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 I wasn't a fan of Andrea Cremer's Nightshade series, but I decided to read The Inventor's Secret because I absolutely loved its premise. An alternate history, steampunk novel that explores what if the British won the Revolutionary War? Count me in! The major problem with The Inventor's Secret is that Cremer focuses on an illogical romance and plot and never really lets the steampunk elements fully take off. So much of The Inventor's Secret just felt so ridiculous and silly that it was difficult for me to get invested in the plot and characters. 
 The Inventor's Secret is an alternate history novel that deals with the question "What would've happened if the British won the Revoltuionary War?" The American Patriots were defeated by the British and they continued to revolt all across the empire. The children of the Patriots are refugees and live in an underground compound by themselves and one day, Charlotte saves a clueless boy from one of Britain's deadly robots. Charlotte brings the amnesiac boy to their compound and the kids try to figure out who this boy really is. 
 I really don't understand the world-building in The Inventor's Secret and it felt extremely illogical. Cremer unsuccessfully tries to blend history and mythology when creating the world-building and it was largely unsuccessful. I truly don't understand why a British colony would have a Greek pantheon of gods in addition to their Christian god. The fact that the characters continuously referred to Greek Gods and said ridiculous things like "Holy Hephaestus" or "Hephaestus' Hammer!" didn't make any sense to me and was never actually explained. Reading "Hephaestus's hammer" gets old quickly and it was beyond irritating. Readers are never given an opportunity to understand what it means to be apart of Britannia's empire and why it's such a terrible thing. Cremer never even explains why the Patriots are rebelling, are they rebelling over the same things that the Patriots revolted over in American history in 1776? What other colonies are apart of Britannia's empire? Are the other colonies oppressed as well? I had so many questions about the world-building and none of them were ever given a clear answer. 
 I truly don't understand the main character, Charlotte at all, nor do I want to understand what went on in her mind. When Jack, one of the boys from the compound, irritates and harasses her Charlotte was "unwilling to lose this dare, Charlotte pulled the corset away from her body and dropped it". Jack was kidding with her and asked if he could help her untie the knots on her clothing. Charlotte decides she wants to "out-do" Jack and so, she proceeds to undress. I don't know who I should be annoyed with more Jack for being an idiot or Charlotte for being ridiculous enough to follow through with his dare. I find it hard to believe that someone would lack enough common sense to do this, if Charlotte is a teenager (probably 16ish) shouldn't she know better than to listen to perverted teenage boys? Kicking Jack out of the room and reporting him to their leader, Ash would have been a much better idea. Instead Charlotte foolishly listens to his dare and proceeds to fall in love with this chump throughout the book. How can I empathize with a main character who lacks any sense at all and acts like an elementary schooler? 
 The romance in The Inventor's Secret is poorly executed and I can't ever imagine rooting for the couples that Cremer created. I don't like Charlotte at all and I especially don't like her beau, Jack who is possibly one of the least appealing male leads I've read about in a while. I can't ship a couple when I loathe both characters in the relationship and besides, the romance isn't written well. To make matters even worse, it looks as if Cremer has set up the infrastructure for a love triangle in subsequent novels in this series. 
 With a lackluster plot, an atrocious romance, and ridiculous world-building, The Inventor's Secret failed to impress me. There is no doubt in my mind that I will not be continuing this series and I have no interest in reading more about Britannia. The Inventor's Secret is a poor series opener that never really interested me and this is a perfect case of wasted potential. The Inventors' Secret had a killer premise, but the majority of the book wasn't thought-out well and was executed poorly.