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chronicallybookish 's review for:
Echoes and Empires
by Morgan Rhodes
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 2.5 stars
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Setting: 2/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
The idea behind this book was so fascinating.
An modern fantasy world, ruled by an empress, where technology and magic both exist—but magic is forbidden and punishable by death. A clueless spoiled socialite who ends up unwittingly embued with the memories of an evil warlock. A dark and broody, mildly murderous love interest who has to keep her safe, not because of her but because he needs the magic that is in her.
It sounds so damn good. And I wanted to like it so badly. The writing was not the worst, but it was very info-dump heavy. We learned about the world because Joss told us about the world via internal monologue, which often felt clunky because she lived in this world: why would she be internally monologuing about the history and mythology of the world in which she had lived her whole life?
I didn’t like Joss. Again, I wanted to, but her internal monologue was so clunky, and she often felt incredibly two dimensional. She was bratty and spoiled, and though she did experience character growth, it didn’t feel natural.
There were many plot twists and turns, but with the exception of one of them, I had already figured them out way in advance, which made them fall flat. Like, a character who would later play a part in a plot twist? I would guess exactly what the twist revolving around them would be from the moment they stepped onto the page, several chapters before the twist took place. And I’m objectively awful at guessing plot twists. It was just so obvious.
I wanted to like this book so badly. I don’t really know what else to say. The premise was interesting, it was a fast paced read, and I finished it in only a few hours, but part of that was because I tried to read it quickly so that I could just get it over with.
I did like the ending, and I’m vaguely intrigued by where the plot goes next, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be picking up the sequel.
Age Rating: 13+
Over All: 2.5 stars
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Setting: 2/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Special thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All thoughts and opinions reflected in this review are my own.
The idea behind this book was so fascinating.
An modern fantasy world, ruled by an empress, where technology and magic both exist—but magic is forbidden and punishable by death. A clueless spoiled socialite who ends up unwittingly embued with the memories of an evil warlock. A dark and broody, mildly murderous love interest who has to keep her safe, not because of her but because he needs the magic that is in her.
It sounds so damn good. And I wanted to like it so badly. The writing was not the worst, but it was very info-dump heavy. We learned about the world because Joss told us about the world via internal monologue, which often felt clunky because she lived in this world: why would she be internally monologuing about the history and mythology of the world in which she had lived her whole life?
I didn’t like Joss. Again, I wanted to, but her internal monologue was so clunky, and she often felt incredibly two dimensional. She was bratty and spoiled, and though she did experience character growth, it didn’t feel natural.
There were many plot twists and turns, but with the exception of one of them, I had already figured them out way in advance, which made them fall flat. Like, a character who would later play a part in a plot twist? I would guess exactly what the twist revolving around them would be from the moment they stepped onto the page, several chapters before the twist took place. And I’m objectively awful at guessing plot twists. It was just so obvious.
I wanted to like this book so badly. I don’t really know what else to say. The premise was interesting, it was a fast paced read, and I finished it in only a few hours, but part of that was because I tried to read it quickly so that I could just get it over with.
I did like the ending, and I’m vaguely intrigued by where the plot goes next, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be picking up the sequel.