5.0

I received an advance e-book of this novel from HarperCollins.

I loved this! I devoured it in 3 days. Very readable with the perfect level of historical detail. Romantic and exciting and a little bit mysterious - perfect vacation read for the historical fiction fan and a very well done example of the “switching back and forth from current investigator to historical narrative” style.

Side note - since living through a global pandemic, I find I can relate so much more to stories of people carrying on through the war. I always used to wonder how they just… kept on living. And now I think we understand a lot better.

Sorry I am unable to send a review as I couldn't figure out how to use this app back in 2021. I'm still learning. My apologies. I still have this book on my list of books I want to read. The cover is nice. The synopsis of the story is intriguing. Based on the reviews of others, I would recommend.

Beautiful historical fiction with dual timelines, and a watch that begins the uncovering of an old family secret. In this novel, Nell, in 1940 flees London with her daughter, Alice, while her husband stays behind to continue working on maintaining the clocks in the city. In the “present time,” we follow Ellie, Nell's granddaughter and Alice's daughter, who is interested in learning more about a grandmother she hasn’t met. This takes her to London, leading her to uncover darker secrets of her family’s past.

I loved that the timelines were seamless and that they both contributed equally to progressing the story. There were times were the novel dragged on a bit…but overall, great historical fiction!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great piece of historical fiction. The writing was good and the characters were believable. I liked having the split timelines and seeing how they connected. It didn't jump around too much and I wasn't lost like some split stories are sometimes. This one captured my interest and I'll be looking for more books by Daisy Wood.

This was a fascinating story, with a different approach to WW2 than the typical historical fiction novel. Nell Spelman was so much more than just the clockmaker's wife. She was brave, strong and determined and when too many things didn't line up, she took matters into her own hands. She sacrificed and did what she could to discover what happened to her husband while contributing to the war efforts as well. The contrast to the present day and the way that this courage and perseverance is reflected in Ellie, was beautifully captured and relayed as well. A really great read!

I thought the book started a little bit slow but then I got the pace of it. It’s a book about a woman empowerment and her sacrifices during the WW2.

You all know I love my historical fiction, especially when it’s set during WWII. I thought The Clockmaker’s Wife sounded interesting but I really didn’t expect to be completely captivated by Daisy Wood’s first adult novel. There was no real reason for that expectation but I am SO glad this book exceeded those expectations. I didn’t want it to end!

Here’s the book’s description:
The world is at war. And time is running out…
London, 1940. Britain is gripped by the terror of the Blitz, forcing Nell Spelman to flee the capital with her young daughter – leaving behind her husband, Arthur, the clockmaker who keeps Big Ben chiming.
When Arthur disappears, Nell is desperate to find him. But her search will lead her into far darker places than she ever imagined…
New York, Present Day. When Ellie discovers a beautiful watch that had once belonged to a grandmother she never knew, she becomes determined to find out what happened to her. But as she pieces together the fragments of her grandmother’s life, she begins to wonder if the past is better left forgotten…
I actually ended up listening to the audiobook of this novel – since it had been so long since it had been released (oops) and I needed something to listen to while driving to and from work. I kept finding excuses to listen to it because I couldn’t put it down. A lot of that had to do with the narrator. Sophie Bentinck was great with this novel and I’ll definitely be looking up more books that she’s narrated. She was able to move between English and American accents seamlessly and neither grated. I could have listened to her all day!

I’m always so intrigued by the stories that dive into a family’s history and expose secrets that had been hidden since the war. I wonder how many of those stories have died with the people who experienced them, especially now as their descendants are dying as well. How much don’t we know about what happened during the war, specifically? And just…generally? I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I wish I had asked my grandma more about her life. You don’t care as much as a youth and then, suddenly, it’s too late. All that to say – I really enjoyed reading as Ellie put together the mystery of her grandmother’s life and I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped as the final puzzle piece was revealed.

The plot Wood laid out in this novel – that Big Ben was going to be attacked during the Blitz – is totally fictional. She notes that right off the bat, lest anyone think the clock was ever in grave danger. But, with a typical writer’s brain, she thought…well, it could have happened. And I agree. I’m sure there were plans to bomb the buildings that never materialized. I was anxious as the story went on and Nell got closer to danger and Ellie got closer to the truth. I found it really well done. It may not have been real but Wood did the research and the rest of the story – the setting and so on – rang true.

All in all, I enjoyed The Clockmaker’s Wife. Daisy Wood’s first foray into adult novels was well done and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for her next. This one wasn’t perfect but it kept me entertained and that was good enough for me!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, HarperCollins Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Thank you to Harper 360, Avon and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable read that takes place during WWII that follows a husband and wife and the part they take to protect their country.
Anyone that likes historical fiction about the lives of people trying to survive will be sure to enjoy this story.

First of all, the cover art for this book is amazing! I really enjoyed this novel, and it was my first by this author. I learned a lot about The Blitz and Big Ben and clock making. I also enjoyed the dual timeline. The author's writing style is refreshing, and I look forward to reading more by her. I recommend this for any WW2 historical fiction fan.

What is better than a family mystery? I love reading about heirlooms with a story. This novel was right up my alley with a woman in a quest and the time era was very appealing.

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres to read. I love that the author included at the beginning of the book the historical information about the book prior to reading. I’ve started to check for it in the back of books now before reading because I like to have that information at the beginning.
As for the book, it’s well written and an interesting story. I did find that there is a lot of detail at the beginning to build up the story for most of the book and then the climax of the story seems to take place in the last minute. It just didn’t seem well balanced. Overall a good book.

