Alexandra Bracken

Passenger

Danny Werhane

I liked this! I wasn’t a fan of the romance and I didn’t feel any strong connections to the characters. They definitely don’t have the same charm as The Darkest Minds characters do. This was so much different then TDM but definitely in a good way! I loved all the different settings and time periods. The magic system was really cool and unique.

alexandra

THOUGHTS AFTER I FINISHED:
+ while in TDM i loved the characters, the plot/writing/concept is where PASSENGER shone
+ THE CONCEPT IS SO COOL YOU HAVE NO IDEA!! TIME TRAVEL!!!!
+ i love how the writing comes in a full circle. there will be references in the beginning that will make a huge impact later on in the book. foreshadow!! repetition!!
+ the characters were the only so-called issue i had with this novel. they were a bit flat and murky and well, plain. BUT i do think they have a ton of potential to grow in the next novel. I'M EXCITED.
+ i wish there were more supporting characters/friendship *sigh*
+ the relationship was über adorable and i was totally rooting for them but sometimes i felt like it escaladed a bit toooo quickly
+ all in all, the plot made up for any complaints i had. although the characters were kinda mediocre, IT'S OKAY because everything else was fantastic. 
+ there are also really strong themes, which is surprising! 
+ I CAN'T WAIT FOR Y'ALL TO READ THIS BOOK I REALLY LOVE IT
(but if you asked me to compare to TDM, i would still choose TDM because that was... no, you can't make me compare)




/// waaaaaaay back when PASSENGER's GR info was updated & we got th summary/cover ///
I'M SO EXCITED I THINK I MIGHT EXPLODE. 

the darkest minds is my favorite series of all-time and i can't even comprehend my feelings on how this duology is going to turn out. TWENTY-SIXTEEN CANNOT COME SOONER!!

Julia

Wow. I need the next book now, that was so good! It was a bit Insta-love-y but I kind of expected that. Can't wait until the sequel!

Beatrix Haase

This book was fabulous. So many amazing characters. The ending had a huge plot twist that made me want to figure out what is going to happen next. I can not wait until the next book is coming out. 

xoxo,
Bebe

"Two worlds collide in this sweeping, romantic novel about a love that crosses centuries by bestselling author of the Darkest Minds series, Alexandra Bracken"--

Jamieson

In a few words, I LOVED IT

This story pulls you in right from the start. I was so drawn in by this world and the characters and the quest. It was captivating. I felt taken along for the journey with Etta and Nicholas, like I was travelling to all these unknown times and worlds myself. 

The slow unravelling of the story and the mystery was great, and I loved how you had a little insight into each character that other characters didn't know about. This book makes you care so completely about the characters and worry for their poor little hearts. 

Alexandra Bracken's writing draws you so in, you're so enthralled by the story and captured in the moment. Her writing was wonderful and I love her style so much. 

I loved both Etta and Nicholas in this (and I admit I kind of pictured them as Daisy Ridley and John Boyega from The Force Awakens??) Both were such captivating and charming and interesting characters. I found I wasn't bored or annoyed by either of them and instead was just really drawn into their story and lives. Etta was such an amazing, passionate young lady I just fell in love with instantly and Nicholas is so charming. Other supporting characters like Sophia and Cryus who were given less time still felt whole and Sophia especially was an interesting character. 

The time travel in this is kind of similar to the Back to the Future style which is GREAT (I love Back to the Future) and I love that it left you thinking and a little confused. Like, "ohh so if this has already happened that means future character knows because this happened to her 50 years ago even though it's only happening now in the future. " But, I mean thats one of the best things about time travel stories, to me.

Finally 
  that ending
 I'm actually so, so excited to see where this goes. I really want Sophia to grow as a character -- the whole time I felt so sorry for her, really she is just a woman trying to find some agency in a time that doesn't give women any and I hope she can get to some place where she's happy or ?? something ?? And I can't wait to see where Etta has ended up. But most of all I'm intrigued by Julian possibly being alive and I really hope he and Sophia get a happy reunion.

I wish I could be a traveller! I love history - this would be the perfect life for me. Far flung places, in far off times. 

I just loved this book so much it was such a good book LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT.

Kristen Claiborn

I was not super excited about this book. My daughter loved it, which is why I read it, but I found the story lacking cohesion.

Giulia Giacometti

This was one of my favourite books I have read in a long while! 

The main characters are amazing, strong, and the story line is so unique and intriguing. I especially love Etta! She is definitely not a 'damsel in distress' :) Won't say more because I don't want to spoil anything but yes, if you love adventure, strong (male AND female) characters, and plot twists, then read this book :) 

Can't wait for book 2!

Emelie

Dnf it on 298... It's just so boring. Boring, boring, boring!!!

