Review: Wayfarer

Passenger: Wayfarer | Alexandra Bracken

Published by: Quercus Children's Books, January 12th 2017

Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Time Travel, Historical

Pages: 507

Format: Ebook

Source: Quercus, via Netgalley

All Etta Spencer wanted was to make her violin debut when she was thrust into a treacherous world where the struggle for power could alter history. After losing the one thing that would have allowed her to protect the Timeline, and the one person worth fighting for, Etta awakens alone in an unknown place and time, exposed to the threat of the two groups who would rather see her dead than succeed. When help arrives, it comes from the last person Etta ever expected - Julian Ironwood, the Grand Master's heir who has long been presumed dead, and whose dangerous alliance with a man from Etta's past could put them both at risk.

Meanwhile, Nicholas and Sophia are racing through time in order to locate Etta and the missing astrolabe with Ironwood travelers hot on their trail. They cross paths with a mercenary-for-hire, a cheeky girl named Li Min who quickly develops a flirtation with Sophia. But as the three of them attempt to evade their pursuers, Nicholas soon realises that one of his companions may have ulterior motives.

As Etta and Nicholas fight to make their way back to one another, from Imperial Russia to the Vatican catacombs, time is rapidly shifting and changing into something unrecognisable ... and might just run out on both of them.

Every bit as amazing and emotional as Passenger.

This series got even more complicated and epic and dangerous with this book, and even though it wrapped up (PERFECTLY), I really want more books just to see where it would GO. With the addition of more cities and times, and Li Min (thank you, Alexandra Bracken, for the lesbians), and the mysterious Shadows, this book reached new heights of awesome. It killed me to have Etta and Nicholas apart for so long, but every second was worth it. My favourite part of this book is Henry. He's just so sweet and a really good dad and I want to keep him. But honestly, I adored every single thing and this book made me so happy.

If you're worried this won't live up to Passenger, you really don't need to be. It's even better.

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★☆

ARC Review: Passenger

Passenger: Passenger | Alexandra Bracken

Published by: Quercus Children's Books, April 7th 2016

Genre: YA, Historical, Science Fiction

Pages: 496

Format: Ebook

Source: Quercus, via Netgalley

In one devastating night, 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 travelled not just miles but years from home.

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. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, his passenger, can find.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveller who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods' grasp. But as they get closer to their target, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home forever. 

When I had a stalling first start with this after a bare 2 percent, I expected to not like it very much. Oh, how wrong I was. Because of my false start, it took me way longer to get around to reading this than it should have. And to think, I could have been falling in love with Etta and Nicholas months ago!

My issue with time travel is it doesn't feel natural in a lot of the books I've read, but that wasn't the case with this book. It was subtle and essential to the plot without overwhelming Etta's story and the emotional arc that flows through this whole book. Instead of getting hung up on specifics and practicality and science, I was able to root for Etta and admire her determination and love for her family, and fully appreciate her gradual feelings for Nicholas.

The world building in this is perfect, too. There's some magic in Alexandra Bracken's writing that made me feel as if I was in each of those setting and watching it happen myself, not just reading it. I loved the varied settings, how detailed they were, and how they were linked. I also loved the ship (obviously; this is me after all) and Nicholas's role on it. Nicholas's place in each era was carefully and honestly treated, with regards to his race, how people treated him, and how all that made him feel. I especially loved Etta punching a guy because of it. Exactly what I wanted to do.

To sum: emotional, driven, and packed with lush detail in every era and setting. I fell in love with everything (except the end.)

Characters ★★★★★

Setting/world ★★★★★

Writing ★★★★★

ARC Review: In The Dark, In The Woods

In The Dark, In The Woods | Eliza Wass
Also published as The Cresswell Plot

Published by: Quercus Children's Books, April 21st 2016

Genre: YA, Contemporary, Thriller, Dark (is dark a genre?)

Pages: 304

Format: Paperback

Source: Quercus

The woods were insane in the dark, terrifying and magical at the same time. But best of all were the stars, which trumpeted their light into the misty dark. 
Castella Cresswell and her five siblings—Hannan, Caspar, Mortimer, Delvive, and Jerusalem—know what it’s like to be different. For years, their world has been confined to their ramshackle family home deep in the woods of upstate New York. They abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father.

Slowly, Castley and her siblings start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they’re still the freaks they’ve always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice.

Castley’s world rapidly expands beyond the woods she knows so well and the beliefs she once thought were the only truths. There is a future waiting for her if she can escape her father’s grasp, but Castley refuses to leave her siblings behind. Just as she begins to form a plan, her father makes a chilling announcement: the Cresswells will soon return to their home in heaven. With time running out on all of their lives, Castley must expose the depth of her father’s lies. The forest has buried the truth in darkness for far too long. Castley might be their last hope for salvation.

There are no words for this book. It far surpasses any language. I'm not even going to attempt a full review of this book because it has left me emotional and practically speechless. Here are the points I wrote down:

- Atmospheric, real-world thriller (no fantasy or magic)

- Unsettling, upsetting, chilling

- Makes you doubt what's real, who's good or bad, if God exists in the way we know it today (as faith) or as something more (as magic)

- Realistic, easy-to-like MC. I honestly cannot say the right words to describe her. Amazing doesn't cover it, brave is nowhere near powerful enough. Maybe I should just say powerful - Castella is powerful in her own right.

