I’m excited to be shining a spotlight on The Counterclockwise Heart by Brian Farrey today! This middle-grade fantasy sounds really good and I actually started it on a whim the other day. I’m already getting slightly dark but very magical fairytale-gone-wrong vibes from it and I can’t wait to dive back in whenever I have to put it down. I can’t wait to see where this story goes 😄 Also, how cool is this cover?!
Special thanks to Algonquin Young Readers for having me on tour and providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads: The Counterclockwise Heart
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication Date: 01 February 2022
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy
Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .
Time is running out in the empire of Rheinvelt.
The sudden appearance of a strange and frightening statue foretells darkness. The Hierophants—magic users of the highest order—have fled the land. And the shadowy beasts of the nearby Hinterlands are gathering near the borders, preparing for an attack.
Young Prince Alphonsus is sent by his mother, the Empress Sabine, to reassure the people while she works to quell the threat of war. But Alphonsus has other problems on his mind, including a great secret: He has a clock in his chest where his heart should be—and it’s begun to run backwards, counting down to his unknown fate.
Searching for answers about the clock, Alphonsus meets Esme, a Hierophant girl who has returned to the empire in search of a sorceress known as the Nachtfrau. When riddles from their shared past threaten the future of the empire, Alphonsus and Esme must learn to trust each other and work together to save it—or see the destruction of everything they both love.
Brian Farrey is a two-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award and the 2017 recipient of the McKnight Fellowship in Children’s Literature. His debut novel, With or Without You, was named a Stonewall honor book by the American Library Association and the 2012 Minnesota Book Award winner for Young People’s literature. The first book in his critically acclaimed middle grade fantasy trilogy (The Vengekeep Prophecies) was named a Junior Library Guild selection, appeared on the Winter 2012-2013 Kids’ Indie Next List, and was listed as one of Kirkus Reviews’ “Best Children’s Books of 2012.†His most recent novel, The Secret of Dreadwillow Carse, won the inaugural Minnesota Book Award for Middle Grade Literature in 2016. He lives in the Twin Cities with his husband and their cats.
Have you heard of The Counterclockwise Heart? Does it sound like something you’d like to read?
dinipandareads 
Holy cow this cover!!!!
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Right?! It’s what caught my eye to begin with 😍
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I’ve seen several decent reviews for this this week, but I hadn’t heard of it prior to that. I’m intrigued, and I love the cover.
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I’ve been seeing great reviews too. I’m only slow with reading it cos my ARC on the Kindle keeps cutting off the first lines of each chapter (which is so frustrating lol) so I have to read it on my computer. But I think I’m gonna really enjoy it! 😊
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