I’m thrilled to be participating in the Silent Echo blog tour today! I posted this review a month or so back, but I’m excited to be promoting the book again! There’s also a giveaway on Good Reads that you should check out if you’re interested in winning a physical copy of Silent Echo! You can find that HERE.
I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Diversion Books
Best for: 15 and up
Check it out: Good Reads | Diversion Books
Good Reads Summary:
Haunted by silence, a mute teenage girl is mysteriously given back her voice … and it is divine.
Rendered mute at birth, Portia Griffin has been silent for 16 years. Music is her constant companion, along with Felix, her deaf best friend who couldn’t care less whether or not she can speak. If only he were as nonchalant about her newfound interest in the musically gifted Max Hunter.
But Portia’s silence is about to be broken with the abrupt discovery of her voice, unparalleled in its purity and the power it affords to control those around her. Able to persuade, seduce and destroy using only her voice, Portia embarks on a search for answers about who she really is, and what she is destined to become.
Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, SILENT ECHO: A Siren’s Tale is an epic story filled with fantasy, romance and original music.
I don’t even really know what I want to say in this review. This book was interesting and enjoyable, a nice addition to the YA Mythology/Fantasy genre. But a large portion of it was quite strange to me, and I’m having trouble putting into words why. I’ll do my best.
I thought Portia and her struggle were very interesting. It was different to see the main character actually being the antagonist at times; it was a unique perspective from the usual YA book. Because she is being haunted and manipulated by the spirits of evil sirens that she can’t ignore, she becomes evil herself at times. It made everything rather tense to have the main protagonist act as an antagonist.
Of course, then I started wondering why all those worried gods on Olympus, or even the ones closer to home, didn’t see fit to lock Portia up or at least give her a body guard, since they seemed oh so concerned about her, and she was running around wreaking havoc.
She’s their only hope, but who cares if she’s being protected. Better yet, no one cares that she’s being tormented by evil spirits. No big.
WARNING: LOVE TRIANGLE. But let me say, this was one of the oddest love triangles I think I’ve ever read. We had some insta-love vs. childhood best friend going on. And can I just say, the conclusion of the love triangle in this book (there’s a sequel, or at least, I’m assuming that there is by the way Silent Echo ended), was absolutely BIZARRE. (P.S. It’s really hard not going into spoilers, but I’m going to do my best). Let’s just say there was a really obvious choice of who she should be with. Like, this is a perfect situation, and you’d be insane not to take it. And she didn’t. I’m still not really sure what happened there at the end.
I think it’s kind of weird how when people write mythology adaptations they make the gods morons. I mean, they’re gods, it wouldn’t take them that long to figure out technology. Especially if they’re keeping up with human affairs, which a lot of these gods seemed to. There were some really hilarious moments where the gods would bust out into archaic language in a non-archaic moment, which made me think of these hysterical memes:
There was an especially entertaining moment where Ares (yes, the god of War) was chasing a shape-shifter, in the form of a bat, yelling archaic phrases about avenging his sons. I don’t know if it was supposed to be funny, but it didn’t help that the words were in all caps.
There was a really nice focus on music, which, as a singer, I really enjoyed. I liked that Portia had power through singing (duh, siren). I liked that singing and playing music was something she and insta-love boy shared.
I haven’t read many books where the main character had a disability, so it was interesting to watch mute Portia through the first half of the book. She had to communicate differently than everyone else, and it was very difficult for her to get acclimated to having a voice after being silent for 16 years. That was another unique perspective, especially for this genre.
An interesting, though somewhat odd read.
For more info:
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18088843-silent-echo
Excerpt: http://www.scribd.com/doc/169177298/Silent-Echo
Diversion Books: http://www.diversionbooks.com/ebooks/silent-echo-sirens-tale
Elisa’s site: http://www.elisafreilich.com
Elisa’s Tumblr: http://elisafreilich.tumblr.com/
Elisa on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Elisafreilich
About the Author:
Raised in rural Monsey, New York, Elisa spent her days reading whatever crossed her path and developing a keen appreciation for the ever-present music in her home – from classical to rock.
After her college years at Boston University, Elisa continued her creative pursuits, working as a junior VP of Marketing at a corporate graphic design agency and, later, as an interior decorator. Eventually, Elisa left the workforce to raise her family, in her now hometown of Englewood, NJ.
When Elisa is not writing, her creative outlets still abound. She is fierce with a set of knitting needles, a hot glue gun and any ingredients that can somehow be fashioned into a sinful and highly caloric babka.