3.5 stars rounded up

Ocean's Echo is a standalone sci-fi adventure set in the same world as Winter's Orbit, but it's quite different. This one feels a lot more sci-fi and less romance. And the romance we do get, I wasn't nearly as invested in. It is an interesting expansion of the world- we learn more about the remnants and are introduced to part of the universe where there are powerful neuro-modified people.

Tennal is an impulsive disaster with a politically powerful aunt who doesn't know what to do with him. So she forcibly conscripts him into the military, where he is supposed to psychically sync with Lieutenant Surit Yeni- an orderly man trying to prove himself in the wake of his mother's traitorous rebellion. But things begin to go very wrong and the two are unwittingly pulled into political machinations with serious consequences.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it the way I did Winter's Orbit. The romance isn't as strong, and it's complicated by the power dynamics of the mental sync plot. I also felt like it was a bit too long in the final third. I breezed through Winter's Orbit, but felt more of a lag toward the later part of this one. Still, a solid second novel and I look forward to reading more from Maxwell in the future. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I spent most of the book with a feeling of deja vu because I couldn't quite remember what I learned from this universe in Winter's Orbit but I think it enhanced the experience and helped me vibe along. The romance content is very low but the connection built between Tennel and Surit is incredible and felt very real. They learn to trust each other and become each other's person! And the lack of romance is made up for with the mind syncing. Very slow burn but very emotional deep. And the setting! Parts of the story felt alarmingly wide and other parts felt enclosed and intimate. And the characters! Everyone was fully fleshed out and important to the story.

In short, very plot heavy space book with vague romantic undercurrents but a lot of emotional depth and excellent character work. In shorter, good space book everyone should read.

So this was in the same universe as Winter's Orbit (which I loved) but that's where the similarities seemingly end. There's a vast planetary system here and there weren't any cameos or locations that I remembered from the first book.

Still. This was a military fake dating/fake soul bond story with no sex. Normally, these are not huge turn ons for me but I really liked this. Tennal is kind of a hot mess who gets conscripted into the army against his will. Surit is the straight-laced rule follower that gets paired with him for a specialized program that I'm not going to get into in this review. They are about as opposite as they can be which is honestly catnip for me.

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

I don't think I can adequately describe how much I loved Ocean's Echo. I spent every second away from this book itching to pick it up again. After loving Winter's Orbit, I was incredibly excited to start this and it blew me away.

Though the romance is a subplot, it is one of my favorite romance plots I have read all year. Surit and Tennal's relationship is a fascinating study of what it means to be known and understood. Tennal describes himself as "too much" and is incredibly self-critical throughout the entire book. And he is a chaotic disaster in many ways. But he is also sharp and brilliant with a mind for strategy. His character reminded me of Velasin from A Strange and Stubborn Endurance<. It was incredible to watch him grow and heal as a character throughout the book.

Reading about Tennal from Surit's perspective honestly brought tears to my eyes. There is something incredibly powerful about how this book depicts what it means to be known both for the parts of you that are good and for the parts of you that are messed up or undesirable. And to be loved for all of that, not despite your flaws, but including your flaws.

Surit and Tennal understand each other when no one else in their lives has cared to understand them. I am in love with how Surit describes Tennal throughout the book. Though the romance is definitely a subplot, the story of acceptance and love was incredibly powerful and it will stick with me for a very long time. Surit reminded me a lot of Evemer from A Taste of Gold and Iron and I would highly recommend Ocean's Echo to fans of both ASASE and ATOGAI.

I am obsessed with the relationship dynamic, but I loved the rest of the story as well. Ocean's Echo is a fascinating story filled with political conflict and scheming. It is always fun to follow a character like Tennal who would happily stay out of all of the conflict and is instead dragged into the center of it. There were also really interesting conversations about duty, authority, and power. The descriptions of space were incredible. This is the first SciFi book to make me stop and contemplate the nature of space itself. The magic/tech system of the readers and architects was incredibly interesting and created a very engaging setup for the plot.

If I had to mention one critique it would be that the ending dragged on a bit too long. I was fully invested in the story so I didn't mind, but there were a few repetitive events that broke the fast pace of the story.

