What a fantastic read! Filled with magic, suspense, history and adventure. I devoured this book. I adored the characters and their individual quirks, the odes to past greats like Wells and Conan Doyle and the atmosphere created in the historical Crystal Palace. I really can’t wait to join the crew on another adventure very soon.

Wow, this was such an amazing read I can’t believe how much I have enjoyed this time travelling tale! Joe is bored, having to spend his summer helping out in his dad’s restaurant. When he’s not helping out his dad he’s practicing his skateboarding and parkour skills in Crystal Palace Park, but when he gets into trouble with some bullies and they throw his skateboard over a fence, he has to retrieve it by scrambling among some brambles. While there he finds an old-fashioned compass which he decides to keep, but soon something strange happens to Joe and he finds himself transported back in time, to the Victorian Crystal Palace.

This is such a brilliant time-travelling story and I just love what happens to Joe when he ends up travelling to Victorian times. While in the past Joe ends up meeting some famous characters and overhears some people talking about stealing a famous diamond. I won’t go into the details of what happens, but I love how fast-paced this story is and how interesting it is with Joe not only dealing with being in the past but also getting mixed up in the criminal plot to steal a famous gem.

I love all the characters that Joe meets including a teenage H G Wells and a young Dr Doyle, who so far has written only one short story featuring Sherlock Holmes. Wells, or Bertie, as he’s known in the story, is such a character that I instantly loved the conversations he had with Joe, his manner and speech often making situations more funny. I also loved Elias’s character, the way he spoke and the adventure he and Joe end up going through. The descriptions of the place, both present and past do bring the area to life, I was especially thrilled with the descriptions of the Victorian Crystal Palace, the exhibitions it had inside and just how big and busy it was.

As the story progresses more and more happens with Joe and his friends. A lot happens and there was never a dull moment as the tale moves on from not only being a time-travelling historical story to one featuring some stranger more magical things happening. I really enjoyed how this story builds up towards the ending too, with so much happening and Joe not only going through his own adventure but growing as a person too. The ending is really good, I like how everything resolves for the characters and how things end up. The story ends well as a standalone book, but it also hints at a sequel with the first chapter available at the back of the book to read. I’m already so eager to read part two of this series, whenever it is published, as this first adventure ‘Star of nimrod; just had me so engrossed!

While there was one part of the story that I did manage to guess before it was revealed, having managed to spot it in the few clues given in the text, I couldn’t have predicted the rest of the story at all and I like how I didn’t know what would happen. There is one use of the s swear word but nothing else considered offensive and it’s just such a good read!

This book has been such a thrill for me. Maybe because I know the area of Crystal Palace from my childhood, I have a keener interest than some would in this tale, but this book is so well written and with such an exciting plot and good characters that it would make great reading for anyone regardless of whether you’ve ever been to or heard of Crystal Palace or not. At the back of the book there is a list of some of the famous people mentioned in the story as well as the author’s notes of where a little creative licence was used to make the story more interesting to read. I do love how, despite the creative licence, a lot of the characters are actually real life people who had fascinating sounding lives too, and how this book is being released in the same year that marks the sad anniversary of the burning down of the Palace (which is shown briefly in an interesting first chapter of the book).

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction or stories featuring time travel. I adore time travelling stories and can’t wait to read more about Joe’s adventures going back in time to the Victorian Crystal Palace. And although this book is aimed at young teens/older children, I think this book will appeal to so many, including adults, it’s just so exciting, so well written and such a fun tale!

The Crystal Palace Chronicles by Graham Whitlock

"What if the past became your future"

I was so excited to discover that The Crystal Palace Chronicles is a Science Fiction featuring time travel, one of my favourite tropes. I couldn't wait to read it and let me tell you it did not disappoint. The story was gripping and I lost myself completely.

We meet teenager Joe Cook who's skateboard is thrown over a fence in Crystal Palace by a couple of bullies. When retrieving it Joe discovers an old compass. He soon realises it's not an ordinary compass when he's transported back in time to 1888.
We follow Joe on adventure of a lifetime. He makes a great friend called Elias and together they find themselves in one problematic situation after another. They overhear conversation about a plan to steal the Star of Nimrod, one of the treasures of Nineveh and decide to do all they can to prevent it. Along the way Joe also manages to lose the compass, the only way he has to get back home to the present day!
It's full to the brim of fast paced action.

Graham Whitlock clearly did so much historical research to support this book. It's clear to see by the historical dialogue and the facts about Crystal Palace. We meet some real life Victorian Characters including a young H.G Well and the great Blondin. At the end of the book Graham wrote a section that explains which real life people the characters are based on.

I'm really impressed with Graham Whitlocks mind for creating such an exciting adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey with Joe and I'm looking forward to The Crystal Palace Chronicles Book 2, Palace of Shadows.

A big thank you to Netgalley, Grass Roots Productions Ltd and of course Graham Whitlock for sending me an advanced reading copy of The e-book.

I went with no expectations at all and I was gladly surprised, even though im not a fan of science fiction the story was able to hook me up from the beginning until the end. It is marvelously written and the research for this story is clearly seen within the pages. I would definitely recommend it .

A good mix of fantasy and alternate history, a compelling and highly entertaining read.
The historical part is well researched and the plot is gripping.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is an exciting adventure story involving time travel and the theft of a valuable diamond as well as several famous Victorians including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H G Wells.
Trying to rescue his skateboard which has been thrown over a fence in the old grounds of Crystal Palace, Joe Cook finds an old compass. The compass somehow transports him back in time to 1888 when the Crystal Palace was still a huge attraction. He meets the young H G Wells who shows him round the palace. During this tour, Joe loses the compass and with that, his way back home. He gets help from one of the workers in the palace, a young lad named Elias. As they try to retrieve the compass, they overhear a plan to steal the Star of Nimrod from the Shah of Persia. This then leads to Joe and his new friends trying to prevent the theft and get Joe’s compass back so he can return home.
The contrast between the present day and Victorian times is very clear helped by great use of dialogue showing the difference. The action is really fast paced as they fall out of one problem and straight into another. They are helped by a whole cast of characters including real historical figures such as Conan Doyle and W G Grace.
The book is obviously incredibly well researched but this does not make the story at all dull. The Crystal Palace and the surrounding area is brilliantly described and really adds to the atmosphere of the story. Joe is a likeable hero and his struggles with not being able to be completely honest with his new friends feels very real. The Victorian characters are all great too and I enjoyed the notes at the end about the real life people many of them are based on.
Thank you to Net Galley and Grass Roots Productions Ltd for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

This book sounded so interesting and it didnt disappoint, it was gripping, funny and at times dark. the descriptions were so vivid it really evoked Victorian Crystal Palace.