Instagram story viewer> @clockworkchapters> Posts

Priya | Bookstagram

@clockworkchapters

11.5K

followers

4910

following

Currently ignoring responsibilities to finish one more chapter
Book goals: 60/85 | Life goals: Own a library & read full time.
For collabs ⤵⤵

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

There are some books where you know the premise is unusual, but you still aren't quite prepared for how unusual the reading experience is going to be. Colony by Ratih Kumala was exactly that for me.

Translated from Indonesian by Dalih Sembiring, Colony takes us into the world of ants and somehow turns an underground colony into a place filled with politics, power struggles, relationships, hierarchy and questions about identity.

The story follows Darojak, a young queen who is forced to flee after her colony is destroyed. She eventually finds refuge in another colony ruled by the formidable Queen Gegana. But having two queens in one colony is, unsurprisingly, not exactly a recipe for peace. What follows is a fascinating struggle over power, territory and belonging as Darojak tries to find her place in a society that already has its own rules and its own queen.

What I loved most was how easily the book makes you forget that you're reading about ants. Their instincts, their social structures and their relentless focus on the survival of the colony become a fascinating little mirror of human society. There are questions about how much of ourselves we're allowed to keep when we belong to a larger community, what happens when duty clashes with desire, and how much power we're willing to give up for the sake of survival.

Darojak was especially interesting to follow. She's trying to survive displacement while also figuring out what kind of queen she wants to be, and her journey gives the story much of its emotional weight. Queen Gegana, meanwhile, is the kind of character you cannot simply ignore. Her position, authority and attachment to her colony make the tension between the two queens all the more compelling.

I also really enjoyed the matriarchal structure of the colony. It gives the story an interesting way of looking at power, leadership and the roles we're expected to play, while turning something as ordinary as an ant colony into a surprisingly layered social system.

Continued in the next slide & comments -->

Thank you @penguinbookssea @gadiskretek @samujhaa for this beautiful bookmail!

QOTD:- What’s the most unusual book premise you’ve ever picked up?

I by @clockworkchapters

197

47

5 days ago

Travancore King: The Legend of Marthanda Varma by Shubendra, published by Pan Macmillan India, takes us into 18th-century Kerala and the turbulent rise of Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma.

There is something about royal histories that has always had me completely hooked. Give me feuding kingdoms, court conspiracies, shifting alliances, battles, and a ruler fighting to hold a kingdom together, and I am very much seated. So this book already had my attention.

I grew up hearing stories about him from my mother and grandfather, so reading about his rise from a young prince forced into hiding to the formidable ruler who would go on to shape Travancore came with a lovely dose of childhood nostalgia.

Shubendra keeps the story moving at a brisk pace, throwing us straight into the political chaos of the time. There are rebellions, rival factions, feudal powers, military campaigns, espionage and, of course, the looming influence of the Dutch, East India Company and its hold over the spice trade. I particularly enjoyed how much the book leans into the strategy behind Varma's rise. This isn't simply a story of battles won with swords; diplomacy, alliances, political manoeuvring and some very calculated decisions are just as important.

Marthanda Varma himself is portrayed as a determined and pragmatic ruler, rather than being placed on a pedestal. His choices aren't always easy or morally uncomplicated, and that made his journey from a hunted prince to a powerful king all the more interesting to follow.

After thoroughly enjoying Manu S. Pillai's The Ivory Throne, I was especially excited to revisit this part of Kerala's history, this time through a more dramatic and fictionalised lens. And honestly, there is something rather wonderful about seeing stories you grew up hearing come alive on the page.

Travancore King is an engaging, cinematic historical fiction read filled with political intrigue, battles, ambition and the making of a kingdom. For me, the nostalgia was an unexpected little bonus that made the journey through Travancore feel even more personal.

A massive thank you to @PanMacmillanIndia for including me on this wonderful book tour! by @clockworkchapters

3

41

8 days ago

“Wild on one side. Wicked on the other. From the Wild Next Door to the secrets behind closed doors.”

I think that little message on the box is the perfect introduction to the two books that just arrived: The Fourth Girl and Wild Next Door by Arefa Tehsin.

