Book Review and Giveaway for Echoes of Time by Calia Read

ECHOES OF TIME

by CALIA READ

For Etienne and me, our love has always left a trace.

It reigns over kingdoms, and rules over time.

With Etienne now in the present day, the echoes of time grow louder. 

We must face the answers we seek to set things right. 

However, we must be incredibly careful. One false move and everything we love will be destroyed.

And this time, could be the end of our surviving trace.

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REVIEW: 4 STARS

"Whoever believes love comes without sacrifice is a fool."

SIX MONTHS I waited for this conclusion. SIX MONTHS I whined about needing more Etienne and Serene. SIX MONTHS I freaked out over this love that consumed my thoughts. 

And now that I am done with it, I don't even know what I am supposed to do with myself. How will my excitement level ante up for the next series, Belgrave Dynasty? How am I even going to wait for that one with a calm demeanor and a cool facade? I'm fooling myself if I think I can, because there is no way I will be able to. So now that I will be wandering around Goodreads lost, looking for another epic love, I will wait as (im)patiently as possible for the next addition to Calia Read's library of books that will center around Belgrave and the Lacroix family. I'll be desolate and I'm pretty sure I'll seem melancholy. Not my normal cheery self. But, I'll cope with the seemingly never-ending time that it will take for KotS to be here... <sigh> /end sarcasm font

Ok, really though - let me see if I can find all the words I need to try and explain this one. While this book didn't have the same desperation that the first two books did, I couldn't help but feel the anticipation and excitement that leapt off the pages. Etienne and Serene had time fighting against them as they were trying to cheat fate. I say cheat fate, because even though I knew fate was what brought them together, I wasn't entirely sure that was going to be strong enough to keep them together. I may have been worried at a few points during this read - I won't lie!! 

Their love, their desire, their need - their world revolved around each other, and I felt that intimacy they had with each other. It was all there and I couldn't help but fight for them, screaming at my kindle as I read their story. I reveled in the happiness, I grumbled through the angering times, but I sighed a huge sigh of relief when they started to figure things out. And when it all fell into line, it was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I'm sure it was off theirs as well...but we are talkin' about me here!

"I've fallen in time. I've loved through time. I'll die in time."

Etienne still had his old world charm and Serene still possessed the witty and oh-so-busy mouth she arrived with, but there was a different air to this book that made it feel much more fast paced; there was a sense of urgency to it. Originally, their story was told with a more intricate process. It had a slow pace with an anxiousness about it because they never really knew what was going to happen or for how long they would have together. Their moments were lived with intensity and a certain desperateness, and I ached alongside them as they moved through time, fighting to be together. But somewhere along the way, it moved to dusting over happenings and areas, surroundings and such, in this third book, so it didn't read like the first two. I wasn't disappointed. I still got my HEA - a fitting one at that. It just lost some of its intensity with the unearthing of info. I needed for this book to be an all-consuming, mind-racing, nail-biting read to keep me on the edge of my seat....and while it kept me enthralled, some parts felt a little winded and a lot confusing. I had to highlight so much, and I am not sure at this point that all the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed, but it all worked out in the end, so I am a happy Bee. Totally happy. Still slightly confused at all the names and the twists and the dates and schtuff that were thrown at me over the course of three books, but overall - still very happy. I still loved it. I still felt very in tune with Etienne and Serene. I still got caught up in their larger than life story. It wasn't anything to make me stop reading, and certainly not anything to make me roll my eyes. It was just very busy and confusing at some points, but still centered around a love that was undeniably one that time had no power over.

But that leads me to her writing style. Calia doesn't spoon feed you a story that you know what's going to happen and when, and that is part of the allure of her voice for me. I liked that she kept me guessing until the very end of the story, up to and including that epilogue that made me smile. I don't want run of the mill, and she most definitely does NOT give me that. I'm thankful for that, and I loved that she gave me a few answers but that also led me to a lot more questions. I like that she will be able to bend this into another series with more questions and answers, so that will keep me coming back for plenty more. 

I can readily admit that I won't stop talking about this series for some time to come. This was my introduction to Calia Read - and it was a most epic introduction at that. Not only did I say in my first review that I couldn't get the synopsis out of my head, but I couldn't stop thinking about it and it took me a few days to finally say ok to reading it. It was a big leap of faith for me because not only was I jumping into an unfinished series by an unknown author, but it was for a time travel romance!!! THREE strikes right there. While I am so freaking excited to say I have an author that I will follow unconditionally now, that wait was rough for all three books. Absolutely ROUGH. But, again....new fan for life here. I need more of her writing. I need her to throw me for a loop. I want her to confuse me and surprise me and enlighten me and torment me. I look forward to more and cannot wait to dive into the next one.

Mark my words: Every single one of these books will be on my shelf in their present covers. These are my favorite covers she has done for this series and I am IN LOVE. I loved the original one for the first book, but I am smitten with these new ones. Such perfection. 

"Our love holds time together."
~BEE

PURCHASE Echoes of Time: AMAZON

ENTER HERE TO WIN AN ECOPY

"Je t'aime tellement que je passerais l'éternité à essayer de te trouver juste pour passer un moment avec toi."

PURCHASE The Surviving Trace: AMAZON

My review: http://bit.ly/2lBgzDx

Our love is timeless.

Will is my fiancé. The shy man I met years ago in college. The person I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life with.

This is the life I’ve always wanted until finding a picture of four men changes everything…

Etienne says he’s my husband and the year is 1912. He can’t stand the sight of me, but I don’t know why.

Oh, and he’s one of the men from the picture.

I’ve done the impossible and have become trapped in time and I know Etienne is my key to going home.

The more time I spend with Etienne, the further I fall for him, until I’m questioning which time I belong in and if the life I left behind is the one I truly desire.

All I know for certain is I need to survive time.

I need to survive love. 

And I need to make it out on the other side alive.



PURCHASE The Reigning and the Rule: AMAZON

My Review: http://bit.ly/2zrWCq8

Étienne Lacroix and I had a fire I thought would never die. 

Our love was timeless. 

An irreversible decision sent me back to the present day with a family I barely recognize, but I am determined to find a way back to Étienne. 

I can survive time. But I can’t survive life without him. 

Time bends to no one’s demands, so I must fight with everything I have to return to the past. However, I am terrified that the past I once knew might not look the same, and the man who once called me his surviving trace will no longer be waiting for me.

Time bends to no one’s demands but sometimes love does…

SERIES TBR: http://bit.ly/2KkfX3m

~MEET CALIA READ~

Calia Read is the author of the Sloan Brothers Series, The Fairfax Series, Figure Eight and The Surviving Trace. She lives in Texas with her husband and their five kids. She is currently hard at work on the second book in The Surviving Time Series.

~CONNECT WITH CALIA~

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