I got Ticker through the Kindle First November 2014 selection. I was immediately drawn to the Steampunk genre which I enjoy, though I've found it can be very hit or miss. It took me a while to get through this book, I spent a number of nights struggling to continue reading but I'm glad I forced myself to keep going. While slow to start, once you get past the immensely complex technology that is thrown at you in rapid succession, it becomes easier to focus on the group of characters.

Penny seems to be perpetually straddling the line between a proper lady of her society and a loud, rambunctious, thrill-seeking, fast talking smart mouth. I found her to be a bit of a turn off in the beginning and often was rolling my eyes at how quickly she could switch between her two personalities. One moment she's fighting off trained assassins and the next she's blushing at the thought of a gentleman caller seeing her in her nightdress. Her group of friends also seemed to serve their purpose without growing as characters throughout the plot which I found a bit disappointing. The resolution to their own particular troubles came swiftly after Penny solved the main problem and worked to defeat the antagonist but it did not seem to change them in any way or the changes were brushed aside to be dealt with another day.

Ultimately I do have to say I enjoyed the book, I was entertained by the fast paced plot and enjoyed the variety of adventures we got to watch Penny, Marcus, and the group solve. If there had been more focus on character growth and maybe cutting some of the less important adventures which could be curtailed into smaller scenes, I think I would have enjoyed the story that much more. ( )

It's a great piece of cyberpunk, with a good central idea, but let down by a fizzle at the end. Worth reading for the characters and the environment, but suspend yourself for the plot. ( )

A little more world-building would have been nice, and the romance was a bit quick (which, okay, isn't untypical, but....). Love interest is a young man with an unrealistically high position in the world: so YA.

But the thing that I really disliked was the main character's lack of conflict over having her heart upgraded by the antagonist (who was, at least, not evil for the lulz). It was necessary, and it's a good thing for her, but it seems obvious that a good person would feel conflicted over receiving help that was developed through such horrible, cruel methods. It just seemed so unrealistic, and it wasn't as though Penny was shown to have a an overpoweringly practical survival sense, reckless as she is.

So... lots of superficial fluff, not even thought, characterization, and nitty-gritty. Penny's friend felt like she had a giant "Cosplay me!" sign over head, right down to her BAKE CAKE knuckle tattoos. ( )

I adored the world Mantchev has created here. It's a whimsical steampunk world, with mechanical butterflies and Goth bakers. I wasn't as taken with the story as I could have been, mostly because I feel as if I've overloaded on this type of betrayal of a good person gone bad story. But I will most definitely read anything else Mantchev writes in this world because a more whimsical approach to steampunk is apparently just what I needed. [I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.] ( )

Penny Farthing lives with an artificial heart - a ticker - that was installed by a doctor now on trial for mass murder. He kidnapped, experimented on, and murdered a number of people to improve the heart and other augmentations. When the Farthing's factory is bombed and her parents kidnapped, Penny and her twin Copernicus (Nic) recruit some friends including baker Violet Nesselrode and entrepreneur Sebastian Stirling to help them find their missing parents and the papers the kidnappers have demanded as a ransom for them. They are assisted by Marcus Kingsley who is in charge of the local police and who has his own reasons for wanting to find the kidnappers.

This was a great steampunk story filled with wonderful gadgets not least of which was Penny's augmented heart which was in danger of failing throughout the story. The story had sort of a Victorian feel in terms of manners and costumes. It was a very nice mystery and a very nice romance too. I liked the relationship between Penny and her brother Nic and Penny and her best friend Violet.

I would be very happy to read more stories set in this world. ( )