Great story and characters, loved all the details and especially the red panda. Tale of a crew of black market time travelers, a heist gone wrong, a mysterious girl in a yellow dress, and attempting to save everything.
Well written though I still got semi confused from time travel logistics.

3.5 of 5 stars

As you probably know, I was very excited to read Invictus after Ryan Graudin’s Wolf by Wolf duology landed her squarely on my radar for new favorite YA authors to watch. Also, as much as I harp on time travel stories and the issues surrounding some of their shortcomings, I can never resist checking them out, especially one with a premise as intriguing as this one.

The story introduces us to protagonist Farway Gaius McCarthy, a young man with a very unique background. Conceived in 95AD as the result of a love affair between a time-traveling Recorder and a Roman gladiator, Far was born just as his mother Empra and her crew were in the middle of jumping back to their own year of 2354. While the entire truth behind the circumstances of his birth was kept a secret (and not just because of the whopping number of time laws Empra broke), nothing can be changed about the fact that Far was born out of time, and his existence has vexed census databases and record-keeping computers ever since.

Growing up though, Far has always wanted to follow in his mother’s footsteps and explore history, especially after Empra left on a mission when he was just a boy and never made it back. Motivated by the possibility that he will one day find and rescue his mom, the now seventeen-year-old Far is determined more than ever to ace his final exams at the academy to become a full-fledged licensed time traveler. However, an odd glitch occurs in the middle of his simulation test, leading to a failing grade and expulsion from school. Disgraced but not discouraged, Far decides to pursue another path that would allow him to travel through time, taking on a job as a black market smuggler whose specialty is stealing and bringing back treasures from the past.

With the help from his crew that consists of his Historian cousin Imogen, his medic girlfriend Priya, and an engineer named Gram, Far captains the ship Invictus for their shady employer, whose latest mission for them requires going back to 1912, on the fateful night that the Titanic sank. Their prize is a priceless jewel-encrusted book that went down with the ship—but of course, it is Far’s job is to retrieve it before it is lost to the icy depths and bring it back to his own time with no one being the wiser. Unfortunately though, even before the heist can begin, the crew of the Invictus runs into trouble. A computer malfunction leads them to arrive hours after their scheduled time, and once Far makes it onto the Titanic to steal the book, he discovers that someone has already beaten him to the punch.

I really liked how this book was an adventure story at its heart, and with Ryan Graudin, you can always trust her to keep things exciting and fast-paced. The science behind the time travel was admittedly a bit light, but I found I could easily overlook this minor flaw in a Young Adult novel which is clearly more concerned with telling a good story rather than get bogged down by the little details. I also loved the overall premise as well as the protagonist’s origin story. There are already other books out there about time traveling thieves who plunder history to bring back treasures from the past or otherwise I would have been more impressed, but I did enjoy how the author made this one feature an ensemble cast, involving all the other members of the Invictus crew.

As for weaknesses, while I wouldn’t say there was anything I flat-out disliked, there were a few stylistic choices and a couple character or plot-related pet peeves that got on my nerves. For one, I found it difficult to sympathize with anyone on the crew. Far is reckless and impetuous, and thinks rules don’t apply to him, except he’s got none of the good qualities that typically go hand-in-hand with the “loveable rogue” persona. He’s unabashedly arrogant and has an ego the size of a planet, which is why I also thought his girlfriend Priya, despite being an extremely intelligent young woman, is an idiot for putting up with that crap. I never got on board with their relationship for this reason, but theirs was not the only romance I felt was hokey either, for you see, Far’s cousin Imogen also harbors a secret crush on the ship’s engineer Gram, and the whole hackneyed business with the quirky girl trying to get the nerdy but oblivious guy to notice her was downright eye-roll inducing.

Furthermore, because this book is so light on the details of time travel, we don’t get to know much about the history or mechanics of it. This by itself wouldn’t have been such a big deal, except there is a plot twist in the second half of the novel which complicates things further. To avoid revealing spoilers, I won’t be going into this issue in detail, but I will say that because the author failed to establish some basic rules and concepts early on, the story at the end became a bit of a mess, and so just be prepared for some potential confusion.

