The Chime Seekers - Ross Montgomery

I originally posted this review in July when I first read and fell in love with The Chime Seekers and now I am thrilled to be kicking off the blog tour.  Since my writing this, I have been reading the book to my class as our daily reading for pleasure book and they are utterly hooked - you'll find some of their comments at the end of this post.

Yanni is unhappy: he’s just been forced to move house to Fallow Hall with his parents and his sister Ari who seems to scream non-stop and takes up all of his parents’ time. The house has been redecorated but they seem to have missed Yanni’s room which is nothing more than floorboards, an ancient bed and flea-infested curtains. The village is tiny and, just when Yanni thinks things can’t get any worse, the plans his dad suggested for an All Hallows’ Eve movie night are abruptly changed when his parents go out for dinner, forcing Yanni and his cousin Amy to babysit Ari.  Yanni quickly becomes annoyed with Amy an her insistence on playing Orc’s Quest so storms off to check on his sister. Whilst there, his thoughts about the move and his true feelings towards his sister come tumbling out in a fit of anger, but when he turns around, he isn’t alone! Standing in the doorway is a man who manages to get himself invited into the room and seems to be charming Yanni, who believes he may be Mr Edwards, their new neighbour. In a bizarre exchange where Yanni feels he has to fight the urge to be lulled into a false sense of security by the guest, he accidentally tells him that he can have Ari. Instantly, the figure changes, takes Ari and leaves. Amy is quickly on the scene and, whilst Yanni explains the events, the Ari that is now in the house begins to walk up the walls, leaving Amy to state that the real Ari has been taken by a faerie, replacing her with a changeling. Panic-stricken, the pair realise they need to do something and fast as they only have until the end of All Hallows’ Eve to put everything right.  What follows is a race against time and Lorde Renwin, the most powerful faerie there is, to carry out 3 quests and save Ari. But things won’t be easy and Renwin certainly isn’t going to go down without a fight.

Yanni is a boy with an awful lot of mixed emotions pent up inside of him, and who can blame him? After all, he has a new sister who is taking up all of his parents’ time; he’s had to move home which has involved changing schools and leaving all of his friends; the renovations on the house they’ve moved to have missed his room; his dad has bailed on their movie night and he now has to spend it with the cousin he doesn’t get along with.  Who wouldn’t be fed-up? It’s all of this that leads to the rest of the book and is the trigger for the adventure. I wonder how many children reading will be able to associate with Yanni’s feelings? Probably a lot, family life can be tricky at times, especially when change is involved.  However, as the book progresses, we see a change in Yanni as he discovers himself and the strengths he didn’t know he had.  However, I feel the biggest change is that of Amy who is very uncertain of herself at the beginning of the quest and very much hides behind the characters in Orc’s Quest. Sometimes it takes a great adventure to discover who you really are!

There are a host of rather wonderful characters in this book, including the signpost; however, I have to mention Larry who really grew on me as the book progressed and I found myself wanting to hug more and more with every turn of the page! It would also be remiss of me not to mention Lorde Renwin who is a truly evil man/faerie. I often read books where the ‘baddy’ has some redeemable qualities that can appeal to the reader, but not Renwin! He really was despicable and readers will rejoice in hating him (and I can imagine that Ross took great pleasure in writing him!)

There are two main settings in this book: Fallow Hall and The Land of Fae and it’s the latter where the majority of the book is set: a world borne of Ross’ imagination, it’s a special, imaginative, magical, scary and captivating world that will lure and entice you in and that is undoubtedly, in part, down to the wonderful writing.

The plot is fast-paced, wonderfully written, full of twists and will have you gripped. Just when you think things are taking a turn for the better, wham! Something else comes along that you didn’t expect and lures you even further into the book. Set over just a few short hours, the whole thing will leave you breathless …

If I’m honest, I’m really not convinced I’m doing this book the justice it deserves with this review. When I read The Midnight Guardians last year, I thought that it was Ross writing at his best but I honestly believe that The Chime Seekers surpasses it! It has all the hallmarks of a classic novel just waiting to take its spot amongst the other classics at some point in the future …

With my teacher hat on, I can see this making an amazing class novel with unlimited potential for discussions (friendship, family, discovering your self, truth and honesty, live, good versus evil, accepting/embracing change…) as well as creative writing stimulus. 

The Chime Seekers is hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year and I almost feel sorry for the next book I read as The Chime Seekers is going to stay with me for a long time to come.

Available to buy now, if you only buy one book this year, I urge you to make it The Chime Seekers - I promise you won’t regret it.

Some thoughts from my class:

'Action-packed, tense, funny and magical.'

'Moving, daring and exciting, I am always on the edge of my seat while listening to this book.  Excellent!'

'Lots of magic; lots of adventure; you can't find a more thrilling read.'

'Captivating and overflowing with magic.'

'The Chime Seekers is funny and adventurous and I recommend it to anyone who has not read it.'

'Filled with adrenaline, it got my heart pumping.  I love this book!'

I love The Chime Seekers.  It is a thrilling fantasy book with an intriguing feel to it.'

'The Chime Seekers is a brilliant and magical book.  Amazingly good!'

'The Chime Seekers is a magical story that takes you to another world and it's packed with mystery.'

'I love The Chime Seekers and I especially enjoyed the cemetery scene.'

'Incredibly!  It's so annoying when Mrs Wall leaves it on a cliff-hanger!'