Title: Passenger
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Series: Passenger #1
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: January 5, 2016
Source: E-galley provided by publisher.
I really liked Bracken’s Darkest Minds series. Therefore, I was super excited for this book. Bracken tackles time travel?! I’m in! Here’s your synopsis from Amazon:
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, his passenger, can find. In order to protect her, Nick 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.
1. This book was a really slow burn for me.
This took awhile to get really started. For such a long book, that’s something I wasn’t really okay with. It was a slow burn that had some exciting parts, then went back to that slow burn. I can’t really tell you whether or not I could actually get into the story since I kept getting distracted and had to reread some parts that I had missed. I can’t take a completely slow book. This one had me hooked enough to finish though, so it couldn’t have been all bad.
2. Etta. I still don’t know how I feel about Etta.
Etta is an extremely talented violin prodigy. It annoyed me that she was insanely cocky when it came to her playing – when she hadn’t played in awhile when our story starts. She is really vindictive and she seems like she holds grudges entirely too easily. She is really trusting (a trait that we share), but then that immediately goes away. I can’t decide how I feel about her kind of how she can’t decide the person she is. I don’t dislike her, but I don’t really connect with her, either.
3. Nicholas. Oh, boy.
I have a major crush on Nicholas. I mean, who wouldn’t have a crush on a pirate who can time travel? He is insanely smart, even if he is technically enslaved to the Ironwoods – the evil family who coerces all time travelers to do their bidding. It is odd when he and Etta start to travel to see him in all of these different times, since his time is in the 1700s (I could be wrong there). Anyway, Nicholas has a hidden agenda, and even though this could totally screw up everything Etta is working for, I still have a crush on him. This is the first time where a male lead has an ulterior motive and I don’t immediately hate him. WHY DO I LOVE YOU, NICHOLAS?!
4. The insta-love drove me nuts.
I hate insta-love. At the very least, this book doesn’t have a love triangle! However, as soon as Etta meets Nicholas, she is all a-flutter over him. I can’t really blame the girl, but they spend a lot of time together; their love story could have been developed more rather than being instantaneous.
5. I really love time travel books.
My biggest problem with time travel in books is that they don’t stick to their own rules. This book, though, sticks to its rules – for the most part. I have it on authority that there will be rules broken in the next book, but that they’re meticulously explained, which is okay with me! I haven’t been telling you much about this book because there is SO MUCH that happens, and I never want to accidentally (or purposefully) spoil anything for you. Just know that the time travel aspect is so awesome. If you’re like me, time travel hurts your brain, but Bracken does a fantastic job of trying to make it easy to understand for everyone.
OVERALL: 4 STARS! I really did love this book, despite the harsh criticism I gave it up there. I’m hoping the next book isn’t as slow. I understand that series starters sometimes need that slow burn in order for the next books to make sense, or to set up for something huge. There is a lot of explaining done in this book, which is good, because I really feel like I know the world Alexandra Bracken has built. This book comes out on January 5, 2016, so go forth and pre-order a copy at the link below!
Just a Broke Bookworm 