I would like to say thank you to the publishers for approving me to read this book on NetGalley. One of my resolutions for 2018 was to read more Young Adult Sci-Fi books and Keeper of the Watch was just that. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to enjoy this book and love it, it fell a little flat for me. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not completely into Sci-Fi books or it was the writing style, but there was something that didn’t click for me. However, I did enjoy the action sequences, the original ideas and some of the banter between the characters.

Chase Walker is plagued by a strange feeling that someone is watching him and although he tries to play it off, it never leaves. Ever since his uncle died, he has been drawn to an old watch that was left for him and the feeling scares him. Things take a drastic turn when he realises that there are people after him and the mysterious Alyx saves his life, claiming to know what has been happening to him. Chase just has to figure out whether he can trust her and what he will do with the information he discovers.

I will start off by saying that I liked the fast pace of this book, especially when it got towards the halfway point and the story really kicked into high gear with the action. Keeper of the Watch is such a unique story and very different from what I’ve read before. I was left wanting to know more and to see where the characters would go, what risks they would take (turns out things were pretty smooth sailing…a little too smooth for me).

While the characters were a little stereotypical at times (looking at you Chase) they were enjoyable and often had me chuckling, especially Alyx with her snarky comments and chastising of Chase. There were a few times where I cringed at the motivational speeches and, at times, predictable nature of the characters, I did enjoy reading about them. However, I wasn’t a big fan of the romance and at times I felt like it was being forced. Now that I’m older the whole falling-in-love-straight-away thing is a bit overdone and creepy in a way. I feel that it would have been better had things developed more slowly.

As I have read a lot of Fantasy I am used to books with plenty of descriptions and intricate story lines, something that Keeper of the Watch didn’t have and I wished there had been a little more world building involved. Saying that, the dimensions seem realistic and totally possible. I would say that this book is aimed at a much younger audience on the YA spectrum, with the style of writing that is more basic than I am used to.

Overall, Keeper of the Watch was an okay read for me. It didn’t stand out and if I’m honest I wasn’t expecting it to because of the genre it is. However, if you love Sci-Fi and don’t mind something that is more light hearted and easy to read, you should check it out. I am giving this 3 stars.

I enjoyed this book, it's very easy to read. Although it wasn't a perfect fit to the books or writing that I typically prefer it still has a lovely storyline and I'll recommend it in the future.

I had a lot of difficulty getting through this book, the writing style wasn't one that particularly speaks to me and I had a hard time finding myself interested in the characters. It wasn't a bad quick read if you're looking for something to amuse yourself and that is a little different to reset your pallet between other genres.

This was an awesome book! It has a great storyline that kept me intrigued the entire time. I can’t wait for the next book!

Rating: 3.5 (rounded to 4)

Jackson delivers a time-travel series that will engage new YA readers and provide plenty of nostalgia for older readers who grew up with books like the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale.

In one week, Chase Walker turns 18, loses his college scholarship, and loses his uncle, the man who raised him. It’s a lot for anyone to handle. On top of that, he’s gained a healthy dose of paranoia; no matter what he does, he can’t shake the feeling that he’s being watched.

As he’s going through his uncle’s belongings, Chase discovers an old watch, and something about it calls to him. When he touches it, electricity arcs between them. There’s something odd about the watch and the way it beckons to him, but Chase doesn’t want any part of it. He’s got enough on his plate as it is.

Things become even more complicated when he realizes his paranoia isn’t unfounded. A man and woman have both been following him, and they want him and his uncle’s silly old watch. But they’re not the only ones. Chase meets 18-year-old Alyx, who has her own watch, except this one’s purple and seems to be permanently attached to her wrist. What’s more, she insists that he put his uncle’s watch on, as well, to initiate what she calls The Coupling.

Despite his reservations about the idea, when Chase’s best friend is kidnapped by the man and woman, known as the Hunters, he realizes accepting his fate might be the only way to save his friend. But is he ready for everything putting on the watch entails?

The Good:

- The characters are fantastic. Chase is a pretty stereotypical teen boy, but he cares a lot about the people around him. There’s more than meets the eye with him. He has a way of convincing people to be on his side, and he’s loyal and cares deeply about others. He’s also funny at times, which seems to be a good combination for a YA protagonist. Alyx is pretty much the opposite of him. Having been trained from birth to be a Keeper, she’s all work and no play. She has no interest in the opposite sex, or so she tells herself, because she has a mission and knows it well. She’s great at weapons and fighting, but lacking in social skills. The two balance each other nicely.

