"How sad for them, she thought, that they had grown up without any thorns with which to protect themselves."
It Actual Rating: exactly 4/5.
"How sad for them, she thought, that they had grown up without any thorns with which to protect themselves."
It's kind of hard to write a review for a sequel when I never did for the first one. (For a great review of book one, you can read my friend Shahad's review of Passenger. So well put, and mirrored my thoughts on it exactly!)
But I am so happy to say that Wayfarer turned out to be a wonderful conclusion to Passenger. And that ending...
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There is so much I love about this duology. Alexandra Bracken wrote such a detailed and wonderfully emotional story. It's as much about time travel as it is about family-ties and heartbreak, love and revenge.
((BTW, if you've read Passenger but have trouble remembering the events-- and yeah how the time travel works exactly -- there's a really cool and very helpful recap! https://static1.squarespace.com/stati...))
I love time travel stories! And I love the explanation for the characters' time traveling ability here. We get a satisfying idea of how it works in the first book. But in this sequel, the origins behind the astrolabe and the four families is revealed. And the war between the travelers intensifies as they all hunt after the astrolabe. There's the Thorns on one side, Rose on another, Etta, and Nicholas, Cyrus Ironwood, the Shadows and an old sinister threat they never saw coming. Every single one has their own agenda and reason for it.
I loved the world-traveling to different points in history that Etta and Nicholas took in the first book. There's even more traveling here! But better yet, in this book, the travelers' actions actually severely impact and shift world events as a result of everyone fighting for their own version of the timeline. And so, Etta and Nicholas are each faced with hard questions and choices, and not one easy option. So, the plot is definitely exciting!
Before I talk about the wonderful characters and relationships in this book, I'm going to mention the writing - or rather its pace. The writing is beautiful -- but, in other ways, because of the slow pace, it's also the book's biggest flaw. This book is definitely an improvement on Passenger in terms on pacing, but it still moves a bit slowly at some points with the long descriptions, and also too-long inner monologues every time a character decides on something new. Sometimes you want things to move just a bit faster. Especially, Nicholas and Sophia's journey. I found Etta's parts moving along quicker.
But it's worth it to be patient because we get great character development and there's enough action, especially during that explosive climactic part. Still, could have been 50 pages shorter or more, maybe.
(If you haven't read Passenger yet, below are a couple of big spoilers for the first book. But don't worry, no big spoilers for Wayfarer).
This time, Etta and Nicholas are separated for most of the book, (after the final events in Passenger took Etta away from him). And while I love their romance and partnership and waited for their reunion, that didn't bother me. It gave opportunity for each to move the same story forward with their own journey - Etta meets her father, Henry Hemlock, leader of the Thorns. And Nicholas gets caught up in a deadly deal while trying to find Etta.
But the best part about this were the new partnerships and character dynamics this provided! And amazing character development for everyone! I wasn't a fan of Sophia in the first book, but in this one, she is a lot more fleshed out and sympathetic, and so badass! She and Nicholas made awesome from-hate-to-friendship partners. It provided some funny moments:
He was yanked back by his collar before he could swim closer. "Would you stop making eyes at that bloody ship? It’s a siege,” Sophia grated at him. “If they catch us, they won’t just kill us; they’ll make a whole show of it. Use our decapitated bodies to boost morale.” Right. Yes. Siege.
They go from despising each other and death-threats to being partners who could relate, and friends who become very protective of each other.
As much as Etta was his heart’s helpmate, Sophia was the sword at his side on the expedition he undertook now.
A new character Li Min - a fellow traveler and female pirate - joins and helps them too. She has a heavy and dark past, but she's a great ally to Sophia and Nicholas. And there's even a bit of romance between her and Sophia. And though it's subtle, it works very well, showing a bit more of Sophia's softer side.
Nicholas wondered briefly if it was his destiny to be surrounded by women possessing varying degrees of murderous intent.
And Etta gets to know her father, Henry Hemlock, who she's never met, and his side of the traveler family, which make up "The Thorns". And it leads her to learn more about her mother, Rose, and her secrets. (Rose is, btw, an amazingly complex anti-herione that deserves more page time --and even her own book).
