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A review by aphelia88
Echo in Emerald by Sharon Shinn
4.0
Chessie is a street urchin who is never without her best friends, a couple named Scar and Red. But she has a secret - those friends are actually her Echoes, cleverly disguised.
Chessie has given each of her doubles a distinctive appearance and personality: Red, with her brightened scarlet waist-length hair, is a flirt and barmaid; Scar, with his short, darkened hair and enhanced eyebrow scar is a taciturn male who does odd jobs and speaks as little as possible. But Chessie is the animating force that flits between the three bodies, and she keeps her own appearance somewhere in the middle of masculine and feminine with her shoulder-length hair its natural auburn hue.
Her path crosses with Lord Dezman, who is investigating the attempted assassination of Prince Cormac, which ended the last book. As Chessie falls for Dezman, despite herself, the truth of her parentage and her tragic past are revealed.
I really like Chessie, but I think she came to trust Dezman too easily, after her many years of refusing to trust anyone or let anyone get close to her, lest they discover her secret. Chessie has become good friends with Brianna from the first book though, so it's nice to catch a glimpse of her new life with Nico.
My main issue is this:
Also, the information from the last book - that children with Echoes are born only to noble parents - coupled with the knowledge that Malachi is Chessie's father and her auburn hair, both mentioned very early on, was enough for me to accurately guess her mother's identity nearly from the first chapter. So the ultimate discovery that the Queen is her mother was not at all surprising to me.
The ending is a little rushed.And I was also a bit disappointed that Chessie started to lose her ability to jump between bodies once she fully settled into her own, since her other identities were so carefully crafted and maintained. I thought that they might retain a bit of awareness of their own, but this was not the case. Overall, an intriguing read that makes me even more interested in the purpose of the Echoes!
Chessie has given each of her doubles a distinctive appearance and personality: Red, with her brightened scarlet waist-length hair, is a flirt and barmaid; Scar, with his short, darkened hair and enhanced eyebrow scar is a taciturn male who does odd jobs and speaks as little as possible. But Chessie is the animating force that flits between the three bodies, and she keeps her own appearance somewhere in the middle of masculine and feminine with her shoulder-length hair its natural auburn hue.
Her path crosses with Lord Dezman, who is investigating the attempted assassination of Prince Cormac, which ended the last book. As Chessie falls for Dezman, despite herself, the truth of her parentage and her tragic past are revealed.
I really like Chessie, but I think she came to trust Dezman too easily, after her many years of refusing to trust anyone or let anyone get close to her, lest they discover her secret. Chessie has become good friends with Brianna from the first book though, so it's nice to catch a glimpse of her new life with Nico.
My main issue is this:
Spoiler
When Dezman and Chessie set out to uncover her identity, it is the major mystery the story, one that every clue (including Chessie's emerald necklace) has been leading up to. But when they finally uncover that proof - her parentage listed in an abbey's register - THEY DON'T TAKE THE BOOK!!!! Not even a copy. Or a signed note from the abbess! Even knowing her father's habit of burning and destroying any connection at all. What were they thinking?! And then when Dezman presents her to the King, she binds her two Echoes closely and makes them act in synchronicity. And this is accepted as "proof" in spite of the plot of the first book, where Brianna was able to mimic an Echo seamlessly! It was a very disappointing contradiction and really marred my enjoyment of an otherwise interesting story.Also, the information from the last book - that children with Echoes are born only to noble parents - coupled with the knowledge that Malachi is Chessie's father and her auburn hair, both mentioned very early on, was enough for me to accurately guess her mother's identity nearly from the first chapter. So the ultimate discovery that the Queen is her mother was not at all surprising to me.
The ending is a little rushed.