Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Unfortunately this book was not for me, it was a bit slower than I would like and it just didn't hold my attention. I am sure other people will love it!

Absolutely loved this story, so much so I now own a physical copy and now got signed editions from this author. Would recommend this authors writing for anybody who enjoys an adventure

Steam punk for middle grade readers. Somewhat predictable, I'd identified the villain long before Lillian and Robert did and even predicted some of the plot twists. But most middle grade readers won't and the non-stop action will pull them in. Sure to be a favorite with many 4th-7th grade readers.

A really charming middle grade novel (ages 9 to 12) that is an old-fashioned (in a good way) timeless romp. A gripping Victorian steam-punk adventure series that will go down a treat!

4.5 - Cogheart is a middle grade adventure story following Lilly and Robert as they try to find Lily's father after he goes missing.

It is a fun and creative story that, although it took a smidge too long to get going, I really enjoyed. The writing is incredible, especially through the action sequences. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, I was engrossed for the majority of the book, and loved reading about Lilly. The pacing is done reasonably well, although perhaps it is a tad slow in the beginning, it more than makes up for it for 80% of the book. The bad guys manage to not fall too much into the pantomime villain troupe, and have some interesting motivations. I fell in love with Malkin as well and hope that he comes into more of the story over the rest of the series.

The reason for the .5 star drop is a simple one (and won't affect everyone) - reading from an adults perspective meant that I am unsure if some of the content is "appropriate" for the target age group- in the sense that I found it disturbing and something that could have come out of some of my adult thrillers/horror. Although it doesn't go into a lot of detail. However, since I am reading this from an adult perspective, I enjoyed these elements and felt that they added to the story. I would say that perhaps those of a more....sensitive nature may want to be warned.

All in all, this is a fun, well written, well plotted and thought out novel that I enjoyed. I will be picking the rest of the series. Would recommend

Cogheart was a surprising read because it exceeded my expectations. I one hundred percent would recommend this to young readers and their parents. I believe it could be a great story to share. There are clockworks, mechanical animals, hybrids, and your not so everyday humans.

Lily's father seems to have perished in an accident. A survivor of that accident is a mechanimal Fox named Malkin and he has a message for Lily from her father. Malkin has to go to Robert the clockmakers son to help him deliver his message. Lily, Malkin, and Robert come together for an out of this world adventure.

This book is full of action and tension, but it's the mysterious events that are the most intriguing and dangerous for our little band of characters. For a middle grade read the characters were well written and the story never dragged. Young readers would really enjoy the world, weirdness, and mystery that is built. I think sometimes middle grade books don't speak to the challenge that young readers often need to really fall in love with reading. Stories like what Peter Bunzl created here are why get kids excited about reading, so reading doesn't just become a habit, but a love.

Eventually ended up reading the Romanian edition. I had huge expectations from this children's' book since everyone and their dog was talking about it. I thought it was predictable. The dialogues felt as if the characters were reciting lines from a play. The characters also felt flat, like they were carton cut-outs and you could immediately tell who were the villains. The only character I actually enjoyed was the mechanical fox.

On the other hand, there’s a sequel to Cogheart, and I plan to scoop it up, stat — not because it left me hanging but because I’d love to revisit Lily and Robert’s world. There are loose ends in Cogheart, but the story feels finished: Lily’s inventor father has vanished after an attack on his ship, and Lily, her mechanical fox, and their new ally Robert, a clockmaker’s son, set out to rescue him. Middle grades steampunk always seems to hit the sweet spot for me — it glides over the technological marvels with just enough detail to make them seem wonderful but focuses most of its energy on storytelling and character building. I liked this so much I flipped back to the first page to read it over again immediately after I finished — it’s just a delight. (And I do want to know what plucky airship captain/investigative reporter Anna is up to at the end of the book!)

exciting middle grade steampunk mystery. The mechanical animals are great, the pace is quick. The world is wellformed, and the characters are well written. It does have some scary bits, but that's okay by me :D Lily is appealing, the villains are deliciously evil.
i received this book for free from Netgalley, and have reviewed it unbiasedly.

