I really enjoyed reading Echoes, and was pretty excited to get to its follow up! This book picks up right where Echoes ends, and it ends on quite the cliffhanger, so it's going to be hard to not spoil anything from the first book. I'll do my best to keep it vague though! I am just going to break down everything I enjoyed about the book!

►We learn so much more about the characters! In Echoes, there's a ton of action and uncertainty about who our main characters are. But in this book, while there is still tons of action, a lot of it is about character development.

►As I said, the action is still very much present. The stakes are also very high (and our main characters have finally begun to understand just how high) and so every action-filled moment becomes even more important and thrilling.

►The mystery remains fabulous. My favorite part of Echoes was the mystery, and it definitely doesn't disappoint here! While we do find out the answers to some questions, they lead to more questions throughout the book so you're always excited to keep reading to figure out more.

►All the clues and action made it compulsively readable. I really wanted to know what was happening to Fiona and Miles, so I basically had to keep reading. Especially when I thought I might be onto something (even though I probably wasn't), I got excited!

►The ending is SO satisfying! I loved that everything was answered and resolved. It makes me happy. I won't say more than that because obviously I am not spoiling the ending, but it was a good one.

Bottom Line: Even better than the first book, Fractures builds upon the characters, the mystery, and world in an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

If you haven't read the first book, Echoes, you absolutely MUST. Immediately from page one of this one you will be completely and fully lost if you haven't read the first book. I didn't know that this was the second book so I ended up ordering the first one so I could understand why they were on a boat, not moving, in seemingly the middle of nowhere. I'm so glad I did.

Odd thing though, is that Echoes is written in Fiona's point of view and I somehow missed the switch because Fractures then goes on to be in Miles's point of view. Which, is fine I guess, but I wonder if it wouldn't have been better to have them switch on and off depending on the chapter. It was hard for me to mentally remember that I'm with Miles mainly versus Fiona.

My next issue is Fiona. I didn't really feel any particular way about her in Echoes, though I did like Miles but mainly because his character reminded me of others I've read in different books. Fiona though, she isn't a very nice person in Fractures. Alarmingly so, and the flip flop reminded me of Peeta in Hunger Games. Remember when one minute he's in love with Katniss and the next he wants to kill her? Maybe it isn't quite the same degree here but the sudden shit threw me for a loop and I had a hard time liking her.

I think a great dystopian book has to have great secondary characters to push our main characters forward, and we have that. I also can't say this is strictly a dystopian novel, which I am usually 50/50 on, I'll either love it or not like it at all. I actually loved this because this book gave us the thriller element, lots of suspense, a solid dash of mystery, a little bit of romance, but lots of action. This is a book you basically put on an end cap because it could fit in so many different specific genres than the blanket of young adult.

I have to say another reason I really enjoyed this is it focuses on past lives. Once Fiona and Miles reach Poland, and are supposedly learning about what the heck has happened, they are told they have different names, that they were never really Fiona and Miles, and it's confusing for sure because the memories they have feel real. So do you just go with what these people are telling you or do you believe what you remember, trust your memories over evidence that contradicts them? If you've been reading my blog long enough you know that I have short term memory loss but I also have long term memory loss as well. It's a really strange thing to see photos of yourself getting married, for instance, and you have zero memory of it. Obviously it happened because here are the photos but what if? What if you didn't and it's all smoke and mirrors?

So that thread in the story interested me the most. I highly suggest reading them back to back because that is what I ended up doing and I think if I had more time between books I would have forgotten some smaller details.

I have to thank NetGalley and Entangled Teen for getting an ARC to me for review, all thoughts are my own. I highly suggest keeping an eye on Entangled Teen's books because I've read a few this year so far and they have all been really great and unique. I've got my eye on a few more coming this year, so stay tuned!

This review can be seen on: https://www.strandedinchaos.com/2020/06/book-review-fractures-echoes-2.html

What would you do if you woke up stranded on an island? That's what happened to Miles and Fiona. They were stranded on an island and then woke up stuck on a cargo ship with no recollection of how they got there. Next thing they know, the FBI rescues them and everything changes.

They're told they can't go home. That they're now in witness protection and have new names and identities. While Miles and Fiona are making peace with this, they get taken to a Villa in Europe where everyone seems to know their new identities. They have no idea what is going on.

