In March of this year I posted a review of Passenger, which you can find here, and I found Wayfarer to be quite similar. I will start this review by saying that I gave it 4/5 stars, and that I did overall really enjoy it. However, this book did struggle from the overly slow pacing that was present in the first book.
I do absolutely adore Etta and Nicholas, and the plot points were so interesting and are what kept me reading, along with the great characters. I was constantly really annoyed by Etta’s parents as they kept so much from her and weren’t much help overall (this is a compliment, as I feel that Alexandra Bracken intended to write them both this way). Li Min is such a great character and I loved her interactions with Sophie and the LGBT aspects incorporated. I also liked that the only special point of the LGBT relationship was that one character was married to a man due to the constraints of the time that she lived in.
There are many different groups of people, and their personal stories are well developed, to just the right point where you know enough but not too much. There is one specific scene where these groups have congregated, and I greatly enjoyed this and the interactions that were then had.
However, sadly again this book suffered from really slow pacing. As it’s such a large book, it makes it feel even slower and also intimidating to the reader. It’s such a pity as everything else about this duology is great and I get so absorbed into the world. I just wish it wasn’t so… lethargic?
I loved the time zones that we jumped through within this book, and the various different plot points with different characters. It’s such a fun story and I would still read more in the world, so I’m hoping that Alexandra Bracken will release a novella or a collection of short stories (these also may then be faster paced due to their shortness which would be perfect!).
Overall, I really good book and duology that just didn’t quite hit the mark. However, I still do love the world and the characters within it. Maybe give Passenger a go and borrow it from the library?
Have you read this duology? Do you agree or disagree with my views? Let me know in the comments!
Abi of Pellinor 