Book Review: Chainbreaker by Tara Sim

“The clock counted every painful second with ticks as thunderous and regular as a heartbeat.”

First line in Chainbreaker by Tara Sim

Chainbreaker (Timekeeper #2)

*This review contains SPOILERS for the first book in the series, Timekeeper (link will take you to my review).*

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 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.

Review

Taking place a few months after the events in Timekeeper, Chainbreaker continues the story of clock mechanic Danny Hart after he has been reunited with his father. However, not everything is as great as it should be. Danny struggles with keeping his relationship with clock spirit Colton a secret while also worrying about a cryptic message from an unknown sender.

While Victorian London always manages to get me intrigued, the greatest strenght of this book is its relocation to India. A change of scenery really helps the story as it avoids becoming too repetitive. We follow our characters all the way to India and are introduced to so much culture. The author herself is half Indian, and you can tell that she really wanted to make the reader familiar with Indian traditions, languages etc. It’s not something I knew a whole lot about before reading this book so I found all of it highly interesting. I also really enjoyed how this information came so naturally. Our characters also know very little about the country and so they are learning alongside the reader.

The move to India also gives this book more of historic feel than its predecessor, as it weaves elements of the British Empire’s existence in India into its plot. It’s the kind of thing where if you’re just slightly interested in that topic, I highly recommend you read this trilogy because the author does such a good job depicting it.

Another thing I really want to compliment this book for is its characters. We see a change from single POV to 3 POV’s compared to the first book which is really refreshing. Instead of just sticking with Danny all the time as we did in book 1, we get to know Daphne and Colton a lot better in this one. I really liked how the different POV’s were used to both letting the reader know what’s going on at different locations, but also fleshing out the characters and their struggles. It made it seem like a natural decision to include them.

Overall, I love this book! Possible even more than the first one, especially because I could feel how passionate the author was about the subject-matter. She had a clear message, but managed to still create a story that is adventurous, heartbreaking and important. I still need to read the last book, but I already know that this is a trilogy I’m going to be recommending a lot in the future.