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nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Chainbreaker brings Sim’s magical steampunk worldbuilding to India, giving us a wider perspective on her imaginative world and sending us on a new and even more complicated adventure!
What Fed My Addiction:
India.
Somehow I started 2018 with two books set in India, a locale I haven’t read much about before. I’ll sadly admit that I knew nothing about India’s history going into this book, so I loved getting some background on the difficult relationship between England and India at that time in history and social norms at the time. (Sim talks in her notes about the historical basis of the book and how she deviates from it for her own alternate steampunk version, which I really appreciated). The book doesn’t delve deeply into this history because that’s not the main thrust of the story, but it’s a great introduction to the subject.
Conflict that isn’t black and white.
Speaking of India, I especially loved how Danny ponders and questions the right and wrong of it all—who are the villains in his life story and who are the heroes? He asks himself this in relation to the rebellion and also in terms of the clock spirits. Danny has had to question his relationship with Colton all along—he knows that they could be putting a town in danger with their love and he has to live with that every day. There are people who are trying to “fix” time (and the situation in India), but are they truly helping? At what cost? Morality is complicated, and Danny has to figure out where he stands.
Colton’s backstory.
We get to learn about Colton’s backstory and origins in this book, and these scenes are fabulous!
Daphne’s cultural voice. In this second book, we get Daphne’s POV (in addition to Colton and Danny’s). Her biggest struggle is the fact that she feels both connected and disconnected to India. She has a deep curiosity about the country because of her Indian heritage, but she doesn’t feel like she belongs there or that she could be accepted there. Knowing that Tara Sim is, herself, half-Indian makes this aspect of the story all the more engaging an realistic.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Less Colton and Danny (together).
Since Danny and Colton are separated for pretty much this entire book, we miss out on some of the magic of the romance between them. This book wasn’t quite as emotionally compelling for me as the first one was, and I can’t help but think that this might have had something to do with it. (Though it could also be because the “villains” in this story are less personal as well.) I never quite connected to Daphne the way I did Danny and Colton, so her chapters didn’t pull me in as much.
So, while this second installment didn’t quite live up to my adoration of the first, it was still definitely an engaging and exciting story. And Sim set us up for the next book so well that I’m itching to know where it’s all headed! I give this book 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Chainbreaker brings Sim’s magical steampunk worldbuilding to India, giving us a wider perspective on her imaginative world and sending us on a new and even more complicated adventure!
What Fed My Addiction:
India.
Somehow I started 2018 with two books set in India, a locale I haven’t read much about before. I’ll sadly admit that I knew nothing about India’s history going into this book, so I loved getting some background on the difficult relationship between England and India at that time in history and social norms at the time. (Sim talks in her notes about the historical basis of the book and how she deviates from it for her own alternate steampunk version, which I really appreciated). The book doesn’t delve deeply into this history because that’s not the main thrust of the story, but it’s a great introduction to the subject.
Conflict that isn’t black and white.
Speaking of India, I especially loved how Danny ponders and questions the right and wrong of it all—who are the villains in his life story and who are the heroes? He asks himself this in relation to the rebellion and also in terms of the clock spirits. Danny has had to question his relationship with Colton all along—he knows that they could be putting a town in danger with their love and he has to live with that every day. There are people who are trying to “fix” time (and the situation in India), but are they truly helping? At what cost? Morality is complicated, and Danny has to figure out where he stands.
Colton’s backstory.
We get to learn about Colton’s backstory and origins in this book, and these scenes are fabulous!
Daphne’s cultural voice. In this second book, we get Daphne’s POV (in addition to Colton and Danny’s). Her biggest struggle is the fact that she feels both connected and disconnected to India. She has a deep curiosity about the country because of her Indian heritage, but she doesn’t feel like she belongs there or that she could be accepted there. Knowing that Tara Sim is, herself, half-Indian makes this aspect of the story all the more engaging an realistic.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Less Colton and Danny (together).
Since Danny and Colton are separated for pretty much this entire book, we miss out on some of the magic of the romance between them. This book wasn’t quite as emotionally compelling for me as the first one was, and I can’t help but think that this might have had something to do with it. (Though it could also be because the “villains” in this story are less personal as well.) I never quite connected to Daphne the way I did Danny and Colton, so her chapters didn’t pull me in as much.
