Wayfarer is the sequel to Passenger
Passenger
In one devastating night, violin prodigy 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 traveled not just miles, but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.
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 so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, his passenger, can find. In order to protect her, Nick must ensure she brings it back to them-whether she wants to or not.
Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home forever.
Spoilers to Passenger start now!
Wayfarer
I had mixed feelings about Wayfarer. Alexandra Bracken is a spectacular writer and she know how to work imagery in such a way that I feel the world and setting being slowly constructed in my mind. Unfortunately, it took way too long to pick up and fill my mind with thoughts of wanting to know what happens next.
Etta and Nicholas got separated in timelines at the end of Passenger, and we were able to see them continue to grow without each other.
Unfortunately, their separation made Nicholas way too ugh for my case. Whenever I would reach a chapter that was told in his perspective I found my groaning and rolling my eyes. It is great and annoying. Great because it means Bracken knows how to properly express Nicholas’ feelings of desperation and foolishness through the written word. It was annoying because I wanted to slap Nicholas for some of his actions.
On the other hand, I felt that Etta grew as she followed her own sense of rightness instead of embarking on an adventure based on just saving a mother who didn’t want to be found. Etta’s vision upon and she became selfish, and made actions on her own terms. (*clap clap clap*)
Wayfarer was more fleshed out than Passenger, but the lack of fleshing in Passenger makes sense after Wayfarer. In Wayfarer the reader can finally connect all the mysterious mystery things from book one. LIKE THE SHADOWS and ROSE WHAT IS YOUR MASTER PLAN EXPLAIN WHY YOU DOING THIS.
My other small complaint is that the shadows were mentioned and slightly explain in the passing, but I wish it could have been more dominant in the story. The Shadows were the key force behind all the occurrence in the time traveler’s lives and I felt like it was barely scraped. It kinda felt like: Look the Shadows, they are this and came from that! There they are again, and now they are gone BYE.
Alexandra Bracken also included more diverse characters in the Passenger/Wayfarer crew. Including a Chinese character, soft natured boys, and gay women.
“Because one moment in life does not define a person…Without mistakes and misjudgments we would stagnate. It is no shameful thing to be beaten when outnumbered, not when you are brave enough to try.”
My Ratings
Passenger 4/5
Wayfarer 4.5/5
Wayfarer 4.5/5