As you can see though, my complaints are mostly personal, related to problems that most other readers might not mind at all. That said, I would probably recommend Wolf by Wolf over this one if you’re curious about checking out Ryan Graudin’s work, because objectively, I still feel it’s a stronger book. Nevertheless, you can’t go really wrong with Invictus, especially if you’re looking to satisfy a sci-fi itch; no matter what, its blend of adventure and time travel make it an entertaining read.

Graudin has taken readers across the world in her earlier books but this time she uses science fiction and time travel as her canvas. She writes about teens who travel through time, getting paid to find and retrieve precious items before they are destroyed. This is not an altruistic job but one where people pay top dollar for historic artifacts. Farway (Far) has assembled a crew of his friends and on one of their assignments they are transported back in time to the Titanic. His compatriots include his colorful cousin Imogen who is the Historian of the group, his friend Gram who’s the Engineer handling the tech issues and his girlfriend Priya who acts as medic. They are brilliant at what they do and Far knows he can count on them. When there’s a glitch on the Titanic mission, they are confronted with another time traveler who seems able to outwit them. Far’s boss is not someone to be trifled with and he can’t afford to fail on any mission. The pressure is on.

Far’s mother was an Explorer, an official time traveler. She left on a mission one day, never to return. This mystery haunts Far and is never far from his thoughts. He had hoped to follow in her footsteps and also become an Explorer but his final test was sabotaged and thus he is now working for the black market. His birth aboard a time machine leaves him with no birthdate which is an interesting dilemma.

Graudin’s characters share their witty banter and get along like true friends. The romance is understated but the feelings are readily apparent. Graudin’s writing holds the reader’s interest and provides a fascinating take on a common science fiction theme. The book spends quite a bit of time on the historical setting and Imogen’s job of getting the crew properly prepared which is a nice contrast to some time travel books that gloss over the specifics of the various timeframes. What prevents this book from garnering a higher rating is the intricate complexity that complicates the plot toward the end.

While I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher (via netgalley), all opinions remain my own.

This book is simply wonderful. The idea of space time travelers is just fun! I loved the growth of the characters as you read the book. Seeing them get to know each other and grow as people. They go from being "kids" just out of school to having to make life changing decisions, adult decisions. The plot moved at a steady pace, kept me going, turning page by page wondering what was going to happen next. Just when I thought I had something figured out there would be a twist. Not anything too far out in left field, just enough to make it an amazing read. Totally loving on Invictus and planning to follow this author and see what else she brings out to the writing world!

Hello, Fellow book lovers and welcome back to my newest blog. The newest blog is about Invictus by Ryan Graudin which I had an Ebook Arc from net galley but was not able to get to finish before the book came out. I sincerely apologize because I am behind in my Ebook Arcs. So I preorder the book and decided to read and review. So this Review is the finished copy of Invictus Paper from the UK. Now onto the summary and final thoughts of this book.


This book is about Farway McCarthy who is a time traveler. Time traveling is in his blood and its the only thing he has ever wanted to do. But Far is special because he was literally born outside of time, and this makes his life a pain when it comes to Time traveling school. He fails school but gets contacted by a gangster who gives him the means to travel time and space but for a price. Farway and his crew will go throughout history and steal famous items from the Titanic to the library Alexandria. But the universe is about to throw a wrench into Far life and it going to affect him in a big way. In order to know more I would totally say buy this book, it is worth the read. Now onto my final thoughts of the book.


I rated this book 3.5 stars out of five. It was good through the first half of the book but as you hit the middle it seems to slow down. I feel like the description of this book being Doctor who meets Firefly meets matrix is not that true. It has Doctor Who in a way of a time machine and thief but nothing else. I would say its more Firefly meets matrix more than anything. I don’t care for matrix and I am probably the only one who can say that. So the matrix aspect totally misses the mark with me. I did love the history in this book as well as the time traveling but that was about it. I love some of Ryan writing but I am not sure about it totally. I would honestly need to read her other works because I am not sure if its this story or her writing that throw me off. I really love the way history described in this book. I love how people learn to study history almost like Star Trek with a simulator. I really did like Far and his friend Priya. Overall this was a fun read but would have been better with less Matrix feeling about it too me. But if you like all the things I describe, then I would buy this book because you will so enjoy it, especially you Scifi nerds. As always I link the author social medias below along with mine and the book link. Hope you enjoyed this review and come back soon.