- A brilliant cast of characters. I appreciated all the siblings but I ADORED Caspar. I'd go to the ends of the earth to protect him.

- Cult-like family that is honest-to-gods terrifying. I don't mean scary or creepy or eerie. I mean TERRIFYING. Do not read this and expect an easy read. It will disturb you. It will push you out of your comfort zone. It will captivate you too.

- A haunting insight into the horrors of humanity

- Just wonderful, resonating, and emotional. It's written with such care and compassion that you can't help but be swept away.

- I will read anything Eliza Wass writes. She could write about a secret rebellion (ugh) in a virtual reality game (ughhhhhh) with a super cliche story, and I would still devour it.

Characters ★★★★★
Setting/world ★★★★☆
Writing ★★★★★

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DNF Review: Red Witch

Crow Moon: Red Witch | Anna McKerrow

Published by: Quercus Children's Books, March 10th 2016

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Post-Apocalyptic

Pages: 416

Format: Ebook

Source: Quercus

Seventeen, heartbroken, powerful; Melz has run away from home, run away from the safety of the Greenworld. In the cities of the Redworld, Melz discovers she's special, desired. And not just for her magical talents. When Melz meets the young but influential Bran, their attraction is instant and electric. In the Redworld, with Bran by her side, unrestrained by the customs of her former life, Melz knows she can reach her true potential. But the world Bran wants to give Melz is ravaged by war and violence. Oil is running out, and people will do anything to gain control of the remaining resources. Melz may be more powerful than ever, but even great power can be a curse when used against you. 

THIS BOOK DROVE ME MAD.

From the accent and dialogue - someone from Yorkshire constantly saying 'Aye', one young woman from York IN A POST-APOCALYPTIC/MODERN WORLD saying 'ow do flower?' and 'nice ta meet thee' when I've never met anyone here who said flower as a pet name in MY LIFE and thee in a contemporary setting?????- to the romance. 

Okay, the romance, I don't know if this book is building up to something epic because I'm too irritated to finish, but ... Bran is manipulative, secretive, and there's something about him that has red flashing lights going off and mental voices screaming DANGER, AXE MURDERER. If it ends with Melz hitting him with a cricket bat because he assaults her, fine, I see the signs and that was well foreshadowed. Otherwise? Run!

I liked Melz way more than Danny though, but where romance is involved she's just as naive. She might have seemed savvy and aware of Bran's creepiness in parts but others ... she lets him touch her, feels sparks and connections with him, etc.

Just, nah. This book is 100% not for me. Maybe if you're not from Yorkshire, it won't do your head in quite as much. Bran probably will though.

DNF at page 160

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Crow Moon (ARC Review)

Crow Moon | Anna McKerrow

Published by: Quercus, March 5th 2015

Genre: YA, Fantasy, Witches

Pages: 384

Format: Ebook

Source: Quercus

Danny is a fun-loving 16-year-old looking for a father figure and falling in love with a different girl every day. He certainly doesn't want to follow in his mum's witchy footsteps.

Just as his community is being threatened by gangs intent on finding a lucrative power source to sell to the world, Danny discovers he is stunningly powerful. And when he falls for Saba, a gorgeous but capricious girl sorceress, he thinks maybe the witch thing might not be such a bad idea...

But what cost will Danny pay as, with his community on the brink of war, he finds that love and sorcery are more dangerous than he ever imagined?

Wickedness and passion combine in this coming-of-age adventure. 

Crow Moon brings to life the witchcraft and enchantment of Cornwall, and tells the story of Danny, the son of a witch, as he struggles to balance romance and responsibility.

I liked Crow Moon. It has a serious atmosphere about it, a tense, temperamental tone that I loved. I've not read anything set in Cornwall and Devon before, but it gave this book a definite gothic undertone that made everything darker, more enticing.

Sadly, the characters didn't do much for me. Danny was selfish, thoughtless, and impulsive. He has no idea what he wants, which is evident in him having a friend with benefits, as well as being 'in love' with a different girl called Saba, and then because he can't be with Saba - because she has a boyfriend - sleeping with an entirely different girl just because she's there and because he can. I didn't much like Saba either. There's not much about her and because of that she felt more like a love interest than an actual character. The love between her and Danny seemed plausible but empty, and the romance wasn't romantic at all, not for me. Not to mention Danny's motivations for most of what he did was wanting to get laid, which seeeeriously put me off him.

But aside from the characters, this book is great. The setting is so vivid, the imagery of Cornwall and Devon so strong. I could basically see the moors and the cliffs by the sea. I loved that it was partly set in Tintagel, a moody, alluring place I'd love to visit. I enjoyed all the magic, witchy stuff. I liked how it was so traditional, and drew on classic witchcraft, with herbs and rituals and energy. The witchcraft was my favourite thing about this, and how the group of witches that protected Tintagel were called the Five Hands - it sounds mysterious and cool.

I enjoyed the magic and setting of this book, but the characters really brought it down for me. Maybe a younger reader would identify more with the reckless love of the characters.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