Reviews

Paris Adrift by E.J. Swift

cydchristine96's review

3.0

I enjoyed this, the time travel element of the story was unique and interesting. I loved seeing Hallie reinvent her identity while experiencing these new things happening in her life.

queerfatloud's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

*gifted ARC

I think that lovers of This is How You Lose the Time War and Addie LaRue will really like this story!

Unfortunately, neither of those books were for me and neither was this beauty 😭 But the writing was gorgeous!

chloevswords's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

So this book was definitely different and I never really knew what direction it was going to go. I feel like it started out super strong but then started to stall out. At times it felt like I was reading several short stories put into one book. I guess you could say I felt “adrift” when trying to connect the dots. However, I really liked the premise of this book and found it overall intriguing.

crothe77's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

 

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Paris Adrift by E. J. Swift is a contemporary sci-fi focusing on time travel in Paris. Hallie is a young British woman who has moved to Paris and is working at a bar. One day, she is sent back to 1875 where she tries to figure out how to return home. Meanwhile, in the 24th century, they send someone back in time to save the future and to make contact with Hallie. 

We go back to several different points in time in Paris’ history, from 1875 to WWII and even to 2070. Hallie is tasked with changing parts of the past in order to change the future without knowing that this grand mission even exists, only receiving clues from the chronometerist or the occasional bit of writing. The first thing she’s asked to do is to stop the construction of the Sacre-Coeur, which is replaced with the Moulin Vert, a later home for a political movement. 

In the present day, Hallie’s coworkers are largely unaware of her adventures. Coming from all over the world (Sweden, Colombia, America, and more), the discuss current politics as we know them and politics as they shift after each of Hallie’s adventures. The international presence helps to add different viewpoints, especially when it comes to current issues many societies face and why someone might not want to return home even if they still love their family.  

I really liked Hallie and Leon’s relationship as it reminded me of the romance subplot in Terminator. I’ve always loved the idea of two people falling in love despite being born in very different times and while romance isn’t a focus, I was happy with the subplot.

Content warning for mentions of the Holocaust and mentions of modern politics around the globe

I would recommend this to fans of time travel novels, readers looking for a sci-fi set in Paris, and those who like to see the cause-and-effect of making changes to the past

 

rowanhill's review

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Features:

• Themes of found family and finding your direction in life
• Time traveling as both a heroic effort to save the world and a personal, destructive addiction
• Set in past, present, and future Paris

The fate of future Earth rests in Hallie’s hands, but can she be more than just a tool of time? This time-bending tale takes you to past, present, and future Paris as Hallie tries to rearrange history to save a future she has never seen. Despite this setup, I found that the real focus of the story was the people working with Hallie at Millie’s bar Hallie’s journey of self-discovery. The time travel was interesting and The Choronometrist was a fascinating character, but they felt very separate from the actual story I had become wrapped up in. Overall, if you like a found family story with a little bit of time travel thrown in, you will likely enjoy this book. 

Lost, Not Broken

Millie’s is a notorious bar near the Moulin Rouge that serves as a ‘home base’ for Hallie and most of the other main characters in this story. Though a few scenes capture working at Millie’s, most of the story that does not take place in another time period happens directly before or after Hallie’s shifts. Through interactions with her co-workers, it becomes clear that Millie’s is a ‘rest stop’ for a wide variety of people on their own personal journeys. Far from being a dead end, each character is trying to figure out their next step and interacting with them is one of the main ways that we see Hallie grow. Even with the complicated element of time travel thrown in, this book never strays from the idea that being lost does not necessarily mean being broken.

 Identity Crisis

I really enjoyed where this journey took me and there were a lot of clever elements that tied the story together. However, like Hallie, the story overall seemed to lack clear distraction despite these shimmers of brilliance. On the one hand, it is about Hallie’s personal journey to find direction and love in her life alongside others who are in the same place. On the other hand, it is a time-bending adventure to save a far flung future before…it’s too late? It handles both of these elements fairly well, but it doesn’t really excel at either and it does not really make these two elements feel meaningfully connected. 

