Passenger Review

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Release Date: January 5th, 2016

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

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 Review:

This book was stellar! I went into it with pretty high expectations (especially after reading the Darkest Minds trilogy and loving it), and Alex Bracken absolutely matched them. If you're looking for a book with time travel, history, and extremely well-developed worlds, this one is for you.

Etta is an extremely relatable character and I immediately fell in love with her and wanted to protect her at all costs. She is a kick ass and extremely empowered character who won't accept anyone else trying to control her life. Nick is equally relatable and I loved reading his point of view and experiencing the story through the eyes of both him an Etta.

This book swept me away from everything around me, which was sometimes bad as I often read it during class and missed lectures because I was so immersed, but it was definitely worth it. The world was extremely well developed and the amount of research that went into this was astounding! Bracken went into a lot of detail and created some amazing settings within the book without giant info dumps that took up space and made it boring. I thought the pacing was excellent and the relationships were even better (despite the cliche of girls not being able to really get along *cough* Sophia and Etta *cough*). Etta is awesome, the writing is detailed and amazing, and the time travel is not totally butchered by scientific explanations. This book is a definite must-read for historical fantasy/time travel lovers!

Final Grade: A+++