This was my first time reading a Ryan Graudin novel, and I struggled with it. The writing was redundant and chunky, and I spent more time trying to decipher a single sentence than paying attention to the plot. Everything was just so bizarre.

I liked the idea of the story, just not how it was executed. I might give this another try later, but for now, I'm leaving it as unfinished. I just can't get into the story.

3.5 Stars
Ryan Graudin's latest novel falls somewhere between a time travel odyssey and sci-fi opera.
Here's what you can expect:

- There is a special corps of time travelers who can journey to different historical time periods in order to record history accurately.
- A lot of this book takes place jumping around from time to time in a time traveling spaceship(?) called Invictus.
- Our heroes are a ragtag band of friends who jump through time to different historical events and places to heist priceless antiquities. For example, the Titanic.
- There is a red panda.


Farway Gaius McCarthy wants one thing, to live the most exciting life he can.
Called Far by his friends, he is the son of a historical recorder and a gladiator, born aboard the time traveling ship between time periods in history.
Determined to become a recorder like his mother, Empra McCarthy, Far attends the Academy hoping to live up to his famous mother's name. But when his final simulation glitches and he fails spectacularly he finds himself thrown out of the Academy with no job or prospect of working for the corps in sight.

Hired by a black market antiquities dealer, he finds himself the captain of Invictus, a time traveling ship, hopping back and forth through time stealing historical artifacts. His crew is made up of his cousin, Imogen - perky historian with a penchant for multicolored hair, Gram - the math whiz and shy friend of outgoing Far, and Priya - the medic who loves music and is Far's girlfriend. Saffron, the red panda accompanies them on their trips. Together they are a cohesive unit marauding through time and space nicking priceless antiquities wherever they go. But when a routine heist aboard the Titanic goes awry they find themselves in the company of a mysterious girl, Eliot, whose origin and motives are unclear. Soon they're on a mad dash mission to save their world and multiple universes from something more ominous than they could imagine.

This book is well written, the dialogue is clever and there are parts that are actually really funny. Graudin absolutely gets kudos in the creativity department - the world building and time travel mechanics are well thought out, well described pieces of the story. Fans of worlds in which time travel and alternate realities are possible should love this.

The only downfalls to the story for me where some inconsistent pacing (I felt a lag in the middle) and surface level relationships. The dialogue at times feels a little young - which more mature readers may notice - but the characters are in their teen years. These things aside I found the story to take some unexpected turns that I think will keep readers on their toes, the setting vivid and well thought out

Overall, an enjoyable tale of teens marauding through time and space.

I read this in July 2017 as an arc and reviewed it then. I received this arc from the publisher through Netgalley. This is my honest opinion.

Boy, what a ride!

Following my trend of reading books because I think they look interesting + I like the author, I had no idea what I was getting into when I start reading this. Not recommended since the first chapter is confusing as heck when you have no idea what’s going on. However, I absolutely loved this book.

This book takes all of my favorite elements from Firefly aka the banter, the space cowboy/smugglers, the complex personalities, and adds time travel! Like, it’s all kinds of perfect.

It was so enjoyable to read. It’s action packed and has so many twists and turns, but you never get lost. There’s tons of sciency space and time things, which to be honest, I glanced over because science really isn’t my thing, but it’s simple enough to understand.

The crew of the Invictus is charming and fun and I loved every single one of them. There’s so much to them that it’s hard to explain without giving away plot, and trust me, you want all of this story to be a surprise.

There was never a moment where I found myself bored or losing interest. This story is wild from start to finish and you just have to keep reading. The plot is solid, the characters are great, the time travel is so much fun.

Honestly, it was like reading a YA version of Firefly. I could definitely see hints of Doctor Who, but Firefly is my jam, so I’m going to compare it that.

I’ve read few books about time travel, Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig, but Invictus is my favorite time travel book.

It’s a stand alone, and a part of me wishes there was more to look forward to. The adventures of the Invictus crew could go one forever.

