Every once in a while, a book comes along that stops me in my tracks. That transports me back to my childhood where books were worlds of possibility and stories became much-loved old friends. The Chime Seekers had the same effect on me. I adored it. I was immersed in the story, captivated by the world building and outraged at the actions of the villainous characters. The Chime Seekers is storytelling at its finest and I applaud the talent and creativity of its author, Ross Montgomery.

When Yanni and his family move to a grim and depressing village in the middle of nowhere, the young boy is filled with resentment and rage. Left alone with his baby sister and his unfamiliar cousin, Yanni soon finds himself entangled in the dangerous and deceptive world of the fae. He must travel on an adventure of self-discovery through the faerie world in a quest that will change his life forever.

For me, The Chime Seekers has the feel of a classic. It has shades of Neil Gaiman and C.S Lewis and is a beautifully written tale, which is emotionally charged and full of heart. For me, it was even better than The Midnight Guardians. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC; I have already ordered a copy for my classroom bookshelf and cannot wait to share this story with my class.

The Chime Seekers is another whirlwind magical adventure from the author or The Midnight Guardians.

Yanni and Amy are cousins who don't know each other too well yet. Yanni doesn't care about changing that - and he doesn't much care for his baby sister either. But, when his sister Ari is kidnapped by a faerie and taken away to another world, Yanni must team up with Amy and try to get her back. Along the way, he faces tasks and the terrifying ruler of the Faerie World.

This book has strong characters which complement the plot very well. The side characters are impactful and reveal more of the main characters' personality. The plot is exciting and fast, which would really engage a younger learner, and the atmosphere is creepy without being too scary. This book had me crying at some parts and grinning at others.

All in all, this book is a magical adventure with themes of family and friendship that would be really applicable to many year 5 and 6 children's lives. I would strongly recommend this book to be put into school libraries and to be recommended to any child who is struggling with changes at home or with changing friendships (as well as any child who wants a fast, challenging adventure).

Perfect for fans of the Storm Keeper's Island and The Wild Way Home

Yanni's life was perfect before his little sister was born and ruined everything. His parents are exhausted, they spend less time with him, and the entire family had to move to accommodate their new member. Yanni just wishes Ari had never been born!

He soon discovers that making a wish you don't mean, especially in a strange, new place you don't yet understand, will introduce you to individuals who will grant it for you, and ensure disastrous consequences for everyone.

I loved this whimsical adventure story. Yanni ventured into the fae world and uncovered a horde terrifying and fantastical inhabitants there. He embarked upon a quest to save his sister and had to undertake a series of tasks in order to do so. The new places explored and the continual challenges this featured ensured the past was hasty and that I was constantly engaged with the events occurring.

This proved to be a thrilling, mysterious, and enjoyable middle grade story and Ross Montgomery is definitely an author I am eager to adventure with again.

What an absolutely stunning book! I loved this from the first page to the last, and every one in between. The magic and fantasy is incredible but I think the heart of the book is the relationship between the two cousins, and the way Yanni learns to be less spoiled, less selfish and how to be a good friend, brother and son. It was truly heart warming.
The faerie world was filled with unforgettable characters (the signpost being one of my favourites) not least the terrifying villain.
I cant wait until this is published and we can sell loads of it! One of my favourite childrens books this year.

A nice retelling of folk legends about changelings and faeries. Readable and enjoyable, although it tends to lean on some cliché tropes. For middle grade readers, this won't be necessarily a bad thing though.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and didn't want to put it down
It tells the story of Yanni who has moved, much to his dislike, to Fallow Hall with his parents and little sister Ari.
On Halloween his parents go out, leaving Yanni and his cousin to babysit.
This is where the adventure begins: a faerie steals Ari and a race against time begins to save his sister.
This is ultimately a story of love and friendship with some great characters along the way.

The Chime Seekers is a wonderfully written story by Ross Montgomery! For middle grade readers (9-12) it's a story of family, adventure, courage and friendship.

We first meet Yanni as he is moving to his new house in the countryside. He really dislikes his new house and also his new baby sister Ari.
After his parents go out for the evening and his cousin Amy comes over to help look after Ari, he makes a deal with an evil faerie and Ari is swapped for a Changeling!
Yanni and Amy must travel to the land of the faeries and get Ari back before his parents find out!

I loved the way Yanni changes throughout the book and that he sees how he was wrong, a good life lesson for the children!
Thank you to the publishers, the author and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The labyrinth was my favourite film growing up so the minute i saw this was a labyrinth retelling i instantly hit the request button on netgalley and let me tell you this book did not disappoint!

The Chime Seekers is really fast paced, intriguing and has a great adventure plot and the little nods to The Labyrinth were just a treat to read. I absolutely loved all the little magical characters the signpost the toad, the goblins so imaginative and just fantastic to read.

I loved all the human characters to Yanni is definitely struggling with the new changes in his life and I instantly warmed to him and Amy was just a lovely character right from the start she's always there to help and their blossoming friendship was fantastic.

A great middlegrade filled with adventure, challenges, friendship, love and believing in yourself.

Thank you so much to the publishers at netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

The Chime Seekers is a magical story of an unusual world that exists alongside our own. A world where faeries rule and nothing quite makes sense. On nights when the veil between this world and our own is thin, anything can happen. Darkness creeps in, tricks are played, babies stolen and lives changed.

