Evaline carried her own central cog outside the city so she could follow Matthias to London, unaware that this would cause the town of Maldon to become frozen in time.

A reviewer for Bustle praised Timekeeper's LGBTQ+ representation, including the fact that Danny's sexuality is not the source of the novel's conflict.

[1] Publishers Weekly gave Timekeeper a positive review, praising its cast of "complex and diverse characters" and calling the novel "enjoyable" and "well-realized".

[2] A review in Entertainment Weekly praised the novel's "steampunk influence with more modern sensibilities", while noting that the plot "does drag in parts" due to Danny's emotional outbursts.

The same review criticized the "clumsy word choices and jarring shifts in perspective", as well as the plot's reliance on "implausible coincidences" and a deus ex machina climax.

However, the reviewer noted factual inaccuracies regarding the Indian setting and criticized Daphne's lack of character development.

Overall, the review noted that the novel "has plenty of ambition and moments of admirably lyrical prose" but "does not fully realize its promising premise.

The review also stated that the book was "overplotted, leaving little space to explain previous events or the world’s rules".