{Review} PASSENGER Will Take You on an UNFORGETTABLE Voyage Through Time

Title: Passenger
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Series: Passenger, book #1
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: January 5, 2016
Source: ARC received from publisher/Big Honcho Media
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

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.

Passenger is everything I'm looking for in a time travel book. For one, there's actually quite a bit of travelling going on...not just one jump but several from one time to another and from one locale to another. This is only the first book, so the origin of the particular method of time travel in this story is still relatively unclear, but it's not confusing either.

There's an evil madman, hell-bent on making time travel his bitch, with total world domination likely on the agenda. There are chase scenes and gun fights and pirates and all manner of action sequences. Plus, there's a bit of romance. And it's a multi-racial one that breaks ALL THE RULES. In other words, I don't think there's anyone who won't like this book to some degree.

Etta's life has been one big deception. She doesn't even know she can travel through time until she's being dragged through a passage into Nassau in 1776. But this girl is tough as nails and not to be underestimated. Though she doesn't know it yet, her mother has given her everything she needs to surmount every obstacle she encounters.

The fiercely protective Nicholas has his own plans, but he'll die before he sees any harm come to Etta. Theirs is not a love-at-first-sight type of romance, but it is one of immediate mutual respect. And it only grew from there. I didn't feel any deep connection to these characters until nearly halfway through the story, but once that connection was made, there was no turning back. But that probably stems from the fact that the main characters themselves are so guarded up until that point that they weren't even sure they were connected.

All of the characters in this story are so full of surprises. At every turn, I'd think I knew what to expect, and then my theories would be completely turned upside down with their antics. I love a story that can constantly keep me guessing, and that's exactly what I got with Passenger. Even the ending was shocking in a way I hadn't expected. I know from experience that Bracken can create an intricate world and make me believe in it completely, but she's really outdone herself with this book. I've only read this first book and I'm already completely invested in Etta and Nicholas's future.

And I love that Bracken didn't skimp on the racial injustices or the societal expectations when representing previous centuries. Nicholas, having been born in the 18th century, knows about limits and expectations better than anyone, but for Etta, it all comes as a bit of culture shock. It was honestly hard to read the gritty depictions of how Nicholas was treated and viewed at times, but it also fired up my inner feminist when it came to how Etta was expected to behave. It also intensely fueled my hope that both would end up in the 21st century where things aren't exactly perfect but are still better.

I've already added Wayfarer to my TBR, and I'm ardently waiting for its release. Like, if I had a magic book genie, that book would be the first I'd ask for. If you're a fan of time travel, pirates, and have a healthy sense of adventure, this series should definitely be in your future.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

I’m Alex. I write about telekinetic teens and floppy-haired wizards. I love Star Wars, classic rock, and 18th century gentlemen. When I’m not up at 4 AM writing, you can find me running around the DC area, where I now live and write full time..

Find Alex:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram | Tumblr

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Labels: alexandra bracken, book trailers, disney hyperion, favorite authors, favorites, must-read, passenger, reviews, time travel

{The Weekend Update} 11.28.15 - The Thanksgiving Aftermath

So, since my end-of-the-week post isn't just about what I got in my mailbox or on my Kindle each week -- though that is a big part of it, I won't lie -- I decided to change up the title and intro a bit.  I might tweak the format a bit over the next few weeks, but for the most part, it'll contain the same stuff: stuff I got, stuff I did, and stuff that's coming up on the blog.  Plus, I get to use the awesome GIF you see here and blow kisses to all the people who sent me lovely books and bookish things.  Oh, and I've started linking up to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews since I'm not using a specific meme title anymore.  April's also doing her own Stacking the Shelves posts on Sundays.  Stop by and say hi!  =)

So, I unintentionally took this week off from blogging. And reading. And pretty much anything that wasn't related to Thanksgiving. But I don't regret it at all. :P It hasn't been the best week -- even though I was on vacation all week -- but I made it through.

On Monday, I shattered the screen on my months-old phone after dropping it not once but twice in a matter of minutes. I talk with my hands…a lot. :( So that started my week off in a pretty foul mood. And then on Wednesday, I woke up with a sore throat and some serious congestion, which turned into a full-blown cold/sinus thing by Thursday. Needless to say, Thanksgiving was hard on me, especially since I was hosting two separate dinners. But despite it all, things went off without a hitch, and I'm finally feeling more like myself today. I hope you all had a fantastic Turkey Day!

Anyway, here's what I scored this week...

