Passenger by Alexandra Bracken Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction To summarize: This book is 486 pages of okay. If you're okay with okay, you shouldn't have much of a problem reading this book. Unfortunately, okay just simply cannot sit with me. I mean, I could try to pick out the horrible parts of the book I hated or rolled my eyes at, which so often happens in my reviews especially if the rating is 3 stars and below. But really, I can't do so with this book because there is none. |
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. 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.
This book was actually near perfect. Bracken was skillful in her writing, there was much effort put into it and research done, a lot of hard work I'm telling you. But in the process of crafting the perfect book, it lacked drastically in the hook and excitement factor. There wasn't really a connection between reader (me) and the characters to say the least. The book has no audience, and doesn't work to engage readers into thinking or even get us to concern ourselves with the plot or characters. So throughout, the book felt like a monologue and I couldn't care less about any of the characters. It was a beautiful piece of art that lacked any sort of meaning and emotion which if I dare say so myself, is the most important aspect of a book. Other than that, there is truly nothing to fault Bracken with.
I wouldn't label this book as the 'nothing happening' kind of book because things do happen but like I said, it lies in the scale of okay and you never know what to expect since there are just so many other okays that can possibly happen. It was a book that was extremely easy to put down, with a very very slow build towards a - once again - okay climax. If I weren't in a good mood, I probably would never have been able to bring myself through almost 500 pages of nothing much.
I think everyone can see the hints of romance in the synopsis from a mile away but the romance itself, was there for the sake of being there. There was no chemistry, no sparks and 'sexual tension' between the characters. Seriously, don't even expect any or you'll be disappointed. The so-called 'tension' comes in the form of weird descriptions that I'm pretty sure a) doesn't happen in real life or b) way too creepy and awkward or c) both
I wouldn't label this book as the 'nothing happening' kind of book because things do happen but like I said, it lies in the scale of okay and you never know what to expect since there are just so many other okays that can possibly happen. It was a book that was extremely easy to put down, with a very very slow build towards a - once again - okay climax. If I weren't in a good mood, I probably would never have been able to bring myself through almost 500 pages of nothing much.
I think everyone can see the hints of romance in the synopsis from a mile away but the romance itself, was there for the sake of being there. There was no chemistry, no sparks and 'sexual tension' between the characters. Seriously, don't even expect any or you'll be disappointed. The so-called 'tension' comes in the form of weird descriptions that I'm pretty sure a) doesn't happen in real life or b) way too creepy and awkward or c) both
Etta shifted her eyes away from his face. She’d been right before—it was his only jacket. He wore it now, brushed clean. The fit had swallowed her, but was perfect over his white shirt, emphasizing the broad span of his shoulders. His pants hugged his legs as he crossed that last distance between them. Nicholas was tall, his muscles compact and lean; everything about him seemed efficient, from the way he spoke to the way he moved with steady, easy grace, shifting with the sea. |
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With just this kind of descriptions to justify the 'romance' between them, a few hundred pages later it goes here:
She must have caught him off guard, because he took a moment to collect his thoughts. "What is there to explain? You will go home, I will go home. And that will be the end of it. Think about this Etta. You scarcely know me-" |
Darling, I assure you, you do not.
Though at times, I really liked how strong Etta was, standing up for her own rights, not allowing herself to be pushed around. It really just happens once or twice in the span of 500 pages. And if I were to compare this to The Darkest Minds, I am really not that surprised by how this turned out. In the whole trilogy, I only truly truly loved Never Fade and I'm hoping Bracken can go back to those days since the trilogy was much like this one - detached and not engaging - save for the second installment. Similar to said trilogy, world building was vague and even more complicated than ever, though I do perceive time travel aspect of books as a very difficult concept to master so I can see why it wasn't handled well here. Unless, you're a huge fan of The Darkest Minds trilogy, I don't recommend putting yourself through this at all.
Though at times, I really liked how strong Etta was, standing up for her own rights, not allowing herself to be pushed around. It really just happens once or twice in the span of 500 pages. And if I were to compare this to The Darkest Minds, I am really not that surprised by how this turned out. In the whole trilogy, I only truly truly loved Never Fade and I'm hoping Bracken can go back to those days since the trilogy was much like this one - detached and not engaging - save for the second installment. Similar to said trilogy, world building was vague and even more complicated than ever, though I do perceive time travel aspect of books as a very difficult concept to master so I can see why it wasn't handled well here. Unless, you're a huge fan of The Darkest Minds trilogy, I don't recommend putting yourself through this at all.