I am admittedly not a sci-fi reader in any shape or form but there’s something about Everina Maxwell’s blend of sci-fi and romance that really just does it for me and makes me want to explore more of the genre. Winter’s Orbit was an easy 5 star read for me so I was delighted to get stuck in to Ocean’s Echo. While this isn’t a sequel, it’s set in the same world and contains the same mix of political intrigue and queer romance as it’s predecessor.

The story follows Tennal, a brash socialite with a dangerous gift to read peoples emotions, and Surit, a devoted soldier with hidden powers. When Tennal is discovered by the higher ups, he is forced into a sync with Surit in order to keep his illegal powers in check. When both of them refuse, they embark on a mission to discover the truth about their powers and the reason behind the power struggle currently plaguing their world.

As I’m not much of a sci-fi reader, a lot of the genre elements went over my head a wee bit, especially because Ocean’s Echo is much more a traditional sci-fi story than a romance like Winter’s Orbit. I did find this a little disappointing, but it didn’t dampen my love of the story or the characters. Even as a non sci-fi reader, I really enjoyed the higher stakes plot and fast paced nature of the story. Although, most of my enjoyment came through Tennal and Surit’s dynamic. There’s just something about the regimented, buttoned up character being paired with someone so exuberant and careless that I just loved. Their relationship was funny, sweet and contained plenty of pining. I really wished we got more of it throughout the story!

If you’re a sci-fi reader who likes a bit of a romance plot line, you’ll like this. Overall, I found it a quick read that held my interest all the way through. Though I didn’t like it quite as much as Winter’s Orbit, I’ll definitely be keen to read whatever Maxwell writes next.

Sharp science fiction with an underlying current of romance between the main characters, I absolutely LOVED Ocean's Echo! Tennal and Surit were so fun to follow along with, and I loved their character arcs through the whole story. I also love the way Everina Maxwell's books (both Winter's Orbit and Ocean's Echo) are all about complicated political machinations and diplomatic crises and the way those have high stakes that can slide into war and instability. She does a brilliant job of capturing the nuances of political struggles and the people caught up in them. I also loved how meta this book got, how it kept its pulse on the universe in such a beautiful way. It felt expansive and breathtaking. I really found this book hard to put down - it was a pleasure to pick up each time I did and I definitely hope to revisit again. In the meantime, I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good science fiction story.

This BOOK NEEDS A SEQUEL. I wanted more of Tennal and Surit.
After Winter's Orbit, I was wondering how far can this author go with the world-building, because it was
so thorough and well done in the first. Ocean's Echo was even better.
The theme for this book was very different and done well. The small details and the scenes where mind-control
or mind-reading happens, is written with great details. I could picture the scenes like it was movie.

Tennal was a sweetheart and I felt bad for him. The vulnerability of the character was heartbreaking.
Surit was unintentionally funny sometimes. Such a sweet soul. The romance in the book is slooooow,
which doesn't surprise me. I definitely want a sequel with them. I didn't feel that way for Winter's Orbit.
This couple had my heart.

****Thanks Net-Galley for the Arc****

I think Everina Maxwell might like "opposites attract" dynamics. In Winter's Orbit, this was shy, dutiful diplomat and extroverted socialite prince. In Ocean's Echo, this has escalated slightly into what I would describe as "so lawful good it hurts (he feels guilty about that" and "sarcastic bastard fuck-up (self-aware, don't care)", which is, at least in my opinion, a god-tier pairing.

But! In a contrast with Winter's Orbit, where the arranged marriage plot dynamic forced the relationship aspect of the novel out into front and centre - even if it wasn't happening, it was a thing we had to focus on because it was a significant part of what was happening to both characters - Ocean's Echo actually saves that part for much later. A romantic novel where the romance is on the back-burner? Interesting indeed. Which isn't to say it's entirely absent, but up until around half way through the book, we mainly just get flickers of it on the periphery of the larger problems both characters are having to deal with, both internally and externally to their own brains.