Ocean's Echo is a story of healing and growth and a love that will shake the universe. This is easily a new favorite book and will likely be in my top ten reads of 2022.

A fun boy meets boy space romp, in which Tennalhin, the bratty party-boy nephew of his powerful Aunt legislator who leads a Galactic base, gets sent off as punishment to a military spaceship exploring uncharted “chaotic” space. Tennalhin’s a strong “reader” able to dive into the minds of those around him, which causes him and all readers to be feared. And Tennalhin has used his reading skills illegally one too many times.

Surit, a young “architect” who’s just out of academy, is military overachiever assigned to oversee Tennal. Architects have the ability to issue commands that control readers, with the ultimate control being an mind sync that creates an unreversible, lifetime mind meld. Surit, ambitious but of a strong moral conscience, refuses to sync when he realizes that Tennal’s been conscripted into the military against his will and given drugs to make him vulnerable to a mind sync.

Adventure and mayhem follow- and the surprising build of affection of Surit who seems confounded to find himself at all attracted to Tennal. Together, they unravel the twisty power plays and revolutions fomenting around them and glean insights into the mysteries of how the readers and architects got created in the first place. And it all rolls up in an unexpectedly build of loyalty and love.

Thanks to Macmillan Tor Forge and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Although I have loved Maxwells previous book, I couldn't like this one. I tried and I wanted to love it, specially since the book cover is so amazing, but the writing wasn't as compelling as I expected.

This is my second time reading a Ecerina maxwell book, maybe I just can't stand fantasy or sci-fi, but I just couldn't get into this book. The random terms and abilities just didn't interest me much. I think it is a good book but just a little lacking in the romance department for me. The romance was sweet, but I just wish it was more of a main focus

Tennal is a spoiled brat. When his aunt, a ruler, decides she's had enough of her mind reading intolerable nephew is too big of a pain, she enlisted him into the army, slated to being permanently mentally synced to Surit, a with the ability to force action. As they are thrust together and their relationship morphs, they also begin to realize they have feelings for each other.

This is a very light romance. It's really more of a military political drama in space with a romance added on. And I would've liked this to be a bit less of a slow burn. And I really hated the the end. It felt like nothing was resolved and there should be way more to the story or another book.

Aside from those two gripes, I did like the story. Maxwell does a great job with creating really vibrant characters and world, so I enjoyed that part. The political drama is definitely engaging, especially seeing Tennal and Surit trying to have an influence in the middle of the military machine.

Thank you Netgalley and Orbit books for the gifted copy!

I took a while to read and review this title because apparently I was one of the few people in the world who didn't love WINTER'S ORBIT, but am pleased to report that OCEAN'S ECHO was a much better fit. It didn't hurt that it featured so many of my favorite tropes: antagonists-to-lovers--because enemies-to-lovers is SO inaccurately overused these days!--plus telepathy, mind control, and a telepathic bond, along with a well-developed political space opera setting. The pacing has some of the issues of the first book, in that it was long and it felt long, but in this case my experience was more akin to taking a few hours to settle in and enjoy a luxurious hot bath rather than just being like "is it me or is this dragging interminably?". Plus I think I found Tennal and Surit both much more relatable as characters, which also helped. Anyway, I'm now an Everina Maxwell fan and excited for her next book! Thanks as always to the publisher for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this so much but I wish that it was more romance forward like Winter's Orbit. This felt the reverse to what Winters Orbit was with the heavy space politics front and center and the romance very secondary. The politics got very complicated and unwieldly at times and I wish again that the politics were secondary.

Ocean's Echo isn't exactly a sequel, but it is set in the same world as the author's previous book. Both can be read as standalones, but it was fun to return to the same world!

I will admit that I loved Everina Maxwell's debut novel Winter's Orbit more than Ocean's Echo. That being said, I still very much enjoyed Ocean's Echo and this solidified Maxwell as an auto-buy author for me. I think Maxwell did a great job of explaining this story on twitter:

"OCEAN'S ECHO is a queer space opera about two soldiers who are ordered to mind-bond to control one of them, decide to fake it instead, and fall in love. It's about coercion, consent and ruining the space military's plans."

