A promising adventure crushed by a suffocating romance. 3/5 stars.
Thank you to Hachette, Quercus and Netgalley for giving me an e-copy of Passenger in return for an honest review.
The blurb: 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.
My take:
This is a story of two parts. One part is a fantastical time-travel adventure motivated by a centuries-old family feud. This layer of the story is wonderful and takes in a range of locations and time periods, each described in evocative detail.
The other part of the story is a romance. One which starts when the two characters lay eyes on each other and pretty much fall in love in that second. And from then on the romance grows until it overshadows and sucks the life out of the adventure plot-strand. As someone who loves a good love story, I say that with a heavy heart. But when there are whole chapters or great chunks of chapters which are devoted to the two main characters thinking about each other and their feelings, rather than actually doing anything… I lost patience.
The characters are a laudably diverse cast who are brave, determined and smart. But while I liked the two main characters – Etta and Nicholas – I felt their personalities failed to flourish because their feelings for each other (so many many feelings, told again and again and again) overwhelmed their individuality. I think the whole book would have benefitted if they had started out as companions who are rightfully wary of each other and then their relationship had been allowed to develop into a romantic one while the adventure stayed in the front seat.
I would like to read book 2 because if the romance were dialled back, there’s potential for this to be a fantastic series. The time-travel element is well-handled and I’d like to see where and when the characters will be taken next.
Overall: if you can’t stand insta-love, you might want to avoid Passenger. However, if it doesn’t bother you and you’re looking for a well-written time-travel adventure, check it out.
Claire Huston / Art and Soul
Art and Soul 
This is on my TBR list but I think I’ll let it sit there for a while more. I liked Alex Bracken’s Darkest Minds series and the time-travel aspect sounds really cool but the insta-love in a book like this isn’t my thing. Let’s hope book 2 will be better
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I agree. It’s a shame because if you were invested in the love story then this would be a 4 or 5-star book, no question. It’s very well-written and the adventure parts are great.
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I didn’t get very far into this one. It just didn’t hook me at all, even though so many people loved it on Tumblr.
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I had seen mixed reviews for it and now I understand why. I think the romance either works for you or it’s too much
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My feelings on this are similar to yours, I have to say. This book had so much potential, but so much of it was wasted because of the romance!! I just wasn’t able to root for it and it just bothered me how much time it took up of the story. SIGH. Love the review though, Claire! ❤
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You’ve given me a lot to think about Claire. I’m not big on romances in most novels. I hate how they detract from the narrative when they come on too quickly. It was one of the things I disliked most about the 13 Hallows. But I’m still torn about whether or not to try Passengers. Luckily, my TBR is so long, I won’t have to worry about it too much yet 😉
Thanks for the review 😀
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I’ve been tempted to read this one, but time travel really isn’t my thing. Great review, though!
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I love the way Alexandra Bracken handled the time traveling. It does help to put up with the romance that sometimes takes a little too much room.
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I thought the whole time-travel/adventure was great. I liked the whole “portal” thing and the “rules” seemed nice and clear 🙂 I’m hoping in book 2 there might be less romance and more adventure now that the main characters have been separated.
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Yes, she really worked well on time-traveling. It all made sense and it’s always a plus. I don’t like it when authors take too many liberties with it and use the traveling as a tool without any rules. It becomes messy and too unbelievable. As long as we don’t get page-long paragraphs of wailing and crying or thinking about each other, I’d be happy!
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Great review. Not my cup of tea i don’t think but i must admit the cover looks really good though.. I just don’t like too much romance in my books…
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Thank you!
And that’s the thing… I do usually like romance, but this was too much 😦
And not enough pirates when a book promises pirates!
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Ah I hate it when the romantic element overshadows the adventure plot. I still haven’t read this book but now my expectations aren’t that high.
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I think that might be the best way to go into it. I was expecting something a bit grander… maybe? I was certainly expecting more pirate business, but there’s hardly any of that either 😦
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I remember disliking the insta-love, too. But otherwise I enjoyed it, even if the blurb was a bit misleading.
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I agree about the blurb. I was expecting lots of pirate stuff! 🙂 Maybe in the next book…
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hahaha…your tag line with your rating made me laugh out loud.
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Glad to hear it! 🙂
It’s such a shame though. As I say, the time-travelling adventure stuff is great. But then there’s this romance the characters don’t stop thinking about. Ever. Ugh!
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