*Oh wow… I am not okay.*
Sophia, I have two questions for you. Number one - how dare you? And number two - how dare you?
I jumped into this book expecting strategy, fights, battles, war, love… and I did get that, I did, but the rest I did not expect. What in the plot twist was this? What in the cliffhanger was that? Good thing my phone is water-protected, otherwise, it would have been dead from all the crying I did by the end of this book.
But, let's get to the beginning. Echo of Deceit is book two in the Echo series and is a beautiful continuation of Echo of Wings. We follow Lillian, Kian, and their gang on their journey to find allies ready to fight for a better tomorrow—a journey filled with (deadly) challenges, secrets and mysteries, discoveries, pain, and betrayal.
The character development was on point. Lillian and Kian’s growth felt natural and compelling, even though sometimes I just wanted to slam my phone off the wall because of their stubbornness and/or protectiveness and/or pride and/or just the general slowburn pace they were doing. The secondary characters were equally well-fleshed out, each adding their own weight to the story.
I loved the new characters that were added on, and you know I loved the old characters, but beware - Sophia isn't too afraid to kill a loved character off. 😂
Sophia's world-building is just as exceptional as it was in Book 1. The tiny details of the settings, the magic system, and the cultural elements made Lillian's world come alive in my mind. The pacing was spot-on, maintaining a balance between action-packed sequences and quieter, more emotional moments. (Prepare tissue paper, because trust me, you'll need it)
I loved how fear, grief, guilt and pain were portrayed, and I appreciated that Sophia kept addressing these themes throughout the book instead of mentioning them once and then forgetting about them like many authors do. I sympathized with the characters and I felt their pain, so much so that I still have a headache from crying. :’)))
The only reason I'm giving this book four instead of five stars is the overwhelming declarations of love. I love some good “I love you” statements and acts of love here and there, but for me, they were a bit too much in this book, to the point of perceiving them as cringy and sappy at certain moments. Or maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset to read about mate's love, idk.
Nonetheless, Echo of Deceit is an amazing book and I'm so glad I got to read as an ARC. Sophia St. Germain's writing pulls you right in, making the vast, intriguing world she created come to life. If you haven't read Echo of Wings and Echo of Deceit, but you love fantasy books about trials, power, magic, Valkyries, mates, dragons, gods and kings, love and betrayal, friendship, and found family—what are you waiting for?