The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer | Historical Fantasy

This was a fun opening book to a long-running series.

My 2 Cents for Free!

The Watchmaker's Daughter by C.J. Archer

Released August 1983

Source: Audible Purchase

See more @ Goodreads

This was a fun start to a series, and it looks like there are 13 of them now. It’s not perfect but in this horrid year of 2026 that’s ok. 

This is a historical fantasy that starts out with our heroine, India Steele, ranting at her former fiancé. Apparently, he wooed her only to steal the family business right out from under her. What a prick. Anyhow, back in those times, women weren’t allowed or trusted to fix the watches of men even when they’ve been trained by a master and are now a master themselves. Grrrr. When she’s finished berating the jerk, she’s approached by a dashing man with a foreign accent who needs her help and who offers her a job and (eventually) a place to stay since she’s lost everything. His reasons are vague, but it has something to do with a watchmaker, and she accepts because why the heck not?

Mr. Glass lives with a crew of colorful sidekicks who I’m guessing may be fleshed out in future books, so I won’t hold it against this book that only one of them stood out to me because she was so damn rude to people. Willie doesn’t take any crap from anyone but also tends to abuse people to feed her gambling addiction. Hopefully she’ll have a redemption arc in a future book because I really couldn’t stand her as written here. I love a flawed, colorful character but this one puts the heroine (who is a bit naive in the ways of the world) in danger for selfish reasons and doesn’t seem to give a shit. 

There is a magickal element but it’s nearly nonexistent until the very end and it was all a bit weird and nonsensical and a bit of a mess, if you’re asking me. I liked the main character and Matt Glass and enjoyed the audio. Their chemistry is decent and I'm glad the author didn't rush them into a romance. The entire plot is super odd though, but it was entertaining and I’ll probably read another because there are several threads left dangling when this one ends. That usually makes me mad but as I knew this was a series going into things it gets a pass. 3 - 3.25ish

Final Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Publisher Plot Synopsis 

India Steele is desperate. Her father is dead, her fiancé took her inheritance, and no one will employ her, despite years working for her watchmaker father. Indeed, the other London watchmakers seem frightened of her. Alone, poor, and at the end of her tether, India takes employment with the only person who'll accept her - an enigmatic and mysterious man from America. A man who possesses a strange watch that rejuvenates him when he's ill.

Matthew Glass must find a particular watchmaker, but he won't tell India why any old one won't do. Nor will he tell her what he does back home, and how he can afford to stay in a house in one of London's best streets. So when she reads about an American outlaw known as the Dark Rider arriving in England, she suspects Mr. Glass is the fugitive. When danger comes to their door, she's certain of it. But if she notifies the authorities, she'll find herself unemployed and homeless again - and she will have betrayed the man who saved her life.

With a cast of quirky characters, an intriguing mystery, and a dash of romance, THE WATCHMAKER'S DAUGHTER is the start of a thrilling new historical fantasy series from the author of the bestselling Ministry of Curiosities, Freak House, and Emily Chambers Spirit Medium books.