Review by Emily Meredith

Etta Spencer is a violin prodigy preparing to make her debut in the professional music world. But her performance doesn’t go to plan, she loses focus, and then she wakes up in 1776 in the middle of a sea battle.

Etta comes from a line of families with the ability to travel through time. However, her mother ran away from this world, and neglected to tell Etta anything about this skill. With a protagonist as oblivious as the reader, Bracken helps us fall into the world of Passenger with relative ease.

What I found incredibly unique about this particular method of time travel is that there are specific doors, or passages, which always lead to a particular place. Travellers can’t just choose a time and place to get to immediately – the path they must take can become convoluted.

Guided by Nicholas, an old-fashioned gentleman with a hint of pirate, Etta must locate an object only her family line had access to, or risk the wrath of a manipulative old patriarch. Although fearing for her mother’s life, Etta still finds a tiny bit of time for romance – who can resist a rogue? Plus, it makes for some brilliant moments when Nicholas’ old-fashioned manners clash with Etta’s modern ideas.

There are plenty of fascinating characters besides the two protagonists – Rose, Etta’s mother, Alice, her violin teacher, and the conniving Sophia Ironwood, just to name a few. The world-building is also fantastic – I absolutely loved falling into this one!

A great mix between historical fiction and fantasy, Passenger is a brilliant story. My only major issue with the book is that I now have to wait for the next one…This was my first foray into Alexandra Bracken, but I will definitely be checking out her The Darkest Minds series – if the premise is even half as good as Passenger I am sure to enjoy myself immensely!

Pre-Order your copy of Passenger here!

* eBook deal *

Grab Alexandra Bracken’s The Darkest Minds for only $2.99!
(Only until Monday January 18, 2016)

The Darkest Minds

by Alexandra Bracken

First in a dystopian trilogy, where showing your true colours can get you killed.

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to thurmond, a government ‘rehabilitation camp’. Ruby might have survived the mysterious disease that killed most of America’s children, but she and the others had emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes thurmond with her life. Now on the run, she is desperate to find … Read More.

Grab your eBook copy of The Darkest Minds here!

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About the Contributor

Anastasia Hadjidemetri

Anastasia Hadjidemetri is the former editor of The Booktopian and star of Booktopia's weekly YouTube show, Booked with Anastasia. A big reader and lover of books, Anastasia relishes the opportunity to bring you all the latest news from the world of books.