and self-doubt he tries so hard to hide. And then there’s Grayling. I’m not even going to try to hide it- I love Inspector Grayling. He is my favorite character. He’s Scottish and self-assured and smart and so very perfect for Mina (more on that in a minute). I just can’t even put into words how happy his character makes me.

The Relationships: This book has so many relationships, both romantic and platonic, and all of them are so well done.

I loved the dynamic between Evaline and Mina so much, especially since it felt like one I’ve never seen in a story before. The girls are two strangers who don’t hit it off at first but who then slowly learn to respect and appreciate each other. Not quite rivals but not quite friends, in a world of stories where girls are portrayed as one or the other. They don’t quite like each other at the beginning of the story, though neither does much about it. They are both hired to solve the same mystery and are supposed to be working together and so they do, though they do sometimes try their best to avoid the other or might voice disagreement with the other’s way of going about things. But they never go out of their way to hurt the other and they never once fight. This story clearly sends the message that even if you don’t like someone, you tolerate them and treat them with respect because it’s the decent thing to do. And then as the book progresses they start to see the good in the other, realizing that just because the other is different that doesn’t mean their methods don’t have merit. They realize they might have underestimated the other and are willing to admit that. They start to grow closer, the care about each other. Not quite friends, as Mina says at one point, but something good.

As I mentioned, Pix and Evaline have a complicated relationship but one I would love to see further developed. They bring out a side in each other that no one else does- they make each other feel comfortable not showing their self-assured side at all times. They let their masks slip and are able to show each other their self-doubts without even meaning to. They’re honest with each other about their fear and doubt when they’re both the kind of people who aren’t honest about those sorts of things with anyone else. And it’s beautiful.

Dylan Eckhert comes into Mina’s life quite strangely but the two very quickly become close friends, Dylan far enough removed from Mina and her life that he is able to offer her perspective on who she is and who she can be. He appreciates her in a way that speaks to her, assures her, offers her confidence. They have a beautiful friendship.

And then there’s Mina and Grayling. This is by far my favorite relationship in the book and I make no secret of the fact that I want Mina and Grayling to end up together. They’re both very smart and deductive and they start the book as rivals, neither pleased with the other’s involvement in the case. But as the book progresses and they’re forced to interact more and more their relationship grows into that of almost a partnership, where they share information and discuss the case in a way they never would have dreamed of at the beginning of the book. They also banter and impress the other with their knowledge and it’s just adorable. So adorable.

The Prose: This prose is incredible. The words the author choses to use in her descriptions, the way she describes things, the movement of the prose. There’s a poetry to it that fills me with delight. It’s beautiful.

She also describe the clothes the characters wear to a degree that makes the costumer in me so happy. Like I just giggle with glee when she starts describing clothes, finding the happiest of places within my already happy place.

That One Plot Point

*MINOR SPOILER*

So it becomes clear almost from the moment that we meet him that Dylan Eckhert is from the future. I have literally been saying for years that I wanted to see time travel in a story from a non-point-of-view character and was surprised to find it in this book- the last place I expected to find it.

But it’s done so well! Dylan feels like a foreigner in this world and he doesn’t quite fit. He fits into the story and with the characters but not the world. He doesn’t quite belong and you can feel that but the way he interacts with everything he comes into contact with. He’s dazed and confused, a bit overwhelmed and maybe even a little scared. But he’s also eager and enthusiastic, a bit in awe of the world and the characters- related to people he thought were just storybook characters! And it’s not obnoxious or in your face that he’s from the future. He isn’t constantly making references or getting confused for the sake of humor. It’s natural, the way it fits into the story, and it feels real, like it would probably really look if a character traveled back in time. And I love it

*END SPOILER*

What I Didn’t Like:

That One Part: So the really creepy villain calls a group of girls "my lovelies" at one point in this way that sort of made my skin crawl and I made a super grumpy face and was like "EXCUSE ME, VILLAIN, THAT'S MY LINE!!" Then I flailed around some and complained to some people about it. I'm still a little bitter. And then I felt like I should share it with you all. But I promise that one line did not affect my rating... too much... heehee.

Love Triangle/Romance: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I said I liked the characters’ relationships above, but I also had stuff I didn’t like about them. As mentioned above, I absolutely adore Inspector Grayling. What I don’t like is that he is part of a love triangle including Mina Holmes and Dylan. It’s made even more annoying because Mina spends a good deal of the book trying to convince us that she is ruled by rational thought, which is hard to believe when she also spends a good deal of the book trying to decide how she feels about both Graying and Dylan. Evaline too has a young man who she is weirdly attracted to. And I liked the two of them (as I mentioned above).

But every time either girl is near one of the guys she feels weird and confused and can’t understand why she suddenly feels warm or confused or nervous. Or she gets a flutter in her stomach. Or she notices how he smells or some small thing about him that she finds attractive. And while I love romance, this got a tad annoying. I know it’s because it’s setting things up for later books, but I would have liked it handled a little less intensely…

Evaline’s “Calling”: Evaline is Bram Stoker’s younger sister and it is revealed very early on in the book that her family comes from a long line of vampire hunters and Evaline has been chosen to continue that calling (chosen by whom is never specified, though it seems supernatural in that the calling is discovered by a series of dreams briefly mentioned and accompanied by super strength).

There aren’t actually any vampires in this book (though the description for the second book says there are in that one). Which is funny because it seems like Evaline’s calling is mentioned on almost every page (exaggeration). It seems like you can barely get anywhere in the story without being reminded that Evaline is special, in case we might forget that.

It’s not a huge deal but it does get a little annoying after a little while and I wish it had been mentioned a little less than it was…

The Mythology: At the center of the plot is Egyptian mythology and while it’s always associated with the villain, it is a clear theme in the story and it can get a little creepy in parts. But the creepy parts are always in connection with the villain and never portrayed in a positive light.

A Certain Plot Point:

*MINOR SPOILERS*

In the midst of the girls’ investigations someone dies. The girls are there when the villain kills her and the girls are helpless to do anything. At least, we’re told afterwards that they were. But when the scene was happening it didn’t feel like there was the right amount of urgency or desire to save her. It very much had an “in hindsight it’s too bad we weren’t able to do anything about that” feel, rather than the “right here in this moment there’s nothing we can do and that’s not okay with me” feeling that I think it needed.

The girls DO show great sorrow later that they weren’t able to help and it’s made clear that there wasn’t anything they could actually do. But in the moment when it happened I felt like it wasn’t handled as well as it might have been…

*END SPOILER*

Overall Opinion

I adore this book. I love it as much as humanly possible and then some. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, having read it last year only because I was mildly interested and one of the things for the reading challenge I was part of was to read a book outside your comfort zone. So I picked this one because I knew there were things I wasn’t going to like.

But then I fell in love. From the very first sentence I knew I was going to love this book. This recent read was a reread and well worth it. I adore this book so much more than I can say. I spent the hours reading it giggling, crying, and sitting on the edge of my seat in suspense. This is a well-crafted by a very talented author and even with all the things I put under things I don’t like I still would recommend this book in a heartbeat. It’s worth the read. You will lose a piece of yourself to this book and be changed forever in the best possible way.

And as usual I made a playlist for it and then I also made an aesthetic Pinterest board this time as well. So be sure to check those out!

I hope to see you on Monday when I share why I love fairy tale retellings so much. Until the next time we meet don’t forget to live happily ever after <3

~Jennifer Sauer, the Ivory Palace Princess