Places I visited through books and wanna see in real life | Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a Freebie. I choose to talk about places I visited through books and would love to see in real life. We all love to read books because it makes us discover new places and a whole new world, that's that aspect of reading I wanted to highlight today. So thank you, books.

Of course, I didn't mention all the places I already went to (Paris, London, Roma, Barcelona and so on) nor the United States, because it was a little too obvious.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

seen in: Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Yeah, I know, I've been to Rotterdam last year, so it's a little ridiculous. But still. Everyone is so in love with this place, I want to know what it's all about!

Prague, Czech Republic

seen in: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I'd love to go there, you have no idea. I was so surprised to discover this city through a book, even though the characters aren't there that long, but anyways. At uni, I have a class where I study the court of the Holy Roman Empire in the 18th century, and of course, Prague was included. Now, I just want to go there so badly.

Edinburgh, Scotland

seen in: The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Everyone loves Scotland. I know there is Outlander and everything, but still. Why is everyone obsessed with this country? It intrigues me and well... It seems like a magical place. I'm sure it totally has a medieval vibe to it and I'm an history major, so I don't mind. At all. Also, should I watch Outlander? I'm still on the fence about it.

Geneva, Switzerland

seen in: This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee

Tbh, until I read this book, travelling to Geneva wasn't my top priority, not at all. Moreover, it's really close to France, so what's the point? But well, I read This Monstrous Thing and the descriptions made me eager. So who knows, maybe one day?

Athens, Greece 

seen in: The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

I've already visited Roma, so it seems logical I need to go there next, right? It was the next step for the seven demigods, so why not me? Just kidding, I want a peaceful trip there. Anyways. This year, I have a class called "Religion in Ancient Greece", so of course I need to go there someday, I don't want all this studying to be for nothing!

Saint Petersburg, Russia

seen in: A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Well, okay Marguerite went to Saint Petersburg in an universe where it was like the beginning of the 20th century, but still! It seems like an eerie place, even if I would die if I went there during the winter, let's be honest.

Instanbul, Turkey

seen in: The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall

I just thought about all the delicious food I could eat there and my stomach growled. I think I need to eat and then I'll finish this post, haha. I found that Istanbul as a rich architecture and it could be so interesting to visit everything, like Santa Sophia or Topkapi Palace (I love that name!).

Bombay, India 

seen in: A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Once again, I'm here for the food and this time I had to put a picture, because Indian food is the best. Now, I'm aware of the problems of this city, but I'd love to go to India one day. It is such a foreign country, because it's not on my continent and those people have a culture completely different from my own, I'd like to discover it!

 Cairo, Egypt 

seen in: Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

I meant Egypt in general, it's just that I mentionned cities so far and I want to keep this post organized the same way, haha. Call it OCD if you want. Like everyone, I'm impressed by Ancient Egypt and I love to read historical novels that was set there (btw, we need more, YA authors ;) ). So of course, seeing the pyramids would be great!

Toronto, Canada

seen in: A Book of Spirits and Thieves by Morgan Rhodes

Wow, it's the only place in America that I talked about, I'm improving, haha. No, but seriously, it would have been to easy to talk about how much I'd love to go to the United States someday, but since so many of you are from there, it's not that funny. I'd also love to go to Canada someday and I'd ead all the maple syrup because I loooove it. I think I've talked a little too much about food on this post, I'll calm down, I swear!

Where have you already traveled to? Would you like to go to any of the places I mentionned? Which country/city do you want to visit someday?

A long wait for an incredible world-building and adventure | Passenger

Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken

Published: January 5th 2016 by Disney Hyperion

Genre: Young Adult, Time Travel

Goodreads summary: passage, n.

i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.

ii. A journey by water; a voyage.

iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

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, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he 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

REVIEW

There was a lot of hype around this book and like many of us, I was anticipating this book like a crazy person, since I first heard of it when it didn't even have a synopsis, and hadn't read the Darkest Minds trilogy yet. I was scared I wasn't going to love it, because it wouldn't be as good as what I expected, but I was wrong, even though I had a few issues with the book.

