A review by raenydayreads
Echoes and Empires by Morgan Rhodes
3.0
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ARC provided by Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers.
I love the magic is evil trope and when paired with enemies to lovers, everything feels right.
Josslyn Drake, a privileged and snarky 17-year-old, knows three things about magic: it’s rare, illegal and always deadly. While attending the Queen's Gala, she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time as a thief attempts to steal a mysterious box. The botched robbery quickly turns Joss' life upside down, as she becomes infected with forbidden and dangerous magic. Worried she'll be executed for treason, Josslyn makes a deal with Blackheart criminal Jericho Nox, promising to give him the magic in exchange for extracting the magic from her body. As the two work together, Josslyn begins to discover the world isn't as black and white as she had been taught and begins to question what she thought she knew about magic, power, the empire, and even herself.
At the beginning I was enjoying the pace of the story, but as it progressed, I felt it moved very slowly. In other words, while I loved the concept, I struggled to really engage with the characters and their arcs. Echoes and Empires didn't go exactly in the direction I expected, despite being able to figure out some of the twists in advance; maybe I've gotten a little too used to the formatting of dystopian stories. I felt slightly let down. That said, I would still read the concluding book in the duology as I'm curious to see where the author takes it next.
I love the magic is evil trope and when paired with enemies to lovers, everything feels right.
Josslyn Drake, a privileged and snarky 17-year-old, knows three things about magic: it’s rare, illegal and always deadly. While attending the Queen's Gala, she finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time as a thief attempts to steal a mysterious box. The botched robbery quickly turns Joss' life upside down, as she becomes infected with forbidden and dangerous magic. Worried she'll be executed for treason, Josslyn makes a deal with Blackheart criminal Jericho Nox, promising to give him the magic in exchange for extracting the magic from her body. As the two work together, Josslyn begins to discover the world isn't as black and white as she had been taught and begins to question what she thought she knew about magic, power, the empire, and even herself.
At the beginning I was enjoying the pace of the story, but as it progressed, I felt it moved very slowly. In other words, while I loved the concept, I struggled to really engage with the characters and their arcs. Echoes and Empires didn't go exactly in the direction I expected, despite being able to figure out some of the twists in advance; maybe I've gotten a little too used to the formatting of dystopian stories. I felt slightly let down. That said, I would still read the concluding book in the duology as I'm curious to see where the author takes it next.