(5/5⭐️) When notorious Jack Door escapes prison in to reclaim the Blood Moon Diamond, Lily and Robert are the ones who must stop him.
“There’s no point living in fear of what might be when it prevents you enjoying the freedom of what is.” Lily has never quite felt normal, especially after discovering that she is a hybrid—a human with a cogheart implanted in her chest. While she strugles with these feelings, she learns how important family is. Robert faces a similar challenge. He’s been abandoned by his ma, and eager to reunite and become a family again. But maybe his family is what he makes it to be. Meanwhile, Jack Door is searching for a mysterious Moonlocket that holds the key to locating the famous Blood Moon Diamond, a gift from Albert to Queen Victoria. When Robert and Lily have a mysterious run-in with Jack, they unlock secrets to Robert’s past that send them on a dangerous mission to reclaim the Blood Moon Diamond before Jack.
Peter Bunzl strikes again! This is the second installment of the Cogheart Adventure series, a charming an enjoyable tale of courage. Lily and Robert both face new challenges that allow them to grow and confront their fears. In the end, they prove that just because they are kids, doesn’t make them less capable of success. Their fierce determination is what drives them to succeed where the adults haven’t. I love this about middle-grade stories.
One of my favorite quotes: “If you didn't divide it up, carve things into categories, it was all one in the same anyway - waves and oceans, dawns and sunsets, noise and silence. Life was a single connected river that ran through mechanicals, people, animals, planets. Everything that ever was or would be, all mixed together in a soup of being; of shouting and jumping, moving and bumping. Echoes of the great creation.”
Bunzl does a great job with the plot. It follows a predictable, but enjoyable path that makes for a quick and exciting read: bad guy gets tangled up with the story’s heroes who must solve a mystery and save the day. It’s a trope that works perfectly with this story, and there are enough fresh ideas sprinkled throughout that doesn’t make it feel overplayed. I love the way the clockwork technology in this story is woven into Victorian England, complete with mechanicals, hybrids, and history. It continues to have a steampunk/fantasy feel that I really enjoy.
I’ve already got the third book lined up, and plan to purchase the fourth as well, which is out this month!
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