I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Invictus by Ryan Graudin is an amazing read about time traveling thieves. Seriously I don’t even know where to begin! Think of a cross between Doctor Who and Firefly and you have a taste of what Invictus is about. A whole cast of well-fleshed out characters, a red panda (because who doesn’t want one of those cuties?!), a heist on the Titanic while it sinks, and more make this book an unputdownable read!

Farway Gaius McCarthy (that’s a mouthful!), or simply Far to his crew, is to the Invictus what Mal is to Serenity. He’s the Captain, he’s the one that puts himself in danger to get the job done and provide for his crew. He’s also who the plot revolves around. Far is an interesting character. His mother is from the future/present, his father is a gladiator from 98BC, and Far? He has no birthdate because he was born in the Grid – an in-between place where time does not exist. Hence Far technically doesn’t exist, at least to all the computers and droids of his mom’s time. What really defines Far though is his mother’s disappearance. When Far was 7, she went on a time-travel assignment and never returned. Far has made it his mission to find out what happened to her and her crew.

While the book may revolve around Far, his crew plays just as big a role, even sharing some POV chapters. My favorite of the crew is Imogen, Far’s slightly older cousin. She’s a Historian. It’s her job to know everything about the time they are returning to, all the major events and the exact times those took place so they can plan around those things. She’s also in charge of the wardrobe, making most of it by hand which I just think is so cool. I personally love history so her job would be the one I want. Imogen isn’t just her job though. She’s spunky, high-spirited, a little flighty, and completely in love with the Engineer. Also she changes her hair color every day to match her moods. I love that!

Then there is the mysterious girl alluded to in the blurb, Eliot. It took me almost the entire book to figure this girl out, you know whether I liked her or not. I’ll just say she’s not easy to like and the more you're in her POV, the more questions you’ll have. Beyond that I can’t say another word because I don’t like spoilers.

“History is not as steady as it seems.” This is a gross understatement of what the crew faces in Invictus. BUT it makes for an epic read. I loved the multiple POV, bouncing among the entire crew. The book is told mostly from Far’s perspective, but then there are plenty of chapters from the other members as well, including the mystery girl. Well written, the book hooked me from the first lines and I could not sit it down, finishing this massive book in one day. Yes you read that right. I just couldn’t sit it down! The only negative for me was the romance aspect. I just couldn’t see the connection between Far and Priya. Their relationship fell flat for me, and I felt entirely disconnected from them as a couple. Separately I loved them, but together I just didn’t get it.

Overall, Invictus is a must-read for any sci-fi fan. Blending elements from some of my favorite sci-fi as I’ve already mentioned, the book is action-packed, full of suspense and hold your breath moments. Seriously y’all I read 460-ish pages in one day! It is that good. I didn’t want it to end. And while I know it’s a standalone, I really hope the author returns to this world and this crew. I’d read it!

First things first: I appreciate that this is a standalone title. I mean, it lends itself to the forever series idea with its time-travel aspect, but I am pretty sure it is not slated that way.

More importantly, in spite of being LOST when the talk went to physics and dimensions and all that stuff, I really liked this book. Interesting, well-developed characters with back-stories that made me want to know more. Cool locales explored at all possible times throughout history, including the future. Believable turns of events from which people "recover" believably. I'd even say I learned or understood some things about cosmology/dimensionality/that kinda thing from reading this book.

It's a cool read. ☺

I am not a fan of time travel novels. Or most tv shows and movies, for that matter. The neurons required to unkink snarled timelines and solve paradox puzzles simply do not fire when I read or watch about time travelers. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff simply makes my brain hurt. But I'm pleased with Invictus, not only for its more easily followed depiction of time travel but also for presenting an engrossing story and a lovable band of misfits populating it.

I think the characters in Invictus are its best strength. The novel's pitch is Guardians of the Galaxy meets Doctor Who so that's a pretty tall order, but Far and his gang of time nerds are definitely a new favorite sci-fi squad. These characters are complex, interesting characters who pop off the stage and contain multitudes, but I do love that all of them have a quirk that's easily measured in Imogen's records: her hair, Gram's Tetris score, Priya's music, Far's ego. They each have a Thing that makes them immediately intriguing, but then there's substance and continued growth throughout Invictus backing it up. Group dynamics are a favorite aspect of any novel, and I absolutely would have loved to have seen more scenes of the group's adventures, especially misadventures and when they all quip at one another (okay, this is mostly Far and Imogen, but still. Love this kind of dynamic).