I’m already so intrigued by these, and I genuinely cannot wait to dive into them and discover these stories for myself. There’s something extra exciting about receiving books that immediately make you curious about what’s waiting between the pages.

Thank you for this beautiful surprise @penguinindia @arefa_tehsin 🥹🤎

Stay tuned for my reviews because I’ll be sharing my thoughts on both very soon!

QOTD:- Which was the last bookmail that excited you the most?

🔖

#prbox
#unboxingreel #unboxingbookmail #newbooks #bookstagram by @clockworkchapters

3

40

11 days ago

5 Stories: Kannada is exactly the kind of book that reminds me why I love reading translated Indian literature. There’s something wonderfully intimate about being dropped into a literary world that may be geographically familiar, yet still introduces you to voices, experiences and ways of seeing that you haven’t encountered before.

After thoroughly enjoying 5 Stories: Konkani from Bloomsbury’s 5 Stories series, I was especially curious to see what the Kannada collection would bring. And while the Konkani anthology had a quieter, almost coastal texture to it, 5 Stories: Kannada felt sharper and more restless. These stories carry a strong social consciousness, but never at the expense of the people at their centre. Caste, faith, gender, community and the expectations placed on individuals all find their way into these pages, often in ways that are uncomfortable, thoughtful and deeply human.

A huge part of my enjoyment came from Susheela Punitha’s translation. The English never feels like it is trying too hard to prove that these stories have travelled from another language. The dialogue, rhythms and small details of everyday life retain their sense of place, while remaining wonderfully easy to settle into. That balance is not always easy to achieve in translated fiction, and it makes this collection particularly inviting.

What I love most about the 5 Stories series is that it makes discovering regional Indian literature feel accessible without flattening what makes each literary tradition distinct. 5 Stories: Konkani opened one door for me, and 5 Stories: Kannada opened another, completely different one.
I finished this collection with that lovely feeling of having read something small in size but much bigger in scope. Now I’m mostly left wondering: which Indian language is Bloomsbury taking me to next?
Thank you so much @bloomsburyindia @mishtiiigoyal for these beauties! 🫶🏻

QOTD:- which translated fiction surprised you the most?
.
.

🔖
#translatedfiction #5storieskannada #translatedstories #bookreview #indianbooks by @clockworkchapters

166

44

16 days ago

I think I may have just found a new favourite vampire romance. Alma Vampires is the kind of book that throws you into a world of dark academia, vampires, ancient secrets and dangerous family legacies and somehow makes you think, yes, this is exactly what my reading life was missing.

Valle's life is already complicated enough before she discovers that the estranged mother she never knew has died and left her an enormous fortune, a powerful fashion empire, and, because apparently inheriting a fortune isn't dramatic enough, a whole supernatural mess of blood debts, curses and people who would very much like to see her dead.

Enter Hadrian Cruz. An obscenely wealthy, mysterious vampire with enough secrets to fill several books and the very inconvenient habit of inserting himself into Val's life under the guise of protecting her. Their dynamic was EVERYTHING. The banter, the suspicion, the slow-burn tension, the reluctant proximity... I was eating it up. Hadrian has that delicious morally-grey, intensely protective where you know you probably shouldn't trust him, but you're also very willing to ignore that little detail. And the chemistry between these two is swoon worthy!

What I especially loved about Val, though, was that she never felt like a heroine who simply gets swept along by the supernatural chaos around her. She's empathetic and grounded, but she also has this growing sense of strength as she begins to understand where she comes from and what she's inherited. Watching her go from trying to make sense of this completely impossible new reality to finding her footing in it was one of my favourite parts of the story.

And the atmosphere! The combination of an elite university setting, family secrets, ancient vampire lore, hidden histories and an ever-present sense that someone is watching made this ridiculously easy to get lost in. There is always another secret waiting to surface, another piece of Val's history to uncover, and just enough danger to keep me saying one more chapter when I absolutely should have been sleeping.

Continued in comments and next slide -->

The biggest surprise for me was how much I needed this book right now. I've been in a pretty by @clockworkchapters

3

68

19 days ago

Re reading The Assassin’s Blade after nearly three years felt like opening a book I remembered emotionally more than I remembered plot-wise. And I think that made this reread even better.

