The final book in the series was a bit more fraught than the first two. It follows an echo who was “woken up” after a lifetime of abuse by her original. Because we’re in Hope’s head for the book, it’s pretty choppy at first, and you just get bits and pieces of what is happening in the world. Interesting to see some of the events of the first two books from a different perspective. ( )

I enjoyed this far more than I had expected to based on Elyssa's character in book one. I like Hope the best of the three narrators, and this plot felt like the most complete one of the trilogy. There were a few things that were too easy for the king, but other than that it was wholly satisfying. ( )

Book #3's plot was derailed by too much repetitive backstory and bogs down by re-using 'Elyssa', the daughter of a high nobleman of Alberta, the 'Amethyst' province in the Western Kingdom. Readers are already familiar with Elyssa's unpleasant behaviour and her insolence in the face of authority. However the first 120 - 130 pages dwell on Elyssa's cruel treatment of her three echoes, particularly the one who becomes central to the story ~ a considerably less enthralling start to the book compared to the first two. Whereas, #2, Echo in Emerald, featured new main characters moving the story of the Kingdom of the Seven Jewels forward (with supporting characters from Book 1 appearing only as side players).

The rather Gothic introduction in #3, of an echo becoming sentient and capable of speech and independent movement, greatly detracted from appreciating the tale of one of the echoes and what happens in the Kingdom when the Western provinces want to sue for more independence.

After the rocky 130-page start, the story became more interesting, but never achieved the same degree of suspense and very little sense of high adventure compared to Book 2. As a stand alone, the story has weak, plodding stretches and a few of the incidents are terribly contrived (such as, the attack by Orenza rebels at an Engagement party attended by Jordan, brother to the heir of the throne as well as Elyssa and several of the other eligible daughters we encountered in Book 1.

The novel's plot was an excellent premise and could have added greatly to the saga of this world with echoes. It was disappointing how clumsily such an experienced writer handled the idea. Book 3 is worth reading ~ it's satisfying to find out where the story leads after the unrest in the Western provinces ~ but the narrative isn't at all up to the quality of the first two novels. ( )

A story about echo who slowly gains sentience and independence from her original is a good idea in theory, a logical progression for this trilogy. But it turned out to be a massive misstep. The echo belongs to Elyssa, a noble woman who is abusive towards her echoes and rude towards nearly everyone else. For a fair chunk of the book, not only is the echo incapable of being anything other than a passive observer, the people she is observing are unpleasant.

I skimmed some of this, seriously considered abandoning it and only kept reading because I wanted to see if it would get any better -- and what would happen to the kingdom.

The echo hasn’t always been “awake”, so what she knows is seriously limited by what she’s observed since then, like a child suddenly flung into an adult world; she has very few opportunities to actually interact with others and to experience things on her own. I was unenthusiastic about her falling in love with the only person to realise that she has a mind and voice of her own. Even though he’s perfectly nice and trustworthy and I’m sure they’re a good match, I was uncomfortable with how much she had to rely on him.

It would have been much more interesting if the echo had begun by sharing Elyssa’s opinions, temperament and knowledge until something caused a schism. Or else if she had been the echo of a much more sympathetic character -- and had then been torn between her growing desire for independence and her identity in being part of someone she loves.

Too much time is spent showing characters reacting to events from the first book and I didn’t find the resolution to the political situation very satisfying, all things considered. Elyssa is not the only character who should have been handled with more nuance.

While I do not recommend this one, I think the first two books standalone sufficiently that you could read just those without this series feeling naggingly incomplete. ( )