This is primarily because a lot is going on for both of them. Tannal is the nephew of the legislator - the highest civilian power on Orshan. However, despite all her best efforts, he's living a dissolute life of partying, drugs and offering out his rare, powerful and somewhat illegal psychic gift of reading to criminals. That is, until she finds him and conscripts him into the army to be trained as a pilot and psychically linked to someone with the more common and socially acceptable brand of psychic gift. This would be Surit, whose shining record in the army so far is a testament to his determination to erase his mother's dabble into treason from people's memories, or at least enough to make captain get his other parent her pension back. Being saddled with a chaotic conscript isn't top of his to do list, but when he discovers some of the circumstances behind it, and that Tannal is being forced to sync their minds together permanently against his will, he has no choice but to take a moral stand. And that's just the start. Many hijinx ensue, including dangers military, political and space chaotic, with Tennal and Surit forced into the centre of the unfolding tensions.

Much of this is incredibly predictable even from early in the book, but at no point does it feel like that matters. Maxwell has let the narrative accept its own occasional silliness, and so the looming inevitability of some of the plot beats feels like a joke the reader is in on, rather than a problem.

It helps, on this front, that the book is really quite funny in other ways. Occasionally laugh out loud funny. It's difficult to take much of it at earnest face value when Tennal is there to undercut the tension with a quip or a spectacularly bad life decision, which he'll declare as such while doing it anyway. There's a wry humour running through a lot of the descriptions and events, but the best parts are all reserved for dialogue, and manage to inhabit the sweet spot overlapping genuinely funny and believable conversation, especially when what makes us laugh is the smooth-talking running out and a little snatch of something more mundane or more emotional sneaks out of the sides, or when Surit, the straight man to Tennal's comic, sneaks a little barb in of his own.

This dynamic they have is both incredibly tropey and incredibly fun. Yes it's introvert/extrovert, upper class/working class, opposites attract, thrown together by the winds of fate and learn that they need each other's strengths to succeed. There's trauma bonding, occasionally someone gets rescued by someone else, and plenty of times when neither of them say the thing they really ought to have said. So it's not exactly an innovative romance, but Maxwell manages to inject palpable chemistry between them, and both characters are sympathetic enough to sell it, and so it does work.

That they're both so sympathetic is more of a surprise. Tennal, fast-talking, charming, chaotic, funny, sarcastic, is less of a shock. It's a character type a lot of people like, and it's an easy leap for the reader from someone like that to see how maybe they have a softer side under the prickles that you just need to get to know them to find. But again, it's done well, and the slow unfolding of Tennal's fears and feelings about himself and his place in the world manages to be compelling without grating against the thread of his humour and bravado. He's not just a sarcastic bastard, but he's allowed to stay a sarcastic bastard once we learn more about him, which is critical to a lot of his charm. There's also a really nice balance between Tennal's interior perspective and Surit's view and the words of other characters in how they give the reader an evolving picture of Tennal's personality, with his internal monologue slowly coming to grips with things as we learn them or see them from outside of him. He gets a genuine growth arc without losing what made him fun, and that's great.

Surit, however, is the more surprising one, I believe. It's hard to write a lawful good character without straying into potentially boring. The more lawful good they are, the harder it becomes. Surit is painfully good. He's a stickler for the rules, he believes that the law will be just and fair, and he is committed to the highest standards of ethical behaviour in himself. Part of how you make that fun is by giving it a little twinkle, a glimmer of sense of humour, like there's a person underneath the procedures. But the major part of how you make that interesting is introducing someone so fixed and set in their black and white morality to a chaotic system - they have to cope without any easy answers and confront what they truly believe is worthwhile in the world. And that, as well as his growing appreciation for actually interacting with other people, is what makes Surit incredibly well-written - we get to see someone naively upstanding slowly begin to understand just how corrupt his culture is. And what he decides to do about that.

That chaotic system is also how the pair of them work well together - the constraints by which they need each other for the narrative to work don't feel artificial in the world Maxwell has created for them.

And it remains a fun world. Orshan is another planetary system in the same universe, bound together by the links in chaotic space and overseen by the Resolution, that holds Winter's Orbit. They have no connection beyond that in the text, but we can see small commonalities between them that imply a wider, joined up galaxy as we're told exists - Orshan, like Iskat before it, quietly shows us gender as performance through choices of material in personal adornment, and the same queer normative culture and approach to genetics in parenting. Both include a strong thread of real culture underlying their space future technology, in the arranged marriages of Iskat or the sports teams or personal religious shrines of Orshan. But what makes Orshan different is the neuromodifications - some people have the ability to "write" their will on unprotected minds, while others have the ability to read thoughts. While obviously necessary for the plot to progress, where this conceit really shines is in the strong thread running throughout asking about consent, coercion and the politics of what's acceptable to others - Maxwell appreciates the need to give us the cultural and interpersonal impact of the sci-fi mind-powers, and it's there that the world-building shines.