This was such a fun little adventure. I was immediately entranced by the steampunk setting and then by Malkin who is a mechanimal fox and gosh that is such a fun idea. Cogheart was vivid and exciting and full of interesting characters and story elements. I wish I had had a book like this was I was a kid as I adored foxes.
There were a few moments that dragged a little bit for me but those were few and far between. i loved the mystery element to the story but ultimately found it to be an exciting adventure story. All in all, it was a wonderful way to spend a few hours and i had a lot of fun with it.

As I don't often read middle grade novels, "Cogheart" was a rather surprisingly well done read. I was initially drawn in by the book cover and the synopsis, though to a lesser degree, sealed the deal for me to give this a shot. While I wish the overall story was a bit better, the characters and the world are certainly interesting and kept me reading. It's a bit of a slow start but I'm glad I gave it a shot.

I was so disappointed with the last 20% of this story as a Middle Grade, I don't know what to rate it. Plus, I just saw the author's blurb says he was excited to write about these kids finding their way in the world, but that's YA. Middle Grade books are about kids finding their place in the family and among their peers. I am so tired of authors writing MG aged characters who are far beyond the maturity of children that age, instead of making them a year or two older and publishing it as YA. It would have been much less problematic for me if it was YA.

And I cannot believe the reader who gave it extra stars because it was "wonderfully gruesome". It wasn't scary, smelly, drooling, ghoulish monsters MG gruesome; it was violent and overly detailed gruesome. Please adult and teen readers, when you review Middle Grade keep in mind that MG is 7-12 year old readership, and although some things may be great reading entertainment for you on a more mature level, they might not be great for elementary grade students. The adults chasing and shooting children in this book was even too much for me to take at some points.

I loved this story and the characters! This is such a fun adventure and it definitely made me want a little mechanical fox of my own!

Lily is not cut out to be a proper Victorian girl, preferring the adventures in her penny dreadfuls. But when her father’s airship crashes and he goes missing, Lily’s life is thrown into dangerous chaos.

Aided by her pet mechanical fox, Malkin, and watchmaker’s son, Robert, Lily must navigate a world of airships and clockwork servants, pursued by sinister men with silver eyes…

I so wanted to love this book. It had all the elements to whisk me away into a magical steampunk world of whimsy. Alas, while not a bad story at all, it just failed to really capture my attention. Partly due to the tone – I frequently enjoy books aimed at younger readers, but this one missed the mark for me. Something in the writing style failed to really possess any sense of danger. Obstacles are overcome either easily, or are given three sentences when it’s nothing more than a stuck window catch. It made it somewhat difficult to grow much of an attachment to the characters, however many tragedies they face.

Overall, I think I just found it a bit flat and every so slightly… moralising? Which is a shame, because I wanted fun and adventure and magic.

This was a great middle grade book with a solid plot. It did seem to take the story some time to actually take off, so be aware of that if you have a reader that needs instantaneous action!

Cogheart is a fun middle grade adventure with steampunk elements that has some seriously creepy bits! I prefer my middle grade more squarely in the fantasy realm, so it didn't quite hit all my buttons, but I think it would be a huge hit with the older readers in the age range, especially due to the darker parts. I liked Lily, the main character, and loved the mechanimals!

I think overall this is just not my genre.

The writing style was so lovely!!

I just didn't really like the main character, and that made this read quite slow for me.

Overall I think it was a well written book, just not the one for me.

A very engaging set of characters fill the story. Lily proves to be a fearless heroine and a strong leader. Lily must surmount many odds and out-think her worst enemies. This story is full of swashbuckling adventure and truly evil villains but also Lily finds a few heroes as well.

Anyone who loves a strong female lead and an exciting adventure will be satisfied.

Steampunk for children? Oh yeah I had to read this one! As the mother of 4 book nerds in this age range I knew that I had to check this one out to see if it was something that we could read a s a family. Cogheart sure held up to every aspect of the hype I gave it.

Middle grade books are near and dear to my heart as they are the reason I started my own book obsession and instilled that trait on my own children. I loved Lilly and how she approached the issues at hand. The world building was great and so were the creative characters. Mechanicals in the Victorian era was brilliant! Though this story was for a younger target audience, I had no issues following along and wanting to know where it will lead!

I do recommend this one and have purchased a copy for our home!