Krista Reviews: Echo by Lorena Glass
Echo is the story of two lovers who are under a curse (the story will bear this out). One of them always loses the other, tragically. But the two of them learn to beat the curse: whenever one dies, the other time travels to the lost lover’s next (or past) reincarnation. The novel spans over a thousand years, to several different times and places; and it clearly illustrates the risks one will take, the lengths one will go, and the sacrifices one will make for true love.
The keywords that caught my attention with this book were curse, soul mates, and the story spanning over thousands of years. There were so many possibilities for how the story might develop.
The story starts out in the 460’s A.D., and Karissa has just appeared in Gaul on a mission to find her lost mate. We learn some historical background about what was happening at the time and in that area of the world. I really enjoy reading historical books and was getting my hopes up that this was leading to a very detailed and well-researched story with a mystery and romance at the core.
Unfortunately, I did not end up loving the book as much as I was hoping mainly due to the characters. Karissa didn’t seem to fit in this ancient world. What I mean is that she was very much a 21st century girl living in an ancient time and the two just did not mesh well. People were too patient with her inappropriate behaviour.
POV’s switched between Karissa and Adregin, and their names changed throughout the book as did the settings (time periods). However, I wanted information than I got ; for example, I never completely understood how the languages came so easily to them, or how they maintained their memories.
I believe that Echo would have benefited from pruning in some areas and expansion in others, but there were lots encouraging things about it, and some readers will find interest in the bigger picture ideas of reincarnation and the looping of the curse.
