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A review by ninegladiolus
Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
Tennalhin Halkana can do two things extremely well: read minds and cause trouble. Surit Yeni can also do two things extremely well: write minds and follow rules. Naturally, when Tennal is banished to the military and put under Surit’s new, suspiciously timed command to have his mind synced to Surit’s, things don’t go as planned. After Surit refuses on the grounds of ethics, they fake the sync Tennal was supposed to have and embark upon a mission to chaotic space, where secrets grave enough to start a war lurk.
Sometimes you read a book and think to yourself, “I’m going to be so NORMAL about this novel.” Ocean’s Echo was that book for me. Soulbonding is one of my favourite tropes in speculative fiction and Ocean’s Echo uses the device to great effect. The delicious intimacy afforded by the exchange of reading and writing minds really worked for me and served as a cool world-building backdrop to the fast-paced, dramatic plot.
If you were a fan of Winter’s Orbit, it’s worth nothing this standalone leans heavier into the military science fiction subgenre than the romance one. Still, Tennal and Surit’s relationship develops in a delightful, emotionally intense slow burn, and I found the payoff not only worth it but fist-bitingly devastating at points. There’s a feral intimacy to the ways in which Tennal and Surit discover each other and I’m still like, not okay about it.
The political intrigue and military subplots really worked for me in this one. The worldbuilding was already great in Winter’s Orbit, but it feels much more robust in Ocean’s Echo—including a few familiar organizations and locales that return from Maxwell’s debut. A ragtag crew of determined misfits railing against impossible odds and Hot, Bad Women don’t hurt either. However, this book is definitely a standalone and can be read completely independent of Winter’s Orbit.
With gorgeous prose, superb pacing, and a slow-burn romance to die for, Ocean’s Echo is an easy favourite of the year and has earned pride of place on my bookshelf. I eagerly await whatever Maxwell has in store next.
Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.
Sometimes you read a book and think to yourself, “I’m going to be so NORMAL about this novel.” Ocean’s Echo was that book for me. Soulbonding is one of my favourite tropes in speculative fiction and Ocean’s Echo uses the device to great effect. The delicious intimacy afforded by the exchange of reading and writing minds really worked for me and served as a cool world-building backdrop to the fast-paced, dramatic plot.
If you were a fan of Winter’s Orbit, it’s worth nothing this standalone leans heavier into the military science fiction subgenre than the romance one. Still, Tennal and Surit’s relationship develops in a delightful, emotionally intense slow burn, and I found the payoff not only worth it but fist-bitingly devastating at points. There’s a feral intimacy to the ways in which Tennal and Surit discover each other and I’m still like, not okay about it.
The political intrigue and military subplots really worked for me in this one. The worldbuilding was already great in Winter’s Orbit, but it feels much more robust in Ocean’s Echo—including a few familiar organizations and locales that return from Maxwell’s debut. A ragtag crew of determined misfits railing against impossible odds and Hot, Bad Women don’t hurt either. However, this book is definitely a standalone and can be read completely independent of Winter’s Orbit.
With gorgeous prose, superb pacing, and a slow-burn romance to die for, Ocean’s Echo is an easy favourite of the year and has earned pride of place on my bookshelf. I eagerly await whatever Maxwell has in store next.
Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.