A Wound in Time
What it's about
What if the wound that broke the world runs straight through you?
In Horologium, every second is accounted for. Every gear, every pendulum, every citizen ticks along in perfect rhythm, and being even one second late feels like a crime. Wren is apprentice to the city's gruff, guarded Clockmaker, tasked with keeping the whole city running on schedule. There's just one problem: her own mind refuses to keep pace. She drifts. She loses track. She always seems to land a beat behind everyone else.
Then the tower's ancient pendulum starts skipping beats no clock should skip, and Wren is thrown into the in-between: a fractured realm where frozen cities never thaw, broken timelines echo with voices trapped mid-second, and an ancient gear hums with a secret someone tried very hard to bury.
Someone shattered time itself, and the wound they left behind is unraveling. One paradox, one lost apprentice, one frozen hour at a time.
To save Horologium, Wren must face a version of the Clockmaker she never knew: a man carrying grief older than the city itself. She'll survive a city built entirely of machines, confront a mirror of herself sharper than she ever wanted to be, and outlast a Saboteur who stopped being human a long time ago. And she'll have to decide what it really means to protect time: not by conquering it, but by keeping faith with the people who are counting on her, even when her own rhythm never quite matches theirs.
Mind the gears. Horologium is waiting.
Who it's for
The catalog lists A Wound in Time as Young Adult by C. V. Wooster.
Subjects listed on the book page: young adult, YA, steampunk, time, Horologium, Wren, adventure, teen, bestseller.
It is a young-adult novel, listed for readers 13–17. Adults who like atmospheric steampunk and time-bending adventure read it too.
The catalog lists this title as available.
Similar books
No other title in the catalog shares the Young Adult label.
Reading order and age notes
A Wound in Time is not listed as part of a numbered series on this site.
It is a young-adult novel, listed for readers 13–17. Adults who like atmospheric steampunk and time-bending adventure read it too.
Where to buy
Retail links listed on the book page:
Frequently asked questions
What is A Wound in Time about?
Wren lives in Horologium, a city where every second is accounted for. She is apprentice to the Clockmaker who keeps the city on schedule — but her own mind refuses to keep pace. When the tower's ancient pendulum starts skipping beats, she is thrown into a fractured realm where time itself is unraveling.
What age is A Wound in Time for?
It is a young-adult novel, listed for readers 13–17. Adults who like atmospheric steampunk and time-bending adventure read it too.
What genre is A Wound in Time?
Young Adult steampunk — gears, portals, impossible machines, and a heroine whose so-called flaw is exactly what the world needs.
Is A Wound in Time on Kindle Unlimited?
Yes. It is available on Amazon, including Kindle Unlimited.
Did A Wound in Time hit Amazon bestseller lists?
Yes. On September 15 2026 it reached #1 Amazon Best Seller in Teen & Young Adult Steampunk, Teen & Young Adult Steampunk eBooks, and Teen & Young Adult Alternative History, and #1 Amazon Hot New Release in Teen & Young Adult Historical Mysteries & Thrillers.