Cogheart (The Cogheart Adventures, #1)

by Peter Bunzl

The first in the bestselling Cogheart Adventures series, where mayhem, murder and mystery meet in a gripping Victorian world of fantastical imagination.

Some secrets change the world in a heartbeat.

Lily's life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her?

With her friends - Robert, the clockmaker's son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox - Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRANFORD BOASE AWARD
SELECTED AS ONE OF THE NATION'S 100 FAVOURITE STORIES TO SHARE (World Book Day, 2018)

"A steampunky tale of ambition, pursuit and revenge." The Guardian

"A delightfully badly behaved heroine, enthralling mechanicals and a stormer of a plot." Abi Elphinstone

"A glittering clockwork treasure." Piers Torday

• ISBN10: 1474915000
• ISBN13: 9781474915007
• Publish Date: 1 September 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 16 August 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Usborne Publishing Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Liz (Bent Bookworm)]

Cogheart is a tale with many moving pieces, not unlike the steam-punk mechanicals that Lily's father builds. Unfortunately I think it's a bit flat, as I never felt very attached to the characters. Also, for a middle grade novel, there is an awful lot of proverbializing and "lessons learned" sort of speeches, which I found annoying and am sure many of the target audience would as well. It also has a bit of a dark feel in some places, not unlike the Series of Unfortunate Events series - only these dark events don't seem to have much effect on the characters except as plot devices.

Despite these flaws, I did finish the book and found the mech aspect interesting. I just have doubts about the book's ability to hold the attention of a middle grade reader due to the issues I've mentioned.