I loved the main characters, Tennal and Surit. Tennal is a walking disaster and absolute delight. Surit kind of reminded me of Riley from Buffy the Vampire Slayer: a good soldier who begins to realize the system is corrupt. Definite boy next door vibes. I didn't feel like their relationship progression was as natural as Taam and Jainan's in Winter's Orbit, but I still loved Tennal and Surit. This book has a unique twist on the forced proximity trope as well. If you like science fiction and romance plus a dash of political intrigue, you should absolutely check out Everina Maxwell's books! Can't wait to see what's next!

I don’t know what I did to be blessed with the sequels to two of my favorite books of last year (Winter’s Light and A Marvellous Light) coming out on the same day. Though, while this book is technically set in the same universe as its predecessor, it’s not even in the same planetary system, so you can easily read this without having read the other (but why would you when the other one involves only-one-tent and bear-like alien creatures??). As the author said before, space is gay, and in this case it’s also heavily pine-scented (because of the pining? get it? no?).

“I’m good at picking up the worst side of human nature,” he said. “Or gossip. One of those.”


After his latest screw-up, Tennal’s aunt, former military and current high-level politician, has him conscripted into the military. Due to genetic experimentation, a segment of the population on Orshan are architects, capable of essentially mind control, and a much smaller segment are readers, who can read minds and also typically have abilities that help with spaceship navigation. Considering a reader led a very public and very messy rebellion several decades ago, readers – like Tennal – are viewed with suspicion and most – like Tennal – chose to hide their abilities. But the conscription is even worse than it seems, as she intends to force him to sync with a military architect, meaning that he will essentially be powerless to stop the architect from controlling him whenever they feel like it. Enter Surit, a meticulous rule-follower who’s family history has relegated him to out of the way posts and boring jobs – until he’s ordered to sync with Tennal. But when he realizes that it’s not Tennal’s choice, he refuses, and they hatch a plan to fake the sync. But something doesn’t add up, and before they know it, Tennal and Surit’s actions – or inactions – could have ramifications of galactic consequence.

“Do you want a written order? Might cover you when the shit hits the fan.”
Surit straightened. “I’ve never needed an order,” he said stiffly, “to do the right thing.”
When Tennal met his eyes, Surit saw a brief glint of that heat he’d seen before. “I know,” Tennal said, “it’s infuriating.”


It would be incredibly easy to dislike Tennal in the first few chapters. He comes off as a spoiled rich kid who’s squandered all his chances and a complete embarrassment to his aunt, a highly-placed politician. But inside he’s a mess, convinced he can never be anything more than a failure, that he hurts those around him just by being there, that he’s not worth anyone’s time or attention. Surit’s the child of the leader of the reader rebellion. He’s grown up fascinated with what happened with his mother and determined to prove himself. He’s a rule follower, but more important to him is doing what’s right – like not syncing to an unwilling and probably illegally conscripted reader. Basically, they’re both disasters, just in completely opposite ways.

Unlike the previous book, the romance takes a backstage to the political machinations. While there’s quite a bit of pining (as well as so many conflicted emotions when they realize they’re falling in love with each other), their relationship is initially more an alliance than anything else. But the only one each can trust is each other and slowly that morphs into a friendship. Besides, even if they wanted a romantic relationship (which they don’t, nope, not even a little bit), Surit’s not the type of person to do short-term and Tennal’s on his way out of the star system (and his aunt’s hands) as soon as possible.

“There should be an outcry. This is a scandal.”
This made everyone look at him in incredulity. “But everything else is just fine and dandy?” Tennal said. “We’re okay with a coup every now and then?”
“Well,” the medic said, “not when you put it like that.”


Most of the tension comes from them worrying that the fake sync will be found out.. until they realize they have even bigger problems than that. There’s a lot of political machinations, really delightfully interesting ones. I had so many running theories throughout the book as to what was really happening and what actually happened did not disappoint. I especially loved that Surit’s crew was its own little found family, including Istara (yes, please continue busting Tennal’s chops over everything).

Overall, easily 4.5 stars. These books are absolutely delightful and well worth rereading, and I can’t wait to see where Everina Maxwell goes next!

I received an advance review copy of this book from Neon Rainbow. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Once I started reading Winter’s Orbit last year, I basically couldn’t put it down — so I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of Everina Maxwell’s follow-up novel, Ocean’s Echo. Ocean’s Echo is a stand-alone, but it is set in the same universe as Winter’s Orbit. There are no cross-over characters, but the basics of the galactic system and some key political and scientific aspects connect the two books.

In Ocean’s Echo, Tennal is about age 20, from a powerful family (his aunt is the head of government of the Orshan planets), and is incapable of (and has no interest in) staying out of trouble. After one scandal too many, his aunt orders his conscription into the army. As if that’s not bad enough, she’s also ordered him to be synced. Tennal is a talented reader — he can read other people’s thoughts — but readers are both rare and considered very dangerous if left uncontrolled. Control is exactly what his aunt wants, and so Tennal will be forced into a sync, where an architect — someone who can telepathically influence others’ minds — will force a sort of mind-meld with Tennal. From that point on, the architect will be able to control Tennal’s actions. Worst of all, the sync is permanent — a broken sync results in death for both reader and architect.

Needless to say, Tennal is not at all happy about his fate, but he truly has no choice. He’s surprised, therefore, when he meets Surit, a young lieutenant with strong architect abilities and an even stronger moral compass. Despite orders, he knows deep down that a forced sync is wrong, and he suggests that he and Tennal fake it. They’re successful in their deception at first, until they are pulled further and further into an impending civil war where their own survival and the fate of their world is at stake.

Tennal and Surit are both terrific characters, with very distinct characters and personality traits. While the chapters alternate between their perspectives, there’s never any confusion about whose point of view we’re getting. They are definitely a case of opposites attracting, and while the intricacies of the reader-architect dynamic are the main focus, there’s a romantic chemistry as well that keeps bubbling to the surface.

The world-building is very detailed, but occasionally confusing. While Ocean’s Echo is a stand-alone, I think it would be somewhat baffling for a reader who hasn’t first read Winter’s Orbit. Without a basic understanding of the books’ universe, I’m not sure that talk of the Resolution, the Link, and remnants, among other concepts, would make a whole lot of sense. As is, even having read the first book, some of the high-concept military and scientific scenarios went over my head. That’s okay, though — I didn’t have to fully grasp every single detail in order to appreciate the characters, their connection, and the big picture stakes of the storyline.

Overall, I really enjoyed Ocean’s Echo. The writing pulled me in, and even when concepts such as chaotic space started boggling my mind, some nifty turns of phrase would get me back on track and impress me with the author’s creativity and descriptive skill.

You need to have an appreciation for space battles and sci-fi drama and high stakes military adventures to truly love this book, I think… but if you do, then don’t miss out on this book (and check out Winter’s Orbit too!).

Everina Maxwell does it again! Only this time, she expands our understanding of the universe she has created and raised the stakes for more than just our couple. This leaned far more into the science fiction side of things than the romance as compared to book one, and I - for one - was not at all mad about it. We learn more about the Remnants and what they can do, more about other planets in this political network, and more across the board. I loved this pair. Everina is a master at a slow burn, but in Ocean's Echo this is less about pining and more about survival with love sneaking up on you all at once. She also created a much larger cast of characters with the Cavalry unit that our protagonists are embedded in, giving us more perspectives and growing our overall network in this series.

I truly hope that she gives us another companion to this series. With how much she has delved into the world-building - nay the universe-building - in Ocean's Echo, it would be a shame not to get my hands on more (but I'm a greedy girl).

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for providing me with early access to one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

Gorgeous and brilliant, Ocean's Echo took me to the edges of the universe, the human mind, and beyond. Like Winter's Orbit, Ocean's Echo takes two men who are total opposites and binds them together through intrigue. Tennal is desperate, always on the run, and trying to escape his whirlpool of a mind -- if he can cause problems, he will. Surit is the model soldier who knows regulations by heart, but before duty he will do what's right, even if that means defying orders. I love them both, and together they're a juggernaut of strong will, deep conviction, and suppressed longing. Much of the novel is plotting and uncovering big secrets and truths, but there's also mind bending explorations of the powers possessed by writers and architects, and the fusion of those powers through a sync. Basically, make galaxy brain a reality. Throughout it all is the growing bond between Tennal and Surit, a slow blooming romance that is both bittersweet and incredibly profound, I'd happily spend longer with them in their world! All in all, an incredible read that I'm still unpacking and thinking about.