If there's any flaw with it, it's that it really is quite a silly book at times. If you're happy to read something that laughs at itself a little while being quite so silly, then it's a price worth paying, but it wouldn't be to everyone's taste, especially with the odd realisation like "it's less only one bed, more only one brain" that might come during the process of reading. Likewise, because it's willing to lean in on being precisely what it is, if you're not happy with tropey, here is not the place to look. But both are done knowingly and with joy, so I find it hard to fault either of them overmuch. Likewise, the romance aspect of the plot stays somewhat on the backburner for the first 40% of the plot, which has many good points in how the narrative and relationship dynamic is constructed in the first half, but does mean that when we escalate into romance, we go hard and we go fast (not like that).

There is also a lack of development of the mysterious body called the Resolution, who lurked like somewhat sniffy intergalactic police-diplomats on the edges of Winter's Orbit, and do exactly the same thing here. The story functions perfectly well as it is and with what it has, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to know more about the Resolution's place within the wider galaxy. We also got hints about the remnants and their origins that cry out for more exposition.

But on the whole, if the major flaw is being left wanting more, there are worse ways to end up. Ocean's Echo is a great follow up to Winter's Orbit, fitting into a very similar headspace and tone, while being a galaxy apart. If anything, I think it might be better than its predecessor.

Told in third person, this story follows both Tennal and Surit, two very different individuals living in the Orshan sector of three planets. This world has two neuro-modified types of individuals, readers and architects. Readers can read minds and architects can control their behavior. Tennal was raised by his aunt or alt-parent, who is now the legislator of Orshan and frustrated with his irresponsible behavior. Tennal walks that fine line of being funny, sarcastic and flip without being obnoxious, but his aunt is done with his shenanigans. Tennal’s abilities as a reader make others feel suspicious or threatened by him.

Surit is the son of a former traitor general and an architect. He joined the military in the hopes of getting his alt-parent’s bereavement pension reinstated. Surit takes pride in his accomplishments, following the rules and in doing the right thing, which often appears to be in conflict, especially on his latest assignment to sync with a civilian conscripted to the military who has not agreed to the sync, an illegal act. Military pilots often sync with readers because they make excellent navigators, except that Surit’s not a specialized pilot. Surit’s orders are in direct conflict with the law, but his options are limited.

I really enjoyed the contrasting interactions between the staid, military man Surit and the relaxed, fun-loving Tennal. I also loved the various crew members assigned to their mission as well as Tennal’s civil rights fighting sister, Zin. There is a lot of political maneuvering and questionable leaders with suspicious motivations as Surit and Tennal circumnavigate their orders in search of the truth and what really happened during the experiments in chaotic space.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Finished the book, dropped my phone on the floor, screamed aloud.

Such a beautifully constructed mystery with space battles! Romance! Telepathic ethics! I was theorising the whole time and felt so vindicated when I was right and delighted when I was proved wrong. I loved the deeper look into the remnants and the way Orshan used them in contrast to Iskat, and yet still being used for warfare either way. Cycles of violence there is something terrible in these bones etc. etc.

Highly recommended!!

Oh man, this was a fantastic read! It's set in the same universe as Winter's Orbit, but it's in a new empire, so there's whole new politics and worlds to learn, and I loved it! Tennal and Surit are a lot like Kiem and Jainan, but they're also their own people!

One thing that was really interesting to me was the remnants. This society used them to neuromodify people, which put them in the hot spot with the Resolution. It also meant that we learned about the remnants, and that was so interesting!

That if your parent was neuromodified, then you would inherit that from them, well, the Architects and Readers were really interesting to read about. And a good deal of this book is about the politics of the two branches-and the history with the rebellion that Surit's mom led. So the action plot was compelling!

And so was the romance. Surit is so by the book, not a rule breaker, and Tennal only cares enough about the rules to see how he can use them to his best advantage. He also has a low sense of worth. I adored these two, and I was rooting for them!