For Review:



Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer
Shade Me by Jennifer Brown
The Mystery of Hollow Place by Rebecca Podos
Thicker Than Water by Kelly Fiore

I find it kind of funny -- and also a little confusing -- to have two books with the same name releasing at the same time from two different pubs. And they both have similar premises. I'm familiar with Brigid Kemmerer's work, but I'm wondering which one I'll prefer...

Traded:



Thanks to some awesome #booksfortrade peeps, I've now completed two more of my collections!!! Also, I seriously cannot WAIT to read Wink Poppy Midnight, which is SIGNED!!!!

Purchased:

With Christmas on the horizon and all of the shopping I've been doing for #otspsecretsister, I've had to cut back on bookish purchases for myself. :(

Library:



I loved this in print, but I'm super excited to see how it transfers to audio. Especially the crazy AI. :P


So, that's my haul. =) What fabulous bookmail did you get this week?

The Week in Review:

Reviews:

• No reviews this week. I had other things on my mind. :)

Current Giveaways:

Check back soon!

Promotional/Discussion Posts:  

• Nothing this week. Unintentional bloggy break was in full force. =)

Currently Reading:

I was so busy with Turkey Day prep that I didn't bother starting anything this week. But you'd better believe that Wink is up next. =)

Currently Listening:

I finished Plus One, which was as amazing as I expected it to be, and my next listen will probably be Illuminae. Even though it's only going to make me want the next book that much more.


Upcoming Reviews:

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Labels: in my mailbox (imm), stacking the shelves, the weekend update

{The Weekend Update} 11.21.15

So, since my end-of-the-week post isn't just about what I got in my mailbox or on my Kindle each week -- though that is a big part of it, I won't lie -- I decided to change up the title and intro a bit.  I might tweak the format a bit over the next few weeks, but for the most part, it'll contain the same stuff: stuff I got, stuff I did, and stuff that's coming up on the blog.  Plus, I get to use the awesome GIF you see here and blow kisses to all the people who sent me lovely books and bookish things.  Oh, and I've started linking up to Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews since I'm not using a specific meme title anymore.  April's also doing her own Stacking the Shelves posts on Sundays.  Stop by and say hi!  =)

I'm officially on vacation!!!! And it couldn't have come at a better time! I've been trying all week to convince the husband to combine the two Thanksgivings, but he won't reconsider, unfortunately. So I'm still stressing about hosting two dinners, but I have all week to prepare, at least. o_O

Of course, I plan to spend some of that time unwinding with a good book…or several. :D I have so many good ones in my stack, though, and I'm not sure which one to start with! So, I'll probably read a few pages of each and decide which one to read based on which one most peaks my interest. Might be a problem if they're all as good as I'm hoping, though. :)

Anyway, here's what I scored this week...

For Review:



I fee like I have been waiting ages for both of these. And I have. That cliffhanger at the end of The Falconer wrecked me for days. I'm going to re-listen, though, and then I'm diving into The Vanishing Throne, let come what may. And I've known about the Plus One audiobook for awhile, with the author keeping me apprised throughout the process since she knows how much I loved the book when I first read it last year. It's narrated by the inimitable Julia Whelan, which you know means it has to be amazing. And it is, trust me. I couldn't help but start listening as soon as it arrived in my inbox. =D



I loved Eon/Eona and I am soooooo excited about The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman. I hope this becomes a favorite series, too! I hadn't heard much about Front Lines by Michael Grant, but after reading the blurbs on the back cover, I'm pretty sure I'm going to enjoy it, especially now that I've read the summary, too. :) Can you believe this will be my first book by the author?

Traded:

None of my trades have come in yet. I haz the sads.

Purchased:

With Christmas on the horizon and all of the shopping I've been doing for #otspsecretsister, I've had to cut back on bookish purchases for myself. :(



So, that's my haul. =) What fabulous bookmail did you get this week?

The Week in Review:

Reviews:

• No reviews this week. I had other things on my mind. :)

Current Giveaways:



Promotional/Discussion Posts:  

• Every Word Blog Tour: Ellie's Playlist!
• #WoW - The Last Star by Rick Yancey
• When reviewing's got you down…
• I finally got my own reading nook!!!!!

Currently Reading:

I just finished Passenger last night, so I'm still deciding what to read next. So, I'll just be staring at my shelves for a bit. :)

Currently Listening:

I absolutely adored this book when I read it the first time, and when the author told me she was having it made into an audiobook, my heart nearly burst. I've been wanting to revisit Sol and D'Arcy for ages, but I just couldn't fit in a re-read. I'm already loving this audio SO MUCH. It's amazing and Julia Whelan's French is worlds better than my inadequate attempt to pronounce it in my head. :P





Upcoming Reviews:

Like honest reviews & giveaways?  Be sure to follow us on Bloglovin' so you never miss out!

