Such a gorgeous book. Part mystery/psychological thriller, part love story, always teetering on the edge of tragedy. I love Zara and Eli.

The thing I keep coming back to about Echo after Echo is the sheer power of the writing. Almost everything about this book is awesome, but the writing is stunning. It is "I will remember this for the rest of my life" stunning. I genuinely do not remember the last time I read a book written so beautifully. I wanted to highlight every other sentence but I didn't want to put it down because it was so. fucking. engaging. I am going to read every single thing Amy Rose Capetta publishes for the rest of her life. You can't stop me.

// LET'S BEGIN ANALYZING THIS MASTERPIECE

♔ OH MY GOD THE LEADS. Zara and Eli are both such well-developed and compelling characters. Zara is a surprisingly down-to-earth daydreamer desperately attached to her play. Eli is the more cynical of the two, with a passion for lighting and a deep love of the theater.

Also, quick note about diversity - our two leads are a chubby Jewish bi girl who states that she's bi on the fucking page and a Puerto Rican lesbian with short dyed hair. Okay, okay, I just loved them both so much and I'm so happy about the rep being so good.

♚ God, the romance??
Echo wants Ariston so quickly and so completely because she’s already fallen in love. She’s been hollowing out a place inside herself for years —and he fits.

I've been thinking a lot recently about how to make a fast-flowing romance work, and I think this book has given me the solution. Up until now, the only instaromance I've ever truly loved has been that of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone. You know what those books have in common? They establish why these two characters could possibly fall so fast. Here, we explicitly see the loneliness of the romantic leads, how they both want someone in their lives. Instalove isn't bad because it's instant - it's bad because it's unbelievable.

And okay, yes, sometimes instalove is bad because it's forced, but trust me - this was not forced. LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT STATUE SCENE. LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT LIGHTING SCENE. Zara and Eli have so much chemistry. There are so many tiny moments where you can feel the heart-arresting sensation of first love. The writing is just that vivid.

♔ I liked the And Then There Were None-esque whodunnit aspect. Echo after Echo builds up so many different characters that it's hard to know where to turn for suspects. Yet in a strange way, you don't want the culprit to be any of them. Not after the buildup. There's Roscoe, the eccentric soundboard operator. There's Etta, washed-up dame, and Carl, her first husband. There's Kestrel, Zara's bitter and mysterious roommate. There's Meg, the assistant director, and Adrian, the star-power male lead. And of course, there's the head of the whole show - Leopold, our mysterious director.

♚ Art. I can feel Capetta's love for the theater world bleeding through the pages, and I am so freaking thankful for it. As a theater nerd myself, I've seldom felt the true joy and feeling of acting and performing conveyed so well.

♔ I touched on this a bit earlier, but I loved the parallels between the stage show and real life. The entire book just felt very meta and interesting due to all its symbolism. And thankfully, Capetta didn't feel the need to throw it in your face!! I've read several YA books recently that felt the need to explicitly run the reader through every single moment of symbolism, and damn, am I glad this book avoided doing that very thing. I felt far more respected by the author as a result.

♚ I do have to say that the pacing varied. This is very much a slow-burn novel, and I have to say that I never felt that true desperation to finish I'd expected in the latter half. It's not necessarily a bad thing - it just means more focus on character building - but it's something I wish I could've known going in.

VERDICT: There's so much I loved about this - the character arcs, the atmospheric writing, the theatrical aspects, the romance. God, it was just so good. I hope all of you get a chance to read this, because it is truly one of the year's gems. As I said in my pre-review, It's a theater murder mystery with a great romance between two girls. what more could you WANT?

“This is the Aurelia Theater. It feels like coming home.”

Echo after Echo is an own voices novel, that has such a beautiful f/f romance, surrounding a Broadway theater crew getting ready for opening night, while also trying to solve a murder mystery that may or may not be a curse set on the theater they all love and adore. I devoured this with a smile on my face. I was completely enthralled and immersed by this. I love this story with my entire being.

This theater crew has from November 5th to December 29th (opening night) to perfect the play, Echo and Ariston, which is a very reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. During this time, two murders happen, but everyone knows these things come in threes, so our main character is slowly trying to piece the puzzle together, while also trying to protect herself at all costs.

Our main character, Zara, is an eighteen-year-old girl, who has lived and breathed this play from a very young age. After she gets the leading role of Echo, she gives up her senior year of high school to move to New York and take a chance on making her dreams a reality. The other leading role of Ariston is played by Adrian Ward, an already very famous and good-looking male, where this is the first thing Zara has ever been in. So, she is constantly trying to better her acting and the play’s director, Leopold, easily directs her to do whatever he or his visions want from the play.

We are also met with a full cast of characters, where you will constantly be guessing who is committing these crimes, and who might be the next victim. Yet, the writing is so beautiful and haunting, you won’t be surprised in the slightest if the Aurelia Theater is just truly cursed.

Zara soon meets the assistant lighting designer, Eli, who makes Zara feels things she only thought were possible in the play she has grown up obsessed with. Yet, Leopold made Zara promise to only focus on the play and her opening night, while he also wants the media to believe in a budding romance between her and her costar, Adrian.

“But here’s the real truth: time doesn’t work in neat, predictable ways. It doubles over on itself. Finds new ways to hurt you.”

And this writing is so atmospheric and is truly a tier above most out there. I mean, I could have probably highlighted this whole entire book. The prose is nothing short of whimsical, even though this is a contemporary thriller. From the actual play being practiced, to the play that is constantly referenced, I am currently dying to see any and all productions of this play.

“But the feelings Zara has been chasing since the day she found that ragged paperback of Echo and Ariston are right here, in a girl who made herself out of tattoos and abrupt laughs and every form of light.”

And the romance, oh boy, the romance. I was living for every scene with Zara and Eli, even though they are both too pure for this world and need to be protected at all costs. I think the reason I read this book so quickly was because I simply could not get enough of them and their perfect growing love. Zara coming to terms with her sexuality is a big part of this book and it really resonated within me, while also really hitting very close to home and how I felt when I was eighteen and realizing I wasn’t straight. I think the bi representation was amazingly done and made me feel all the feels.

“But girls touch each other all the time. Girls have intense friendships that have nothing to do with wanting to tear each other’s clothes off.”

And the diversity is also outstanding. Zara is on the page bisexual (be still, my heart) and Jewish. There are wonderful discussions about how she feels living in a world that predominately celebrates Christmas in December, and it was really insightful and heartwarming. Eli is a lesbian, Puerto Rican, and grew up Catholic. Adrian is that typical, everybody loves me, straight, white guy, but he also talks about how he is Dyslexic and suffers from ADHD. Seriously, this is a well written diverse cast that I really loved and appreciated.

Trigger Warnings for mention(s) of: eating disorders, rape, and suicide.

I loved this. This would be such a perfect fall or winter read. I mean, I could read Broadway murder mysteries about girls loving girls all year round, but I do think this is going to feel ever more perfect for its October 10th release. This story is absolutely beautiful and such a shining light among 2017 publications! I recommend this with my whole heart and hope you pick it up come this fall.

“There is always an imperfection in beauty, some flaw or surprise to remind you that it’s real.”