Mina and Evaline are opposites of each other. Mina is an intelligent detective, but lacks the ability to defend herself. It is made clear that Mina is extremely book smart and observant. She strives to be like her uncle and fills her head with tons of knowledge. She is competitive and thinks very highly of her abilities, but her curiosity can occasionally get the better of her. Her parents are never around, leaving her relatively unchaperoned and free as she wishes. While she may be intelligent, she lacks social skills. She is socially awkward and doesn’t have any friends. In addition to that, she also has a rough home life due to her absent parents.
Evaline is almost the opposite of Mina and contains many of the characteristics that Mina lacks. Evaline is a vampire hunter, granting her superhuman strength and speed. She is socially literate and fierce. While she doesn’t always think before she leaps, causing her to blow her and Mina’s cover. Most of her character is driven by her instant dislike of Mina Holmes, leaving her lacking in personality. The two characters have an instant distrust of each other and often come up with plans that are at odds with each other. Over the course of this book, both prideful characters learn to rely on each other and that they aren’t as good as they think they are.
The Clockwork Scarab was a fun read. The book was fast paced and full of suspense. Both the plot and the setting were a little strange as it combined time travel, steampunk, mystery and fantasy into one book. This mystery book takes place in an alternate version of Victorian era London. Women are treated like fragile dolls and objects. This makes it hard for Evaline to get around and greatly frustrates Mina whom is constantly underestimated because of her sex. Colleen Gleason added a subtle steampunk scenery to make the setting more interesting, yet the steampunk elements add nothing to the plot. This book also tries to incorporate time travel into the story. Sadly, it does little other than providing an unnecessary love triangle. Both leads are involved irritating romances. Mina lies in the middle of a emerging love triangle while Evaline quickly develops feelings for a lower class boy. The book also introduces an interesting supporting cast. Hopefully, the supporting cast will be developed. I give this 350 page book 4 stars.