My thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I can see this being popular with sci-fi readers who like to read about space, aliens and war in space. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but it was interesting.

There is a neat twist when the reader realizes that one side of the war is like the Empire from Star Wars and the other is like the Rebel side, both sides human, with allies on one side that comes as a neat surprise that I'm not going to spoil here. When I made the connection between who was the Empire, it flipped the script as it were.

The characters seemed realistic to me. I could see the story naturally unfolding from the characters' actions, nothing felt forced. Unfortunately, people can be dumb at times, even the most intelligent of the group and when they make mistakes in war, lives end up being lost. Though one jerk got his, it was a hollow victory since so many others also perished.

There was ONE rather obvious plot point near the end that went the way I expected, though I was not happy about being right. The end was both hopeful and sad, but while it felt like a natural progression, it wasn't one I was happy with, so that flavored the rest of the book for me. (I did mentally write an epilogue to this book, to explain to myself what happened after the end.)

The book was dark and gritty, as war books should be, war isn't glamorous, it's hell and should be shown as such. Given the year we just left behind however, dark and gritty isn't exactly what I need right now.

Not saying this is a bad book, just that it's not the right time for me with it. It was written well, though it was confusing at first due to a spoilery plot point that I won't discuss, but I will say hang in there, it will make sense later. One quibble I had was that we didn't get one more scene with Helen to help out Gabby. That was kind of a mean tease.

I did like that the tough one in the relationship was the wife and not the husband, though he REALLY should have listened to her. Typical, the man doesn't listen, he blunders into something he doesn't understand/can't handle and the woman has to help/save his bacon.

3 solid stars and recommended for sci-fi lovers out there who like books similar to Starship Troopers.

Gabby Rojas is retired military. Her husband Dalton Volante is a high school teacher. Ferrix Vaughn is a detective. Angel Six Echo is told from these points of view. It's a bit confusing at first but it all comes together quite well. Dalton decides to join the military against Gabby's wishes. Gabby is given a powered suit by a dying race. She can use this suit to protect her husband but it will cost her dearly.

If you enjoy fast paced, military sci-fi this book is for you. The fight scenes are well written and not dragged out. Don't give up because it's slow at first, it picks up.

This is an interesting look at the future. There are two different alien forces that want to take over the world. They fight with each other and the humans. When her husband enters the war, she suits up and heads out to help protect him.

Book go social and Net Galley let me read this book for review. It has been published so you can grab a copy now.

She used to be in Special Ops so she has all kinds of weapons normal folks don't. She has a suit that forms to her body and gives her powers she didn't have before. When she finds her husband, he's hunkered down trying to keep living despite the weapons the enemy uses. She starts by taking out the snipers...

This is full of action, war in a new form. She's a determined war machine but will she be able to stop them? She's by herself and she's fighting multiple aliens. They call her Angel Six...

You won't be bored reading this.

This was a thoroughly entertaining read. Gabby is a super-soldier, trained from childhood to become part of an infamous black ops unit. Until she broke – both physically and mentally. And Dalton, kind, non-judgemental and caring helped put her back together again – and in the process of doing so, they fell in love… The relationship between them is touchingly portrayed – they are clearly passionate about each other. And I liked them both very much. Dalton is rather goofy, easy-going and with a charm that is attractive. Not innate super-soldier material, so it’s just as well that he’s a coms specialist, tasked with keeping in touch with those out on the front line, trying to stave off the increasingly bleak odds they are facing. Gabby is driven, single-minded and ruthless. She doesn’t kill needlessly, but will do so without a qualm if it becomes necessary.

The supporting characters worked well and I thought the battle scenes were well written. Appleton manages to balance the necessary explanation and the full-on action without losing the reader or holding up the pace, which is harder to do than he makes it look. I liked the fact that things often went wrong – plans didn’t work out, and those in the front line paid the price. There are deaths of characters I’d grown to like, but nothing that felt manipulative or careless. Gabby’s relationship with the suit was well handled – inevitably there was stuff that wasn’t explained, because neither Gabby nor the suit really knew what was going on. But I felt that was okay.

What, for me, was never really tackled adequately, was why Dalton – kind, caring husband who knew his wife was emotionally very reliant on him – suddenly ups and leaves for the front line. He always talks of her with great fondness, evidently missing her. And yet, even though he knew she was desperate for him to stay – he left. I would have been a lot happier if he’d been randomly picked in some sort of lottery system, for example.