Turns out they were purchased to be part of some science experiment and now they're stuck with it unless they can find a way to escape.

Very Maze Runner-ish. I enjoyed it. I was confused right along with the characters but in the end, it all made sense. This book took off from the very first page.

I was infatuated with Echoes and was really excited to see news about Fractures. This is the sequel and the second part of a continuous story. Fractures continues the mystery I came to love in Echoes but we have a new world. There are more questions to be answered and working out the truth is hard.

Echoes was told from Fiona’s point of view whereas our new narrator is Miles. They still need to work together even though they think they’re heading home. All is not as it seem as the mind muddle continues.

The mystery suspense is a big part of this story so I don’t want to give too many details away. I loved the island setting in book one whereas the new reality in book two wasn’t as exciting it still had me guessing at every page turn.

The ending makes the book. I wanted Fiona and Miles to connect and overcome their differences. The new reality holds more than they imagined possible.

4 out of 5. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fractures is the second installment in author Alice Reeds Echoes Duology. The story takes place where Echoes left off. As the story opens, Fiona Wolf and Miles Echo think they are going back to the US where they will live in California with different names while under the protection of an FBI agent named McCarley. Their joy derails when they end up in Poland and back into the hands of Briola Biotech. They are, after all, property. The chapters alternate between the Briola villa in Poland and a stranded freighter in the middle of an ocean.


Fiona is the current Florida State lightweight kickboxing champion who was apparently not impressed with rich boy Miles who has labeled himself as the useless heir. But, after surviving Florida, Berlin, and an Island, the rest should be a walk in the park. Except that now they find themselves lab rats by those in charge of Briola. They are also expected to go by new names as the old Miles and Fiona have been officially labeled as legally dead of a plane crash. If you've read Echoes, you know the book was told in the first-person narrative by Fiona.


This time around, it is Miles who is the narrator while Fiona is along for the ride. One of the challenges of not having read Echoes is trying to figure out why I should care about either of these characters. Fiona is head strong; Miles is fluent in 6 languages. Fiona's stepmother and Miles' father sold them to be part of an experiment lab. Both characters have been told that their mothers are dead. You also must realize that memory is a key ingredient in both of these books. I have to say for the record, that I did not read Echoes and therefore I had to educate myself as to what happened via other people's reviews.


Thankfully, there are lots of people who have read the first book so thank you to all of you. This entire series is a part of a larger puzzle that Miles and Fiona along with a few friends must figure out before something bad happens to them. I think it's fair to say that both Miles and Fiona have issues with trusting authority figures especially after they were treated like crap and sold. They also have some minor issues to deal with thanks to Miles inability to trust anyone, including Fiona who would like to take the entire organization down piece by piece.


The most interesting aspect of this story happens later in the story as Miles and Fiona learns of the greater overall picture as they try to figure out a way to escape. Miles brother Leon plays a minor role in this book as well as Ivy Carver whose father saved Fiona on the Island. Miles and Leon don't have the greatest connection thanks to Leon's actions. But, dig deeper folks. Stay the course until the final page is turned to learn what's really happening and why. The ending does wrap up things quite nicely and leaves a warm feeling with the relationship between Fiona and Miles.

3.5 stars

Fractures
Echoes #2
Alice Reed
Entangled Teen, June 2020
ISBN 978-1-64063-900-3
Trade Paperback

From the publisher—

They survived a plane crash.

They survived life on a deserted island.

They survived being hunted.

Now they must survive the truth—they are not who they think they are.

One minute they’re in Poland, subjected to gruesome tests they keep failing. No friends to support them. No family to claim them. No hope of ever living a normal life again.

Then suddenly, they’re trapped on an abandoned freighter in the middle of the ocean and forced to fight for survival. No food. No drinkable water. No way to get home. And strange memories of another life they don’t understand.

But how can they be living two separate lives, trapped in two separate places, at the same time? They’ll have to find the connection and uncover secrets that someone went to great lengths to keep hidden…if they’re going to survive long enough to find out who is behind it all.

