Title: Passenger
Series: Passenger #1
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: January 5, 2016
Genre: Young Adult – Sci Fi/Fantasy, Time Travel, Romance
Pages: 486
Format: Purchased Hardcover

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.

DNFed at 54%

This is actually the first book I’ve ever done a DNF for. I try my best to finish reading books, but I just couldn’t with this one, so let me explain why.

I was instantly hooked with the premise of this book. I thought, “Wow! Time traveling pirates? Cool!” And it started out much like I expected, but as I kept reading I continually found myself distracted because the writing was very long winded and I couldn’t remember what happened from one scene to the next. Bits and pieces I found interesting, but for a lot of it I couldn’t keep my attention on it. I tried to read it for over a month and made it only just past the half way mark before I put it down and haven’t picked it up since.

I found that the plot wasn’t very interesting. I was pretty bored through a lot of it because there were too many details thrown in in each chapter and I couldn’t keep a lot of it straight. I enjoyed the initial scenes of Etta on the ship, but once her and Nicholas start to get a bit further into the story, I wasn’t interested. I mean, bits and pieces intrigued me, but for the most part? Not so much.

The relationship between Etta and Nicholas was also very insta-lovey, which isn’t something I’m fond of. I mean, there are times when it can be done right, but from the moment they both saw each other it was as if they just wanted to kiss the other badly and I wasn’t feeling it. They each thought the other was attractive and they were both really into the other even if they didn’t want to admit it, and though I really like romance, I just couldn’t get into this one.

Etta seemed like she took the whole time travel thing well. I mean, she was very shocked at first, but her main priority was to go home and try to turn back time and stop her friend from dying – and to find her mom. But all of that shock seemed to wear off very fast and she just started to really take a lot of it in stride. I mean, I’m all for a strong heroine, so that’s not a huge deal, but I would’ve liked more exploration, more questioning on her part.

Nicholas was very driven to prove a lot of people wrong, which was great to see, and it was also interesting to see how the issue of race would affect the story because he is, in fact, an African American young man living in a time where they were more often than not slaves. I thought that he was an interesting character, and his reactions to certain situations were great, but I also felt he held himself back a lot. Maybe it had to do with his situation and everything, but I wished he’d have pushed a little more.

I did like the sense of mystery as to who Etta’s mother was, how she was a traveler, and what her role played in everything, and I did like it when they were back in the 1900s and Nicholas was reacting as though he was going to have a heart attack seeing all of the technology, which was funny. And I liked that Etta really strives to be the best violinist out there because I haven’t read a lot of books where that’s been a main interest to a main character.

As I stated, the story fell flat for me, as did the characters at times. I really wanted to like this one because it had such a cool premise, but I just couldn’t get into it. It wasn’t for me, but I’m sure it appeals to a lot of people, so definitely give it a chance if you’re looking for time traveling pirates and violin players.

0 star rating as this was a DNF. For me, this is the equivalent of a No Rating.