Title: Echo North
Author: Joanna Ruth Meyer
Rating: ★★★★★
ARC received through #booksfortrade on Twitter.
“Ever north, where the mountain meets the sky and the trees are hung with stars.”
Echo North is a breathtaking, brilliant retelling of one of my favorite fairytales, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, while also blending elements of other similar stories, such as Tam Lin. This book completely blew my expectations out of the water.
I’m familiar with the stories on which Echo North is inspired by, and so I had some sense of how the plot would unfold. Joanna Ruth Meyer did such an excellent job, however, in taking the original elements of the fairytales and adding little twists to create a whimsical story that was both true to its roots, and yet totally unique. After making a deal with a strange white wolf, Echo, our heroine, finds herself as caretaker of an enchanted house that responds to her wishes. The house also includes a library full of magical mirror-books, capable of transporting the reader into the books’ story.
“What would happen when I blew out the lamp—what would happen if I lit it again?”
The storytelling was fantastic. The vivid descriptions and writing had me completely enamored by the book. Little hints are revealed along the way, and yet I was so focused on the magic of the story that it wasn’t until after the reveals at the end that I was able to reflect upon all the pieces. The ending was a little bittersweet, but it was entirely satisfying and wrapped the book up perfectly.
Please do yourself a favor and add Echo North to your TBR, especially if you’re a fan of whimsical fairytales like East of the Sun, West of the Moon. This is such an enchanting, wonderful story and I’m so thankful I was finally able to find an early copy of it.
Paws & Paperbacks 
Love your review! I’m trying to be patient for this! Magic mirrors that transport me into the book? Take my money, I need them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Omg I know, why don’t they exist in real life?! The book is almost here so you won’t have to wait much longer! I hope you love it as much as I did! Happy reading 💕
LikeLike
Great review! I didn’t know it had a magical house 🙂 now it’s on my list
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I loved the idea of the magical house and books, it really made such a difference in this retelling! It was so unique and interesting! I’m so glad it’s on your TBR now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah I hadn’t seen a review on it before yours so I’m glad to get some perspective on it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so excited to get to this one! I think I will read the fairytale first though so that I can get the references. Love this!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I hope you love it! Even just a quick skim on wikipedia of the fairytale before reading would give a good basic idea of what it’s all about! Happy reading! I can’t wait to see what you think 💕
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so happy that we are getting retellings of less known fairytales! I can’t wait to read this one, it looks so magical 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you enjoy it! It was wonderful! 💕
LikeLike
I have heard so many good things about this novel! I’m so glad you enjoyed your time reading it!
LikeLike