When I read Echoes, the first book, I was immediately drawn in by the two protagonists and by the alternate timeline aspect of the plot. The timeline thing and the characters still appeal to me in Fractures now that they are off the island but, if Fiona and Miles thought they were in trouble before, they could have had no idea what was to come.

This time, the point of view comes from Miles and there’s a difference in the level of urgency that they felt on the island but the mystery of what’s really going on deepens. For starters, how lovely is it that their own parents sold them out, literally? The promise of new lives in California was just a ploy and now Miles and Fiona have to trust no one but each other and work to find answers for themselves including the question of their real identities.

I could definitely do without the insta-love but Alice Reeds is a fine writer and her worldbuilding is vivid; the duology is a nice blend of science fiction and mystery, which I really appreciate, and Ms. Reeds kept me guessing and flipping pages as fast as I could to the very end. Besides heartily recommending Fractures, I’ll say this—you must read the two books in order 😄

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, June 2020.

Fractures is the continuation of Miles and Fiona's story which began in the book Echoes.

I felt more invested in the characters and story than I did in Echoes, and I liked getting this Miles POV this time.

As more of the 'why' behind Miles and Fiona's situation was revealed, things did begin to make more sense. However, the plot was a little drawn out in the beginning and then the climax felt rushed and over too quickly. There were also a few loose end questions I would have liked answers to.

Echoes was such a delight and certainly one of the very few books I urged people to avoid any and all reviews for. Any little tiny tidbit, even the smallest detail, could spoil that story and readers should be as aloof going into it as I was. Normally with second books, I don’t try to be as careful with the details, but I will do the same thing I did with ECHOES and give barely anything away.

FRACTURES picks up right where ECHOES left off, with Miles and Fiona being rescued and hopefully filled in on all the details. Unfortunately for Miles and Fiona, the rescue was just a relocation, as they’ve made it off the island but where they’ve ended up most certainly isn’t home as promised. The pair have more questions than ever and barely any answers. But what answers they do get certainly paint a much different picture than anything they could’ve imagined.

I really enjoyed this duology and I loved the air of mystery surrounding both books. The story was at times very confusing, though the confusion was intentional and I loved feeling how both Miles and Fiona felt. Another thing I appreciated about this follow up is that where ECHOES was narrated by Fiona, we finally get to hear from Miles, as FRACTURES is narrated through him. It was interesting to finally see things from his perspective.

All told, I loved where this duology took readers and I liked that it ended on a somewhat satisfying note. I highly recommend both FRACTURES and it’s predecessor, though I hope all prospective readers go in knowing next to nothing about the series because half the fun is being just as lost as the characters.

I was lucky to received an arc of this book from Netgalley and the publisher. Of course before reading this book, after having realize it was a sequel, I have read Echoes and really like it so I was happy to already have Fractures in my kindle.

Miles and Fiona have survive a plane crash, a deserted island and being hunted. But now they will need to survive the truth. They are not who they think they are.

Now in Poland, they are being told that their past live was never real. Miles and Fiona don't exist. Their name are Oscar and Kellie. And now both of them are unsure of what to belive.

We again are alternating between two reality. On one of them they are on an abandoned freighter in the middle of the ocean. Without food, water they will need to survive. The second reality is in Poland, were Briola really is. Subjected to test and being told that they have no families or friends. No way to escaped the fact that they belong to Briola.

I have really like this book. It still have me guessing what was real and not for Miles and Fiona.

This was the closure I needed after the first book, and it was worth the wait. Miles and Fiona have become some of my favorite characters. If you love a good mystery, then curl up with this book and you won't be disappointed. I do encourage you to read the first book as it won't make sense without it.

This book was a continuation of Echoes, which gripped me and didn’t let me go.
Fractures was a different experience for me. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but the plot felt like there were so many things going on that it became difficult to keep up with what was truly happening.
I also liked the characters more in book 1. The dynamic between them almost seemed to flip on it head here and created an atmosphere for their relationship that wasn’t totally believable.
The upsides to this book were that I finally got some answers and some clarifications, although it did take a bit to get there. Overall though, it was an enjoyable read, especially if suspenseful plots are what get your heart pumping.

