My favorite thing about this book is the atmosphere. A fantastical, steampunk Victorian London? Yes please. The story itself didn't feel quite as magical. I thought it was a unique concept and I liked the characters well enough, but it starting to dwindle out about halfway through. This is a debut author, though, and I do think there was enough here to make me pick up whatever the author decides to do next.

Set in 1750's a London watchmaker grieves the lose of his wife. After losing his wife, Abel is left with his son. The son< Zachary experiences a workshop accident and losses his eye. After a creative replacement for his eye, he is gifted a second sight. This was such a fun page turner! I couldn't get enough of this book!

The description of The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudsley ultimately doesn’t match the overall story.

Zachary has been an odd child since birth, able to see the future and past with a touch. He is well-loved by his father, his aunt, and his nurse. Abel loves his son dearly, but after a terrible accident, he sends Zachary to live with his aunt. During this time, Abel is forced to spy in Constantinople and is captured. Zachary spends years not knowing what happened to his father until he finds a mysterious letter on his aunt’s desk. Determined to save his father, Zachary sets off for Constantinople and learns the duality of man along the way.

I loved the touch of magical realism, even though it wasn’t as present as expected. I wish Zachary’s powers had a strong presence in the story, but that wasn’t the only thing I found magical. The descriptions of the automatons and clocks Abel made brought inanimate objects to life. Lusk did a great job of building a fascinating world with descriptions that invoked the unknown.

The father-and-son relationship was done well. There was miscommunication and hurt, but more than that, there was love. Despite the trials both Abel and Zachary went through, their bond was unbreakable, even in the worst circumstances.

It takes over half of the book to get to the main plot. The first 50% was spent building backstories for characters that weren’t necessary. Some character’s personalities could have been built from just one or two POVs. While the first half wasn’t bad, I was eager to get to the actual meat of the story.

The description was misleading since you know what happens from the beginning. Zachary saw a vision of his father as an old man before he was captured. So even when Abel was taken hostage, I knew he would be seen again. It took urgency out of Zachary’s journey to find his father.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad book. I liked the historical and magical elements. It was just too many POVs and not a sturdy enough plot for my taste.

Thank you, NetGalley and Union Square & Co., for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

‘The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley’ is an enchanting read. It is fantastical, full of interesting characters and a wonderful story from start to finish.
I loved the imaginative inventions along with the automata entwined in the story which weave effortlessly with the people who the book is about.

I really enjoyed this! The writing was pretty accessible for what I was anticipating to be a convoluted story, the settings were well-realized and the characters were really compelling. Overall, this was a really cool historical fantasy with a steampunk-y and gaslamp-y vibe. I flew through this, and now I just want more in the super cool world that Lusk created. Really great read and I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for more from this author!

This was such a lovely and charming story! Set from rural England to Constantinople and everywhere in between, the writing of the settings was incredibly well done, and the characters VERY well done for a relatively short book.

There is a small bit of magical realism which I always really enjoy. I'm not a huge automaton person but if you're into them, this would be very cool for you.

Would definitely read more from this author!

As a debut novel, this shows a lot of promise. London, 1754. Zachary inherits his (dead) mother's second sight, which shows itself even as a small child. After an accident in which he loses an eye, he seems to have even more visions, sometimes of the future, sometimes of the past. His father, Abel, runs a clockmaking business which also makes automata, fantastic creations, very popular with the aristocracy. After his accident (for which Abel blames himself) Zak is raised in the country by his bonkers Aunt Frances, and the indomitable Mrs Morley who was Zak's wet-nurse and whose daughter, Leonora, is like a sister to him. The first part of this book is Zac growing up and the various incidents. It's difficult to tell who is the focus of this story. For the first part it's definitely Abel with side trips to the Morley household. It's not until Abel is sent off to Constantinople (as a spy) and disappears into the Sultan's palace, never to be seen or heard from again, that Zak (now aged 15) comes into his own and at last becomes the main protagonist. There's a quirky cast of Dickensian characters, but I confess I found this a little slow at times. I didn't really become attached to any of the main characters, though Zachary grows on me towards the end. Of the secondary characters I really liked Tom and Mrs Morley.

Abel Cloudesley is a genius inventor of automata. His life changes forever on the day that his wife dies in childbirth. Not only is he mourning the love of his life, but now he must deal with her aunt who seems determined to take his son, Zachary, away. Only when five year old Zachary loses an eye in a workshop accident does Abel finally relent and send him to live with his eccentric aunt in the country. Before he leaves, Zachary makes his father promise one thing: never to play chess with anyone but him. Unfortunately his new gold eye may have shown him the future, but it doesn’t give him the power to change it.

This book is made by its characters. The colourful cast is full of quirks and mystery, all bonded by ties stronger than either friendship or family. There is something different to love about each character and at multiple points throughout the book I just wanted to reach through the pages to give them a hug. Sean Lusk has a masterful way of conveying deep and complex emotions with compelling simplicity. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so many things for so many different characters in a single book.

The plot of this book is very easy to follow and not hugely difficult to predict. However, I found that just enough surprises were sprinkled throughout to keep me on my toes. Zachary’s accident, for example, is very sudden and there are a few moments like this that, put together, create an erratic tension to the pacing of the story.

Overall this is an engaging story of loss and discovery, with an undercurrent of intrigue and magic and just a touch of adventure.

I liked The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley.
While it took me a while to get into it, I really grew to love the writing.
The characters were okay but none of them really stood out.
The story also wasn't what I was expecting but I still did enjoy the book and I would still recommend it!

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is good overall. I thought the premise was a bit on the nose for the overall description of the book. I can’t say that I’d read it again or a sequel, but it was enjoyable.