09 June, 2016

#BookReview :: Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken

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.


I have read Darkest Mind by the author already and have enjoyed her writing style quite a bit. While I haven’t had a chance to finish the series yet, I couldn’t let go of the chance to read this new series either. From the blurb, the story promises scifi with romance and a touch of history and it felt like an odd but intriguing combination.

Henrietta Spencer, a.k.a Etta is an aspiring violinist with a case of stage fright. She has been working hard all her life to prepare for her solo debut. But when the day comes, something goes terribly wrong and she finds herself on board of a pirate ship with Sophia and Nicholas for company. Soon she discovers secrets regarding her heritage and her abilities that her mother kept from her. Now that she has discovered it for herself, she has to race against time to find an artifact that could do much damage in the wrong hands. Will she be able to outwit the Ironwoods? And what is Nicholas’s role in the story?

I loved Etta… She has no warning about how her life is about to be turned upside down. Yet she is a character to behold from the moment things start to change. The situations that she is put in were enough to test even the strongest of men and yet, Etta is steadfast. From witnessing the death of a person close to her to time travelling to handling being on a pirate ship to handling the antagonist – Etta really shines through. She certainly has had her share of follies but it is absolutely impossible to not like her. Nicholas on the other hand had me confused. On one hand he felt like an upstanding character to me. On the other hand some of his decisions indicated otherwise. He is one of those flawed characters who manage to make a space for themselves in the readers’ hearts irrespective of everything. The fact that the two main characters were from two completely different eras, their dynamic was interesting to read about. The beginning of their romance felt a bit abrupt to me. However, it soon grew on me. To travel to different timelines with them turned out to be an interesting experience on the whole. The plot seems simple at the beginning but soon we discover there is much more to it. The author manages to keep the attention of the readers throughout the book by divulging information slowly and steadily as the plot progresses. I loved the narrative of this book a bit more than Darkest Mind and sincerely feel that Alexandra Bracken is an author who is growing with her books.

Time travel is an interesting topic because we all have wished to be able to do so at some point of our lives. It has been presented in a beautiful manner in this world setting by Alexandra Bracken. Since our protagonist Etta knew little about time traveling before being thrown headfirst into the adventure of her life, we had the opportunity to discover all about it as and when Etta discovers and learns things. I loved the concept of time travel as it is presented in this book.

SciFi and Time Travel enthusiasts should definitely give this book a try.


Review Copy received from Hachette India



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