I also love that in this book, it's cool to be smart, to be a nerd about something, and each character shows that as well. Granted, if time travel or multidimensional travel ever become a thing, we definitely need the people doing it to be super smart so the world doesn't end. I love that Far is valedictorian of his class (at least before his final exam...), as is Eliot, Imogen is a history buff with a love of fashion, Priya is a medic AND mechanic (get a girl who can do both!), and Gram is a supergenius who can do Sexy Math.

The editor's note in the arc of Invictus says it's a time travel novel for people who don't like time travel, and that's true in that I did enjoy the novel, but it is still a time travel novel. I find Ryan's particular rules and physics of travel intriguing and distinct from others, which was a fun surprise, but I do admit there came a time when my brain short-circuited as it always does when considering the vagaries of jumping through time and space. A physicist I am not, but I can appreciate that there are people who can think that way and, even more, that there are authors who can create these worlds and these rules and move their characters around in the four-dimensional puzzle that is time.

I do have a couple of complaints, things that hold me back from absolutely loving Invictus. First, it's a dense novel. It moves really slowly, plot-wise, and it reads very slowly for a good portion. I remember looking down at page 200 or so and realizing a major plot point was STILL not revealed and being very frustrated. As much as I wanted to see some more adventures with the crew, I feel like Invictus took too long to get to the point, and it's really obvious to the reader that the point is being concealed. It's one thing to have a surprise; it's another to tell the reader that there is a surprise and then be completely obtuse about revealing it. Secondly, this is a fairly minor thing, but there are far too many made up curse words. Slang changes, which is made obvious by Imogen and Eliot's discussion of the history of vulgarity, but I found it super distracting to constantly see hash haze fex betch Crux shazm bluebox sprinkled in the pages. Shazm especially because it is clunky and does not roll off the tongue, which seems counterintuitive to profane language. And I never quite understood what blubox was supposed to mean other than possibly a Doctor Who reference. Personal preference for sure here, but I could have lived without *most* of them.

Overall, I enjoyed Invictus. I was invested in the the characters and celebrated their triumphs, mourned their failures and their sorrows. I cried, which is always a good thing. Invictus is an exciting read that will have you dying to know what happens next, especially in the last 100 pages. If you're like me and don't typically pick up time travel books, Invictus may be the rare book that plays it just right. It definitely worked for me.

I couldn't wait for this book! My adult book club had a skype book club session with Ryan Graudin and she gave us a snippet of this one and I knew I needed it ASAP. I can't wait to use this one for our book club and hopefully have Ryan back. Time traveling is so fascinating to me and Ryan made my dream book!

Invictus by Ryan Graudin was one of my most-anticipated 2017 YA releases and my expectations were super high going in to this one, especially after reading so many positive reviews. While it was a good tale in the end, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

The story started off quite well, with a little bit of history concerning Far, his mother, and the highly unusual circumstances surrounding his birth. Now, present day (in the future), Far is following in his mother’s footsteps by studying and working to become a time-traveler/History explorer just like his famous mother. When Far fails the test and the requirements to become a time-traveler, he decides to take a job aboard the Invictus and become a time-traveling thief. It’s a little different than what he wanted, certainly a lot more illegal, but at least he still gets to explore history ;-)

All of the above sounds fantastic, and should have worked for me, but there were several issues I had that took away from my overall enjoyment. The pacing in Invictus was incredibly slow, with the main plot not coming into focus until well after the second half of the book. Which is fine, really, provided there’s something else of interest to take away the focus from that. Had the characters been dynamic enough, had the action been explosive enough, I may have been able to overlook the missing main plot, but they weren’t. I didn’t feel much of anything towards the characters and I wanted them to be different than teens from today. I mean, when you have teenagers a couple hundred years ahead of today’s teens, they should talk differently, they should listen to music that isn’t quite relevant today, but instead we’re given what could have very well been present-day teens. I get that maybe Graudin mirrored these characters from today’s teens as a way to make them more relatable? Maybe? But at the same time, it certainly didn’t feel relevant to the time period.