Nicole Dykeman

This reads weirdly more like a historical fiction than a time travel fantasy, given how much of the book takes place in the past. The best part of it is the romance - Nicholas and Etta are absolutely precious. It’s a little bit insta-lovey, but I weirdly didn’t mind.

jess

I admit I wasn't enamoured with the writing style or the romance subplot, but HOLY BALLS THE PLOT IS SO COOL I FUCKING LOVE HISTORY THIS IS EXACTLY MY SHIT

Sarahi Flores

Omg I want to know what happens next! 
This book had feeling all sorts of things every reader should feel.
I'm going to end up rereading it, that's how much I love this story.
I don't want to talk much about it or explain more about the characters or the plot because I believe every reader should read this and experience it on their own.

Helene Utterback

Very different from The Darkest Minds series, but a very well developed time travel novel with historical context that added to the beauty of the work. Looking forward to reading Wayfarer soon!

Jasmine Neville

This was good but I do think at times the book felt longer than it actually was which had me wanting to skim parts at times but other than that I enjoyed it

Jaclyn

I FINALLY FINISHED PASSENGER!! 
*throws confetti* 

  Its our choices that matter in the end. Not wishes, not words, not promises.   

The best way to describe this book is a treasure hunt through time mixed with a little bit of a Pirates of the Caribbean. There's time travel, romance, adventure, and it all ties in together with a nice big bow. We follow Etta, from our time, as she somehow finds herself stuck in the year 1776 with a dashing legal pirate and an adventure that's doomed to change the course of history. 

  There are rules, but rules may be rewritten if only one hand holds the ink.   

Okay, I seriously did REALLY REALLY enjoy this book. For the life of me, I DONT KNOW WHY THIS BOOK TOOK ME SO LONG TO READ! As I was reading it, I loved it, but I couldn't find that drive and motivation to continue picking it up. I read a ton of other books in between, went to many book signings, I even met her and got this book signed, without having finished it yet! Now I have read every single Alexandra Bracken book and loved each and every one but for some strange reason this one took me a million years to read!! I think in the back of my head, I had heard it was a cliffhanger so maybe I avoided finishing it so I wouldn't be forced to wait like everyone else? Whatever the reason is, I truly enjoyed this book and this new world that Alex created. 

  Love was selfish, wasn't it? It made honest men want things they had no right to. It cocooned one from the rest of the world, erased time itself, knocked away reason. It made you live in defiance of the inevitable. It made you want another's mind,body; it made you feel as if you deserved to own their heart, and carve out a place in it.   

It was very very DETAILED and the words were at most times, beautifully crafted and intricately woven, but at other times, it got to be a little too excessive. That being said, while I loved the plot and characters, it was easy to be taken out of the story. Her writing has grown SO MUCH since the Darkest Minds! I really enjoyed it at most times, but it did drag a little bit for me. 

I loved the history aspect to the story and the idea of jumping through all these different passenges in time. It was such a unique way to interpret time travel! Very refreshing and not confusing at all! I love that even though, they're going back in time and all that, the calendar keeps moving! So cool! 

  "I forget myself with you, I forget the rules. I forget every other living soul in this world.Do you understand?"  

My favorite part of this story though was THE CHARACTERS! I loved the relationship between Nicholas and Etta! It was so much fun to see that dynamic be explored. This is a girl from our time, falling in love with a boy from 1776 and to make things more interesting, Nicholas is man of color! Back then, this relationship was forbidden to him and I really loved that Alex showed us these two people, born and raised with completely different values and moral come together to work with one another and learn to grow and respect each other and of course, fall in love! It was a very very sweet love story! But then it was heartbreaking too because of the whole "we belong in two different time periods, how could this relationship work?" Just the right amount of angst to get our hearts stopping! 

  "You cannot fathom the distance I would travel for you."   

 *swoon* 

I'm super excited for Wayfarer! That cliffhanger was a killer!!! I'm so pumped to see how this doulogy wraps up! Can't wait to continue on! 

  "Look lively," he said. "We've a journey to make."

Emi Gilmore 

2.75/5 stars

“There are rules, but rules may be rewritten if only one hand holds the ink.”  
 
 Warning: There may be some unmarked spoilers. 
 
Confession time: I don’t love Alexandra Bracken. While I have plans on giving the series another try, The Darkest Minds was one of my least favorite reads last year. I picked up  Passenger  mainly because Alexandra seems like such a great person and I so desperately want to love her books. While I did like  Passenger  , I just didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I did like it more than  the Darkest Minds , but way too often did I find myself starring at it with no desire to read, there wasn't one character I felt a strong connection to, and the romance was a little to insta-lovey for my taste. Overall, I was disappointed. 

I’ve had like two, maybe three American history classes in my life. I’ve also been listening to  Hamilton  non-stop for months. Because of this I like to pretend I’m quite the American Revolution historian. So, because I am a self-proclaimed historian, I feel like I am qualified to make the following statement: love-interest Nicholas wasn’t from the 1770s. You might be saying, “Wait, Emi, of course he is! Alexandra Bracken wrote him that way!” Which is true. I can’t argue with what is written in the book, but the character himself wasn’t convincing. From his dialogue to his actions to his interactions with protagonist Etta, I struggled to accept his birthdate. I would believe he is from the mid 1800s, maybe even early 1900s, but I couldn’t believe he was from 1776. 