If you’re anything like me and need to experience a story in chronological order, I will always advocate for reading The Assassin’s Blade before Throne of Glass. This novella gives you the missing pieces of Celaena Sardothien’s story before she walks into the salt mines of Endovier. You see the girl she used to be and the things that broke her.

Early Celaena is such a fascinating character to revisit. She is arrogant, dramatic, fiercely talented and absolutely convinced she is the most interesting person in every room (and, to be fair, she might have a point). But underneath all that confidence is a young girl who desperately wants freedom and a life that belongs to her. Watching her navigate the world of assassins, contracts and people who constantly want to control her makes her later journey feel so much more layered.

Celaena and Sam are the emotional threads that hold this prequel. Their relationship brings out a more vulnerable side of Celaena that she rarely allows anyone to see. Sam’s kindness and steadiness feel almost out of place in a world built on violence and survival, which is exactly what makes him so memorable.

I originally read the Tog and Acotar at a completely different pace, devouring books one after another. This time around, life has made me a much slower reader, but I’m finding something lovely in that. I’m annotating more, pausing over lines I would have probably rushed past before, and noticing all the little pieces of foreshadowing that I had completely forgotten and life has gotten busier.

I started this reread wanting to reread Throne of Glass and ACOTAR before the new release, but I don't know if it'll happen. I miss the obsessed reader I was 3 years ago.

QOTD:- A book you'd like to re read?

#throneofglass #theassasinsblade #sarahjmass #fantasybookstagram #fantasyreader by @clockworkchapters

3

43

25 days ago

I went into The Lion and the Deathless Dark already expecting an incredible read, but somehow Carissa Broadbent still managed to completely blow my expectations out of the water.

The fifth book in the Crowns of Nyaxia series and the beginning of the Bloodborn Duet, this one throws us into a world scarred by a decade-long war between mortals and vampires. At the centre of it is Kyrene, a mortal bounty hunter with a divine blade, a complicated past and a tragedy that sets her on a path across realms. Then there’s Septimus, a calculating vampire prince with his own secrets, ambitions and reasons for wanting revenge. When their paths collide, the two are forced into an uneasy alliance to hunt down the very gods who have been orchestrating their torment.

Septimus and Kyrene absolutely carried this book for me.

Septimus is every bit as clever, ambitious and morally grey as I hoped he would be, but getting to see the more vulnerable pieces hidden beneath all that calculation made me so invested in his character. Kyrene, meanwhile, is an absolute force. Fierce, stubborn, messy and driven by survival and justice, she felt like such a compelling character in her own right.

Put these two together and you get a forced alliance filled with tension, danger, sharp banter and a slow-burn romance that had me completely invested. Add the dark, treacherous world of the Obitraes, and I was done for.

I genuinely don't know what kind of sorcery Carissa Broadbent puts into her books, but I am completely addicted. The pacing, the tension, the fantasy, the characters and the sheer scale of the story kept me in a chokehold from beginning to end.

And THAT ending!

My expectations weren't just met, they were absolutely shattered, and now I'm left simultaneously desperate for the finale and deeply unwilling to say goodbye to these characters. I'm ridiculously excited to see where this story goes next, but I'm also very much in the please don't end this series yet camp.

Yet another Carissa Broadbent book has left me emotionally compromised. At this point, I should know better.

Thank you to @panmacmillanindia and @carissabroadbentbooks for having me on this booktour!🫶🏻

Continued ⤵⤵ by @clockworkchapters

3

37

a month ago

Drawn Together by Mercedes Ron completely caught me off guard. I went into this expecting a good romantic suspense, but somehow ended up devouring it in what felt like one sitting.

The story follows Marfil Cortés, a ballet dancer and college student whose life takes a very dark turn when she’s abducted from Central Park in broad daylight and later wakes up in a New Orleans hospital with no memory of what happened. With the threats around her only getting worse, her father assigns Sebastian Moore as her bodyguard stoic, disciplined, intimidating and very much determined to keep things strictly professional.

Except, of course, things don't stay that simple.

I really enjoyed how the book balances the mystery and suspense with the romance. There’s always this sense that something bigger is going on, while the forced proximity between Marfil and Sebastian slowly turns into a whole lot of tension and chemistry. Marfil’s vulnerability, her love for ballet and everything she’s carrying from her past made her feel much more layered than just the usual damsel-in-distress heroine, while Sebastian is basically the perfect recipe for a bodyguard romance: guarded, protective and absolutely terrible at keeping his feelings out of the equation.

I was hooked from the first few chapters and the pacing made this such an easy book to fly through. And now that I’ve seen the casting for the screen adaptation, I’m even more excited because the casting is so spot on that I could practically picture them while reading.

Ohmygod that ending @MercedesRonn really decided we didn’t deserve peace. That cliffhanger has me needing book two immediately, because I am absolutely not okay with being left like THAT.

Thank you, @SimonandSchusterIn and @mercedesronn, for the book… and for my newest addiction, sleepless nights, and an absolutely unnecessary emotional crisis over that cliffhanger. 😭

QOTD: Looking forward to any upcoming book adaptations? If not, consider this your sign to add Drawn Together to the list I have a feeling this one is going to be GOOD!

#Drawntogether #Drawntogetherbymercedesron #newbook #newadaptation #newrelease by @clockworkchapters

3

54

a month ago

I’ve been meaning to get into historical fiction for the longest time, and somehow The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ended up being the perfect place to start. I went into this one without really knowing what to expect, and while the epistolary format took me a little while to get used to, once I settled into all the letters and the flow of the story, I was intrigued.

Set in 1946, the story follows Juliet Ashton, a London writer who starts corresponding with the residents of Guernsey after receiving a letter from Dawsey Adams about a secondhand copy of one of her favourite books. What starts as a simple exchange about books slowly turns into something so much bigger.

And I think that’s what I loved most about this book. It isn’t really about the war itself as much as it is about the people who had to pick up the pieces afterwards. Through their letters, you slowly get to know this little community, their experiences during the German occupation, the losses they carry and, somehow, the ways they still manage to find humour and warmth in each other.

The characters are definitely the stars. I loved getting to know all these very different personalities through their letters. Dawsey has this quiet sincerity that I really liked, while Elizabeth's presence lingers even when she isn't there to tell her own story. And then you have all the wonderfully eccentric islanders who somehow make the whole thing feel like you’ve been invited into their little circle.

I didn’t know much about the Channel Islands during the war going on, but because everything is told through these personal letters, it never felt like I was sitting through a history lesson. I was learning about the time period while getting to know the people who lived through it.

And now, I’m very curious about the Netflix adaptation. I need to see these characters and this little island community come to life!

Thank you to @Bloomsburyindia and Bloomsbury Creator Circle for sending me a copy of this lovely book.💕

QOTD: Have you read an epistolary style novel?

🔖
#TheGuernseyLiteraryAndPotatoPeelPieSociety
#HistoricalFiction #BookReview #BloomsburyCreatorCircle #HistoricalFictionBook taken in Guernsey, Channel Islands by @clockworkchapters

3

47

2 months ago

This was my first Stacey McEwan book, and I was not prepared to be this invested and wrecked.

Set in a society divided between magic-wielding Artisans and the exploited Crafters, A Forbidden Alchemy throws us into a brewing class revolution where old friendships, buried secrets and the truth about magic start colliding in the worst possible way.

And the atmosphere of this book is so good. I had recently watched Peaky Blinders, so the industrial-revolution-esque and the general “something terrible is about to happen” feeling immediately worked for me. I could picture almost every scene so clearly, especially the skirmishes, meetings and all those tense little moments where you just know something is about to happen.

The story is also surprisingly packed. There’s magic, politics, class conflict, secrets, betrayals and enough twists to keep me constantly questioning where things were headed. It moves at a really good pace too, so I never felt like the story was dragging despite how much it had going on.

But obviously, I was here for Nina and Patrick. 👀

These two have so much history between them, and the tension is honestly ridiculous. Their relationship is complicated in all the best ways, especially because they’re standing on opposite sides of a conflict that keeps getting more personal. Patrick has that sharp-edged, morally-grey thing going on, while Nina is stubborn, resilient and constantly trying to figure out where she stands. Every interaction between them had me waiting for the next emotional explosion.