All in all, while Invictus fell short for me with some elements, it still provided a fun and quick read. Even though it didn’t turn out to be my cup of tea, I’d still recommend it - there’s a little bit of romance, a little bit of mystery, and a whole lot of excitement pertaining to time-traveling thieves. A little something for everyone. 3 out of 5 stars.

*eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm a sucker for time travel books so Invictus was on my radar from the first time I read the synopsis. Often times in a time travel novel, it becomes a little difficult to keep up with, but I didn't really have that problem with Invictus. It was pretty easy to follow until the very end. Things got a little messy, but I was still able to focus on the plot and understand what was happening.

I really enjoyed all of the characters and loved all of the beautiful imagery Graudin created. I was able to picture the characters perfectly in my mind and I really fell in love with each of their personalities. There was a ton of action throughout the novel and I never felt bored or tired of the characters. I would recommend this novel to readers who enjoy sci-fi and fantasy novels. Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown for sending this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I'm a big Doctor Who fan, so when I saw Ryan Graudin talking about her then-upcoming book, Invictus, at BookExpo earlier this year - and talked about Doctor Who's influence on the show - I knew this was going on my TBR. I was not disappointed.

Farway Gaius McCarthy is born outside of time, the son of a time-traveling Recorder (think researcher with a video camera) and a Roman gladiator from 95AD. All Far's wanted to do is explore history, but someone's set him up, and he fails his final time-traveling exam. He's contacted by a shady operation with a offer he can't refuse: he gets his own ship, puts together his own crew, and gets to travel through history to steal treasures from the past. He recruits his cousin, Imogene, as historian: the brains of the operation, putting together costumes and researching historical eras; his girlfriend, Priya, as the medic; and his friend and game fiend, Gram, as navigator. They get a cut of the payday and vacations in between missions. It's all good - until a mission on the Titanic puts Far up against the very woman that caused him to fail his final exam. Eliot is a woman with secrets, but she needs Far, for some reason. She cajoles her way onto his crew, leading them on a mission back in time that will have huge consequences not only for Far and his crew, but for the universe.

I loved Invictus! Not only is is loaded with amazing little Doctor Who references - don't worry, if you're not a fan, you won't miss out on anything - it's a space opera with humor, adventure, and a devil-may-care hero who could have DNA from Captain Kirk and Han Solo. Far is a brash swashbuckler who hates not having all the info, but he also knows how to play his cards right. He's got his own demons: his mother's disappearance haunts him, as does his expulsion from the academy, and he takes the responsibility of protecting and keeping his crew safe and happy very seriously. Eliot is a colossal monkey wrench thrown into his works, and he has no choice but to stick with her and get to the bottom of things. There are wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey subplots (that's a Doctor Who reference) and intrigue that will keep sci-fi fans turning pages. Prime Directive? (That's a Star Trek reference.) Pfft, what's that? That's for academy kids.

History-hopping, time-jumping, big drama, a sense of humor, and a diverse cast of characters make Invictus such good sci-fi reading. More, please! Invictus has starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and VOYA.

Ryan Graudin is an award-winning YA author. Her Wolf by Wolf duology was a 2017 Carnegie Medal nominee and won the 2017 Sequoyah Book Award. Check out her author page for more information her books, her appearances, and sign up for her newsletter.

PLOT

Since finishing up Invictus I’ve gone on a Ryan Graudin video binge on Youtube…this is when I KNOW I love a book! when I can’t let it gooooo! *cue Elsa/Frozen* well in one of these videos Graudin mentions getting inspiration from Dr. Who and Fire Fly. These are shows I’ve only watched in passing & that now have immense curiosity for after finishing this book. Time travel alone has always intrigued me in Sci-Fi & that’s probably because I love History so much that the idea of traveling back to ancient Rome was SUPER appealing. We get introduced to our MC Farway Gaius McCarthy as he preps to take his final SIM exam to determine whether he is Recorder material. You only get 1 shot to pass this exam & failure means expulsion. Things go haywire during his SIM & Farway is given the boot from the academy. Being the best of the best, Farway knows his exam was tampered with however he has no real way of proving it. Faced with the reality of having all of his dreams of one day commanding his own time travel machine & crew, Farway is quick to accept a offer from a Boss in the black market.

