The Starlight Watchmakers Paperback

The Starlight Watchmakers by Lauren James is a captivating science fiction novella that explores themes of loneliness, friendship, and inequality. Set in a prestigious intergalactic academy, the story centers on Hugo, an android who works as a watchmaker, often feeling abandoned and unseen by the wealthy human and alien students. His solitary life changes when the pompous Duke Dorian arrives with a broken time-travel watch. As Hugo and Dorian work together to fix the intricate device, they uncover a sinister plot involving the theft of powerful quantum energy from other watches, leading them on a thrilling investigation. Despite their vastly different backgrounds, an unexpected bond forms between the android and the duke, forcing them to reconcile their differences and confront a dangerous conspiracy that threatens the entire academy.