My favorite genre of books are WWII historical fiction. And when a dual timeline is involved, it’s a bonus. The background story about Big Ben was interesting and well researched. The characters are well developed and I enjoyed the details provided about the London blitz and the atrocities of WWII. The travel between the past and present flows smoothly. This was a unique aspect of WWII and a good addition to WWII historical fiction books for my library.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

My rating for this book is closer to a 3.5 than 4 star.

Historical fiction is a favorite genre of mine and especially WWII. This one was unique as it starts out with a clockmaker, one that is responsible for keeping Big Ben running smoothly. This part of the story was fascinating as it is not something I have read much about.

This is a dual timeline. We follow Nell Spelman and her husband Arthur in 1939-1941. The second timeline is resent day following their granddaughter Ellie in America.

Nell and her husband have a baby girl they name Alice. During this time London is being bombed but because of Arthur's job he cannot leave the city but he urges his wife to take their daughter and go to the country to her parents where they will be safer. Nell finally concedes to go home where her mom has taken in other children who are evacuees from other places. Nell quickly learns that her husband has been taken and she decides she needs to get to London to help him. For me this is where the story takes a bit of turn. It held my attention but it was also a bit far fetched. In the course of two weeks we follow Nell who is wonder woman in the herculean acts she performs. I was really having a difficult time when we got to this part of the book in just believing everything that happens. It takes on a mystery of sorts that when it is all eventually revealed was a bit of a let down.

Present day Ellie is concerned about her mom, Alice who is not in the best health and her memory is slipping. Ellie is curious about her grandparents and when her mom can only give her bits and pieces she takes it upon herself to go to London and try to fit the pieces together to find out more about her Grandmother, Nell. In this respect, Ellie and Nell are very similar. They both go nosing around to solve a mystery. Ellie also only has a couple weeks to miraculously find just the right people that can help her find out all about her late Grandmother. Again, some of what happens here is a bit far fetched.

In the end, I couldn't help but love the story. It was a different aspect of WWII that I enjoyed. It isn't a favorite of mine but it was still an enjoyable book to read.

This novel was okay. I felt some parts came together too easily, especially the timing of things and events. It was a little too light of reading for me for historical fiction, but that's just a preference of mine. 3/5.

This book was obviously well researched. I loved the connection from the present to the past. The storyline was intriguing and the characters felt so real. The description of the war and the rawness of it also rang true. There are many WW2 novels out there but this one feels authentic. It seems to be a genre that has really taken hold the last couple of years and was starting to feel overdone. This book however was a breath of fresh air. I felt compassion for the characters and was desperate for a happy ending although I knew early on this was not to be. well done Daisy Wood! I look forward to more books from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

What a lovely book this was, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the storyline. This was a truly fictional tale but an enjoyable one, I feel like most of the books I have read in this genre have been based on true stories but this one was more of a fictional idea based upon a real thing, Big Ben. I enjoyed the descriptions of the areas but did find some drag in some of the conversations and storyline that really was not needed. It had a nice love story both past and present as well. All in all, enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for offering me a free ARC of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t finish it in time and ended up buying it anyway, since I went past the loan period whilst in the middle of it . No matter. It was well worth the purchase. I read a lot of WWII fiction and am also somewhat of an Anglophile so was drawn to this one, and especially liked it. There is a compelling mystery, likeable characters, exciting events, interesting dual-time period connected stories and the setting was well-drawn. It’s actually a fast read. It was me who got sidetracked, not the author. She clearly did her research and this made the story very interesting by focusing on the blitz and especially Big Ben and the clock. (You will have to read the book to understand the difference, if you don’t know already). It was clear without looking it up that this story was written by a Brit. The language, especially the expressions, seemed right for the place and correct for the time period, making it easy to get lost in the story because of it’s feel of authenticity. I hate when modern language is used in mouths from 80 years ago, but that is not the case in this one. This is a very good read for lovers of WWII historical novels and one that would make a great film.

Ellie has grown up in the shadow of her grandmother and her namesake, a woman she never knew but has had a dramatic impact on her life. Ellie's mother, Alice, also grew up in the shadow of a mother she never knew and whose ghost haunted her father every day of his life. As Ellie's mother grows older and begins to lose her ability to take care of herself, she decides she has to find answers about her grandmother and her family to share with her mother before it's too late. So, she packs her bags and heads to London to try and find the family she has left and any information about the family that was.

Ellie's story runs parallel with the story of her grandmother which makes for a very rich narrative about both of the women's lives and how they connect across generations. I appreciated getting both perspectives from Ellie and from Nell and the writing style was very smooth and easy to read. The author did a good job at keeping me interested in Ellie and what she would discover while also not giving too much away until the very end. I found a couple of questionable historical references in the book (i.e., references in the 1940s sections to things I didn't think were around and couldn't verify if they were or not) which was a bit jarring when they came up.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't normally read historical fiction, but this one sounded different and interesting to me. It was different, and I loved it. This particular read was told in two time periods, the 1940s and 2021/2022.

Nell, our protagonist in the past, was a brave woman who fought for her husband, her baby, and her country in a time when everything seemed hopeless. I enjoyed the plot of this time period and in some ways, I wish that it was the only plot.

In the near future of 2021/2022, Ellie searches for information on her grandmother, Nell. Though it is interesting to see someone uncovering their family history, I felt that Ellie's story was lacklustre. I wanted it to be exciting. Instead, it felt like Ellie was a passive character.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and am looking forward to reading more novels by Daisy Wood. Check this book out if you love WWII historical fiction or are looking to get into the genre. I found the writing to be intelligent and informed while staying easy to read and understand.

An interesting wartime story, I enjoyed reading about all the different strong women in this book who faced and overcame their own challenges and heartaches all connected to the clockmaker's wife.