Saturday, January 14, 2017

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Published by Disney-Hyperion in January 2016
Passenger #1

"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." -- From Goodreads

Will you like it?
Omg this book!  I don’t know why I waited so long to pick up this book.  I have loved all of Bracken’s previous books, but this one made me hesitate.  Or maybe the reason I waited a year was because now I can go right on to the sequel without having to wait.

Without getting into a lot of spoilers, Etta finds out her mom lied to her about her family, and crazily enough, Etta & her mom can travel through time using things called passages.   Long story short, Etta is kidnapped and must go find a priceless relic before her mother is killed.

This entire book was meticulously written.  I loved the characters and the settings.  Etta is thrust into this world and this ability without any training.  Even without training she does remarkably well.  Nicholas’s backstory is an extremely heartbreaking one.  He was born into the Underwood household after his father took advantage of a household slave.  The only way that he was saved was because of his traveler’s ability.  Etta and Nicholas of course fall in love, but it’s not insta-love which I hate so dearly.  Their love transforms over the entire story.

The setting is a major part of the book.  My favorite places are 1940s London, where they meet a younger version of Etta’s tutor, and 1775 Manhattan.  Bracken describes each setting in detail, and it’s clear that she did extensive research before choosing her time periods.
If you’re looking for a time travel novel that isn’t science fiction based, then Passenger is a book that you must read!

Disclosure: I won the Kindle edition in a Twitter giveaway.

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