So, while this second installment didn’t quite live up to my adoration of the first, it was still definitely an engaging and exciting story. And Sim set us up for the next book so well that I’m itching to know where it’s all headed! I give this book 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
nukkoldv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
wyrnn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
diredreamings's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
candicen423's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was very excited to start the second, but I don’t think it’s to quite the same caliber as Timekeeper. Part of why I loved the first book was because of this historic look at London and the surrounding towns with this steampunk, Ministry of Magic meets Doctor Who kinda feel to it. With Chainbreaker, we have more India than anything, we barely get to see Cassie (even though Cassie’s the best!!) and the villain plot was way less interesting. I read this as an audiobook and I kept losing track as to what was going on, and frankly just losing interest in the story. The ending though… maybe I’ll try to read the third book after all
bekelley's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jadonm's review against another edition
3.0
I have a lot of Opinions™ about this book so batten down the hatches. Here we go, kids.
So first and foremost, let me explain that I liked this book. I really did! I really enjoyed it. After coming off of the high of the last book, I was INCREDIBLY stoked to read more about these characters and dig a bit more into their backstories. In this book, we get a lot more detail about The secondary characters were breathed new life, and although we didn’t really get much more information or interaction with Cassie (apart from the fact that she’s developed enough for me to actually remember her name 30 minutes after finishing this book), she still felt fuller and more realized. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved Daphne. Tara Sim really put in the work between books one and two, and CHAINBREAKER is made all the better for it.
But, that all being said, I felt like this book was wrong in all the ways that the first book was right? The thing I really loved about TIMEKEEPER was how self-contained it was. Yeah, it wasn’t exactly a sprawling narrative – the plot takes place over probably a 50 square mile radius, considering that Enfield today is basically just a suburb of the London metroplex – but it felt tighter, somehow, than CHAINBREAKER did. The world felt more raw, more held together by the intricate, delicate network of clock towers that didn’t really have an explanation or a reason for existing, they just did. It was one of those, “How does the flux capacitor work, Doc?” “Don’t worry about it, Marty” sorts of tropes. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t inherently explained, just that it had laws that it followed that the characters respected and understood. It was a simple story with a simple premise and simple characters. It was perfect for what it was, and I respect that.
CHAINBREAKER moved too quickly. The worldbuilding for TIMEKEEPER was perfectly self-contained, just big enough to fit the narrative. It had all that wonky mythological backstory, yeah, but I didn’t feel like that was too important; it was there as seasoning, not the whole meal. The plot of CHAINBREAKER takes those little kernels of spice from the first book and tries to make a six-course dinner out of it.
In a lot of ways, it succeeded! Like I said, the elements of backstory for some of the characters was fantastic and gutwrenchingly heartbreaking to read. I loved the development of Danny and Colton’s relationship, and how they interacted with each other in Enfield before the main thrust of the plot kicked in.
But I just did not care at all about the Indian revolution subplot. I did really love the fact that they were in India – the culture and the environment and the change in scenery was really cool, and drawing attention to the colonization of India by the British Empire (something that was happening concurrently to the timeframe in which this story takes place) was a fantastic, welcome decision on the author’s part. I just didn’t really care enough about the way Danny & Co. fit into that subplot, and honestly wonder what this book would have been like if it was centered around England like the first book was.
I also really didn’t care for the two clock mechanics they meet in India that become Danny and Daphne’s companions when they inevitably split up. I had JUST warmed up to Daphne when she was suddenly
I did not care about the villain, Xavier, and his ethos. (Although I will say I got a lot of wild CASTLE IN THE SKY vibes from their flying fortress, which I enjoyed.) Why does he care about Danny so much? What does Danny have to do with anything, besides having known a little bit about how clock spirits work? Danny’s influence on this part of the plot felt… weird, and not exactly necessary.
And then the stuff I loved? I wanted MORE of. More Colton and Danny. More Danny just in general? More of Danny showing how impressive he is as a clock mechanic. There’s a scene halfway through the book where
This book felt very forced, and it felt very synthetically attached to the coattails of TIMEKEEPER in order to stretch the world out into something that could become a trilogy. I really wish that the plot of the first book actually felt like the first book in a series instead of a standalone in the same universe, but I guess that’s the name of the game when it comes to the publishing industry, so I shouldn’t fault the author too much – especially considering TIMEKEEPER was her debut. So I think what I need to do is imagine CHAINBREAKER as the first book in a duology that’s completed by FIRESTARTER and see where the next book takes me.
Again – I still really love this book!! This is still easily one of the best YA LGBT romances I’ve ever read. I think it should go to show just how much I appreciated and enjoyed this book based on how much I was willing to sit down and poke holes in it for 1100 words, haha. I just think it could have been better.
