Book Review: Passenger

Passenger (book one) by Alexandra Bracken

Release Date: January 5th, 2016

Publication: Disney's Hyperion

Format of Novel: Hardcover

Rating: 4/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): 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.

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So Passenger, the newest book from the creator of the Darkest Minds series has arrived and entered my arms with a wide, open grin. I devoured this book as soon I finished its release sister Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. And overall, as a reader, I enjoyed it very much so like a lot of people did when it was first released to the public. However, I did have minor issues with it. Hence why I dropped my rating to four stars instead of five stars on good reads. Before I go into the flaws of the book, let me explain what I truly enjoyed about this book.

Number one: Characters. This is one of the main reasons why I enjoy Alex Bracken's writing so much. Her characters are so diverse in terms of attitude, race, sexuality, etc. Every time you read a different book from this particular author, her characters are somewhat different, but they're quite enjoyable. Like Liam, I found Nicholas to be a very sweet character. But, he was very blunt, secretive, and a pirate. He was yearning for freedom, to be able to set sail for great adventures without any negative outcomes from anyone else. With Etta, she was very opposite from Ruby. She's witty, outspoken, and musical. She's the tough girl, but yet held onto a innocence of feeling desperate for answers in this world that she was suddenly thrown into after watching her teacher getting 'killed'. Plus, the romance between the two of them felt right. Yes, it was very, very rushed, but if you think about it for a moment, it felt right to have it rushed. It's probably because there's probably a good chance that these two won't ever get to see each other again after the second book. (But, only time will tell right?). The other characters were also a very nice addition to the story. They each held their roles in a great manner and I hope we'll get to see them in the sequel next year.

Moving on to my second and probably last point: The plot and world building. I enjoyed the time traveling and the adventure our protagonists had to take part for this book. We were able to explore the various times and areas along with the characters and I enjoyed how they were all different places instead of the ones we normally see in Young adult literature like European countries. Alexandra Bracken made the world building so vivid and realistic in my eyes, that she made me want to go to these places in the future.

As for the flaws, I did find a few of them. Like the pacing for example, I found it to be too fast for my taste. I almost skipped out on some of the bigger transitions simply because of how fast the pacing was in this book. The character development felt too flat as well, even though I did enjoy them. I wanted to see some growth everyone, not just the protagonists. And finally, the plot twists and dynamic of the time traveling. In my personal opinion, the significant plot twists were predictable and the time traveling wasn't that well explained. I think its mostly because of how fast the pacing was in this first book. I'm sure we'll get more explanation in the sequel since I think it may be told in more of Nicholas' point of view instead of Etta's.

In conclusion, this book was good start to this duology, but not one of my favorites in the world. Alexandra Bracken does a beautiful job in her writing style, ideas, and characters. But, this book was too flat for my taste and I can only hope that the sequel will be the grand finale of awesomeness since this is a duology. I can't wait till next year to see what else the author has in store for us. What are your opinions on this book? Let me know on good reads or in the comments below!

Book Review: Truthwitch

Truthwitch (#1): By Susan Dennard

Release Date: January 5th, 2016

Publisher: Tor Teen

Format of Novel: Hardcover

Rating: 5/5 stars

Summary (from good reads): On a continent ruled by three empires, some are born with a “witchery”, a magical skill that sets them apart from others.

In the Witchlands, there are almost as many types of magic as there are ways to get in trouble—as two desperate young women know all too well.

Safiya is a Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lie. It’s a powerful magic that many would kill to have on their side, especially amongst the nobility to which Safi was born. So Safi must keep her gift hidden, lest she be used as a pawn in the struggle between empires.

Iseult, a Threadwitch, can see the invisible ties that bind and entangle the lives around her—but she cannot see the bonds that touch her own heart. Her unlikely friendship with Safi has taken her from life as an outcast into one of reckless adventure, where she is a cool, wary balance to Safi’s hotheaded impulsiveness.

Safi and Iseult just want to be free to live their own lives, but war is coming to the Witchlands. With the help of the cunning Prince Merik (a Windwitch and ship’s captain) and the hindrance of a Bloodwitch bent on revenge, the friends must fight emperors, princes, and mercenaries alike, who will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch

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Hot off the press here, I have finally posted another book review! (After a two and a half month hiatus).. So today I'm here to talk about Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. This was one of the top books I was dying to get my hands on since I heard this wonderful author was publishing it. She's one of those authors that is a god send with everything. She's so sweet and her writing blog is simply wonderful and honest. I've never met her in person, but its a life goal to get this book signed by her someday. Any who, Truthwitch is said to be a mixture of Assassin's Creed and Avatar the Last Airbender with witty characters and action packed scenes for our viewing pleasure. I gotta say, this book had it and so much more.

As I read this, I was able to get emotionally attach to these characters. Each of them holds an inner and an general mission that maps out their future for themselves and for the world they live in. And it was done in a way that was smart and creative at the same. It was also rather interesting to understand how the threads within these individuals are what creates these special bonds. When we see it in Iseult's eyes, its more spiritual in a way since she is a Threadwitch and we are able to grasp an better understanding with it so we can fall even more in love with the characters.

Speaking of characters, can we say how amazing they are!? Safi and Iseult were two beings into one. Polar opposites yet completely in sync with each other. One is basically earth and one is air. The two block each other out but they maintain a balance that is natural so to speak. They keep each other sane and they are sassy when they have their shit together. Which was something I really enjoyed. Ryber was also an enjoyable character. Even though she was a minor character, she was still so realistic

As for the boys.. Kullan and Aeduan are in the high rankings of being my fictional boyfriends. They were just ahhh so amazingly hot in my mind. (Same with Merik, but he didn't scream 'boyfriend' to me yet). Even though they had somewhat of a minor role, I was just dying to know more about them. And Kullan, oh my poor baby.. (goes into a corner to cry). As for Merik, he was the Zuko of the cast expect he was a air bender or Airwitch in this particular series. He was completely stubborn, moody, but also very loyal and broken when focusing on restoring his honor to his family. He's so powerful and one of those flawed characters a reader will fully want to embrace and relate as the series progresses.

The only main thing I found to be somewhat weak in this book was the world building. Like a lot of reviewers who have read this book, I feel that the world building wasn't as fully detailed as I would like it to be. Normally in high fantasy series, the author takes the time to vividly describe their world within stories in lyrical word choices. However, with this story, it felt as so Susan Dennard didn't do that. I mean, she took the necessary time to describe the different type of witches, but not so much in the locations. While the author did a good job of getting to the point of how the places appeared in the eyes of our cast, it felt flat. I wanted to embrace the different locations like I did with the characters. But, maybe it will happen in the next book? Who knows.

Overall, I really loved this book and I cannot wait for the next book to come out next year. What are your opinions on Turthwitch?? Let me know in the comments and I'll be back soon with another post. Happy howling my fellow wolves!