Chainbreaker

This review is also x-posted to my review blog.

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you so much to Skyhorse Publishing for the ARC!

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this book, since I was pretty lukewarm about Timekeeper, but Chainbreaker exceeded my expectations! Also, the cover is gorgeous, and I bet the hardcover's even more so!

Chainbreaker takes Danny and Daphne to India, where someone is attacking clock towers, but time isn't Stopping the way that it should without the towers. After the events in Timekeeper, officials think the two are best suited for the job. The news is stressful for both of them; Danny has just started life with Colton, while Daphne, being a quarter Indian, is nervous and excited about leaving show more behind what she knows and finally being able to see the land she's dreamed about.

This book switches points of view between Danny, Daphne, and Colton, which is different from the first book, which centered on Danny. I really loved the differing points of view. I wasn't a huge fan of Daphne in Timekeeper, but Sim fleshes out her character here and I was excited to read her chapters. Early on, she nerds out over airships, and I was so in love with the scene. More lady mechanics in YA, please! I appreciated reading Colton's chapters, too. We get to see both side of his and Danny's relationship and how they feel about each other, and also how he experiences things as a clock spirit.

I love how the relationships in Timekeeper develop in Chainbreaker. We get to see Danny and Colton being more comfortable around each other, Danny and Daphne becoming friends, and the relationships they form with the new characters are also wonderful. Two of the Indian characters, siblings Meena and Akash, have really great chemistry with Danny and Daphne, and they're also well developed as characters in their own right. Also, I am totally enamored with the antagonists, and I can't wait to see more of them in book three.

Most of the plot takes place in various locations in India. Sim's descriptions of the different locations were great and I was able to picture each scene in my mind. Sim also doesn't shy away from the topic of Britain's occupation of India, which I appreciated. It's an alternate history, but still deals with issues that were prevalent in the real world. I didn't have a lot of time to read this past month, but whenever I picked up this book, I was engaged and wanted to know more about the story. I thought the pacing lagged a bit toward the middle, when some flashbacks are introduced, but the flashbacks serve a purpose, so it didn't bother me too much. Things speed up toward the end, and I blazed through the last 50 or so pages.

Chainbreaker pulled me in and now I can't wait for book three! show less

Rating: 5/5
Title: Chainbreaker
Author: Tara Sim

Synopsis:
Clock mechanic Danny Hart knows he’s being watched. But by whom, or what, remains a mystery. To make matters worse, clock towers have begun falling in India, though time hasn’t Stopped yet. He'd hoped after reuniting with his father and exploring his relationship with Colton, he'd have some time to settle into his new life. Instead, he’s asked to investigate the attacks.
After inspecting some of the fallen Indian towers, he realizes the British occupation may be sparking more than just attacks. And as Danny and Colton unravel more secrets about their past, they find themselves on a dark and dangerous path—one from which they may never return.

Initial thoughts:
After reading show more Timekeeper, I knew that I was going to have to see what was going on with the cryptic note that Danny had been given. After reading over the synopsis, I knew that things were going to be intense with where the book left off and with more bombings occurring, but I really am excited to see how Tara explains why time is not stopping in these places where clock towers are falling.

Plot:
What I liked:
The fact that this is a YA LGBT Romance with plot really kept me hooked with this book. A good portion of my questions got answered in this book. I gotta say that I am excited to see how the rest of them fill in with the third book! I still love Colton and Danny, and I seriously love Daphne and how she grew as a character. Seeing her POV within the story alongside Colton and Danny’s really brought things together for me. The development of these characters was brilliant and had me filled with emotion for them. Tara Sim has a way of making them feel very real and I love it. The world building is fantastic and uses real world elements mingled with fantasy.

What I didn't like:
I don’t know if there is anything that I didn’t like about this book. The pacing was steady and the suspense was on point. I think the one thing I would complain about is the horrible cliffhanger at the end of the book. It really is one that will make you ache for the next book (unfortunately it doesn’t come out until January 2019).

Characters:
Danny Hart: This punk just makes me happy. I love his sass and I just want him to stop going through hell. He is a fun character and he is so strong and willing to do things even when they frighten him.
Daphne Richards: Tough as a diamond this one! I seriously loved Daphne and her development through this book. Reading in her POV was a lot of fun and pushed the story in a new way.
Christopher and Leila Hart: I see Leila trying so hard to make things right and Christopher is lost, but also wants things to be okay. Hope to see more of them in book 3.
Colton Bell: Still a lovely ray of sunshine who is changing so much. His backstory had me in tears though I kinda guessed it a little bit. It was still painful to read.
Meena Kapoor: She is amazing and I wish I could have seen more of her character than just her behind the scenes.
Akash Kapoor: I thought he was a pretty cool character. Also, I knew it!
Captain Harris: I knew it x2.
Castor: Oh my god! He ripped my heart out! He was such a sweet character and I died a little as I got to know his character better.
Zavier Holmes: Still not sure what to make of this dude. I like him as a character, but I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. He makes me afraid for my sons, Colton and Danny.

Overall:
This being the second book in a wonderful series, I really am excited to read book three. I thankfully have an advanced reader copy, so I’m not dying on the inside like I normally would be). I actually found this book more put together than the first one and I liked how the story grew as a whole expanding out past England into India. The mingling of these two different lands comes together in a well orchestrated way and I am excited to devour the third and final book in this trilogy. Crossing my fingers for a happy ending. show less

I’m giving it a 4 and I really wish it was, but I think it’s more of a 3.5.

I only recently finished Timekeeper and while I was sure I wanted to continue the trilogy, I didn’t know when I was gonna read the rest. But my dearest friend Dini started reading this sequel and I couldn’t resist either.

