4.13 AVERAGE

adventurous mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This was a slog to get through. Couldn't connect to any of the characters and it felt like there were no stakes at all.

It was shaping out to be a 2 star read all the way through, but the last 3 chapters made me add half a star to it.
adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-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
adventurous dark medium-paced
adventurous challenging fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
tiphani's profile picture

tiphani's review

4.0
adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous mysterious medium-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

Oh. My. Gosh.

Honestly, I had such high expectations after finishing "The Shadow of What Was Lost" that I figured I would probably be let down by the second book. In trilogies, I often am left mildly disappointed due to the "middle book" syndrome, but that was not the case! I was invested the whole way through and my jaw was on the floor by the end. I can't wait to finish this series and see where it takes me!

Random favorite parts:
1. Who is in the right? I thought that this book would start clearing up some of the questions that I was left with based off of individual's actions in the first book, but NOPE! I was wrong. Everyone's motivations are so layered that it is hard to say who is right and who is wrong. The constant tension is *chefs kiss*.

2. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Stuff. Between visions, memories, and *spoiler* time travel it gives strong "Tenant" vibes. If you love some time line intrigue, then I think you will be pleasantly surprised by this book. Was not expecting it, but have thoroughly enjoyed getting to jump between points on the timeline.

3. Powerhouse main characters! The focus on characters dreams, fears, trauma, healing, joy, and sadness adds the perfect amount of depth. The way that they are all so beautifully layered while also being BEYOND powerful is incredible. Personally, a big factor on how I feel about a book is the characters, and Islington created ones that I would either want to be friends with or wouldn't want to be in the same room as. 5/5 stars!
adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

An Echo of Things to Come is the middle book in the Licanius trilogy and is a nice step up in quality from The Shadow of What Was Lost. While this series may not resonate with you if you are more character focused, the plot is excellent and the world is big and well fleshed out. Islington gets better with each book and Echo is no exception. Many of the flaws from Shadow are greatly improved and I already know how good The Will of the Many is so I know I have a lot to look forward to. I’m very excited for The Strength of the Few, but after seeing the jump in Echo I can’t wait to start The Light of All That Falls. Islington is quickly becoming a day one buy author for me. 4.25⭐️