This was a fantastically fun fantasy read. I am excited to share this with my middle-grade students.

I found this book to be overly complicated. The plot had too many ins and outs and just too much going on to keep me interested. There are also many plot holes that neede to be dealt with. It was overall hard to understand as an adult.. I imagine a child would not understand it at all. There was little to no world building as well as very little character building. I just did not enjoy the book and felt that it lacked.

In this story, Melanie is an orphan living in an orphanage who wants to go have adventures and has a special skill and talent where she can open locks, any locks and then one night a visitor comes to the orphan home and offers Melanie a chance to become an apprentice to a magical person.
So, Melanie becomes an apprentice for a local witch and starts having adventures, and soon learns things are not as they seem or as she thought they were. Things are in a bit of a mess in their world and there's the underlying message of finding and being true to yourself. I can see this appealing to fans of Nevermoor and it's an enjoyable read.
If you're a fan of Middle Grade, Nevermoor, or similar MG series then I'd recommend checking this one out. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group/Dial Books for letting me read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

From my review on GoodReads: This very middle grade fantasy stars young Melanie, who was brought up in a loving and safe orphanage for girls. Because she has the mysterious ability to open locked things (doors, windows, boxes) just by wishing it so, she is picked to leave with a clockwork being who comes to the orphanage looking for a possible apprentice to his mistress, who is a witch.

Almost from the moment Melanie steps out into the street to begin her new life, she learns that it's Traveler (the "gearling") himself who needs her help. And so begins Melanie's dangerous, action-packed adventure. Along the way she learns the importance of kindness, friendship, and loyalty, and a few secrets about our heroes are revealed. The book questions gender expectations and has some LBGTQ+ elements.

Narrator Ann Marie Lee performs the audiobook with appropriate enthusiasm and drama, perfect for young listeners and within the bounds of adult enjoyment.

Thanks to the publishers for the digital, print, and/or audiobook review copies.

The Lock-Eater is a philosophical fantasy that balances entertainment with questions of existence, war and morality.

At the center of the story is Melanie. An embroidered handkerchief is the only clue Melanie has about her origins. She wants to know her past and that guides her decisions. Little does she know where that searching will take her. She’s a bright protagonist who readers will immediately be drawn to.

While the story centers on Melanie, it is author Zack Loran Clark’s world-building that steals the show. He fully immerses readers in a magical world unlike any other. He provides details big and small, and yet leaves room for readers’ imaginations to fill in the blanks.

The Lock-Eater is an imaginative read that should appeal to a broad cross-section of readers.

When Sophie read out the synopsis for The Lock-Eater by Zack Loran Clark, Scott was intrigued and asked if he could read and review this new middle-grade fantasy novel.

Melanie Gate is an orphan with an unusual talent for being able to open any locks. When an automaton visits her orphanage one night, Melanie is given the chance to become the apprentice of a magical mistress. However, it soon becomes apparent that both this opportunity and the automaton calling itself Traveler are not what they seem, and Melanie is thrown into a wild adventure. Pursued across a land of fantastical creatures by the new High Enchanter who will stop at nothing to ensure the Empire’s darkest secrets are not exposed, Melanie and Traveler must use their wits and draw on magic to avoid capture whilst uncovering the mysteries of their pasts.

While following a number of well-worn tropes and contrivances, Zack Loran Clark has written a charming, amusing, and absorbing story that will delight middle-grade fantasy fans and draw them into the mysteries and secrets of the engaging characters and the ruling Empire. Melanie and Traveler are given time to develop their characters, and the fantasy world they live in and travel across is nicely built with plenty of description to fuel the readers’ imagination. There’s even a good twist as secrets and motivations are revealed.

While by no means ground-breaking or wildly original, The Lock-Eater is an entertaining page-turner that should keep readers quiet and engaged throughout. While the author avoids an all-too-common-these-days cliffhanger ending, there is more than enough here to the characters and world to build further stories on. Scott will certainly be keeping an eye out for any future books starring Melanie and Traveler.

Melanie, an orphan living in a home with other orphaned girls, is an adventure-seeker with an uncanny ability to open locked spaces. When an automaton visits the orphanage seeking an apprentice for a local witch, Melanie is chosen for the job. As the two embark on their journey, she quickly learns that things are amiss in the empire and not everything is as it seems. Magical spells, thrilling battles, and unexpected alliances are all part of this epic fantasy about finding – and honoring – your true identity. I highly recommend this to fans of series like Pages & Co or Nevermoor.