But also she meets Nicholas's spoiled and carefree half-brother, Julian Ironwood who (as was hinted at the end of Passenger) is not dead, and turns out to be a very fun addition to the story! And Etta gets stuck with him on her side of things, and they make a hilarious mismatched pair!
"You’re rather handy, Linden-Hemlock-Spencer,” he said. “That was some brilliant teamwork, if I do say so myself.” "I’m not sure you know what that word means,” Etta managed, her teeth clenched. “You’re the brawn, I’m the brains, kiddo,” he told her. “You don’t need my help with this.”
And some more later - I loved this line:
She blinked. “That was… surprisingly useful.” "As I like to say, always aim to disappoint in life,” Julian said. “That way you’ll never fail to be a delightful surprise when you don’t.”
And, like with Sophia, there's some great character development for Julian!
But safe to say - absolutely no love triangles in this! Etta and Nicholas's romantic arc is just as strong even with them apart for so long. But the family dynamics and friendships are just as impactful in this book which was my favorite part.
I do wish that the characters that were separated for most of the book and only met near the end had more scenes together - like Henry and Rose (can I get their love story please - I need that special Target edition with their novella!), Nicholas and Julian (I would have liked more resolution there), and a little more of Sophia and Nicholas after everything. But I just want more of these characters because they were all so likable and complex and just wonderful!
Overall, I'm happy with this book and conclusion to the story. And I would love for novellas to start appearing showing us what happens next to the characters and more of their journeys! And even if not - the ending of this book was perfect enough!
And if you're hesitant to read this because Passenger felt a bit slow-paced then just remember the fun parts of that book (when it started to pick up with the time-traveling), because this book has a lot more of that, and just overall more surprises....more
"She said it was a place where magic lived, and Scarlett fell in love with the idea of it, daring to believe that if
My rating: 3.5 stars.
"She said it was a place where magic lived, and Scarlett fell in love with the idea of it, daring to believe that if Legend and his players came to the isle of Trisda, they would return some of the joy to her life, at least for a handful of days."
What did I think about Caraval...? Not entirely sure this review will make sense or give a clear verdict on how I feel about it! Months before reading it, there was so much hype over how amazing a novel it is. But I waited to read more reviews upon its release and the hype died down as well as my sky-high expectations.
Still, with Caraval, I expected a magical experience that will expand my imagination and give me constant thrills and twists in the plot. As for the characters, I did not expect much besides the usual - the plot of one sister searching for the other to push her into an adventure has been done a lot in YA. But to my surprise, I found myself easily caring for the characters, but found the adventure a bit underwhelming. The thrills and twists of Caraval were... fun, and at times intense (mostly near the end of the book), but the overall atmosphere of the book was calmer than I expected. Dreamlike more than consistently suspenseful - it worked in a way, but wasn't what I expected!
What it's about --Scarlett and Tella are sisters surviving under the abuse and tyranny of their father, with no one to really care for them but each other. They both come out different as a result of this prison they live in - Tella is reckless while her older sister Scarlett wants nothing but safety for her and her sister, and she even agrees on an arranged marriage to accomplish it. And she almost leaves behind her childhood fantasy of going to Caraval - an enchanted place of games and magic - but she finally gets an invitation from the master of Caraval. They are taken there by morally dubious sailor, Julian, who spends most of the game with Scarlett as she searches for her missing sister with only a handful of vague clues - even though she doesn't trust him at first. The game and people in it are full of secrets, and the blend and twist of reality and fantasy makes you question what to be afraid of and is just part of the game.
“Once inside, you will be presented with a mystery that must be solved. Clues will be hidden throughout the game to help you on your way. We want you to get swept away, but be careful of being swept too far away."
“What happens if someone does get swept too far away?” asked Scarlett.
"That’s usually when people die or go mad."
While Caraval is supposed to be completely surprising and enchanting, for most of the book it did not feel like anything new, really. And I rarely complain about cliches or tropes, but I do when it fails to pull me in.
Let's start with the characters -- This book really turned out to be more character driven than I expected. And I am actually always more a fan of character focused stories. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with the characters in this book, I could easily relate and connect with them -- but for some reason, there was also nothing great about them. We have the sisterly bond and conflict that drove the plot, and it managed to make me worry about what they were facing. There was the push and pull romance for our MC Scarlett with the dubious and secretive "badboy", Julian. I liked the romance, and found their progressing feelings the most prominent part of the book, really -- but was it enough to make the book special or keep me turning the pages faster? Not really.
"Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything.”
But I can't deny that the entire book from start to finish made a pretty good journey of character growth and discovery for Scarlett. Even the romance and her love for her sister was part of that. All in all, I actually liked Scarlett as a protagonist - even though she had a few annoying traits here and there. She's the kind of reserved character most current YA authors try to move away from, but I like that she was driven and conflicted by battling emotions of fear and love. She's a victim but chooses to be a protector because of it - as flawed and naive as her choices are. I couldn't not root or feel for her.
Then there's Legend - the master of Caraval. True to his name, and just like the game itself, he's a total mystery. At points in the game, he feels real and like you'll soon find out who he is. And I guess Legend is the most fascinating of the characters - or he's supposed to be. I don't want to mention much about Legend in this review as not to spoil the suspense but I'll just say I'll reserve my verdict on him for the next book. (Don't open spoiler if you haven't read the book!) (view spoiler)[okay, so we don't really know enough about Legend but the hints are interesting. Still -- I really really hope that if Legend becomes an actual part of the plot in the next book it is not as a love interest for either of the girls. I mean yeah, given how mysterious he is, it would add intrigue as a romance or a triangle even. But I can't forget that he had a relationship with the girls' grandmother and that just makes it weird if he later gets together with her granddaughters. Very weird. So, no, please none of that! (hide spoiler)]
World-building and setting -- Most reviews warned that the characters aren't what makes the book amazing. So what did I expect would make it so enthralling? Caraval itself! The whole game and imagery and enchantment of the place. But then while reading, there wasn't anything overly fascinating to marvel at in Caraval besides the authors' prose that created a whimsical feeling. Really. Most of the descriptions of the place fell flat - not how they were described but just what they were. We have a map of Caraval in the beginning of the book and I feel like we only got to explore a handful of places. And they weren't that impressive. My favorite place was the fortune teller's. Very interesting and I feel like a couple of things he foretold or explained will play into the sequel. Besides that, nothing really stood for me. We got only glimpses or places here and there. Sadly, the most vivid places the book spends time in are the Inn they're staying at with its drab bar and rooms (or maybe I just pictured it that way?) -- and the dark tunnels. And they weren't even scary tunnels depsite the idea of them being able to drive a person mad.
The plot/pacing -- It gave a few clues here and there but the actual suspense didn't pick up for me until about 75% in. Before that, I was reading at a very relaxing pace for a book that was supposed to be intensely thrilling and mysterious. I was happy that by the end, we did get answers and explanations. And the final reveal did make the journey worth it but only mildly. I think that while by the end of the book, my interest finally piqued for both the characters and the world of Caraval -- that only left me with this incomplete feeling of not being able to fully judge the story until I get more answers in the sequel. It's like it ended too soon and you want to grasp the final perspective more fully after you've learned what you just did.
So yeah, I am definitely going to read the sequel! And I have a feeling that if it's a good one it will make the first one feel better - to have the full picture.
Overall -- I definitely would recommend Caraval if you like mysteries and enjoy odd setting and interesting prose to describe everything. While I wasn't completely pulled in by the events, that doesn't mean they were not enjoyable or engrossing. There's actually a bit of everything to enjoy in a YA fantasy - but also nothing overly spectacular that blew me away. Which is fine! So yeah, nothing to complain about and nothing to rave about from me!
I feel I am being overly critical on the book - maybe in response to all the hype?
But I'm still giving this 4 Goodreads stars because it was time well spent reading it in the end!!...more
Nouf *LostinFantasy*
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Books:
jan-2017-release
(16)
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