My reading streak lately has been unmatched (touch wood 😂), but this one genuinely raised the bar. I got completely sucked into the story, and by the end I was emotionally wrecked and staring at that cliffhanger like EXCUSE ME???

Now I desperately need the sequel because I need to know WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. Immediately, please.🙏🏻

Thank you so much @simonandschusterin and @staceymcewanbooks for this amazing read I'm dying to read the second book 🥹

QOTD: Would you rather live in a world with magic or one without it?
.
.

🔖
#AForbiddenAlchemy #StaceyMcEwan #FantasyBooks #FantasyBookReview #FantasyReads by @clockworkchapters

3

71

2 months ago

Dystopian thriller in its premise, yet unsettlingly familiar in its execution, the story follows Cole Edwards, a young man who has spent two years working for the pharmaceutical conglomerate P.T. Global Innovation. But after witnessing disturbing medical malpractice and horrific events that force him to question everything he thought he knew, Cole’s life is turned completely upside down.

I almost wonder if I should even label this story as dystopian because the events in this book don't feel unimaginable. In fact, that's what makes it so unsettling. So much of it feels plausible in this day and age some of it even feels eerily close to things we see happening around us, while the rest feels like something that could very well happen in the near future. The plot is so well established and grounded that, at times, reading this felt less like reading a novel and more like watching a real-life, well-documented documentary unfold.

One of my favourite things about the book was Cole himself. He is such an admirable protagonist, and I loved how steadfast he remained in his morals from beginning to end. Even when circumstances became difficult, he never seemed willing to compromise what he believed was right. He is righteous, courageous and kind.

And then there is the book's emphasis on thinking for yourself and making conscious decisions which honestly became one of my favourite aspects of the story. Cole constantly challenges the idea of blindly accepting what you're told, and that really resonates with me.

Especially in a world where we are constantly surrounded by unverified information, unreliable news, conflicting narratives and people more than willing to let someone else do their thinking for them, these themes felt incredibly relevant. The story raises so many questions about who we trust, where our information comes from and whether we are actually making our own decisions or simply accepting the version of the truth presented to us.

Review Continued in comments & next slide --->

Thank you so much to @DartFrogBooks and @TylerMarioni for this ARC.

QOTD: What makes you question something you once believed?

#dytopianthriller #TylerMarioni

That was what m by @clockworkchapters

3

47

2 months ago

A broken soldier. A mysterious widow. A tinderbox brimming with power. And a demon that quite literally falls from the sky.

I went into The Tinderbox completely blind, and honestly, I think that was the perfect way to experience this story.

The book follows Mag Tresti, a recently discharged soldier trying to find his footing while the war around him is still raging. With few opportunities and an uncertain future, he ends up at a secluded cottage of a widow who is far more mysterious than she first appears. She hires Tresti to do odd jobs around her home, and for a while, things seem almost ordinary… until a demon falls from the sky and turns both their lives upside down.

The story takes its time in the beginning. We get to know Tresti and Jannae slowly, and although they initially seem fairly straightforward, there are layers upon layers hiding beneath the surface. Their histories, secrets and motivations gradually unfold, and I really enjoyed watching those pieces come together as the story progressed.

For me, the characters made this book. Carey gives them such rich histories and distinct personalities, and the multiple POVs work beautifully in letting us understand them from different angles. I was firmly in Tresti's corner from beginning to end. I just wanted to see this man catch one single break!

And then there's Jannae.
This woman scared me. She is cunning, formidable and absolutely badass. There were moments when I was genuinely intimidated by her, followed immediately by moments where I couldn't help but admire her strength and sheer presence.

And the demons added an entirely different layer of intrigue to the story. The more we learn about the world, its magic and the forces at play, the more I wanted to know.

Review continued in comments & next slide ---->

A huge thank you to @Orbitbooks_uk for sending me a copy. 🫶🏻

QOTD:- What will you be reading this weekend?

.
.

🔖
#TheTinderbox #DarkFantasy #FantasyBooks #FantasyBookstagram #BookReview

It's dark, strange, twisted and unpredictable. The story takes you through magic, mystery, danger, chases and action, while still keeping the emotional turmoil high. There is always another layer by @clockworkchapters

3

57

2 months ago