The opportunity: to man his own time travel machine in exchange for his services stealing valuable pieces from the past that will not be missed.

Translation: Stealing valuable pieces that won’t alter history & in turn alert the time travel police.

Farway of course gathers his most trusted friends from the academy and forms his crew to carry out these heists through different periods in time. When I think of my experience reading Invictus, the first word that comes to mind is FUN! popping in & out of time, wearing period fitting costumes, stealing ancient items all the while trying to stay incognito was insanely fun! Besides the awesome plot we get this great set of characters you can’t help but get attached to. I feel Graudin accomplished exactly what she said she set out to do with this crew & that was making them feel like home. By the end of the book I could tell you who was who blindfolded & that just made my reading experience all the more better. In terms of plot pacing I wouldn’t say it was fast paced however, there was never a time something wasn’t happening with one of the characters. There are also elements of parallel universes which I’ll be the first to admit intimidated the hell out of me however, I was able to follow the madness without having to double back haha!

CHARACTERS

Farway- at the top of his class, he knows he is destined for time travel. He is also well known for being born outside of times parameters. His mother is a Recorder of much fame garnering recognition for her many achievements. The truth about Faraways conception however is one well kept secret. Faraway wants nothing more than to follow in his mother’s footsteps in hopes that it will lead him back to her (trying to be vague here lol). It’s hard not to like Farway, he’s great with his friends aka crew and isn’t scared to take some risks for the sake of time travel ;)

Imogen- I LOVE THIS GIRL! I mean, who wouldn’t love a character who wakes up every day & colors her hair in with different colored chalk? funny, sweet, always positive, & loves her cousin Farway to pieces! She also keeps a Red Panda fur baby she named Safron who is feisty & offered up a couple of laughs along the way. Imogen is also the Historian on the crew & is in charge of researching the time periods they’ve been sent to steal from in order to dress them all accordingly.

Gram- you can find Gram at his station playing with his rubix cube & or computations to make sure they land in the exact time period desired. He is the Engineer who double majored as a recorder & basically I saw him as a Jack of all Trades. Gram is also a POC & I was glad to see this brought up by him seeing as time traveling may take them to places that would put him in danger. Gram is a very quiet character with a high IQ & the few times he was off the Invictus to aid in a mission I really enjoyed (hope to see more of this).

Priya- The medic on board & also resident beat master, Priya is known for compiling epic playlists. Her spicy Chai tea keeps everyone going & when she isn’t jamming to her tunes she can be found either patching up one of the crew members with stitches OR lending her mechanic skills to the maintenance of the Invictus.

Eliot- This character is SUPER mysterious & carries with her many truths. At first she annoyed the hell out of me but I came around to appreciate her resourcefulness. Without saying too much about this character for fear of spoilers, I will say that she kept things very interesting on board. As the source of Farways frustration I thought Graudin was writing her in as a love interest however, I’m so glad that isn’t the case & that her role is way more interesting than that.

I loved this cast of characters & the dynamic they brought to the page on board the Invictus. Although we don’t get a ton of time to delve deep into each one, I felt Graudin gave us enough to get to know them for their quirks & personalities. If you loved the cast of characters in Gemina, then chances are you’ll also love this crew ;)

WRITING & FINAL THOUGHTS

Many of my book blogging buddies have recommended Graudin’s books & until now sadly I hadn’t picked one up. I’m so glad I finally listened & found a new favorite. This was a almost 500 page book and yet it didn’t drag & actually left me flipping for more pages knowing very well that I had reached the end LOL! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED the ending & how everything led up to what isn’t necessarily a happy ending but one full of hope…these are always the best in my opinion. I haven’t seen any news of a sequel however, it was left with plenty of room to expand which again leaves me oh so hopeful! haha. In the mean time I have my imagination to conjure up ideas of where this crew could possibly be headed next, although not as good as Graudin, it will have to do :)

Hello Bookworms! I’m hoping some of you out there have already read & loved Invictus cuz I am really trying not to fall into a book hangover & need some support lol! who was your fave character? better yet, do you know if Graudin is in her lair writing us a sequel? *fingers crossed*

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*HUGE Thanks to Little Brown Books, Netgalley, and Ryan Graudin in exchange for an honest review.