A simmering slow burn romance set among a sci-fi story full of political intrigue, out and put war and the effort of a few for justice.

In this world, people were tested on using ancient artifacts that gave them special abilities. Architects can control people and Readers can sense feelings or dive deeply into memories if needed.

Tennal is a Reader and has always been somewhat of a problem child in the eyes of his family. He is basically kidnapped by his family, enlisted into the military and forced to join with an unknowing Architect in a sync that will allow him to be controlled.

But his family, nor Tennal, counted on Surit.

I can tell that Everina Maxwell has become an auto-buy author for me! Her writing is very accessible, and it balances fun, intriguing plots with very well-realized character arcs!

That being said, telepathy is one of my least favorite tropes/topics in SFF, so, whereas I really enjoyed the writing, I didn’t absolutely fall in love with this particular story. The beauty of Maxwell’s writing is that each character has their own journey independent of the plot, and I did fall in love with these characters. I really, really want more with these characters, and I am begging Everina Maxwell to write more both in this world and with these characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me the arc!

Having read winter‘s orbit I was really excited for this but for some reason this book seem to drag. While loving the main characters I also felt like I didn’t fully understand them and halfway through I still felt like nothing had happened. I didn’t much feel whatever chemistry there was supposed to be nor was I really cheering for them to get together. It was honestly a struggle to keep going and while I did enjoy the book it wasn’t as grabbing as Maxwell’s first novel. It was missing some intimacy between the two MCs and instead of reading a space opera romance it just felt like pure sci-fi which is fine but I really was disappointed in not adoring the two main characters. I did enjoy it but not as much as I had hoped.

Tennalhin Halkana can do two things extremely well: read minds and cause trouble. Surit Yeni can also do two things extremely well: write minds and follow rules. Naturally, when Tennal is banished to the military and put under Surit’s new, suspiciously timed command to have his mind synced to Surit’s, things don’t go as planned. After Surit refuses on the grounds of ethics, they fake the sync Tennal was supposed to have and embark upon a mission to chaotic space, where secrets grave enough to start a war lurk.

Sometimes you read a book and think to yourself, “I’m going to be so NORMAL about this novel.” Ocean’s Echo was that book for me. Soulbonding is one of my favourite tropes in speculative fiction and Ocean’s Echo uses the device to great effect. The delicious intimacy afforded by the exchange of reading and writing minds really worked for me and served as a cool world-building backdrop to the fast-paced, dramatic plot.

If you were a fan of Winter’s Orbit, it’s worth nothing this standalone leans heavier into the military science fiction subgenre than the romance one. Still, Tennal and Surit’s relationship develops in a delightful, emotionally intense slow burn, and I found the payoff not only worth it but fist-bitingly devastating at points. There’s a feral intimacy to the ways in which Tennal and Surit discover each other and I’m still like, not okay about it.

The political intrigue and military subplots really worked for me in this one. The worldbuilding was already great in Winter’s Orbit, but it feels much more robust in Ocean’s Echo—including a few familiar organizations and locales that return from Maxwell’s debut. A ragtag crew of determined misfits railing against impossible odds and Hot, Bad Women don’t hurt either. However, this book is definitely a standalone and can be read completely independent of Winter’s Orbit.

With gorgeous prose, superb pacing, and a slow-burn romance to die for, Ocean’s Echo is an easy favourite of the year and has earned pride of place on my bookshelf. I eagerly await whatever Maxwell has in store next.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Perhaps it's because I didn't read the first book yet, but I found myself confused at times throughout this novel. There was a lot going on - the politics, the remnants, the sync between Tennal and Surit, the background players (Bavati and Istara), the attempted coup, and so on. The whole sequence towards the end - the major conflict - was very confusing. I didn't really follow the whole "consciousness" battle. And it seemed like Surit died a few times, and their sync was severed several times too. This is a good MLM sci-fi story, though.