Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Ocean's Echo

I didn't know how this book would compare to Winter's Orbit. What got me most interested in that book was the arranged marriage plot, and then I found myself more and more invested in the political intrigue and found family aspects. Here we have the concept of a forced mental link rather than a forced marriage, which plays out a bit differently. Also like in Winter's Orbit, we have a character who is more rambunctious paired with a character who is more steadfast, and yet they also feel different. I think either story could be read as a standalone, but perhaps the world building might feel more steep if you jumped in at this book. The author has stated that there is no overlap in characters or locations, and that's an accurate statement from my recollection of the first book.

I love Everina Maxwell's writing. It is focused and conveys the plot and characters clearly, while also leaving room for some beautiful flourishes that immerse you further into the story rather than taking you out of it. I loved getting to know these new characters and watching them get to know each other. There were some bits towards the end that I think were meant to be big reveals, but I had sort of assumed those things already and I wasn't as shocked as the characters were, although their shock did make sense in context. Even though I saw things coming, there is still a nice web of political drama to flow along with the slow burn romance. Slow burn romances are my favorite and I appreciate that the author worked with the pacing of the story to pace the romance so you can see it growing and developing at each stage, and it never diverts the main plot or feels forced.

I listened on audiobook (at 1.4 speed) and I think the narrator was great.

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cleot's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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absolutechaos's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a really great relaxed read to get through a tough week. It hit a lot of favorite tropes and ideas for me without feeling too formulaic. If you liked Winters Orbit, you'll like this because it's very similar. However, I found the characters enjoyable and their dynamic worked well for me. They had genuine chemistry and it takes good writing for me to buy such an intense bond in such a short amount of time. I loved the genderqueer representation in this book and as always, Maxwell's worldbuilding for having public markers of gender that allow all characters to get their pronouns used correctly is so cool. The romance is one hell of a slow burn, but that allows the character bonds to get fleshed out further and more focus on the plot, which is a big plus for me.
Overall, I really liked this and would happily read it again, but I will say it follows a lot of similar beats from Winters Orbit and to be honest, I found a lot of parts in the end difficult to follow. That being said, I loved reading this and tore through it in a little over a day. It reminded me a lot of a Strange and Stubborn Endurance with its slow build up, political mystery elements, and focus on exploring character trauamas.

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relin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I found myself highlighting different lines because they hit so hard emotionally. Facisniating to see a world that is altered in this way and how it impacts the main characters (Tennal and Serit) think and understand the world. The picture it paints is beautiful in the middle of a ton of intergalactic politics of people trying their best. Also has an amazing structure of gender.

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avacadosocks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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nillech's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Minds bend, collide, and shred. An enthralling galactic whirlwind stabilized between a polarizing duo with strikingly aligned morality despite their division by duty and noncompliance.

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wardenred's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

3.0

“They’ve taken down your defenses.” The mental touch withdrew. Surit sounded blank, so blank that Tennal wasn’t expecting it when he said, “That’s barbarous.”
Tennal swallowed in shock. The elevator doors beeped a protest, unable to shut. “Welcome to the military,” he said. “Is this your first day?”

I remember back when I read Winter's Orbit, I absolutely adored the romance part of the story but kept getting lost when it came to worldbuilding. Apparently, that's just what I should expect with Everina Maxwell's books. At least with Winter's Orbit, I found my footing by mid-story or so. With this one, I'm sorry to say I only kept getting more lost.

I guess a big part of it is that worldbuilding is even more important here, what with the big focus on chaotic space and all. However, the way all the relevant information is delivered just fellt... off? If I tried to treat all the lore as mostly trappings for the interpersonal conflicts, I got lost. If I tried to delve deeper into it, too many things just didn't seem to work upon closer inspection. Or maybe the bigger ones actually did, but whenever I started overthinking, I couldn't get past even the arguably smaller stuff. Like the math. The gap between when the experiments that led to the emergence of readers and architects were conducted and when those talents became a genetically inherited thing is just too small. I don't understand how it works. Or even just the lingo: like, okay, we've got two kinds of telepaths here—[mind] readers who read and architects who write. Why not call the latter writers to keep things consistent? Where does the "architect" part even come from?

I fully accept it might be on me just overthinking the wrong stuff or approaching everything from the wrong angle! My brain can be weird! But alas, I kept getting confused.

I expected a lot from the romance/relationship arc, because at the beginning, it looked like very much my jam. I mean, forced proximity? Opposites attract? A lawful character who is solid and dependable in his principles and a chaotic one who is a mess of jagged edges? Count me in! And at the beginning, while the two were just getting to know each other and adapting to their situation, I was very much invested. Unfortunately, the more I read on, the less invested I became.

I can't say there was anything *wrong*, exactly, with this slow burn romance for me. It's more about what was lacking from it. I expected a bigger focus on the possible ethical conundrums specifically surrounding the whole mind control/mind link think, and there was some discussion of it, but more through the general lens of fraternization dangers and power imbalance within the chain of command. I also didn't get satisfactory and timely understanding of what made both Tennal and Surit the people they were on the page, which felt rather important. Like, there were certain aspects of both their personalities that just didn't feel 100% right / organic, but I was willing to roll with it because I kept expecting a backstory-related explanation, something to fill the gaps and tie the disjointed parts together... but it never came.

Honestly, now that I'm trying to tie all my thoughts and feelings about this book together into this rambly review, I think there's one thing every aspect of the story had in common for me. First, I saw it and thought, "cool." Then I spent time with it, and thought about it, and it became less cool the more I tried to inspect it. The worldbuilding seems cool on the surface; when I tried to poke at it and grok it, not so much. The two leads and their dynamic were absolutely cool at first, but the deeper their relationship and personal arcs ran, the more unanswered questions I had. Cool side characters appeared and had 1-2 brilliant scenes that suggested lots of interest stuff to come, and then plenty of it fell flat and those same characters turned forgettable.

With all that said, I did enjoy the beginning of the book enough to want to finish it even when it turned draggy. The way the dynamic between Tennal and Surit developed may not have been entirely to my taste, but it definitely had some very satisfying moments, and not only in the first part of the story. Tennal never stopped being entertaining in that way that had me torn between wanting to ask him to neer change and also wanting to give him a hug and punch whoever hurt him. There was plenty of engrossing banter. What I was able to parse from the lore was cool.

It's just that all of that never quite came together for me, I guess.

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