I thought Timekeeper was a bit on the slow paced but this one felt a bit faster, with things happening a little more quickly. There are a few scenes in between when things slow down and I felt like I might be getting bored, but the writing quickly picked up and something exciting happened to pull me back into it. The author using multiple POVs and each arc having its own bit of mystery also helped in keeping me very engaged in the story show more and wanting to know what was going to happen next. I could definitely see a lot of improvement in the author’s writing from her debut and that’s awesome. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn the turn this story took, expanding its mythology in a way that promises to be even more vast in the finale and I did not see that coming.

I was actually very excited for this sequel before I even started the trilogy because I knew this was going to take place in colonial India and I wanted to know how the author captures that period in a fantasy. I have to say she really was very successful in bringing the world to life, showing us a bit about the life during those times and also exploring multiple cities like Meerut, Agra and Lucknow which I usually don’t find in many books, even those by authors living in India. We also get to see how intertwined the lives of the Brits and Indians, a result of more than a century of occupation - the locals loathe the British administration for their callousness and racism and every other atrocity that is committed, but they also depend on them for all basic amenities because that’s where the control lies; so the ordinary people have no option but to make the best out of a bad situation. I thought the author captured this dichotomy quite well.

Danny was a very sympathetic protagonist in Timekeeper but I seemed to have lost a little bit of love for him this time around. I still like him for wanting to protect the clock towers and save thousands of people from violence, but him taking almost every decision keeping Colton in mind infuriated me a little. I guess his almost obsessive love is understandable as a teenager but he is also responsible for a very important task, and I think he let his personal feelings affect his job much more this time around. Another point I had mixed feelings about was him trying to explain to an Indian boy that the occupation was wrong but rebels shouldn’t plan another mutiny because there were bad people on both sides and it would lead to more violence - I understand the sentiment and his good intentions, but I felt very uncomfortable with the way that whole arc played out in the story.

I loved that we got Colton’s POV in this book. He is also quite obsessive in his feelings for Danny, but I could understand that because he is a spirit and he really has no else he cares about. I was quite in awe of the kind of lengths he went to to get to Danny. But the best part of the book was definitely getting to know his origin story - that was a complete surprise and I’m still reeling from the implications of it all.

Daphne is another wonderful character and I loved getting to know her better. She is part Indian like the author herself and it was so interesting to see Daphne finally come to the country that her father belonged to, feeling different because she doesn’t look like any of the people around but still feeling some sort of connection to the land through her father. I also liked how determined she was in her job despite so much sexism (in various different forms) thrown her way - she is good at what she does and she won’t let anyone stop her. She is also such a kind soul, always having her friend’s back when they need her support.

Akash and Meena are siblings who are assigned to help Danny and Daphne and it was a joy meeting them. Meena is subjected to quite similar sexist attitudes because she is a mechanic as well, but she holds her head high and never backs down from any fight. Akash is a much more cheerful guy, always happy to help and maybe even flirt and just overall bring some light to the story. There are also a few British and Indian soldiers we meet and I liked that the author managed to give each of them a distinct voice and personality.

To conclude, I thought this sequel was a lot of fun and I definitely read it with much more enthusiasm than the previous book. The writing and plot is definitely more interesting this time around but there were just a few things that made me uncomfortable. However, if you liked Timekeeper, you should totally pick this up and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it a lot. If you haven’t read this series but would like to try a YA fantasy set in alternate Victorian England and colonial India with quite a bit of angsty forbidden romance thrown in, you should totally check this out. This sequel is the kind of book that despite my little mixed feelings, ends in such a wow cliffhanger that I know I can’t read anything else until I read the finale. show less

I am honestly torn about Chainbreaker. I like most of the characters. I understand its time period, albeit with a steampunk twist. I don't like some of the attitudes expressed or the romantic portrayal of an obsessive love.

I love the characters of Danny and Colton. I don't like their obsessive love for each other leading to bad decisions. Colton's back story is well told and heartbreaking. Daphne is coming into her own. I enjoyed watching her blossom into a more confident young woman.

I think that what slowed down this middle book of a trilogy is the skipping back and forth among the main characters. The lack of focus and the obsessive-love-driven plot knocked this book down to four stars. However, I liked it enough that I have bought show more the sequel and will read it.

Recommended for fans of the series and readers of steampunk fantasy. show less

This is the 2nd book in the Timekeeper trilogy. This was an amazing continuation of this series. I really enjoy this world, the characters, and Sim's writing style.

This is a very creative world where time is run by clock towers. Danny is trying to help solve the mystery of who is destroying the clock towers because when the clock towers are destroyed time typically stops. This time clock towers are being destroyed in India and for some reason time doesn’t stop when the clock towers fall. Danny is sent to investigate. Daphne ends up going with him this time to aid in the investigation.

There is some adventure, intrigue, and romance in here. It's blended together in a way that makes for fast-paced compelling story and I have been show more absolutely loving it! This is another one of those books where I really enjoy reading about all the characters, so I don’t mind when we switch POVs. A lot happens in this book and I thought the tie-in with the old gods of time was very intriguing.

I also really enjoy Sim’s writing style; it’s very easy to read and pulls me right into the story. The writing flows well and does a good job making the world really come alive.

Overall this was an amazing continuation of the Timekeeper series, I am loving this series so much! I love the unique world, the adventure, and the characters. I would recommend to those who enjoy steampunk adventure/mystery reads with a bit of romance. show less

Ohhhhhhhhhhmygod. The ending! I haven't read a book with a cliff hanger in awhile so this was a shock to the system!

The rest of the book was . . . .ok for me. I stayed in the world and didn't skim but I wasn't waiting to turn the page with bated breath if that makes sense. It is definitely on the same level as the first book and didn't fall into the second book slump. I am so excited to get to the last book and find out what happens!!