Rendered mute at birth, Portia Griffin has been silent for 16 years. Music is her constant companion, along with Felix, her deaf best friend who couldn’t care less whether or not she can speak. If only he were as nonchalant about her newfound interest in the musically gifted Max Hunter.
But Portia’s silence is about to be broken with the abrupt discovery of her voice, unparalleled in its purity and the power it affords to control those around her. Able to persuade, seduce and destroy using only her voice, Portia embarks on a search for answers about who she really is, and what she is destined to become.
Inspired by Homer’s Odyssey, SILENT ECHO: A Siren's Tale is an epic story filled with fantasy, romance and original music.
Review:
I always love when a story includes an author's unique spin on Greek mythology (prime example: Aimee Carter's The Goddess Test). Therefore, as soon as Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale landed on my radar, I added it to my "must read" list, and as luck would have it, it ended up being a fantastic read.
Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale begins the story of Portia, a young girl trying to find her voice. When born, Portia completely enchanted everyone with her beautiful wails. However, just as soon as they began, they ended. Ever since then, Portia's been mute, never uttering another word or sound. While some may be put off by the handicap, Portia has learned to live with it with the help of understanding friends and family. Everything changes, though, when Max Porter lands on the scene. Suddenly, Portia begins to fall hard, and more importantly, finds her voice once again. However, there's one tiny problem: her voice has the power to make anyone do anything, making her dangerously powerful. Now on a race to find out what she, Portia knows that one thing for sure: she's never letting anyone take her voice away from her once again, no matter the cost.
I'm always a little off put when a book features third person; however, with this book, it worked perfectly. I loved getting to see everything through Portia's eyes as well as a wide variety of other characters. Portia was probably my favorite out of the bunch. She was likable as well as brave. Plus I loved that she adored birds, as it was an interesting little tidbit. It was also fun to see her evolve as time went on, especially when it included her learning how to deal with the surprising facts about her origin and future. Anther favorite character of mine was Felix. He was such a great friend, and while I loved Portia and Max together, a part of me was always rooting for Felix to win Portia over in the end.
The plot in this was also a lot of fun. Plus, it involved so many great twists and turns! I enjoyed the way in which Elisa presented the Greek mythology, as not only did she spin into the character's story and text, but she also included some awesome flashbacks to the many gods's and goddesses's lives. It allowed for the story to develop nicely. Furthermore, I particularly liked seeing into the world of the sirens. It was crazy to see what they could do with their voices, good and evil. The little bit of romance was a lot of fun, and finally, a love triangle that I could actually tolerate! Max and Felix both have their good and bad points, and honestly, I was never sure who I wanted Portia to end up with, even at the end. Thankfully, there's two more books to help me make my decision.
Elisa's writing was decent. As mentioned before, I thought she did a great job with character and plot development. However, there was one thing that bugged me: I hated the constant references to all things iPhone related. It was just a little too over the top, and it felt like I was reading an ad for Apple in some scenes.
Spellbinding, romantic, and thrilling, Elisa Freilich's Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale was a thoroughly enjoyable debut. I simply can't wait to see what's next for Portia, Max, and the rest of the gang!
Grade: B+
Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale (Goodreads) is now out!
Source: eARC provided by publicist at Over the River Public Relations for review
I always love when a story includes an author's unique spin on Greek mythology (prime example: Aimee Carter's The Goddess Test). Therefore, as soon as Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale landed on my radar, I added it to my "must read" list, and as luck would have it, it ended up being a fantastic read.
Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale begins the story of Portia, a young girl trying to find her voice. When born, Portia completely enchanted everyone with her beautiful wails. However, just as soon as they began, they ended. Ever since then, Portia's been mute, never uttering another word or sound. While some may be put off by the handicap, Portia has learned to live with it with the help of understanding friends and family. Everything changes, though, when Max Porter lands on the scene. Suddenly, Portia begins to fall hard, and more importantly, finds her voice once again. However, there's one tiny problem: her voice has the power to make anyone do anything, making her dangerously powerful. Now on a race to find out what she, Portia knows that one thing for sure: she's never letting anyone take her voice away from her once again, no matter the cost.
I'm always a little off put when a book features third person; however, with this book, it worked perfectly. I loved getting to see everything through Portia's eyes as well as a wide variety of other characters. Portia was probably my favorite out of the bunch. She was likable as well as brave. Plus I loved that she adored birds, as it was an interesting little tidbit. It was also fun to see her evolve as time went on, especially when it included her learning how to deal with the surprising facts about her origin and future. Anther favorite character of mine was Felix. He was such a great friend, and while I loved Portia and Max together, a part of me was always rooting for Felix to win Portia over in the end.
The plot in this was also a lot of fun. Plus, it involved so many great twists and turns! I enjoyed the way in which Elisa presented the Greek mythology, as not only did she spin into the character's story and text, but she also included some awesome flashbacks to the many gods's and goddesses's lives. It allowed for the story to develop nicely. Furthermore, I particularly liked seeing into the world of the sirens. It was crazy to see what they could do with their voices, good and evil. The little bit of romance was a lot of fun, and finally, a love triangle that I could actually tolerate! Max and Felix both have their good and bad points, and honestly, I was never sure who I wanted Portia to end up with, even at the end. Thankfully, there's two more books to help me make my decision.
Elisa's writing was decent. As mentioned before, I thought she did a great job with character and plot development. However, there was one thing that bugged me: I hated the constant references to all things iPhone related. It was just a little too over the top, and it felt like I was reading an ad for Apple in some scenes.
Spellbinding, romantic, and thrilling, Elisa Freilich's Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale was a thoroughly enjoyable debut. I simply can't wait to see what's next for Portia, Max, and the rest of the gang!
Grade: B+
Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale (Goodreads) is now out!
Source: eARC provided by publicist at Over the River Public Relations for review
It definitely had me at The Odyssey but sadly, there were just too many things that seem too unlikable for me. I’m passing on this book.
ReplyDeleteIrene (Website Link to BeefJerky)