This is a fast-paced new adult fantasy/sci-fi. Brewster has imagined a unique world with a unique plight, and the countdown she pits her protagonist against increases the momentum. I just would have liked to see a tad more depth overall. ( )

The world is going to end? And in the just a few days? I have to say that certainly got my attention, so I was curious about the world and those that lived in it. Ashara is our protagonist, and she is a young girl that has still dealing with the loss of her brother, and now has learned that she been assigned to a Ethereal task force. One who will train and fight against the Mages to prevent them from gaining power. The problem is, she has never had any powers, and now in this “time” she does.

Ashara is completely stubborn to the whole idea, of having any ability. Her behavior is sometimes selfish and doesn’t make great decision, but she is young and this is all new to her. But not only that, the one person she doesn’t want to see from the pain he caused her if the very same person that will train her. Loken, her ex-boyfriend. Ashara irritated sometimes to the point I just wanted to shake her, and make her see what she was doing. But in a way I understood why, I would probably be the same way if everyone was telling me I was something I didn’t believe I was either. Ashara does redeem herself toward the end, which I pleased with. Her time with Loken was sweet and you could see how much he did in fact care for her.

The world that laid out before us was interesting and like most dystopians, you have those who govern the futuristic world. Here there is the Council. They are the ones who assign people to the task forces and make the decision and laws and if and when time is rewound. Each have an ability. Being able to rewind time to try prevent events that could possibly end the world is an intriguing idea In a world that is on the brink of ending, I would think there would be an urgency to prevent it from happening, I just didn’t feel that though. The pace was slow at the beginning , but does pick up later in the story, leading up to an exciting battles with the Mages to try and save the world and then it is all over. The ending left me wondering if there is going to be a sequel. And with the abrupt ending, I sure hope so…

Overall, Echo was an enjoyable read, with an intriguing plot and interesting characters. I would say that fans of science fiction will enjoy this one as well as fans of fantasy. ( )

Wow.

Warning: This one sentence might make you feel the intense urge to read Echo.

Imagine...the WORLD won't END if YOU DIE.
Excited??
Well, I am!
This book is great!

I really admire Ashara (The Main Character) because she did not start out as the typical kickass heroine.
She's mortal and ordinary.

Alicia had a great and original idea. The twists in the story is absolutely wonderful.

I really enjoyed the pace of the story, the sadness and tragedy, the chemistry and the abilities that the people had.

Its a great and scary world to live in but Echo has the perfect setting for the storyline to unravel.

Its awesome.

Sincerely,
Selina.
www.booksandsweetepiphany.blogspot.com ( )

ORIGINAL REVIEW AT: LITTLE BOOK STAR

What got me hooked on to read Echo is that it’s not the usual dystopian/sci-fi read. Usually in dystopian books, we get to read what happens AFTER the world has been crashed down, wiped out, etc. But in Echo, we get to read on HOW the world is going to end. Although I love the concept of the book, this one falls in the okay/good category read for me. There were times that I was confused, and times where it took me a while to understand what was happening.

The things that I love in this book is how the chapters are set up. It has a countdown on how many days left before the world ends (starting with day 10). I also like how there were fantasy elements in the book. I’ve never read a book that has sci-fi, dystopian, and fantasy all in one. The characters has elemental powers, and they use those powers to defeat the Mages which is the villain. The main character is relatable and easily understood. I didn’t have any problems with her, however, she didn’t really stand out with the supporting characters.

The things I didn’t like was that the pacing was bit slow for me so it took me longer to read it than I should’ve. As I mentioned before, there were times that I was confused with what was going on. I think it switches scenes too fast for its pace, so one moment I’m reading about flowers, but it quickly changes to trees. I didn’t know why the characters were killing the Mages if it was the end of the world. I mean, don’t you want to spend time with your loved ones if you know for sure that the end is coming? But then there was a twist! I wasn’t even aware of the twist until I read someone else’s review and she explained it.

I really liked the romance in this book. The two lovers starts off as not lovers or friends actually, but they were each other’s exes! Overall I recommend this to those who loves sci-fi books or if you’re looking for a fresh dystopian read. ( )

The premise and the cover had me really intrigued and I was so happy to win a copy of this book. This book was enticing from the very start and I was hooked all the way through. The writing style is easy to read and yet complex enough that I didn’t feel like I was reading a young adult novel. (Sometimes you find a good YA but the writing is just too simple for your taste).

What I really enjoyed about this novel is that it felt like a wonderful mix of science fiction and fantasy. I also really liked how it reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender but in the future where an Avatar was no longer needed. The description Brewster uses to describes the practitioners was very well done. I was also impressed with the description and creation of the religion seen by the Believers.

I loved the characters and felt attached to many of them. I was sad to see some of them die (especially the ones I really liked). I do have to warn that this book contained gore and while I wasn’t bothered at all it may be a bit too detailed for some people.

The reason that this book won’t get full stars is because I wasn’t sure how I liked Ashara. I felt like at times she was trying to be the strong independent female protagonist that is popular nowadays. But then she’d react in a ‘weak damsel-in-distress’ kind of way in other moments. I felt like her character could have been a bit less squeally or stronger in certain parts.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of science fiction, fantasy and Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was very well done and I plan to go read Brewster’s other works. ( )