What. A. RIDE!!!!!! This was absolutely fantastic! It's so easy for time travel / multiverse books to become convoluted and murky due to a lack of balance between the storytelling and making sure the science actually makes sense, but Graudin handled it like a pro. The scientific elements were weaved flawlessly into the narrative and never once did the story feel bogged down by overly complex explanations that could potentially take readers out of the story. Instead, your are thrown into this wild ride filled with time travel and multiverse theories that are utterly awesome, characters who are thoughtful and interesting, and a story that examines friendship, family, love, loyalty, and multitude of other things. Additionally, the writing is so well done that everything just flows, making this book impossible to put down.

At the end of the day, this is science fiction and time travel at it's best! A must read for sure!

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.***

Invictus by Ryan Graudin is a young adult story that blends sci-fi with history. Born outside of time, Farway Gaius McCarthy is seen as somewhat of an oddity. With his mother lost in a time travel accident, his drive is to become a time ship captain and find her. When his final academy exam goes awry and he is kicked out of the program all seems lost, until he is approached with another proposition, stealing items from history, the moment before they were lost. But more importantly he gets to be captain of a time machine and quest throughout history. All is good until a familiar face complicates a seemingly normal heist and things start spinning out of Far's control. 

First off, I very much liked the concept of Invictus from the get go. Sci-fi, time travel, historical events- sign me up! However, Invictus ended up being so much more than that. It became about the characters, Imogen and Gram's "are they ever gonna tell each other" attraction/relationship, Far and Priya with an assumed established dynamic that grows even deeper, and the complicated mystery that Eliot represents. I was drawn in to the adventure and the adrenaline to start but the relationships between the family/crew of the Invictus are where the book really shines. There were many twists and turns that you'd never see coming, which I won't give away here.

Overall, I recommend Invictus by Ryan Graudin for too many reasons to count, but in the end because I had fun on the Invictus myself while reading the book by the same name. 

(I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

Invictus is my first book from Ryan Graudin. I’ve heard absolutely wonderful things about her books, so I decided it was finally time to read something by her. I’m not usually one for science fiction books that involve time traveling or multiple universes, but I’ve got to admit that that this one of the well-written ones. I was hooked to the story from page 1!

I have to start this review talking about that prologue. It was absolutely brilliant, and completely reeled me in. Invictus is the sort of story that’s pretty impossible to put down once you start reading it. And when you do have to put it down, your mind drifts back to the story and the character. I mean it’s hard to for a book about time-traveling thieves going on heists to be boring, and Graudin uses her material and words to amp up the story. The book is pure fun, and it’s got plenty of interesting twists and turns to keep you glued to the story. The world building here is also outstanding. Ryan Graudin clearly understands the importance of building up her universe from the foundation and she does it brilliantly in Invictus. I think that’s one of the reason why the science fiction elements did not put me sleep as they normally would!

Of course, the cast also plays a role in making Invictus an enjoyable read. I adored each and everyone of them, and I especially loved that we get to see so much of all their personalities throughout the book. They all come from different backgrounds but they clicked well together. I have to admit though that as much as I loved all of them, I did have a favorite and that was Farway. He was intelligent, a strong leader, but also had his vulnerabilities that made him approachable. Priya, his love interest and the medic on the crew, perfectly balanced out his intensity with her softer, yet determined nature. Then, there was Imogen, Farway’s cousin, who was vibrant, quirky and very funny. Her love interest was a shy and awkward historian, Gram, who brought a smile to my face with his adorableness! The one character I had a hard time with is the new and mysterious Eliot. For most of the book she rubbed me the wrong way, and I never felt like I could trust her. Thankfully though, her character did not take away from my enjoyment. How could I not enjoy this book full of funny moments, great banter and realistic character dynamics?

Invictus was a very entertaining read and I highly recommend this one! After reading it, I’m convinced I need to read more books by Ryan Graudin.