Wayfarer

Passenger, Book 2

By: Alexandra Bracken

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 16 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

I've been orphaned by my time.

The timeline has changed.

My future is gone.

Etta Spencer didn't know she was a traveler until the day she emerged both miles and years from her home. Now, robbed of the powerful object that was her only hope of saving her mother, Etta finds herself stranded once more, cut off from Nicholas - the eighteenth century privateer she loves - and her natural time.

When Etta inadvertently stumbles into the heart of the Thorns, the renegade travelers who stole the astrolabe from her, she vows to finish what she started and destroy the astrolabe once and for all. Instead, she's blindsided by a bombshell revelation from their leader, Henry Hemlock: he is her father. Suddenly questioning everything she's been fighting for, Etta must choose a path, one that could transform her future.

Still devastated by Etta's disappearance, Nicholas has enlisted the unlikely help of Sophia Ironwood and a cheeky mercenary-for-hire to track both her and the missing astrolabe down. But as the tremors of change to the timeline grow stronger and the stakes for recovering the astrolabe mount, they discover an ancient power far more frightening than the rival travelers currently locked in a battle for control... a power that threatens to eradicate the timeline altogether.

From colonial Nassau to New York City, San Francisco to Roman Carthage, imperial Russia to the Vatican catacombs, New York Times #1 best-selling author Alexandra Bracken charts a gorgeously detailed, thrilling course through time in this stunning conclusion to the Passenger series.

©2017 Alexandra Bracken. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Great end!

What I liked:
– I adore Etta. She is a strong and complex heroine. She is intelligent and thinks about things before she acts.
– Nicholas is another great character. He is strong, honorable, and selfless. I love his and Etta's relationship. I love that there were no clichéd "misunderstandings" between them that you see in so many YA novels.
– The development of secondary characters was interesting to read (Sophia, Rose, and Julian). I love when we get insight into why characters may behave the way they do and what shaped them to exhibit such selfish characteristics.
– HENRY freaking HEMLOCK. Etta's dad (this isn't a spoiler because we find out about him in Passenger). I can't say much more about him because I don't want to spoil any major plotlines.
– Action packed - Both parties (Etta and Nicholas) were on the move for almost the whole book so this book did not disappoint in that department.
– The ending - This book had one of the most satisfying endings to a series I've read. It wasn't rushed and felt complete once it arrived. I was smiling ear-to-ear by the end.
– The narration was done well, Maarleveld is skilled at distinguishing between male and female voices and giving each character their own voice.

What I didn’t:
– I had just a couple unanswered questions about why Rose did what she did, but it didn't affect my opinion about the book. I think it can be chalked up to "B---s be crazy" or something like that.
– The time travel rules get confusing sometimes. More than once I found myself a little lost.

I need more!

I need so much more of this story! How did they fix the world? Did Sofia find Linden?

Good overall, very long

While the story has a lot of twists and turns, I felt there was a little too much time spent on the internal world of Nick and sometimes Etta. The action was good, perhaps I'm jaded in believing people can be so honorable. But, the story does drag and one trope I can't stand, miscommunication was forever used in the story when a simple "Hey, is this what you said" would do. This drives me nuts! The last few chapters were so slow to me I would have been skimming if I had been reading. It was a satisfying ending but a little long in coming.

The performance was good.

A Sequel

Some sequels are just not good. But this one caused a turmoil of emotions within me. The performance was brilliant and not once did I have to wonder who was speaking.

A seemingly Rushed but Good ending

Would you try another book from Alexandra Bracken and/or Saskia Maarleveld?

Maybe, after her writing style matures. This book needs an editor. For example Etta makes an observation about Julian that goes something like this: When Julian moves it’s as if he’s posing. Then about 20 minutes later she makes the same observation using the same words. The other issue is that there is care taken to guide us through each journey and the characters are cohesive. Then at the end, so much is missing regarding Nick's new purpose and the outcome. Seemed rushed and disconnected.

I was expecting more...

The story was not terrible. I was just expecting more. The storyline is good but it seems like there were many holes in the book. It was as if she didn’t have enough to write a third book. I was still confused about certain characters and their true connection to other characters. By the end of this book more questions surfaced, especially after the epilogue.

A great continuation to an epic story.

A great continuation to an epic story. If you liked the first one, you'll love this one, too!

Creative storytelling, evolving characters. Fantastic narration!

I would really love to know Julien's story; before, parallel, and well after the astolaid was destroyed. There's so much more to know about his nan, his life as an Ironwood, what he did after disappearing, his discovery of his words and actions vs this thoughts when it comes to Nick. After seeing the racist treatment of black people and children, what does he do, if anything?

ehhh...

I loved the first one so much, I had high hopes. I'm on chapter 10 now and I'm just dragging through trying to finish. It feels more like a school lesson, like the whole time it's been just describing how it all works and less character driven.
Update: I've just finished. I stand by it getting hard to get into however it did get good. I will admit to a few tears... I'm also going to admit to not knowing who visited Rose at the very end.

great Narrator. Wonderful character development.

I read the first book. Listened the second one, Wayfarer, and I'm going to download the first one, Passenger, so I can listen to it, it was that good.