Scan barcode
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Joanna Ruth Meyer's Echo North is a novel that had been on my TBR list for some time. Now that I've read it, I feel it is a novel of four quarters. The first quarter started off strong, sagged in the second, picked up again for a strong, compelling, and moving third quarter, and tailed off again in the finale.
In this review, I will expand on that last statement.
The first quarter of Echo North was by far the most enjoyable for me. The premise of the plot was strong, the chilly atmosphere vivid, and the worldbuilding compelling - and so imaginative and ingenious. I also loved Meyer's dismantling of the"ugliness/disability=evil" trope with the MC, Echo, who has a scarred face after a childhood animal attack. That's such an insidious, ableist trope that needs to die in a fire and I am so glad the author handled it the way she did.
The second quarter I found less compelling, and the way time seemed to pass at this point in the story (and really from here on in) felt odd and jarring. I also dislike the way theromance was handled, it felt everything happened way too fast to be plausible and made the climax less compelling and believable and less easy to suspend my disbelief. And just a side note, is anyone else sick of the "teen girl/young woman falls for a centuries-old man/immortal" trope? Because it made me uncomfortable this time around
As I said earlier, things picked up again in the third quarter, as the MC Echosets off on a long journey across icy landscapes to reclaim her lover from an evil, power-hungry witch queen . The addition of a new character called Ivan who accompanies Echo for the majority of her journey added an interesting dynamic to the story. This character's backstory - which I won't spoil here - I found surprisingly moving.
Unfortunately, while the finale was well-written and kept me turning the pages, I found it less and less believable, thanks to the issues I had with the second quarter. It was so hard to imagineEcho being prepared to put everything on the line - including her own life - for a young (okay, centuries-old) man she'd known for barely a year. . I did think the twist that was revealed was done reasonably well despite the issues I had with it(again, I think writing about the fluidity of time can be really tricky to get right, and I don't know if Meyer quite pulled it off here).
Overall, this was a novel that had a lot of promise and very strong, imaginative writing, unfortunately, I feel like it had too many issues for me to be able to give it a full five stars.
In this review, I will expand on that last statement.
The first quarter of Echo North was by far the most enjoyable for me. The premise of the plot was strong, the chilly atmosphere vivid, and the worldbuilding compelling - and so imaginative and ingenious. I also loved Meyer's dismantling of the
The second quarter I found less compelling, and the way time seemed to pass at this point in the story (and really from here on in) felt odd and jarring. I also dislike the way the
As I said earlier, things picked up again in the third quarter, as the MC Echo
Unfortunately, while the finale was well-written and kept me turning the pages, I found it less and less believable, thanks to the issues I had with the second quarter. It was so hard to imagine
Overall, this was a novel that had a lot of promise and very strong, imaginative writing, unfortunately, I feel like it had too many issues for me to be able to give it a full five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Ableism, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Animal death, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy
beyondapage's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, and Torture
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
chrisljm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
didn’t care for any of the characters especially the protagonist
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, and Gore
theespressoedition's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
(original review) I can’t get over how fantastic this book is! For the first half of the story, I truly believed it was just a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but as I continued on, I was happily surprised that it transformed into a wonderful tale of adventure, stories within stories, curses to be broken, and tortured love. Part 2 was a plot twist I never saw coming (and I should say I almost always see them coming). I was so impressed with the final chapters and epilogue. This is a book I’ll want to read again and again!
(reread review) Rereading this book was like getting a hug from a dear friend after not having seen them for two years. It was like sitting down with a cup of coffee after a long day and just relaxing into the mug. I could give a thousand metaphors for how spectacular it was to revisit this beautiful story, but truly, I just want to say "WOW." I'll never get over how phenomenal Joanna's writing is. How she can transport me into a story so fully.
The first time I read this book, I listened to the audio version and really enjoyed it. This time around, I was thrilled to pick up my own paperback copy in preparation for the sequel's release. I finished it in two days. Honestly, it could have been one, if I'd given myself just an hour more to read it the first night. It's impossible to put down once you've picked it up. The story is so riveting from beginning to end - and even though I knew what was going to happen, I still had the desire to keep reading and learn the outcome as soon as possible. That's saying something! To keep me on the edge of my seat when I've already read it before? So impressive.
You couldn't pay me to dislike these characters. They're so captivating and beautiful - in all their flaws. Getting to the twists and learning more about who they are and what makes them like that is just AH! I want to keyboard slam with all the feelings I have about my darling Wolf and Echo.
One of the best parts about this reread was noticing the little bits about it that would lead into the sequel. It made me so happy that I had an ARC of Wind Daughter ready to go for when I finished it, so I could just dive straight into the next part of the story!
I truly can't recommend this book enough. It is all about those magical vibes, with an enchanted house under a hill, a mirror library, curses, time-bending, and so much more!
(reread review) Rereading this book was like getting a hug from a dear friend after not having seen them for two years. It was like sitting down with a cup of coffee after a long day and just relaxing into the mug. I could give a thousand metaphors for how spectacular it was to revisit this beautiful story, but truly, I just want to say "WOW." I'll never get over how phenomenal Joanna's writing is. How she can transport me into a story so fully.
The first time I read this book, I listened to the audio version and really enjoyed it. This time around, I was thrilled to pick up my own paperback copy in preparation for the sequel's release. I finished it in two days. Honestly, it could have been one, if I'd given myself just an hour more to read it the first night. It's impossible to put down once you've picked it up. The story is so riveting from beginning to end - and even though I knew what was going to happen, I still had the desire to keep reading and learn the outcome as soon as possible. That's saying something! To keep me on the edge of my seat when I've already read it before? So impressive.
You couldn't pay me to dislike these characters. They're so captivating and beautiful - in all their flaws. Getting to the twists and learning more about who they are and what makes them like that is just AH! I want to keyboard slam with all the feelings I have about my darling Wolf and Echo.
One of the best parts about this reread was noticing the little bits about it that would lead into the sequel. It made me so happy that I had an ARC of Wind Daughter ready to go for when I finished it, so I could just dive straight into the next part of the story!
I truly can't recommend this book enough. It is all about those magical vibes, with an enchanted house under a hill, a mirror library, curses, time-bending, and so much more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Blood
More...