THE PLOT

So, let's start with what bothered me throughout this book… The pacing. This book had one of the most uneven pacing ever and it irritated me. At first, I thought the story would move forward very quickly, because we stayed in modern day New York for one chapter before Etta travelled for the first time and went to 1776. I thought that after that, we would have some big revelations and then her adventure would start. Alas, I was wrong.

In fact, we stayed in 1776 until page 200 I believe? At first, Etta was on the ship -where she met Nicholas- and if you know me, I love when books involve ships. It's like, my favourite thing ever. I wasn't disappointed, being on a ship was so amazing, really. But I felt like they stayed too long on there, and then in New York. I thought we would get more time traveling during those first two hundred pages, but nope. Also, because there is a ship on the cover, I wanted to get back into the ship after, but that wasn't possible. I NEEEEEEED SHIPS, OKAY?

I totally understand why this book took its time, don't get me wrong, guys. While Etta was on the ship, she still learned a lot about time travelling, but her knowledge was also completed by Cyrus Ironwood, the villain of this story. But actually, the fact that his name is Ironwood makes him a villain because "iron"? It sounds creepy, right? Anyway, Etta starts to learn a lot more about her family past and it was really interesting, and then, she's sent on a scavenger hunt to find an object. That aspect reminded me so much of the quest in Percy Jackson, because she even had a deadline, it was kind of funny. Well, not for her, but for me.

When Etta and Nicholas finally started their quest, the book moved so much faster and I couldn't help but turn pages and read as fast as I could, because I needed to know what was happening.

THE WORLD BUILDING

It was an AMAZING part of this book. First of all, Bracken managed to make the concept of time travel easy to follow and realistic. Sometimes, it feels so complicated and is really oriented toward science-fiction, but it wasn't the case at all! I didn't get a headache after the explanation, that's a good point!

Moreover, getting into different cities and time periods was AMAZING. I totally thought the author had done her research, because it actually felt like I was there and I was so excited to discover each location through the characters' eyes. However, I'm sad we only saw some locations only during one chapter -like Angkor- when we went to other locations for a hundred pages. It's an issue that relates to the pacing, I wished we had seen more of those places and less of others, like the long beginning in 1776.

I enjoyed the 'hierarchy' in this world. At first, the travellers were four different families but because of conflicts, Ironwood is the only one remaining and they basically rule the world. The fact it was organized behind a patriarch and that the travellers have to go back to his time reminded me SO MUCH of the Ruby Red trilogy, which I loved. Moreover, there is also a "rebellious" group, the Thorns, and I can't wait to learn more about them, because they were almost just mentioned in this book.

THE CHARACTERS

In The Darkest Minds, the story was told through Ruby's point of view and was written in first person. Here, the author choose to do something different, indeed we had the points of view of both Etta and Nicholas. I thought it worked so well, because being of two different time periods, they didn't have the same views, it was interesting. However, because she writes long chapters, sometimes I just wanted to continue being in the head of the same character and didn't want to wait thirty pages for that.

 I was really interested in having Nicholas' perspective, because he had to get through so many things, because he was a person of colour. I found it really important that Bracken talked about those issues, because in each time period he travelled to… He was judged because of his skin colour and well, it was the time were slavery was common *sigh*. Of course, as a person of the 21th century, it was infuriating and Etta was so mad about it (that scene on the ship was hilarious)! I really liked that Bracken took the time to talk about this issue, because it's not completely resolved today either… But I just want Nicholas to settle down in the 21th century so it'll be way better for him.

I enjoyed both main characters, but I wished we had more secondary characters. In TDM, the secondary characters made the story so much better, but here, it was missing. Some of the characters we saw on the ship were really interesting and I wished I could have gotten to know them more.

THE ROMANCE

Some people might say it was a little instalove-y… And I won't deny it, tbh. But, the fact that we had both characters' perspective made it so much more buyable. From the beginning, those characters had some swoony-worthy moments and I couldn't help but ship them together. It was also a really interesting relationship, because Nicholas was from the 18th century while Etta was from the 21th and it doesn't work the same way. Like, Nicholas was so worried about Etta's reputation, that was fun! I had so many feels about this ship, so really, I don't even care if it had instalove. Those ones are definitely OTP!