Also, when we are on the subject, as an actual Millennial (and not just self-proclaimed) I am kind of doubting that Etta was from this century. I understand she had interests that differ from that of a ordinary 21st century teenager. Still, part of me was still expecting her to bring up something about Alexander Hamilton when she was stuck in 1776. You know I would have. Okay, so obviously I’m joking and just really wanted to reference Hamilton twice in this review. While I did feel like Etta was kind of a old-soul, I don’t feel like that effect her character any. It was actually a beneficial trait for all the crap she had to go through. 

I’m not quite sure how to describe the plot, but here we go. So Etta, also known as Henrietta Spencer, is a 17 year old violin prodigy. She’s about to perform at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art when everything goes wrong and she’s thrust into a world of time travel. She’s taken to 1776 by a girl named Sophia, who’s kind of a bitch. Sophia intends to take Etta to her “grandfather” who is even a bigger bitch. She meets her love interest Nicholas, a free black man who she falls in love with way too fast. Events happen, and soon Etta and Nicholas have to endeavor through a time travel scavenger hunt. 

(view spoiler)[ This book seemed to be built upon some really fortunate (unfortunate?) coincidences. There’s a time travel portal that opens up to the Met in 2015 that an evil time travel takes? The exact place where Etta’s mom, an ex-time traveler works? Where the evil time traveler opens a newspaper and reads an article about Etta? Just woah, how lucky is that ? Also at the very end when Etta messes up the timeline so badly she disappears, but don’t worry she is still alive! And Julien, who died in the prologue, is probably alive too. Wow, even luckier.  (hide spoiler)]

Obviously, there are things I did enjoy about this book. I love history (I wouldn’t be a self-proclaimed historian if I didn’t!), and this book was such a great history lesson. Every place they traveled, I was on my phone google searching the setting and the time period. I wanted to know everything about the region, the culture, and the people of the time period that Etta was currently stuck in. I had never heard of Damascus, but suddenly I was on a Wikipedia page soaking in as much information as I could. In fact, all the settings were so grand, that I now want to travel there by myself. 

The second book, Wayfarer, comes out in January 2017. I do have plans to read it, but I don’t think I’ll be picking it up the moment it comes out. I’ll wait until I can filter all the reviews and set my expectations just right. I am excited to see where Alexandra will take us in  Wayfarer  (the description says Imperial Russia! I want to travel to Imperial Russia!). Hopefully,  Wayfarer  will be the book that lets me fall in love with Alexandra.

Marissa Killian

'Riveting. Romantic characters and an immense world with no end in sight' - Victoria Aveyard New York City, present day In one night, Etta Spencer is wrenched from everything she knows and loves. Thrown into an unfamiliar world, she can be certain of only one thing: she has travelled not just miles, but years from home. The Atlantic, 1776 Captain Nicholas Carter is tasked with delivering Etta to the dangerous Ironwood family. They are searching for something - a stolen object they believe only she can reclaim. But Nicholas is drawn to his mysterious passenger, and the closer he gets to her, the further he is from freedom. The Edges of the World Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by a desperate thief. But as Etta plays deeper into the Ironwoods' game, treacherous forces threaten to separate her not only from Nicholas, but from her path home - for ever.

Book 1

Tamara Al-Qaisi-Coleman

More of a 3.7 it was interesting but I do detest insta-love or "insta-love-esque" stories. Although that wasn't the focus of the book it still felt weird. I can't wait until Wayfarer!

Palak

**SPOILERS**
This book had a really great plotline. It wasn't really a sci-fi or fantasy or historical fiction, but all three at the same time. I like the concept and how the author put a twist on time traveling. The reason I gave it 4 stars is because it took me a little while to really get into it because the beginning was a little slow. Also I feel like the ending should've been explained a lot more, especially the part when Rose was trying to explain to Nicholas why Etta disappeared and the "wrinkle" in the timeline. 
I honestly really enjoyed this book though. It had such great representation of the world. Also I like the way that the characters were written so that you got more and more attached to them as you went along.

Becky

I had my doubts at first, but then it got going and I really started enjoying this book. It took me a few days to finish but that story!

Once I was close to the end I remembered reading a review which said there was a huge cliffhanger in this book and there is! I can't believe that ending. It was insanely perfect and a full review will follow.

Toni Turner

4.75
My babiesssss!!! 
This novel was so much fun! And discussed such important topics from the view point of characters YA literature sees little of. And while Alex is caucasian it was still so nicw to see some diversity and to use that diversity in order to inniciate discussion. Alsthough I hopw one day there will be more diversity in general without there having to be a huge discourse about it. I want it to be normal BWCAUSE DIVERSITY IS NORMAL OKAY THANK YOU. I can't wait to dive into the next one BC THAT ENDING UM WAS I CRYING? YES.

Viry

I was okay. I think I may have gone into it with high expectations, the story was intriguing but it felt very predictable to me.

laura

Strong and cool story. I had to adjust to the world building like anything but i really loved the characters. The presence of black character going through time was so cool to read about and th drama it caused was unexpected but a great read. This book was so fast pace and i can't wait to read the next one. 

I enjoy this story so much more on the re-read :)

Passenger

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