- The plot flowed well. It didn’t drag me in as much as I thought it might, but it did keep me turning pages, especially once they jumped dimensions. At that point, I just wanted to find out what the new dimension was like and how they would solve the obvious problems with it, and on that front, the book delivered. There was action and some sadness and a lovely blend of elements that kept things moving forward and engaging.

- The book ticks a lot of popular tropes. Seeing as how I picked it up for just this reason, I see this as a plus. When I read the summary, I immediately flashed back to my teen days, devouring the Pendragon series, and this sounded reminiscent of that. A lot of the tropes are absolutely the same, so Jackson delivers on that front. The worldbuilding doesn’t seem as rich as the Pendragon books, but Keeper of the Watch doesn’t involve different planets, so perhaps it didn’t need quite as much development, either.

- The premise of the watches is very interesting, and I like the way it was explained and built up. This is book one of a series, and it seems to me that the mystery of the watches and the Keepers is definitely enough to carry the series. I’m interested in where Jackson will take it and what all the other dimensions will be like.

- On a similar note, I do like the idea of the dimensions, too. Each dimension is Earth, but with some significant event in history changed, which changes the present, obviously. An example given in the book is in Chase’s timeline, the North won the Civil War. In another dimension, the South may have won. I find this idea intriguing, and it actually makes me look forward to seeing how different the other dimensions might be.

The Bad:

- The romance (come on, you had to know there’d be a romance) feels rushed, to the point of being almost creepy. From Alyx’s perspective, the romance is great. She reacts like almost anyone would to some random guy she just met declaring his love. She gets off some great quips that had me laughing, and she’s totally relatable on that front. Her character’s a very normal teenage girl who is socially awkward. On Chase’s front, though, the romance sort of just appeared, and he decided he was in love after knowing her for, like, a week or two. It was really awkward and totally shattered my suspension of disbelief, and the way he pushes it and obsesses over her was a bit creepy, if I’m honest.

- Deus ex machina everywhere. Especially in YA, I can forgive some of this, as the target audience tends not to care quite as much if one or two pop up here or there. The way they popped up, though, in Keeper of the Watch and the prevalence made them really stand out. I don’t want to say more than that because spoilers, but there are two times that really stand out to me as unforgivable deus ex machina, and both were glossed over and largely unexplained. The rest was small and forgettable, so they didn’t seem like as much of a problem.

- Things happened too easily. Jackson is great at building up the sense of danger, but then it’s resolved too easily, and I sat there wondering what I was worried about at all? This holds true for most challenges in the book. In fact, even though this book is about Chase, he really does nothing. The Hunters on his Earth (Dimension 6) are dealt with by other people, when Chase isn’t even there. Again, the conflict in Dimension 7, when they get there, is solved largely by others (though Chase is at least present for these) in really convenient means. He ends up being a weak hero and more of a participant than a leader, in my opinion.

- Maybe less bad and more a warning, but: cliffhanger! I mean, it’s to be expected, as an obvious first book to a series, and it’s a popular thing to do in this instance. It doesn’t bother me (and didn’t affect my rating) as I expected it. However, I know some people absolutely refuse to read things that end on obvious cliffhangers, so I thought I’d include it.

Now, my review should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m not exactly the target reading group for this book, per se. Even though I do love YA (and I write YA), I would say this is for younger YA readers, and I can absolutely see it being a big hit with that audience. All in all, though, I’d still say it was a good read. I would give it 3.5 stars (rounded up to four), but I would recommend it probably for younger YA readers and less for adults who enjoy YA, as I think many of them would find it a bit young.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Chase Walker’s uncle has passed and he finds a broken wrist watch that he can’t see to throw away or stop thinking about. As time passes, it starts to feel like something more is going on. He feels like he’s being watched and followed, that people have broken into his home and then Alyx comes into his life and turns it upside down. Chase is a Keeper who can travel through dimensions but are being hunted for those watches. The watches must be destroyed and the Keepers dead.

I enjoyed the facts that there was dimension jumping and all the possibilities that can come from this idea and how original it feels to me. I haven’t come across a book like this in a while. What I didn’t like was how many unanswered questions there had been. I know that there is a book two coming but it left things feeling very unfinished.

Also, I think younger readers would have liked this a lot more than I did. Even with Chase being 18.