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A review by nicolemhewitt
Invictus by Ryan Graudin
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I have adored every one of Ryan Graudin’s books, so when I saw that she had a new one coming out the choice of whether or not to pick it up for review was a no-brainer. All of Graudin’s books are so completely different that I never know what to expect with her. This newest book is a time-traveling sci-fi adventure!
What Fed My Addiction:
Time-traveling adventures.
This book handles time travel incredibly well. It doesn’t gloss over the science of how it would work, but it doesn’t go into overwhelming detail either. Plus, there are exciting trips to historical events like the sinking of the Titanic! (And I kind of loved Graudin’s explanation of how stealing from the past makes sense—under very specific circumstances.) Add to that all of the complexities of the characters having to make sure they don’t change history and you get some pretty intense time-traveling!
No secondary characters.
While it might seem like Farway is the star of the show (and he is in some ways), we get POV’s of all of the major characters—Farway, Imogen, Gram, Priya and Eliot. Instead of feeling overwhelming, I appreciated getting to know all of the secondary characters better. (Plus, we got to learn things from Eliot that we wouldn’t have known otherwise!) I felt connected to all of the characters in the book this way.
The romance.
We had one romance that started up before the book started and another that we got to hope for as the book went on. And no triangles! I adored Priya and Far together.
The twists—and that ending! Once you find out what’s actually going on in this book, things start to get truly exciting! I won’t say anything more than that.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Bit of a slow start?
While there was definitely some mystery being built up in the first half of the book over who Eliot is and why she’s interested in Farway, I’ll admit that I wasn’t completely engaged until we started to get a few answers. (I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was bored, but I was… waiting for something more.) About halfway through the book we discover something major is happening that affects absolutely everyone in the book, and that kicked the plot into high gear and majorly raised the stakes, though, and from there on out the story was phenomenal.
Doesn’t exactly feel like YA.
The characters are 17, but they didn’t really feel 17 to me. They were all a little too expert at their fields and their personalities felt older as well (with the possible exception of Imogen, who seems a little younger in her insecurities—though I think she’s actually the oldest). They are out of school, so maybe you could consider it New Adult sci-fi? (But New Adult has a lot of connotations that don’t really fit this book.)
This book delivers intense time travel adventures that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I give it an easy 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I have adored every one of Ryan Graudin’s books, so when I saw that she had a new one coming out the choice of whether or not to pick it up for review was a no-brainer. All of Graudin’s books are so completely different that I never know what to expect with her. This newest book is a time-traveling sci-fi adventure!
What Fed My Addiction:
Time-traveling adventures.
This book handles time travel incredibly well. It doesn’t gloss over the science of how it would work, but it doesn’t go into overwhelming detail either. Plus, there are exciting trips to historical events like the sinking of the Titanic! (And I kind of loved Graudin’s explanation of how stealing from the past makes sense—under very specific circumstances.) Add to that all of the complexities of the characters having to make sure they don’t change history and you get some pretty intense time-traveling!
No secondary characters.
While it might seem like Farway is the star of the show (and he is in some ways), we get POV’s of all of the major characters—Farway, Imogen, Gram, Priya and Eliot. Instead of feeling overwhelming, I appreciated getting to know all of the secondary characters better. (Plus, we got to learn things from Eliot that we wouldn’t have known otherwise!) I felt connected to all of the characters in the book this way.
The romance.
We had one romance that started up before the book started and another that we got to hope for as the book went on. And no triangles! I adored Priya and Far together.
The twists—and that ending! Once you find out what’s actually going on in this book, things start to get truly exciting! I won’t say anything more than that.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Bit of a slow start?
While there was definitely some mystery being built up in the first half of the book over who Eliot is and why she’s interested in Farway, I’ll admit that I wasn’t completely engaged until we started to get a few answers. (I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was bored, but I was… waiting for something more.) About halfway through the book we discover something major is happening that affects absolutely everyone in the book, and that kicked the plot into high gear and majorly raised the stakes, though, and from there on out the story was phenomenal.
Doesn’t exactly feel like YA.
The characters are 17, but they didn’t really feel 17 to me. They were all a little too expert at their fields and their personalities felt older as well (with the possible exception of Imogen, who seems a little younger in her insecurities—though I think she’s actually the oldest). They are out of school, so maybe you could consider it New Adult sci-fi? (But New Adult has a lot of connotations that don’t really fit this book.)
This book delivers intense time travel adventures that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I give it an easy 4/5 Stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***