Echo and Narcissus Book

This book is a lot like the first book in the series, and that's not entirely a good thing. I still enjoyed Bronwyn immensely. And the epistolary format functioned about the same. But I didn't appreciate the relationship turbulence and found that Zane left me rather cold. Some of that is the lazy shorthand for "he's a good person" being his advocacy for starving children (because being a good person is all about the causes you promote in public, right?). Indeed, Zane comes off as a pale echo of Azir, only without the charm or warmth.

Don't get me wrong, Bronwyn doesn't falter or imagine she has feelings for Zane. And Zane doesn't really make any but the most casual play for her. It's just that her dealings with him didn't have the same punch as her dealings with Azir.

But don't take the grumbles too seriously. The pacing was great, the story gripping enough to keep me up late to finish, and I still like the characters, even Sam when he's being a dork. I really hope Havens has a better plan for their relationship in the last book. Yeah, Bron and Sam both have legitimate excuses for screwing up, but neither has managed to do anything too devastating for quite some time, now, so it's time to move on to the next level. You know, the one that has "stable relationship" written all over it...

A note about Steamy: This book had less steam than the first. One (and maybe a half) explicit scenes. Again the sex was a tad perfunctory. And sadly, there was less of the knock-out kissing as well (which is a true shame).