July 28, 2023
Readers first meet Neva in London in the late 1700s at the first Frost Fair. She is the daughter of traveling vagabonds who use illusion and skill to turn a coin, but Neva is special and can see and hear the ice beginning to crack. She sees the people and weather around her in a cacophony of colors and music and is able to accurately predict the weather far into the future. But this is a dangerous time for people with exceptional abilities, especially women. After her parents' death, Neva is adopted by an unconventional clockmaker who raises and protects her, encouraging her unusual skill. He sees the lucrative possibilities but also the dangers that lurk should the truth be found out. So Neva becomes the heart of an automaton. But the disguise is challenged when Neva falls in love. This book will appeal to those who enjoy Regency-period fiction and those who see and experience the world slightly differently from most. This suspenseful and thoughtfully detailed story will enchant the reader.
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