I was emailed a while back recommending this book to me based on my reading tastes. NOWHERE in any of that email, on NetGalley when I requested this title, or on Goodreads when I looked this up (around the same time) did it say that this was a sequel. So I went into this book having no clue that it was a book two. That played a huge factor in my enjoyment of this book.

That being said, this was still a good read. We have Miles and Fiona who survived a plane crash and are deposited in this new place with new identities. I liked Miles a lot, but Fiona was kind of mean and angry.

The volleying between alternating chapters thing going on here was a bit confusing. But this was SO WELL WRITTEN.

Had I realized at the tome of requesting this, or even shortly after requesting this title, I had learned that I should read Echoes first, I absolutely would have and would have probably enjoyed this series so much more.

Fractures by Alice Reeds is the second book and a continuation of Echoes, where we are introduced to Miles and Fiona who's plane crash-lands on a deserted island and are forced to rely on each other to survive. I'd highly recommend that anyone wanting to pick this one up to read Echoes first as everything that happens, and characters introduced in the first book will effect the story.

Fractures is written in Miles POV and follows our two protagonists as they are saved from the island and now in the care of the FBI and Miles brother. Miles and Fiona believe that they are headed to California to live out new lives, and instead wind up in Poland being called Kellie and Oscar, back in the hands of Briola Biotech. When they arrive, they are told that Fiona and Miles never existed and everything they remember isn't real.Much in the same way as Echoes, the chapters alternate between being in the Villa, and an abandoned freighter with nowhere to run. As the two stories pan out, Miles and Fiona begin to formulate a plan to be free of Briola once and for all. But surrounded by lies, who will they know who to trust when you don't what's real and what isn't?

I enjoyed all the twists and turns in the story, just like the first book and every page keeps you guessing until the very end. I was also glad that questions left unanswered from the first book were finally cleared up in a satisfactory way. There were points where I did feel the story stall a bit and back track to try and explain things from the first book, but honestly didn't want to put it down because I wanted to know how the story would play out. It was a little off putting to go from Fiona's POV to Miles POV and it took some time to get used to it, but it was also good to know what he's been through, and get his side of the story. Both characters have gone through different kinds of abuse and you can see how they grew up and how the Briola experiment shaped them. It was nice to see that they got an ending where you can see them have a better life. 4 stars and I look forward to reading more books from the author.

Although the story was confusing with different time frames and characters having multiple names and places in the story it was still a good read. Near the end most of the questions were answered and it made more sense.

Fractures by Alice Reeds a fractured four-star read. I didn’t realise that this was number two in the Echoes series and I probably should have gone back and read number one but I didn’t have the chance, this was well written and had a great plot that will keep you hooked but I did feel like I missed some of the story not having read number one. There was alternating chapters and that got a little brain foggy at times, but I am not my nest at the moment so it could have just been me. I do plan on going back and reading Echoes and then re-reading this one as it was a good read overall and I am sure that if I knew the whole story I would have enjoyed it more.

If you read Echoes by Alice Reeds then you need to read this amazing sequel. Fractures was just as good as Echoes. A great story, interesting characters, and action-packed. I liked how this story was told from Miles' point of view. Miles and Fiona were great characters and I was sad that this series ended. I was hoping for one more book. I can't wait to read Alice's next story.

This is a book two and there are spoilers from book one below.

"Believe nothing; all is not right."

That quote pretty much sums up most of this book. I wasn't sure what was going on in the beginning and then I wasn't sure what to trust as I continued to read.

Miles and Fiona were being taken back home to the US. They were given new names and were supposed to be protected. Or at least that's what they thought. Instead, they ended up at some villa where everyone acted like they knew them. Except they were told their names were Oscar and Kellie, the same names they were supposed to use to hide. They were welcomed back "home", but neither of them had any clue what was going on. Leon is there, but he goes by a different name, too. Just when they thought they were safe, they were thrown back into the unknown.

There were chapters from the villa and others from a freighter. I was a bit confused by the timing of those, but it made more sense later in the book. Briola had doctors and security. The kids were constantly asked questions that didn't make sense to them. Things like "were you ever in Germany". There was no way to escape, so Fiona and Miles tried figuring things out on their own. They made friends with two girls, Wakaba and Ivy. There were major trust issues, but they knew that Oscar and Kellie were not their real names. So the four of them risk everything to try to find a way to escape these simulations and tests.

