More Than an Echo

Echo Branson #1

by Linda Kay Silva

For fourteen years, she’s just Jane Doe. But when her empathic powers kick in she becomes Echo Branson, untrained and as much a risk to herself as others. Fleeing the nightmare her life has become she seeks out a mentor, deep in the Louisiana Bayou. For the first time she learns she is not alone. Finally, a family. But it’s a family she cannot keep.

Reemerging into a world where she must appear normal, Echo begins a career as an investigative reporter and immerses herself in a story that will rock the city of San Francisco. Fearing persecution—and worse-- because of her paranormal abilities, she quickly learns she must keep everyone at arm’s length, including the woman for whom her feelings are far too risky to explore.
Having only her broken past to go by, Echo trusts no future. Can someone so incredibly different find safety, friends, let alone love, in a society that denies her very existence?

More Than an Echo is the first in popular author Linda Kay Silva's electrifying new paranormal series featuring empath Echo Branson.

Genres: Lesbian, Fantasy, Paranormal, LGBT, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2010

About the author

Linda Kay Silva, a.k.a. Storm, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner and a menagerie of animals. She wakes up happy, laughs all day long, and lives a life that had included African safaris, Thai temples, riding Harleys, and floating down rivers on bamboo rafts. By day, she is a World, American, British, Asian, and Women’s Literature Professor at a military university. By night, she is a lover of all things zombie-esque and will watch any movie where a zombie eats a human being. She’s has been known to offer parts in her books to her students, who touch her life as much as she hopes she touches theirs. She is proud to be with Sapphire Books and looks forward to a long and satisfying writing career with them. Linda Kay prides herself on responding to everyone who has ever written her, and she encourages you to join her and Sapphire Books on Facebook.

Linda Kay Silva is the recipient of the 2013 Alice B. Medal for her body of work.

aka Alex Westmore

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty darn good! I have found that every book I have read by Linda Kay Silva/Alex Westmore has been really well written, and this was no exception. I'm a big fan or paranormal LesFic so I was really excited about this. But I must say if you are not a big fan of paranormal, you still may enjoy this. This is about, empaths, telekinesis, necromancers (meaning able to talk to the dead like a medium) and pyrokinesis. We are not talking about Vampires and Werewolves. This is about people who use more than 10% of their brain, resulting in these powers, and the main character is Echo an empath. We start with her childhood when she first comes into her powers and is thrown into a psych ward for it. And we follow her through age 28, when she becomes an investigative reporter and uses her powers to try to find out why so many homeless people are disappearing without a trace.
I enjoyed the mystery of the book and I really enjoyed the character of Echo. I also thought the secondary characters were well written.
This book can be a little slow at times, but it picks up and is so well written, I didn't mind. There is not much romance in this book, but Echo does fall for someone and hopefully in book 2 the romance will blossom.
This was an enjoyable, well written book, and I can't wait to read book 2.

[MaxDisaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars
This was definitely a very good paranormal crime-solving story. Echo was a well-rounded MC and my only complaint so far was the fact that I liked Tip a bit better than Finn, which didn't exactly work.

[Alealea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was hard to get into it. The first chapters are really slow.
But when it picked up, and the writer stopped having those weird timeline, it was a really interesting investigative story, with a rookie learning the ropes, nice cast of characters, even if some are just sketches.
I put it down feeling like a cat in a bowl of cream, so I stretched the rating to 4 stars.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the beginning I thought that the story didn't get me. But in the middle it did get me. Thanks for this story I'm going to buy the next one en hope that Finn shall be returning in that book to!

[Rtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Echo has a empathic gift that almost drives her crazy. The story line is good. Strong side characters. Really a good story.

[Wendy Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jane Doe has never had a real family, she has jumped from foster family to foster family. Until one day Jane begins to 'feel' people's emotions. After an incident of beating up a young boy at fourteen Jane ends up in a psychiatric hospital where her life begins to finally make sense.

She is an empath. A very powerful one so she is told but she has no idea how to control her powers. Breaking out of the hospital she is rushed off to the Bayou to start her training with what is to become the first real family she has ever known. Jane changes her name to Echo and through her years of training learns to control her powers and how to protect herself in a world where her kind are unheard of.

Echo returns to San Fransisco to become and investigative reporter where it becomes not only her job but her heartfelt aim to uncover a mystery that surrounds the homeless community where she lives. Through her journey Echo finally discovers how her powers can be used for the greater good that she has always strived for.

Linda Kay Silver take the reader on a journey of self discovery with Echo's character and manages to keep the reader guessing which way the story is going to turn next. I found myself hoping that she would win the struggles that she was facing and formed a connection with the character that is something that only great authors can do. When I read a book and I feel like I'm walking in that characters footsteps for that journey then that is a story I want to keep reading and I found this book hard to put down. I will definitely be reading more to this series!

[Carolyn McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, let's get the not-wonderful-part out of the way;
There were a few times I was jerked out of the story by a lack of transition between scenes. But the feeling didn't last and wasn't that a big a deal. The characters and plot more than made up for it.

Now to the good;
The characters were very cool, how can I possibly pick a favourite? Echo, who picked the coolest name EVER for her new self. Or Mel, or Tip, or Big George or Dani, or possibly Bishop...okay, my fave is probably Echo. (Did I mention how cool her name is?)
The action built appropriately, there was great character growth and development but above all, I could NOT leave the story until I was done.
The money I spent was well worth it, I only wish I had picked the correct extension so I could have read it on my Kobo instead of my Mac. Whatever...we're here to talk about the story. The setting was so well described that I thought I could feel the mugginess of the Bayou, and damn, I want Mel's place to be real.
(I love the cover too. I could happily make that my computer desktop)
If you like paranormals, if you like YA, if you like a good story, this is the book for you, plain and simple.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped to flesh out the characters I met in the fourth book and set up the dynamics that made no sense to me then. It's kinda like watching the second episode of Downton Abbey without knowing what faces belong to what voice. But once the stage was set for me, I loved the book.

[Ulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story and can't wait to read the next one!

[Heather Henkel]

Absolutely wonderful story. I highly recommend reading the whole series!