Author: Alexandra Bracken
Series: Passenger
Genres: Y.A, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Time Travel
Reviewers Note: I received this book for free from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.
In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.
Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.
My Thoughts:
I've been seeing Passenger all over bookstagram for weeks now, and everyone who reads it seems to absolutely love it! So when NetGalley gave me the chance to review it, I snatched it and ran! Due to all the hype my expectations were really high, so I was quite disappointed when I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping I would.
For me, the book didn't really start until about 150 pages in. That's not to say the story was boring, but it just felt slow. At times it even felt like hard work to read. I just didn't connect with the characters, or really understand what was going on (this could have been because I didn't bother to read the blurb before starting the book...). However, when the first plot twist happened I finally allowed myself to enter this fantastic world that Alexandra has created.
Once it got going, the story was really captivating. This alternate universe that Alexandra has created, where the ability to time travel runs in the family, is so intriguing and detailed that it's hard to not enjoy learning more about it. Alexandra uses thick descriptions, so it's very easy to completely immerse yourself in the book. The only time that I didn't enjoy these rich descriptions, was when Alexandra was describing life on the pirate ship - for the only reason that I am afraid of water, and she made me feel like I was really experiencing the treacherous waters, LOL.
I thought Etta is such a strong female character. I'm so pleased that she didn't allow the rules of the era's she was living in to dictate how she was treated by men. She expected respect at all times, and I think that's such a strong and important message for young girls to hear. I really loved learning more about her background, Alexandra has created such colourful histories for each of her characters that it's hard to not be interested in how things turn out.
One of my favourite aspects of the book is that Alexandra has made her male lead black. It shouldn't be such a big deal, but even though we live in 2016, black main characters are still severely lacking. I also loved that Alexandra made sure his ethnicity was an important thread in the book. Nicholas is a freed black slave living life as a pirate in the 1800s, so he is obviously going to experience a lot of racism in his day-to-day life. Although at times it was very hard to read (the fact that people used to cross the road when they saw a black person makes my stomach turn), but Alexandra handled all these difficult situations in a very tactful manner. At no time did I feel like Nicholas' reactions to certain situations were over-dramatic or cliché, which was a relief, because it could have been so easy for Alexandra to write this sloppily. I also loved the inter-racial relationship that blossomed between Etta & Nicholas, it did feel very fast at first, but once I warmed up to the idea of them as a couple I really enjoyed watching them fall in love.
The final plot-twist and cliffhanger at the end of the book is what secured my four star rating. I really wasn't expecting it to end that way, so I am really looking forward to the next book, Wayfarer, to be released next January!
For me, the book didn't really start until about 150 pages in. That's not to say the story was boring, but it just felt slow. At times it even felt like hard work to read. I just didn't connect with the characters, or really understand what was going on (this could have been because I didn't bother to read the blurb before starting the book...). However, when the first plot twist happened I finally allowed myself to enter this fantastic world that Alexandra has created.
Once it got going, the story was really captivating. This alternate universe that Alexandra has created, where the ability to time travel runs in the family, is so intriguing and detailed that it's hard to not enjoy learning more about it. Alexandra uses thick descriptions, so it's very easy to completely immerse yourself in the book. The only time that I didn't enjoy these rich descriptions, was when Alexandra was describing life on the pirate ship - for the only reason that I am afraid of water, and she made me feel like I was really experiencing the treacherous waters, LOL.I thought Etta is such a strong female character. I'm so pleased that she didn't allow the rules of the era's she was living in to dictate how she was treated by men. She expected respect at all times, and I think that's such a strong and important message for young girls to hear. I really loved learning more about her background, Alexandra has created such colourful histories for each of her characters that it's hard to not be interested in how things turn out.
One of my favourite aspects of the book is that Alexandra has made her male lead black. It shouldn't be such a big deal, but even though we live in 2016, black main characters are still severely lacking. I also loved that Alexandra made sure his ethnicity was an important thread in the book. Nicholas is a freed black slave living life as a pirate in the 1800s, so he is obviously going to experience a lot of racism in his day-to-day life. Although at times it was very hard to read (the fact that people used to cross the road when they saw a black person makes my stomach turn), but Alexandra handled all these difficult situations in a very tactful manner. At no time did I feel like Nicholas' reactions to certain situations were over-dramatic or cliché, which was a relief, because it could have been so easy for Alexandra to write this sloppily. I also loved the inter-racial relationship that blossomed between Etta & Nicholas, it did feel very fast at first, but once I warmed up to the idea of them as a couple I really enjoyed watching them fall in love.
The final plot-twist and cliffhanger at the end of the book is what secured my four star rating. I really wasn't expecting it to end that way, so I am really looking forward to the next book, Wayfarer, to be released next January!
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