The pacing was great throughout the book. I enjoyed it just as much as the first one.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher, Entangled Teen, for my review copy.

I enjoyed this book which follows up after Echoes.
It still had me wanting to know more. I loved how much action there was. I thought this book ended great!

FRACTURES follows up ECHOES with a similar adventure and eventually leading to the answers we sought in the first book. Miles and Fiona have escaped from the island and although they thought they were being rescued, they have now been transported to Poland, where they are being told none of their past lives happened. They are told that they are named Kellie and Oscar, and Fiona and Miles never existed. They are unsure what to believe, but they do believe in their own memories.

Along the same lines as the first, where they alternate between two seemingly real places (island and Berlin), here they alternate between Poland and an abandoned freighter. The plot moves slowly, as they try to decide what their next steps should be, and Briola seems to be several steps ahead along the way.

Although I really enjoyed the first book, this one seemed to drag a bit. I would have liked more answers and moving along. I felt like this was almost a rehashing of the first book, where reality seems foggy and they are given two alternatives- and we are left with our questions for a long time. This book was told from Miles's point-of-view, but because of all the action, we only get through the surface and don't get a chance to really delve into his mind.

Overall, I was really happy to get some answers about what was going on. The conclusion here was satisfying, especially after the cliffhangers of the first book.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

If you were around my blog in the summer of 2018, then you know I became positively OBSESSED with Alice Reeds’ Echoes! It was a bizarre read with a truly spine-gripping puzzle and mystery to it that I devoured that book and waited endlessly for news of a sequel and finally the day came when Fractures was announced and I pounced on the chance to read it early!

Fiona and Miles thought they escaped the island, thought they escaped a maniacal enemy with plans to control them with chips all for the “greater good.” But they soon learn, as we did at that very last page, that all was not well. The saviors they thought that were on their side, turned out to be something else entirely. Instead of returning home, they are sent to Poland where they are kept in a strange house. Told they were now Kellie and Oliver. Everyone looks at them differently, almost expectantly, but Fiona and Miles are just as clueless as we are.

This time around, Miles is our storyteller, which I found to be very apt since Fiona told the first story. I think I still might have enjoyed it a bit more if the books could’ve alternated with their points of view, but seriously, I’m not complaining over that factoid. Much like the first book, we have what feels like two storylines going on. One in which Fiona and Miles are stuck on a freighter in the middle of nowhere in the ocean with no possible means of escape, and the other is seeing them stuck in the Villa where they are prisoners surrounded by strangers and other teens.

Miles’ mysterious older brother continues to make an appearance in this one and even seems to be a part of the weirdness going on. Fiona and Miles basically only have themselves to trust because it’s clear they won’t find help inside the house.

I love that this book continued to baffle me with all its mysteries and weirdness! There’s something about a book where the storyline is meant to make it hard to discover what is and isn’t real. This book will definitely keep you guessing, just as its predecessor did. It was truly a mind-boggling experience, and yet I loved every minute of it!

The mystery element continued to run very strong throughout this one! It was just impeccable! Even if you read these books back to back, I would wager that you’d still have a difficult time keeping everything together.

The ending was just remarkable as well! I admit, I would’ve liked to known how far and deep things would’ve gone if it ended at a later point, but I was quite happy with how things wound up. I was still a little unclear as to the timeline of the differing chapters we had going, the Villa versus the freighter. But I think the whole not knowing part was its strongest part!

The relationship between Fiona and Miles still ran rather strong too. They aren’t at that happy couple stage, because obviously the crazy is still happening all around them. Though they remain stronger together, they will still hit a few obstacles that could threaten their fragile state.

All in all, Fractures was an amazing conclusion to the duology! It was just as intense and mysterious as its predecessor and had me turning the pages at breakneck speed! It was a read that I never wanted to put down or let it end! It held me riveted from the beginning until it’s heart-stopping ending. Needless to say that this read was just perfect for me! If you’re looking for an intense and thrilling mystery series, I would immediately pick up Alice Reeds’ Echoes duology because it’s not a read you’ll want to miss!



Overall Rating 5/5 stars


Fractures releases June 2, 2020