The story kicks off by introducing us to the Order of Janus and showing the world at its imminent collapse. Though a couple of members play a key role in Hallie’s journey, the Order itself is rarely mentioned after this introduction. Though Hallie’s journey through time is interesting, she herself is not aware of the purpose and eventually, the reader kind of forgets as well. As a result, the time travel lacks urgency and is not really used to develop the story in a unique way. The Chronometrist and anomaly that causes the time travel are both really interesting and I would have liked them to be used a little more effectively to really make this story shine.

Special thanks to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

rheynir's review

adventurous emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This books tells a truly compelling story, that at its heart is about growing in unexpected ways. The world building is absolutely fantastic. A fully realized world and magic system is created in less than 300 pages (where many struggle to do nearing 500). Every character is lovable in their own way, and they all feel like full people, not just props in the main characters story. I also really enjoyed the history aspects. I don't know Parisan history, but Swift did a great job of making sure I knew what I needed to without taking too much time from the story. As with most good books this left me wanting more- more about these characters, more about the world, more from this author, and even more about French history. Though I believe Hallie's story is over, I would love to see other incumbents stories- especially after Hallie's actions inevitably change their stories. 

julieverive's review

3.0

3.5 - slow in parts but a cool idea that's fairly well executed.

ailsareads's review against another edition

4.0

This was SO WEIRD and SO GOOD.

I loved the setup: a glimpse into a terrifying dystopian future, then we tumble head first into modern-day Paris with Hallie who finds a job in a nightclub near the Moulin Rouge. It’s a book about time travel and the logistics aren’t ever really explained but that just puts us in Hallie’s Dr Martens and makes the reader just as flustered and shocked as she is. This book is full of lovely moments, like her friendship with Millie, and a memorable conversation about whose country is the most messed up. I loved Paris Adrift and I can’t wait to look out EJ Swift’s other novels.

(I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

luellen1990's review

3.0

Paris Adrift by E.J.Swift

Title - Paris Adrift
Author - E.J.Swift
Published - Feb '18
Publisher - Solaris
Genre - #Travellers
Pages - 320
Price on Amazon - Paperback - £7.66 Kindle - £4.31
ISBN - 1781085935

Hallie is a geology student living in England. She's a misfit and one day she decides to pack it all in and move to Paris, where she falls in love with an eclectic community, working as a bartender in a place called Millies which is located next to the famous Moulin Rouge.
It is in Millies that Hallie meets Gabriela who helps her to settle into her new life. But life at Millie's is not as it seems.

I was curious to see what this book was like, I've had a lot of people tell me about this book and how much they enjoyed it. I, unfortunately, didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else did.

I found it to be a very slow going book and I just couldn't get into it. I found it didn't grab my attention and make me keep wanting to turn the page. In fact, I found myself reading the same bits over and over again which for me is a sign that I am not enjoying it and therefore it is not sinking in.

To be honest I couldn't finish this book so I am unable to give it a complete review for this reason.

Thank You to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating - Three out of Five Stars
Would I Read Again? - No
Would I Recommend? -No
Would I read other books by the same author? - Yes

Reviews for this book can be found on:
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Goodreads,
Net Galley (If a NetGalley Book)
My Blogs at http://www.readingbeyondobsession.co.uk/
www.lusreviewsblog.wordpress.com

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annieb123's review against another edition

4.0

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Paris Adrift is a standalone dystopian SF/fantasy by E.J. Swift. Due out 4th Feb 2020 from Rebellion Publishing, it's 250 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats (ebook available now). It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is shelved as dystopian speculative fiction, and it is, but what it struck me as primarily is character driven quest fiction. The friends surrounding and helping protagonist Hallie are growing and exploring the increasingly unstable timeline and trying to prevent the end of everything. The main value for me came from the character development and interaction, the scenery and descriptive prose. It's not an action packed read. The denouement is gentle, almost anti-climactic. Much of the plot centers around bar life and working conditions and rang believable and true.

I enjoyed the read, it was absolutely not what I was expecting, but it was beautifully written nonetheless. There are some slight elements of graphic body horror and descriptions. The language is R rated, but nothing extremely egregious.

As a small bit of nostalgia, the eARC of the book contains blurbs from several of the publisher's other imprints and backlist authors. I enjoyed the bonus and a couple of the blurbs appealed to me and I'll be chasing them down. It's always a good day when I find new authors to explore.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.