So first and foremost, let me explain that I liked this book. I really did! I really enjoyed it. After coming off of the high of the last book, I was INCREDIBLY stoked to read more about these characters and dig a bit more into their backstories. In this book, we get a lot more detail about
Spoiler
Colton and his life when he was a human, and good GOD is that a tragic life if I’ve ever seen one, and I loved every second of that. The part where he’s murdered over Enfield’s clockwork after just planning out how he wants to spend his future with Castor? Good lord. I sat around in a daze for about an hour after reading that, unsure if I had the mental fortitude to immediately press forward.But, that all being said, I felt like this book was wrong in all the ways that the first book was right? The thing I really loved about TIMEKEEPER was how self-contained it was. Yeah, it wasn’t exactly a sprawling narrative – the plot takes place over probably a 50 square mile radius, considering that Enfield today is basically just a suburb of the London metroplex – but it felt tighter, somehow, than CHAINBREAKER did. The world felt more raw, more held together by the intricate, delicate network of clock towers that didn’t really have an explanation or a reason for existing, they just did. It was one of those, “How does the flux capacitor work, Doc?” “Don’t worry about it, Marty” sorts of tropes. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t inherently explained, just that it had laws that it followed that the characters respected and understood. It was a simple story with a simple premise and simple characters. It was perfect for what it was, and I respect that.
CHAINBREAKER moved too quickly. The worldbuilding for TIMEKEEPER was perfectly self-contained, just big enough to fit the narrative. It had all that wonky mythological backstory, yeah, but I didn’t feel like that was too important; it was there as seasoning, not the whole meal. The plot of CHAINBREAKER takes those little kernels of spice from the first book and tries to make a six-course dinner out of it.
In a lot of ways, it succeeded! Like I said, the elements of backstory for some of the characters was fantastic and gutwrenchingly heartbreaking to read. I loved the development of Danny and Colton’s relationship, and how they interacted with each other in Enfield before the main thrust of the plot kicked in.
But I just did not care at all about the Indian revolution subplot. I did really love the fact that they were in India – the culture and the environment and the change in scenery was really cool, and drawing attention to the colonization of India by the British Empire (something that was happening concurrently to the timeframe in which this story takes place) was a fantastic, welcome decision on the author’s part. I just didn’t really care enough about the way Danny & Co. fit into that subplot, and honestly wonder what this book would have been like if it was centered around England like the first book was.
I also really didn’t care for the two clock mechanics they meet in India that become Danny and Daphne’s companions when they inevitably split up. I had JUST warmed up to Daphne when she was suddenly
Spoiler
given a love interest; I wish that was a detail that was established more in the third book instead of the second, so we got the chance to warm up to him, too?I did not care about the villain, Xavier, and his ethos. (Although I will say I got a lot of wild CASTLE IN THE SKY vibes from their flying fortress, which I enjoyed.) Why does he care about Danny so much? What does Danny have to do with anything, besides having known a little bit about how clock spirits work? Danny’s influence on this part of the plot felt… weird, and not exactly necessary.
And then the stuff I loved? I wanted MORE of. More Colton and Danny. More Danny just in general? More of Danny showing how impressive he is as a clock mechanic. There’s a scene halfway through the book where
Spoiler
Danny tries to communicate with the clock spirit of a tower in India and the other mechanic that’s with him doesn’t believe him, and there’s this incredibly satisfying moment when the spirit appears and Danny looks like a savant and just… UGH. I live for stuff like that. I want him to show off how good he is, because he deserves to. He’s incredibly talented, and I think that it gets lost in the plot sometimes in lieu of other, more important things.This book felt very forced, and it felt very synthetically attached to the coattails of TIMEKEEPER in order to stretch the world out into something that could become a trilogy. I really wish that the plot of the first book actually felt like the first book in a series instead of a standalone in the same universe, but I guess that’s the name of the game when it comes to the publishing industry, so I shouldn’t fault the author too much – especially considering TIMEKEEPER was her debut. So I think what I need to do is imagine CHAINBREAKER as the first book in a duology that’s completed by FIRESTARTER and see where the next book takes me.
Again – I still really love this book!! This is still easily one of the best YA LGBT romances I’ve ever read. I think it should go to show just how much I appreciated and enjoyed this book based on how much I was willing to sit down and poke holes in it for 1100 words, haha. I just think it could have been better.
dpprichett's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0