Like pretty pictures of books and bookish things? Follow me on Instagram! I also host IG giveaways from time to time. :D

Subscribe by email:

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Labels: in my mailbox (imm), stacking the shelves, the weekend update

When Moving Finally Results in Your Own Personal Reading Nook

So, some of you may know that I recently bought a house. It was the kind of ordeal that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy, but at the same time, it was sooo totally worth all the pain and aggravation. We love our new place. We lived in a rural suburb before but now we really live in a rural area.

Luckily, we made a lateral move that ended with Katie still attending the school she's already made so many friends at. We're not in the same city, but it's the town next door and it's so small -- population under 1,500 -- that it shares the same school district as where we were before.

And Katie loves it. She loved our old house, too, but we now have almost three acres for her to wander and fish and ride around on. It's kind of a dream come true for all of us.

Here's a picture of the pond from when we first moved in and then one of it after all of the recent rain we've had:

You might not be able to tell, but it's nearly doubled in size. And let me tell you, the fishing is good. The previous owners stocked it with bass. What an upgrade from the perch and bluegill in the pond at our old house, though there are some of those here, too. (And not that we aren't catch-and-release people, but the catching is fun.) Katie's already been out there several times, and she's caught plenty. As you can see. =)

But my favorite, favorite thing about our new house is obviously my new reading nook. I had a book room in the old house, but I always felt separated from my family when I spent any time in there. And my new reading spot is just off the side of the living room, so it's perfect. Jerrod can be gaming, Katie can be building Lego civilizations at the dining room table and I can sit on my new reading sofa in the book nook, and we can all still converse at the same time. I just love the open floor plan; it's actually kind of perfect.

Plus, I can see my books ALL THE TIME! And who doesn't love just staring at all of their lovely books from time to time? I know I do!

It was honestly the hardest it's ever been for me to organize my shelves in the new place. I used to have a shelf that was Katie's next to my shelves, where I stored my ARCs to be read and the classics that didn't really fit in with the rest of my books but that I definitely wanted Katie to read at some point. That shelf is in the spare/guest room now, and Katie's collection of books fills it up, so I really had to cull some books from my own collection in order to not invade Katie's territory. :)

And now that my books are out in the open and visible for all to see, I didn't want them all cluttered up. They may look like that to the casual observer anyway, but there's a method to my madness. My collections (Stiefvater, Maas, Schwab, Bardugo, Bracken, Spooner/Kaufman/Kristoff, and Meyer) make up the whole top row of shelves. Never mind. I'll just show you below. :P My collections kind of spilled over to the second row, too, with a whole cubby for Bray's work, as well. And then I tried to separate by subject matter and/or genre as best I could. Not an easy feat when some fit into more than one, or when you want to keep an author's body of work together, even though they write fantasy and contemporary. Such is the life of a bookworm, though. Maybe I should let my inner librarian out and just go back to alphabetical order by author. Nah, too boring. :P

But the thing I'm most excited about -- besides having an adorable little love seat in my reading nook -- is my collectibles display at the top of my shelves. No one ever got to see this stuff in the other house, but now it's out for all to see:

the Harry Potter collection: complete with wands, gilly water, broom and my "If you don't get my Harry Potter references then there is something Siriusly Ron with you" mug

The Princess Bride collection: The Princess Bride-opoly, talking Miracle Max bobble-head, and wine (empty now, obvs) from the feast/quote-along at the Alamo Drafthouse (given to me as a present by my sis...I couldn't make it *sads*)

Already, my shelves have changed a bit from when I first took these photos a couple of weeks ago. I'll probably be rearranging them for the rest of my life. Such is the nature of the beast, I suppose. Collections grow. What was thought to be a stand-alone becomes a full-blown series. Books are taken to Half Price Books to make room for others. ;0)

I kind of want to do a full shelfie tour, but I'm not great at the video thing. Also, my voice makes me sound like a 12yo. Maybe someday, though.

I haven't been able to spend as much time as I'd like in my new reading nook because of all the other stuff related to moving, work, and preparing for the holidays. It's been kind of chaotic, to be honest. Things are finally settling down, though, and I have all next week off, so I'm really hoping to get some serious reading in. Especially since the perfect weather for hammock reading was during the move. :( Lucky for me, I have an amazing new reading nook to christen! :D


Where's your favorite place to read? Have you always dreamed of having your own reading nook, or are you one of those lucky few that already have their own dream libraries? ;^)

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Labels: new house, reading goals, reading spots