Hey guys, today's post is the first of a weeklong posting each day for my birthday week. Today I am so so excited to announce I am participating in the Storytellers On Tour, Book Tour for The Echoed Realm by A.J. Vrana the second book in the Chaos Cycle Duology. I reviewed The Hollow Gods last year before its release, (here is the link to that review) and I am so happy I had the chance to review The Echoed Realm as well. I am breaking my review into two parts, the start will be spoiler-free, and the second part will contain some spoilers as I have so much I need to decompress.
Blog Tour Schedule
I received an eARC from the author, that doesn’t affect my opinion of the book, all my thoughts are my own and honest.
An epic, macabre folktale for a new generation.
Miya’s world ended in Black Hollow.
It’s been three years since the Dreamwalker upended her life and left her with a heavy burden. A fledgling to the ethereal realm, Miya stumbles into the nightmares of those haunted by spectres. Little does she know, one of them is coming for her, clutching a dark secret abreast.
Kai has found a new purpose with his companion, but the price is his freedom. Bound and beholden to Miya, he struggles to adjust to his new role as her vanguard.
Meanwhile, Mason discovers he may be a pawn trapped in a web of schemes. Was his time in Black Hollow an accident, or was it only the beginning of some greater machination?
As Black Hollow’s bloody stain spreads beyond its wooded borders, Miya fights to evade a past she barely understands. The Dreamwalker’s legacy is a vise grip, and it isn’t letting go. Primordial horrors draw near, fables come alive, and long-buried histories rise from the grave, ready to hunt.
Sharpen your claws and bloody your teeth. There’s fear to be sown.
I always worry when I read a sequel to a book I loved full-heartedly, as I can never guarantee it will live up to the first one. But boy when I tell you The Echoed Realm did live up to The Hollow Gods I mean it. Everything Vrana worked to establish in The Hollow Gods was built on further, the characters, the atmosphere, the banter, the mystery elements were all amazing.
I already said in The Hollow Gods, that the characters were fleshed out and relatable and Vrana didn’t disappoint as they continued to deepen in The Echoed Realm. You see how the ending of The Hollow Gods affected them and how they tried to move forward from the trauma they endured. Miya grew to understand and realise her inner strength, Kai grew in every aspect of his personality and Mason, oh Mason learned that not everything can be answered and that is ok. Not only did she build on the three main characters, but she also built on new and old side characters and even though they weren’t the main character they were still fully-fledged.
The atmosphere and setting, was WOW, just WOW Vrana did it again. Creating a creepy town that is twisted in its own right. The mystery element kept me on the edge of my seat and coming up with theories and it never helps when you never know who to trust.
We got so much more history into the Dreamwalker and her life back all those years ago. Vrana did so well with creating the history, she didn’t rush it and she made sure that everything mentioned was relevant and that things were clear to see when you needed it. The humour in this duology is a very particular type of humour but it’s my type and I laughed too much reading it. This book was very much about women's power and inner strength and I loved every second.
Overall what a duology. Vrana has come into this community as an author with a bang and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next because you will be damn sure I will be picking up her next books.
Would I recommend this duology? Yes, I would highly, highly recommend it.
5⭐️
Thank you, A.J. Vrana and Storyteller on Tour, for giving me the chance to review The Echoed Realm and for participating in this book tour.
Find A.J. Vrana Here -
Find The Chaos Cycle Duology Here -
A.J. VRANA'S SHOP -
GOODREADS -
Now the spoiler part of the review, where I am just going to gush about this book.
I have said from the gecko, when I first read The Hollow Gods the book meant a lot to me. For the first time, I had a book where my own anxiety was represented and I felt very close to Miya because of that. This book just helped me even further, knowing there are strong women out there that have anxiety but don’t let it rule their lives means a lot. Her development in this book was just amazing to see, she grew to realise that she didn’t need Kai to be strong, she had the strength inside. She is funny, smart, strong, brave and I think everyone could strive to be just a bit more like Miya.
When I did my reread of The Hollow Gods leading into this book release that was when I fell completely and whole heartily for Kai. Yes, I loved him the first time around but it did not compare to the love I developed this time. He’s been added to my comfort character list because even though he is violent and doesn’t have any social skills (which I relate to BTW) he comforts me, and it doesn’t help that I have never seen someone’s humour as close to mine as Kai. Kai’s character development was one of the biggest you saw through this duology, I find it hard to write everything down. He learnt that having a weakness and having feelings were ok. He changed and it was for the better, (even though I loved him before he changed) he relied on Miya but he learned that he didn’t need to, to be strong and to face his demons.
Mason, well I liked him a lot more in The Echoed Realm than in The Hollow Gods and wish I had seen more of him, but knowing his purpose it makes sense. And all the other side characters like Gavrin, Ama and Crowbar I loved them all. Crowbar was so funny and she made me cry with laughter once.
Vrana also made me hate some characters with a passion. Velizar, I hate him, god I hate him, he is manipulative, a control freak and not the good kind, and the biggest problem is that what he did, he honestly thought what he was doing was right and everyone and I mean literally everyone knew he’s wrong.
This book made me so anxious and I had so many feelings which made it sometimes hard to read. I hadn’t felt so scared to read a book since The Dying of the Light by Derek Landy and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo.
One of my favourite moments of the book was definitely how Gavirn was being a jealous boy of his mum spending time with her boyfriend. And the fact that me and Kai are a little alike, imagine my surprise when I was telling a friend that I was really worried that what Velizar would show Kai something to make him feel for Velizar and he said the same, just more Kai like. Honestly, Kai’s humour was also a highlight and just everything about this book was a highlight.
This series will stay with me for a long time and will be going on one of my favourite series lists.
Thanks for reading, hope you guys have a great day! Goodbye.
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