Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2472)

Content

Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Passenger (Passenger, #1) in Books

Jan 23, 2020

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
My very first taste of Alexandra Bracken's works didn't go bad after all (which means I don't have to mope or panic about wasting 99 cents on the first two books in her other series).

Passenger was a little hard for me to get into, at least in terms of characters – everything else is on good terms with me. The traveler world is a delight to read about – Bracken reveals some tidbits from significant events in history I've never actually known about unless I decide to dive into the nit picky details of world/American history or do research for fun on my own. I also love how Bracken integrates music into the traveling world.

Then there are the characters, especially Etta and Nick, who are pretty much the only characters throughout the entire novel. Everyone else appears every so often.

I'm a huge character person – I'm very nit picky about the characters I read about and is unintentionally weighed heavily on whether or not I become fond of the book or my continuation of reading the book. *cough* <a title="The Fifth Wave review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/2015/05/dnf-review-the-5th-wave-by-rick-yancey-so.html"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Fifth Wave</a> didn't bode too well, and that's an understatement.

We have Etta, part one of two main characters/views. She's a violin prodigy, a loner (violin is everything after all), acts superior, and pleases her mother even when she doesn't want to.

Problem? Yep. The girl acts quite bratty and thinks she's everything.

Then there's Nick. He's from another time period, bitter, and blames himself for Julian's death constantly.

What a lovely duo to contend with.

But this is when Bracken just introduces Mademoiselle Superior and Monsieur Bitter into the story. Over the course of being a passenger in this wonderful book – the pun is totally intended – that doesn't sound so wonderful as of right now, saying Nick and Etta are horrible characters is a complete understatement.

Etta is not just a violin prodigy thrown in the world of time travel, a loner, and acts like she's better than every other violinist around her. She is also someone who is fierce, stubborn, and has no problem standing up for her beliefs or speaking her mind. Perhaps she's not bratty after all.

And Nick... well... he's secretly sweet among that internal bitterness.

I'm completely fond of the two characters by the time Bracken takes me through several time periods on Nick and Etta's journey to take back the astrolabe her mother hid from the Ironwoods (who is apparently thirsty for power and creating a familial empire through time). Passenger is a power struggle among families and a revenge rolled into time travel adventure and romance – it's going to be interesting to see where Bracken takes the series in future novels.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-passenger-by-alexandra-bracken/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Kudos

Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated The Lost Girls of Paris in Books

Feb 3, 2020

The Lost Girls of Paris

Pam Jenoff | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

7.0

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;

<img src="https://i2.wp.com/diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Book-Review-Banner-3.png?resize=1024%2C576&ssl=1"/>;

In the 1940’s, with the world at war, Eleanor Trigg leads a mysterious ring of secret female agents in London. Twelve of these women are sent to Paris to aid the resistance.

They never return home!

Shortly after the war ends, passing through New York’s Grand Central Station, Grace Healey finds an abandoned suitcase beneath a bench. The case is filled with a dozen photographs, each of a different woman.

Setting out to find the women in the pictures, Grace is drawn into the mystery of the lost girls of Paris, their fierce friendship, unthinkable bravery – and, ultimately, the worst kind of betrayal.

Eleanor is a woman that men fear and women hate. Wherever she goes, fear follows. However, in a world of men who lead and men who are in war, she starts a programme in London where she recruits women, prepares them and deploys them to help in the war. The women have to aid the man, transmit radio messages and blend in with the french people. Eleanor makes sure they are prepared for every possible scenario, and she would’ve joined them, if they let her. As much as she seems cruel, she loves her girls like her daughters, and when things go horribly wrong, she blames herself.

Marie never imagined she would be recruited by Eleanor. Leaving her daughter behind and going into the unknown, she is deployed in Paris for a very dangerous mission. But can friendships so easily made survive the dark days of war? And what happens when Marie is one of those twelve women that disappear without a trace, never to be seen again…

And then Grace finds the suitcase full of photos of women and she can’t help but wonder what happened to them. The paths of these three women will indirectly cross over, leaving us, readers, with an amazing story to follow.

The writing is incredible and it transports you right in the 1940’s. Feelings and emotions are overflowing. I am not completely sure how I felt with the ending, as it ended too predictable for my taste, with a lot of unrealistic scenes and no character development, really.

But even despite all that, it warmed my heart and made me rethink my life decisions. The Lost Girls of Paris is a book about women who are brave and loyal. Women who are not afraid to stand up and fight. Women who have everything to lose and nothing to regret. A tale of pure emotion.

Thank you to the team at HarperCollins – HQ, for sending me a paperback ARC copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;