Mini Reviews: Where Are You Echo Blue, A Song To Drown Rivers

Hi friends! ☀️ I haven’t talked books in a while on the blog and these reviews are long, long due. I hope you’ll enjoy them and that, if these aren’t on your radar, that I can help get them on your TBR asap. They’re so good!

There are no spoilers in these reviews.

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Review: Where Are You Echo Blue, Hayley Krischer

Where Are You, Echo Blue? by Hayley Krischer
Published by Dutton on July 16, 2024
Genres: adult, contemporary
Format: ARC
Source: Edelweiss, Publisher
Buy on Amazon, Bookshop, Blackwell's
Goodreads

A smart, juicy, and page-turning novel about celebrity, fandom, and the price of ambition following a journalist's obsessive search for a missing Hollywood starlet
When Echo Blue, the most famous child star of the nineties, disappears ahead of a highly publicized television appearance on the eve of the millennium, the salacious theories instantly start swirling. Mostly, people assume Echo has gotten herself in trouble after a reckless New Year’s Eve. But Goldie Klein, an ambitious young journalist who also happens to be Echo's biggest fan, knows there must be more to the story. Why, on the eve of her big comeback, would Echo just go missing without a trace?
After a year of covering dreary local stories for Manhattan Eye, Goldie is sure this will be her big break. Who better to find Echo Blue, and tell her story the right way, than her? And so, Goldie heads to L.A. to begin a wild search that takes her deep into Echo’s complicated life in which parental strife, friend break ups, rehab stints, and bad romances abound. But the further into Echo’s world Goldie gets, the more she questions her own complicity in the young star’s demise . . . yet she cannot tear herself away from this story, which has now consumed her entirely. Meanwhile, we also hear Echo's side of things from the beginning, showing a young woman who was chewed up and spit out by Hollywood as so many are, and who may have had to pay the ultimate price.
As these young women's poignant and unexpected journeys unfold, and eventually meet, Where Are You, Echo Blue? interrogates celebrity culture, the thin line between admiration and obsession, and what it means to tell other peoples’ stories, all while ushering us on an unruly ride to find out what did become of Echo Blue.

I received this book for free from Edelweiss, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

addiction, child abuse, drug abuse, emotional abuse, stalking, sexual content, car accident, self-harm

I’m absolutely obsessed with stories dealing with celebrities, what’s going on behind the scenes, fandom and all the things like that. Echo Blue perfectly fit the bill. Split between two POV, we get to hear, on one side, about Echo Blue, a famous nineties star, how she gets there and what happens to her. On the other side, we get Goldie, a journalist obsessed with Echo Blue, jumping on a chance to investigate Echo’s strange disappearance.

This book has it all for me, really. There’s a bit of mystery, with whatever happened to Echo, messy, flawed, sometimes annoying main characters that yet you can’t help but root for. There’s a deep discussion about celebrity culture, fandom, obsession, Hollywood and, I don’t know, I was hooked from page one and couldn’t stop reading this. It’s like a train wreck you can’t stop watching, a thrilling ride on top of a rollercoaster, knowing, at some point, you’ll have to get down. I found this brilliantly addictive and highly recommend it.

FINAL RATING : 5 stars

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Review: A Song To Drown Rivers, Ann Liang

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
Published by St. Martin's Press on October 1, 2024
Genres: fantasy, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: Edelweiss, Publisher
Buy on Amazon, Bookshop, Blackwell's
Goodreads

Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds.Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.
Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.
Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.
Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

I received this book for free from Edelweiss, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

car accident (recalled), parent’s death (recalled), alcohol addiction, underage drinking.

I’m a big fan of Ann Liang’s YA contemporary books, so… I had to jump on the chance to read her fantasy book, as well. What a thrilling ride, really – no spoilers here, but I’m still not over that ending, if I’m being honest.

This book is a retelling of the legend of Xishi, a tale I wasn’t too familiar with, I’ll admit it. I was quickly swept away by the setting, the story, the characters, that badass main character using her beauty to infiltrate the palace, seduce the current king and avenge her sister’s murder.

I had SO much fun reading this book overall. While fantasy isn’t my first go-to genre, I was easily swept away by this world and, most of it all, by the main character’s desire for revenge. I absolutely loved the nuance in this book, how everything isn’t right or wrong, how it just freakingly messed up my mind and my heart, as well. If you’re looking for a highly entertaining YA fantasy ft. great characters, interesting history, romance and most of it all, revenge, you got that one. It’s really really good.

FINAL RATING : 4,5 stars!

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