Echoes of War- Cheryl Campbell

Publication Date: September 10, 2019
Publisher: SparkPress
Genre: Science Fiction
Pages: 384
Dates Read: September 14-16, 2019
Format: eARC and Paperback provided by NetGalley & Publisher

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SYNOPSIS:
“Decades of war started by a genocidal faction of aliens threatens the existence of any human or alien resisting their rule on Earth. Dani survives by scavenging enough supplies to live another day while avoiding the local military and human-hunting Wardens. But then she learns that she is part of the nearly immortal alien race of Echoes—not the human she’s always thought herself to be—and suddenly nothing in her life seems certain.

Following her discovery of her alien roots, Dani risks her well-being to save a boy from becoming a slave—a move that only serves to make her already-tenuous existence on the fringes of society in Maine even more unstable, and which forces her to revisit events and people from past lives she can’t remember. Dani believes the only way to defeat the Wardens and end their dominance is to unite the Commonwealth’s military and civilians, and she becomes resolved to play her part in this battle. Her attempts to change the bleak future facing the humans and Echoes living on Earth suffering under the Wardens will lead her to clash with a tyrant determined to kill her and all humankind—a confrontation that even her near-immortal heritage may not be able to help her survive.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 STARS

I thoroughly love a good post-apocalyptic/dystopian and I also love good sci-fi. Plus you know your girl loves a fierce female protagonist who is flawed and relatable. So when I saw this one on NetGalley, I knew I wanted to give it a try! I have had a harder time personally finding a good sci-fi lately, so I went into this hoping to find something engaging and unique. Boy did I find it! Echoes of War did not disappoint!

I loved the fact that Dani was far from perfect. She makes mistakes, sometimes even really big ones. This made her character so much more believable and complex. I enjoyed her gradual growth as a character from the first chapter, right up to the very end, the changes brought about by not only the events that unfold but the friendships she builds over the years. I also truly enjoyed all of her different “lives” that we were shown.

I will confess that because you are literally THROWN into the action, I found the first few chapters a bit confusing and it was difficult to really tell what was going on. Once I got my head around that beginning though, I found Echoes of War a difficult novel to put down.

Cheryl Campbell does an outstanding job of creating a story that instantly pulls you into the rapid-fire action while at the same time builds a new world within it. The world-building was phenomenal as she uses current day geography and landmarks told from a future date. This quickly allowed me as the reader to relate to the story and the challenges faced by the characters. Mix it all with alien occupied earth, the battle for human survival and you find yourself in twists and turns that leave you wanting more of the world as soon as you put the book down.

The romances and the characters were complex, and while I love a good romance, I was glad to see that this was not the focus of the novel. I also had a teeny-tiny bit of a hard time with Gavin’s love for Dani. It did feel a bit sudden and out of the blue, kind of insta-love, with not enough scenes to establish or set up the relationship for us the reader. I did enjoy their relationship as the story went on though and we saw more interaction with them.

Overall, Echoes of War is an exciting, action-packed, sci-fi thriller that Cheryl Campbell has created. It is unique enough to stand out amongst the genre, and it’s just a solid post-apocalyptic tale. I really enjoyed Echoes of War, and am excited to see what Cheryl Campbell comes up with in the sequel.

Content:
Adult language and violence throughout. (R)
Mild sexual references (PG/PG-13)

**Special Thanks to NetGalley and SparkPress for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review!**