This was a really great read, and I hope that this becomes a series, because I want to learn more about this universe!

“‘all right,’ he said. ‘i’m a fuckup. is that what you wanted to hear? we knew that already.’ he bit the bullet. ‘what are you going to do about it?’”

due to experimentation with ancient space relics, in orshan there are two kinds of neuromodified people: architects, who can influence your thoughts; and readers, who can read minds and also navigate chaotic space. because readers are seen as unstable threats unless they are bound to architects, tennal halkana—a politician’s disaster nephew, forced into conscription—is forced into a sync bond with surit yeni—a model soldier with a dark past of his own. but surit refuses to sync without tennal’s consent, despite the orders they’re both under. so they fake it.

➳ more of a reflection than a review. spoiler free!

when you fall in love with a debut, the follow up is sometimes a bit of a risk. is this author a one hit wonder, or can everything that comes next top the charts? i’ve fallen in love with sophomore books, but i’ve also been let down. and some books you love so much, you just don’t know how they can’t ever be followed up.

winter’s orbit is one of my favorite books. so expectations were high for ocean’s echo, even though i knew putting that kind of pressure on it was a big risk.

but my faith was not misguided.

ocean’s echo stands beautifully on its own next to winter’s orbit. it has a world that is familiar, but also entirely new. there is no real overlap between the two books, but some concepts and ideas are familiar. they reminded me of home.

because somehow home became iskat and orshan and this universe everina maxwell has created. with galactic links and mysterious remnants.

surit and tennal are both disasters. both mess of people who enter a kind of alliance in the form of a fake bond. everina has the most beautiful way of showing characters learn each other and fall slowly in love—despite everything around them that dictates how they should be. it’s easy to read this and ask yourself: who’s the kiem and who’s the jainan? but they’re not either of them. they’re both entirely their own and i cannot stop thinking about them and their story.

i expected while reading ocean’s echo that i would want to reread winter’s orbit so badly. but mostly i just wanted to be reading ocean’s echo. i feel like for so many books that feel like other books i love, i just want to go back to the books i love. but i just wanted to be here, on orshan, in chaotic space, with surit and tennal.

and okay. i am going to reread winter’s orbit too.

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

Winter’s Orbit was not on my radar at all until I heard it was going to be the Illumicrate pick about a year back, and I ended up requesting an ARC and absolutely adoring it. When I heard there was going to be a new book in the universe, I was ecstatic. Not only did I just love the characters and their relationship in Winter’s Orbit with my whole heart, the setting, and world was so incredibly interesting that I was excited to dive back in more and find out more.

I think it was an excellent idea to set this book in a different part of the world. It meant I didn’t have to struggle to remember too much from Winter’s Orbit (it has been a while, after all!), and it gave a new perspective on the same universe. It also means that this book can easily be read without having read Winter’s Orbit, which is always great in series like these. It means you can start wherever interests you most, and go further from there!

For those that have read Winter’s Orbit, I feel like I can safely say you will enjoy this one as well, even if this is definitely not just Winter’s Orbit 2.0. Tennal and Surit are very different from Kiem and Jainan (though there are some parallels that can be drawn between the characters + relationship dynamic!), but I found myself adoring them just as quickly. There’s also less romance in a sense, though the amount of pining more than makes up for it. Just everything about the characters and the way they interact is amazing, especially the banter.

I also really liked the plot in this book, and overall it feels a bit more memorable and important than the plot of Winter’s Orbit, as it seems to bring more of the universe and it’s workings into it, rather than an internal political plot. It also meant that we actually got a lot of new information about the world in this book, and I sincerely hope we get more books in this universe, so I can keep learning more. I also found the ‘magic’, or talents in humans that resulted from experimentation, especially interesting, and I feel like it added an extra layer of depth to the plot, the world, and the relationship between Tennal and Surit.

Overall, this book solidified my love of Maxwell’s writing and character building, and I cannot wait to see what she writes next!

I received a digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Everina Maxwell's debut and jumped at the chance to get my hands on her next book. <i>Ocean's Echo</i> is set in the same universe and deals with some of the same themes as <i>Winter's Orbit</i>. However, this book has a more militaristic setting and would be a great recommendation for fans of Ender's Game or the Red Rising series.

Once again, I fell in love with the two main characters - reserved and staid Surit and absolute chaos goblin Tennal - and their love story. I also enjoyed the portrayal of the "soul-bond" link between them and how Maxwell presents the complications of falling too far into someone else's world.

All in all, I thought this was a great second book and am looking forward to more and more great sci-fi from this author.

Ocean’s End is my second Everina Maxwell book I went into thinking there was no way I couldn’t absolutely love it based on the synopsis, and the second time I come away feeling underwhelmed. She has this knack for establishing these low Sci-Fi political dramas with a romance at the forefront that should work for me in every way. But I’m starting to realize despite the actual Sci-Fi element here being very approachable, the execution is dry and impersonal in a way that fundamentally removes the interesting elements of the romance and tends to focus more on whatever political shenanigans the characters were roped into. The interactions between the main leads then feel infrequent and stilted, which doesn’t bode well for the final outcome of them getting together.

Rather than Grumpy x Sunshine, this dynamic is more Chaotic Good x Lawful Neutral. Which is equally as good, and Maxwell does excel at writing two characters with vastly different personalities and forcing them together as a nice foil for each other. This should in theory create a lot of moments of tension, bickering, and angst. But somehow something felt weirdly stagnant here between Tennal and Surit even when it was easy to see on page how different they were. I just never really fully bought into the romantic piece of their development.

What I did love here was less related to the characters and relationship building and moreso around the world itself. It’s established that people can be either Readers or Architects, which indicates either the ability to essentially read minds or control them. Having this be a universally recognized concept in the world is so fascinating because it establishes a society that is fully conscious they lack complete autonomy of themselves - and as a result some of these abilities have to be policed. The conversation around a forced “sync” that Tennal and Surit are demanded to enter raises a conversation that could be a whole other book. But not this one, which is intended to be a romance and falls a little flat here.

Overall, I think if you liked Everina Maxwell’s debut with Winter’s Orbit I think you’ll equally enjoy her second release. But for me I struggled with the same issues across both books more related to style and a sense of disconnect between the two characters She’s absolutely doing something new in the Sci-Fi genre with these political MxM romances but it's something about the execution here that doesn’t make this the easy 5-stars I was expecting based on the synopsis.

Thank you to the publisher Tor Books for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

2.5 stars - but it's me and not the book.

ocean’s echo seemingly retains all of maxwell’s charming trademarks in winter’s obit: an approachable SF world-building combined with twisty political machinations and a very sweet, very gay romance to top it all off. what more, it also features a very inclusive, queer-norm world where everyone can just exist as they are. we love that.

on paper, this should have been perfect. maxwell had won me over with winter’s orbit and, going into this, i was all giddy and excited to experience some of that magic again; was even absolutely Convinced that this would be another winner—until i started to pass the 75% mark on my ereader and abruptly got bamboozled with what i can only describe as melodrama upon melodrama. you can call it angst, sure. me? i’m just sick of getting dogpiled.

don’t get me wrong. i meant it when i said the first 75% of this book? a solid 4 stars read for me. i loved following our two mcs’ relationship and watching them grow—from strangers to tentative allies to two halves of one chaotic yet precious whole. there’s something so tender about the way they slowly, hesitantly inch toward each other and start to cultivate that mutual trust—so much so that i can even forgive how the book’s sub-genre just casually transitions from “thriller” to “rom-com/slice of life” to “mystery” in the span of a handful of middle chapters. (no whiplash here, just a lot of vibing. i am very much a vibe reader).

so what did go wrong? the end, for me, was jammed packed with an endless pool of melodrama disguised as angst and narrative adversity? plot twist? who knows anymore. after the first two, i wanted to hold the characters close while simultaneously cheering them on as they fought for their happy endings. then the next two came and i reluctantly went along with it because, sure, they could make sense? after all, a happy ending needed to be earned… right? because here’s 3 more!! (this is all very hyperbolic but you get the point)

with every added plot point, i began to feel the sparks i had toward Tennal and Surit dynamic fading away. where i wanted to cheer them on before, i just wanted them to drop their shenanigans and communicate like adults and stop being in their own heads all the time. (ironic, considering what happened between them). again and again, i was getting impatient and kept waiting for the curtains to drop... but that didn't happen so i skimmed read the rest and called it a day.

in case you haven’t noticed, this appears to just be a me problem. maybe my expectation for this book was too high after a banger opening or my attention too short to stick through it all. i'm obviously in the minority here and anyone who had enjoyed winter's orbit or are looking to go on a bit of a sf ride with light romantic elements should find enjoyment in ocean's echo.

This was one of my MOST highly anticipated books of the year and it was such a thrill to read an early copy!!
Winter’s Orbit was not only one of my favourite books last year, it was instantly a new all-time favourite that I have reread over and over again since finishing it that first time. And I couldn’t wait to see what the author came up with next!
While not a direct sequel, Ocean’s Echo (OE) still takes place in the same “world” as Winter’s Orbit (WO), - which was one of my favourite parts of that original story!
It’s a brand new adventure with brand new characters, but still written in Maxwell’s distinctly inclusive style. While WO was more political-intrigue based, OE deals more with military and actual space exploration - while still giving that cozy sci-fi vibe that I’ve come to expect from the author, as well as delivering a subplot of learning to trust (yourself and others), defying social and familial expectations, and healing from trauma. Definitely enjoyed and highly recommend!! And here I am, again, anxiously anticipating what Everina comes up with next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan/Tor for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Y'all, I loved it! At the beginning I was a little worried because the characters/plot seemed like they had quite a lot in common with the first book (main characters in forced proximity, extrovert/introvert pairing), but Tennal and Surit easily managed to differentiate themselves and their story. They were so much fun! I love when a rule-follower gets stuck with a chronic rule-breaker. It was a tad bit difficult at first to realize where they existed in the Winter's Orbit universe, but once I realized that we were in the wider universe and had left Iskat behind, it was no problem. Now I can't wait to hopefully read more books set in this wider universe!

So, I didn't love this as much as Winter's Orbit, which I think comes down to the fact that Winter's Orbit has a more political intrigue focus while this is military. This of course doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy this book. I thought it was good and did like the cast of characters. It just unfortunately didn't have quite the same magic for me that Winter's Orbit had.

4.5 stars

I was extremely excited for this book as I loved Winter's Orbit, the authors first book, and I'm very pleased to say this did not disappoint in the slightest!! From the friendships and romance, to the intriguing political and military manoeuvrings and the cosy writing style there is so much to love in this book. Also fake soul bonding (which is basically fake dating on crack)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We follow Tennal, a reader - someone who can read other peoples thoughts and emotions - who gets sent by his Aunt to be conscripted into the military and to be synced (bonded) to a writer - someone who can control others, especially readers. When he gets there he finds Surit, a young up and coming military writer who is meant to bond with him. However both of them have other plans and instead decide to fake their sync bond and try to find out what is really going on amongst the military, as something reeks of conspiracy.

Tennal is a bit of a wild child at the beginning, with an alcohol problem and always partying and getting into trouble. He is also very charming, sarcastic and never takes anything too seriously. Meanwhile Surit is a golden boy who seems very rule abiding (at first lol) and is on the rise with a promising military career to try and restore his traitor parent's name. He is very kind and sweet, but also very stubborn and grounded and also a total cinnamon roll so obviously I loved him.

My favourite thing about this book was probably the relationship and dynamics between the two main characters. Whilst there is romance I really loved how much the focus was on the friendship and building the actual relationship between Tennal and Surit. It is not historical fiction but the dynamic between them kind of reminded me of the rake x wallflower trope (which is one of my favourite tropes ever!!) and I loved it so much. I loved how gentle they were with each other, encouraging the other to be a better person and supporting each others weaknesses. For all the drama in the book it was actually a very sweet relationship (I felt) which added to the cosy factor of the book for me.

Similar to Winter's Orbit there is a good amount of politics and intrigue, and I actually thought this book was a lot better plotted and the slow reveal of explosive secrets and hidden agendas was done really well and kept me super engaged with the story. I thought the bio-engineering themes were really interesting and the discussion of ethics around neuro-modifications and consent were fascinating.

As ever I wouldn't be me without commenting on the fact the main villain of the story is a powerful unhinged woman so obviously I loved this as well. I also really enjoy in book when the conflict centres around issues from a generation before which I thought this book did really well; the echoes of the past radiating throughout time.

I really like Everina Maxwell's writing style, it's nothing super complex or special but it is extremely readable and draws you in like a warm hug. The imagination and imagery of the world is great as well, some of the scenes in chaotic space and the metaphors for what others brains were like were so beautifully crafted and a really enjoyable reading experience.

Overall I loved this book, Everina Maxwell is fast becoming one of my favourite cosy sci-fi authors and I don't think you will be disappointed if you pick this book up especially if you enjoy cinnamon roll characters standing up for their beliefs and those they care about, interesting sci-fi and technological themes, espionage-adjacent drama and beautiful imagery.

I think what's first and foremost important here is the writing. I mean this is just some of the best writing I've ever witnessed????? And I don't know how Everina Maxwell wrote it. Like there are so many moments of description in this where I genuinely wonder how she was able to write this so seemingly effortlessly. Then there are the characters. I came here from Winter's Orbit with the characters really being a driving force of the story for me. And the same goes here! I mean Everina can write a plot like no one's business, but they write characters that are also just astonishingly beautiful to read. There's not a lot of romance in this, but there is no shortage of love. The affection between Tennal and Surit is evident throughout the book and their presence is steady. The idea of oceans and sand in a book set in space was such a brilliant contrast that was somehow so intrinsically part of the story and so well developed, all I can say is that Everina is a genius and I will read any book they write from here on out.

So I did stay up until 3am last week to read this book, and then I had to fall asleep and wake up again to immediately finish it as soon as I was conscious again. This is crunchy sci-fi mixed with fantastic romance that hits all my favorite tropes. I've recently been finding regular contemporary romance a little boring, even at that third-act breakup scene, and this is just what I needed: romance with SCIENCE FICTION as its backdrop. I loved both characters, and even though I personally am a Surit, Tennal was his perfect foil that also made him better as a character. I feel like I can never do this justice with a description! I loved this book! Five stars, absolutely one of my top favorites of 2022.

So I though this was a sequal to Winters Orbit, and clicked request without reading the synopsis or any other reviews. So my bad. This was ok. It took me a minute to figure out why I was so confused lol. I enjoyed winters orbit more honestly although this was ok.
We got
-more world building
-more space exploring
-a VERY slow burn romance
-military and political drama with all the twists and turns

So I mean it kept me interested but not invested.

“tennal—unpredictable and razor-edged, crackling like the end of a live wire. surit worked in a universe of fixed possibilities. tennal was a chaos event. surit was drawn to it like a gravity wall.”

due to dodgy experimentations, planet orshan is home to readers, who can read minds & navigate chaotic space; & architects, who can control minds. readers who are considered threats are dealt with by syncing them with an architect. tennalhin halkana —a politician’s absolute disaster of a nephew— is a reader who gets conscripted into the military & forced to sync with surit yeni, a duty-bound soldier with a complicated past. surit realises that tennal did not consent to the sync and refuses go through with illegal orders. instead, they fake a sync bond.

for context: please imagine me frothing at the mouth & gnawing on my arm for this is my oceans echo-induced state of mind

i fully credit winters orbit for turning me into a sci-fi reader. sure before that i’d taken baby steps into the genre but never made it a huge priority, but then i met kiem & jainan & everything got turned upside down. & now? a whole year later? oceans echo was one of my most anticipated reads.

and i fell in love with it.

so where do i start?

do i start about how this is not winters orbit, but it very much holds its own. oceans echo is everina’s sophomore novel & it hit me just as hard. this is also set in iskat & there’s no place like home, no place like iskat. there’s so much comfort in returning to a world that i used to not understand but slowly committed to learning out of sheer love.

maybe i'll start with how electric tennal & surit are. oh the mortifying ordeal of being known!! & loved in spite of it! what i love most about everina’s characters is how strong they are apart & together. you witness them slowly fall in love with each other’s true selves & its the most beautiful thing. how could i have not fallen in love? to have them wedge themselves in my heart forever.

or perhaps i should start with how i love a ragtag crew. i love the chaos that comes with a crew that is snarky & scrappy, who go against the odds just by sheer will. who cannot & will not be kept down.

i don’t know where to start but I know where this ends.

this ends with oceans echo sitting on the faves shelf. this ends with me sending my best friend over 50+ voice messages because i simply could not pause reading to send a text (some voice messages were just us yelling its Fine). it ends with a love so great that honestly? i’m still a little afraid to say this out loud but perhaps it parallels winters orbit in my heart.