THE ENDING

The ending was so fast-paced and full of emotions, this book deserved to be a 4.5 stars just because of that. It's funny how an ending can totally change my view on a book. While I was reading the last chapters, I couldn't stop reading because EVERYTHING was happening. When I finished chapter 21 I was so upset! Luckily there was chapter 22 who offered a little bit more of a closure, it totally felt like the characters were trying to plot something but well… We'll see… It ended on a BIG cliff-hanger, but Bracken is a queen at doing that, so who is even surprised? Seriously, I need Wayfarer NOW.

CONCLUSION

This book took some time to start, but once it picked up, it was a gripping read until the very last pages, which ended on a cliff-hanger (I. NEED. MORE). The world-building was well-detailed, which made me feel like I was in those places with the characters. Speaking of which, our two main characters were really interesting and had a lot of chemistry, as well as a swoony-worthy romance, even though her relationship progressed a little bit too quickly. I wished we had seen more of the secondary characters, but I think it'll happen in the next one. Basically, this book is a must-read, even if I had some issues with it.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Review : The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Geography of You and Me

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Publisher: Poppy

Release date: April 15th 2014

Summary: Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

REVIEW

If you were to draw a map of the two of them, of where they started out and where they would both end up, the lines would be shooting away from each other like magnets spun around on their poles. And it occurred to Owen that there were something deeply flawed about this, that there should be circles or angles or turns, anything that might make it possible for the two lines to meet again. Instead, they were both headed in the exact opposite directions. The map was as good as a door swinging shut. And the geography of the thing-the geography of them- was completely and hopelessly wrong.

I read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight a few months ago, and I didn't love it. I had to try twice before really getting into the story, but in the end, the romance was cute. I had this one and This is what happy looks like in my TBR pile and I randomly put this in my luggage before I left for my holidays in the south of France. I wasn't even sure I would read it this week, but I did and won't regret it.

I first picked this book because the main character's name is Lucy, and mine is Lucie. Same name, different languages. I always look forward to read a book with a character that has the same name than me: A Tale of Two Cities (Lucie Manette) or the Chronicles of Narnia (Lucy Pevensie).

This book started with our two main characters, Lucy and Owen, stuck in the same lift because of a power cut in New York. They start to talk to each other, but their journey together doesn't stop there. They spend the rest of the day together, and they fall in love, like two average teenagers (even if they don't know that yet). But, their story is getting complicated, because they both have to move: Lucy in England, Owen somewhere else in the States. From that point, they'll try to stay in touch, through postcards or sometimes emails, but it gets difficult to stay in touch, because it is the way of life. From the moment I saw these characters together, I was hooked.

I read this book in almost one setting, I cried and laughed with these characters. I spent little time with them, but they grew close to my heart, and they'll stay in it for some time. I liked to read the postcards, like the one with the deepness of Loch Ness and Tahoe Lake, because it brought them together, no matter how far away they were from each other. I also liked how the author chose to deal with this situation: at some point both of them try to have someone, but it doesn't really work out.

"You know what made me less sad?"

"What?"

"Seeing you happy," he told him. "And for a little while there, it seemed like those postcards were the only thing that did the trick."

The traveling aspect of this book was so refreshing - from San Francisco to Prague, with glimpses of Paris, Seattle, Edinburgh, and so many other cities. No matter how far away, the characters thought about each other, and that was beautiful. This book doesn't want us to believe that being in love with someone abroad is easy, but that you can do it, no matter the distance. For me, it was done beautifully, and I cried the moment Lucy told Owen she was moving in London. It was cute, heartwarming and genuine at the same time. This book made me feel so many things and it's always something I appreciate.

Lucy, however, lingered on the stoop for another minute, her eyes still damp, wondering which one was true. Maybe she was homesick for New York, or maybe it was Edinburgh. Possibly it was even both. Or maybe-maybe-it wasn't a place at all.

Personally, I was touched by this book because my boyfriend is going in Germany for six months starting in September, and I could so easily relate to the characters because if that, I think I'll probably reread this book at that time. However, I think this book is underrated, so please read it!

What did you think about this book? Are you interested in it?