Review: Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Summary from Goodreads:

Echo Alkaev’s safe and carefully structured world falls apart after her father leaves for the city and mysteriously disappears. Believing he is lost forever, Echo is shocked to find him half-frozen in the winter forest six months later, guarded by a strange talking wolf—the same creature who attacked her as a child. The wolf presents Echo with an offer: for her to come and live with him for a year. But there is more to the wolf than Echo realizes.


In his enchanted house beneath a mountain, Echo discovers centuries-old secrets, a magical library full of books-turned-mirrors, and a young man named Hal who is trapped inside of them. As the year ticks by, Echo must solve the mystery of the wolf’s enchantment before her time is up—otherwise Echo, the wolf, and Hal will be lost forever.

Review:



What I Liked:

Fantasy Elements/World Building. I was pleasantly surprised at some of the unique aspects in the retelling. It has a lot of aspects that put it ahead of generic Fantasy or retellings. It kept me reading all the way until the end, even when the pacing changed because it was so fantastical. It was a perfectly done standalone fantasy that stands out in the Fantasy genre.

Characters. The novel solely follows the character of Echo, our main character and heroine. I enjoyed the lack of other povs because the reader is able to connect with Echo, a well-crafted character that grows throughout the novel. Echo's love interest was a good character as well but did not get as much character development as Echo. I would have liked to see more of Echo's family and her interactions with them/her hometown. 

Writing Style. I will be checking out more from Meyer in the future because I enjoyed her writing style. She crafted great characters, an interesting plot, fantastical elements, and beautiful prose.

What I Disliked:

Plot/Setting. The aspect I struggled with was how the first half and the middle are drastically different stories and it took me a bit to get back into the novel. I also found the ending conclusion a bit rushed.

Romance. I liked and disliked the main romance. I loved both of the characters but felt that their love was rushed in the 300-page novel. 

I recommend checking out this well-done retelling. 

Rating:

4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars.