Hour of Mischief

by Aimee Hyndman

[Angie]

Hour of Mischief was so cool! Steampunk has been pretty miss for me, but I finally found one that I really enjoyed! Janet is the leader of a team of teenage thieves. Their heists don't always go perfectly, but they've never been caught. Until now. While robbing a temple, Janet's teammate and best friend gets trapped, but she isn't going to leave her behind. The whole group is arrested and begin plotting their escape when Janet is taken for questioning only to be rescued by the God of Mischief who needs her to stop an impending apocalypse.

Hour of Mischief's world has a super cool concept: clocks. The people worship the Clockwork gods (there's 12 of them). The realms are laid out in a circle, which each one covering a different gods' turf. There's also minor gods who work for the Clockwork gods, then the Elder Gods who are the seasons, and of course, there's the creator, but no one believes that he exists. Some of the gods and their interactions really reminded me of Greek mythology which makes this new system easy to understand and follow. It's not a direct copy, so it also felt fresh and interesting.

The plot of Hour of Mischief was also a lot of fun. Itazura has been forbidden from discussing this upcoming apocalypse with his sibling gods, so he needs a human to do it for him. Janet is the chosen one, as she needs his help to rescue her friends from prison. The two set out to find the gods who will most likely be on their side, but also who would want to save the humans from being wiped away. Getting a meeting with a god is not easy though, especially as the creatures from the Abyss start appearing to terrorize the humans.

I really liked Hour of Mischief. I do wish it had been longer and had more world-building, because I seriously really like this world and wanted to know more about it. I also loved Janet. She's badass without being cocky. She knows when she's defeated, but that doesn't mean she's going to just give up. Itazura was hilarious and charming, and I need more of him! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.