But other than that one niggle, I found this to be an engrossing and at times, really poignant story of love, loss and hard decisions made in the heat of battle. Oh, and some really nasty aliens! The ending wasn’t what I was expecting, but it did work. Recommended for fans of character-led military sci fi adventure.
8/10

Angel Six Echo is one of the most original science fiction stand alone books I've read in quite some time. The story is told from two points of view the first being Gabby Rojas. She is a highly trained retired military fighter who obtains a warriors battle suit from a race of aliens she worked with closely in the past. The reason? To get to the planet that her husband went to fight on against her wishes. The other point of view is from her husband, Dalton. Fighting, on a planet far from home, for what he believes is a just cause.
Gabby and the suit are slowly becoming one. With guidance from the lives of the previous warriors who had worn the suit, Gabby realizes that the changes that are going to take place cannot be reversed. If she can get her husband off this planet alive...it will be all worth it.
So really, at this books heart, is a love story, and what you will fight to keep your loved ones alive. Definitely worth reading. It is a fast paced read, and like I said previously, very original. Loved it!

Tope rate Military Science-Fiction about true love. In all of it's violence there's a beauty to the whole tale that is forever in your mind. One for all sci-fi fans and even those for whom sci-fi isn't their main or even least favourite genre.

Highly Recommended

This is a military space adventure on the front lines of a bitter standoff. Gabby, a retired black ops soldier, is on a one-woman mission to save her husband Dalton, a school teacher who volunteered to fight. The main characters are better developed than you might expect in an action story. This is a big war and a big world, but the story is focused on a small group of characters and mainly the story of Gabby and Dalton. There is interesting worldbuilding without being distracting or wandering into tangents. The story went places I did not expect. The action was exciting and tense. The love story was heartwarming without being too sweet or feeling shoehorned in. The end is great for a stand-alone and was not what I expected. I loved it. It was satisfying and fit the tone and themes. It leaves enough of an opening for a follow-up to make this a possible series in the future.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it was a unique take on scifi novel. I really enjoyed going on this journey and I look forward to more from the author.

ANGEL SIX ECHO by Robert Appleton is the first book that I have read by this author. It is a combination of science fiction action-adventure and a love story and is told from three perspectives: Gaby Rojas, who has retired from the military black ops; her husband Dalton Volante who is a high school teacher history teacher that has volunteered to fight for the colonies, and law enforcement detective Ferrix Vaughn. Dalton is sent to Orontes, a disputed mining planet. Gabby decides to protect her husband, acquires a combat suit left to her by a dying warrior race, and heads to Orontes as well. What follows is an adventure that kept me captivated.

Gaby and Dalton are engaging characters that have a lot of depth. Volante is not quite as well developed. They are easy to like and root for. The secondary characters are not as well-developed but they enhanced the story. The internal and external conflicts were well defined; arising out of characterization and circumstance rather than feeling forced or contrived.

The story starts out somewhat slowly and seemingly disjointed, but it gives the author an opportunity for both character and world-building. Then the story comes together and the story line advances rapidly with metaphysical surprises, action, betrayal, and some occasional humor. Themes also include friendship, love, officer expertise, and much more. What an ending!

Overall, this was an action-packed, compelling and entertaining novel with love and a fight over natural resources at its core. I highly recommend this to those that enjoy action-packed science fiction stories. The expected publication date is November 17, 2020. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

BooksGoSocial and Robert Appleton provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

There is something gleefully old school about this bit of space warfare and after a lot of cerebral sci-fi I have to admit it was welcome. We start in media res with out veteran putting on her inherited space battle armour despite being out of the game. The war isn't all that nuanced or deep - its settlers versus navy with a side order of alien intervention, but the hook is that the space armour is in itself alien and no human has ever successfully bonded with it before. Our heroine wants to enter the fray to keep her husband safe - he has signed up on a foolish whim. In many ways the motivation isn't the point, we have some moral dilemmas about the changes the alien tech is forcing on her, the effect of a free agent in a complex space war and the grunt side view of attrition warfare.

That makes it sound grim, but weirdly it is anything but. Appleton starts at a relatively staid trot but once he gets it it he lets loose on his language and the stuff flies like some gonzo fifties pulp. It doesn't all work - but there is a glorious sense of style in something like ""She's here to watch over someone, like an angel in the field. She's here for love, Trillion. Good old-fashioned crazy strike-me-down love." And actually out of what felt like a pretty generic set-up he manages to pull a few interesting metaphysical surprises out of the bag - along with secrecy and misunderstanding that would grace any half-arsed romcom.

Fun, done in one and reveling in its stock characters, Angel Six Echo is no masterpiece. But it is also pretty honest about the thrills involved, and works as adventure, pulp, sci-fi and romance. And its been a while since I've read something that does all of that without pretension.

The description of this book hints at the creativity and propelling story within. As a science fiction enthusiast, I was not disappointed and found much to enjoy in this book.