When Yanni moves to Fallow Hall, he hates everything about it. The house, the town, the fact that his parents seem to care more about his baby sister than him. Life is terrible. Yanni’s anger grows and this flawed main character wishes for the unthinkable, not expecting someone to show up who will actually do everything he’s secretly dreaming of.

Realising his horrible mistakes, Yanni and his cousin, Amy, must set off on a quest to defeat an evil faerie and put everything back the way it was before. They face challenges at every turn in this exciting story of goblins, magical necklaces, changelings, talking ravens and grumpy signposts. The power of love proves stronger than the power of lies and tricks – and there is nothing more powerful than a name.

The Chime Seekers is the perfect story for anyone who loves the idea of faeries living alongside us. Those who have heard their music and spotted a magical creature or two at twilight will recognise many of the characters in this brilliant tale (and may just try some of the protective charms themselves).

Thank you to Walker Books for this magical book!

This was such a hood book that I would have loved as a child, it was exciting, it was funny it was scary in parts and it was magical. Children are going to love this book

Spellbinding & will hold the attention of any child reading it. Step into a magical realm of fantasy. Beautifully written and illustrated. Loved the storyline and characters

There would be very little point in my denying that I read a lot of books. Many are new titles that interest me, some are continuations of series that I am enjoying or titles I have been recommended on Twitter, and then there are those reads which I have been counting down the days for because I am desperate to read them. This new title most definitely falls into the last category and has been one of my most keenly anticipated books of the year after reading the author’s The Midnight Guardians last year. That book was in my top 3 of 2020, and was one that not only did I share with my Year 5 class, but was also loved by my TA friend in Year 4, who shared it with the class that are now coming up to me.

I think much of Twitter knows I have been desperate to read this – watching with envy as proof copies have landed on other bloggers’ doormats – so when I logged on to find this was on Net Galley, and a couple of friends had kindly tagged me in to bring it to my attention, I was beyond excited to put in my request. After showing a huge amount of discipline by making myself finish what I was reading, it was with a certain amount of nervousness that I picked this up to read – would it be as good as The Midnight Guardians, and would I love this too to the point where I would want to share it with my new class?

No and Yes, because this is not as good as TMG, it is even better!

Our story opens on a cold, rainy October day in Fallow Hall, where Yanni and his family have just moved to their new home – a rundown house set in the middle of an empty field. While his parents are excited by the prospect of a new start, Yanni’s mood matches the weather and he is deeply resentful at having left behind his friends for this, blaming his baby sister Ari for the need for more space. Entering the building, things go from bad to worse when Yanni discovers his bedroom has yet to be decorated and is the worst in the house, and he angrily tells himself that not only is his new home horrible, but he has a horrible family and horrible baby sister.

Not believing that things could get any worse, they do the next day when after expecting some sort of family treat for Halloween, Yanni’s parents go out for dinner without him. Unable to get a babysitter at such short notice, they invite Yanni’s cousin Amy over to keep him company and to help look after Ari. When Amy tries to interest Yanni in playing a game with her, he loses his temper and heads upstairs to check on Ari, telling her sleeping figure that he hates her.

Aware of some sort of shift in the house, Yanni is shocked by the sudden appearance of a handsome stranger in the bedroom doorway and assumes it is one of his new neighbours. Unfortunately, the visitor is nothing of the kind and is in fact Lorde Renwin – a faerie who tricks Yanni into allowing him to replace Ari with a Changeling. Desperate to put things right and find his sister, Yanni must travel to the Land of the Fae to challenge Renwin who has stolen her. Together with Amy, he faces a series of seemingly impossible tasks to win her back before the stroke of midnight. Will he be able to undo his mistake, or is Ari destined to be lost to him forever more?

This book is bound to be compared to both the film Labyrinth and the recently published Otherland by Louie Stowell, and I think it is fair to do so in as much as they share the same basic idea of a child having to try to reclaim their younger sibling from a wicked fairy and being set tasks to do so. Part of what makes this different is that it is much darker in places, with Renwin being a far crueller and sadistic monarch than those seen elsewhere so that although I was aware of the basic plot devices being similar, the story was as fresh to me as I read on as any other new title. This is also greatly down to the author’s enormous skill in crafting his narrative so that I was drawn into it from the very first page and could picture the unfolding story so vividly that each character and setting was completely original as I encountered it.

The story also differs in that when the panicked Yanni tries to take the Changeling back to swap for his sister, he is forced to take it with him as he adventures through the Land of the Fae with Amy. Initially a cross and sour child, filled to the brim with resentment and jealousy of the attention that Ari receives from their parents, being saddled with the Changeling does nothing to improve his temper. Through having to assume responsibility for it, in addition to being exposed to the calming influence of his cousin, his actions gradually start to throw light on his own character flaws and he starts to see that his situation is almost entirely of his own making. I am so very much looking forward not only to sharing this story with my class later in the year, but also listening to some of the discussions that I know will arise from how the children interpret Yanni’s behaviour and compare it with not only their own, but that of their siblings and families.

This is such a wonderful story, and is one that just begs to be shared in an upper KS2 classroom, or even a KS3 one. Packed full of magic, mysteries and with a very strong traditional folklorish feel to it, this is destined to become a future classic – one that today’s children will remember and will want to share with their own children when the time comes. With my proper copy pre-ordered, I cannot wait to receive this and read it all over again with my new charges after it is published on November 4th. Until then, huge, huge thanks go to both Walker Books and Net Galley for my advance read ahead of publication. A magical 5 out of 5 stars.