3 ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you so much to Little Brown Group and NetGalley for an e-arc of this book.

I will start off by saying I did really enjoy Winters Orbit and I think the author writes well and has really interesting ideas and concepts.

Personally I wish this book had a bit more world building and explanation of the concepts and abilities given to the characters and this detracted from the story for me.

However this is a good sci-fi book with great rep and I would recommend this.

This is Sci fi and is a kind of queer murder mystery in space.

When one of our male main characters is found using his mind reading powers for illegal activities, the military decides to forcefully bond him to someone who can control him. Enter our other male main character who is too moral to go through with a forced bonding, so they have to fake it.

And all this while they are investigating uncharted chaotic space looking for something which no one really understands and uncovering a massive conspiracy.

This is set in the same world as Winter's Orbit, which I loved, but I am glad that I went into this knowing that the focus was different in this. This is much more plot focused than Winter's Orbit with the character and relationship development happening in the background.

Maybe as a result of that, the romance is less passionate feeling but the story is interesting and engaging enough to make up for that.

Although I will say that I didn't understand why it's the mind readers who are geared and ostracised and not the people who can implant suggestions and force people to do things!

4.25 stars, I would read other stories set in this world

This book was one I was looking forward to a lot. Whilst I enjoyed Winter’s Orbit it does touch on some uncomfortable topics for me, and I was enjoying the thought of reading Maxwell’s writing with a different lens as well as learning more about the universe Winter Orbit sets up. In this, the book both does and doesn’t deliver.

On paper the two characters in Winter's Orbit and Ocean’s echo are very similar. But Winter’s Orbit is a very inward looking story and whilst Ocean’s Echo does have the MC’s talking in their head together at one point is much more outward looking. For a start Tenn is much more self-destructive and brittle than Kiem and this both alters the tone and the direction of the story dramatically. Secondly, the romance very much takes a backseat in this one, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Instead we get a fair amount of expanding the world in which both books are set in - albeit on a different planet. The characters also feel less isolated in this one with more secondary characters. My favourite part of the novel is the sync. It’s written in a really interesting way, and not at all in a way that mimics well-known tropes or ‘mind-reading’ It both highlights the difference between people’s minds and thought patterns as well as reinforcing the alien-ness of having someone else in your brain and your thoughts.  A book for both fans of the previous book, and those who perhaps didn’t enjoy some of its previous themes.

Ocean's Echo is a stand-alone, romantic space adventure, set in the same universe as Everina Maxwell's hit debut, Winter's Orbit.
I liked the writing and how the story didn’t stale at all, just kept pushing through and intrigued me with the diverse cast of characters their interactions.

I have to say, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed Winter’s Orbit. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed Ocean’s Echo - Maxwell’s characters are so well written and her writing is just as wonderful as it was in Winter’s Orbit. However, I did find the plot of Ocean’s Echo a little bit confusing in places, particularly towards the end. I did read this one fairly quickly though (I wanted to find out what happened next!), so a re-read might be in order…

At first the book was very interesting, but after a while (~30%), it stopped fitting my taste and I never finished it. I assume a reason I didn't enjoy it as much is amount of romance and the fact that I found characters annoying. More I read, more I was annoyed at how they feel and think.

I plan to give it another try in the future as I generally enjoy Sci-Fi space operas and the world is interesting.

This is a companion novel to Winters Orbit and is set in the same world. Very dense with a lot of political intrigue, the MM romance is a very small subplot. I did enjoy the story but found the plot to be a bit stilted. I liked Surit but found Tennal to be quite unlikable (I think this was the point but I really didn’t connect to his character at all). 2.5 stars.

On the surface, this book follows the same formula of Winter’s Orbit: one seemingly very well adapted, quiet character, another extremely outgoing extrovert with problems conforming to society’s expectations, forced to live together, evil military schemes with mind-powers. I guess I would never have picked up so clearly on this had I not read Winter’s Orbit only a few weeks earlier. That being said, I was very quickly drawn into the story and completely hooked. The book is very fast-paced, with twists and turns around every corner. Telepathy and even mind-melting aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and can be very tricky. But for me, it worked out great in this novel. Everina Maxwell continues in her fascinating world. I am looking forward learning more about the remnants and other worlds in the Resolution. And, as with the other book, I enjoyed the inclusiveness of queer people of all sorts; I especially like the way gender is expressed there (via visible markers from different materials, including one for non-binary – and this time we even get a hint at neo-pronouns).
I am looking forward to more books though I would love to read a slightly different story than these first two books, Winter’s Orbit and Ocean’s Echo, the next time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed Winter's Orbit, but I think I loved Ocean's Echo even more. The plot was zippy without going along too fast, the characters were realistic and so shippable, and the relationship between Tennal and Surit was just a joy to read and so believable. I hope Maxwell writes more books set in this universe, because it's great!

This book caught my attention at the start, but I got bored of it. It started out with very fanfic tropes and if it had continued in that vein, I think I would have really liked it, but for me there wasn't enough about the relationship between the two guys. It didn't have much romance in it. They were just getting to know each other and then suddenly they were in love? It just didn't hit for me.

I was really interested in the syncing and the way it would work for two minds to sync as well, so the fact that they put that off for so long disappointed me. It raised interesting issues about conscription and consent though and that was good to see.

In all, I just wasn't that into the book. I guess I was reading it for a romance when it was more political than that. But some bits were interesting.

Didn't expect to love it as much or even more than the first book. I'm obsessed with this universe and the politics and plot twists qre amazing. Hoping for more based on this world

Really enjoyed this...even more than the first one! I thought the characters were well done, although I do think the pacing wasn't as good as it could be. Will do full review soon.

I really loved the first book of this series and this book was no different !!! I loved the world building, I loved the characters, I really loved the storyline, I was hooked the entire way through !! I will definitely be reading anything else this author writes bc I love the writing style

I was a big fan of winter's orbit, so I knew I'd enjoy this! The characters were compelling and so was the story, I love the complexity of everyone and just the way the romance between the two was shown.

Tennalhin is a 'rich' party boy who likes mind alteration toxins a bit too much and Surit is a 'straight A' military man who loves lists. Tenn can read minds and Surit can alter minds, but for some reason in this area of the galaxy 'reading' minds is bad and illegal but the ability to 'write' minds is ok. Tenn has upset his aunt (the freaking Legislator) a few too mamy times and in order to control him she forces him into a 'pair' with Surit, who is a military body. Except he isn't. But because it's morally wrong to force someone into a 'pair' Surit and Tenn decide to fake it until Tenn can escape. But of course things aren't as they seem and it's never that easy.

-Forced proximity
-Rule breaker/rule lover
-No spice (yay!)

While this book did have less 'romance' in it than Winter's Orbit I felt as though the connections between Surit and Tenn were much more well rounded. I really appreciate that both characters respect one another and their intentions in one another was never ever in question. The loyalty and fondness they displayed was adorable. I will keep coming back to this book as an example of what a healthy relationship can look like on the page.

Maxwell has once again given us a wonderful book with thankfully very few characters. I was able to remember who was who and even recall who someone was referring to while that person wasn't in the scene, which for me is very surprising. I struggled with the first half of the book, I'm not sure if it was because it was 'slow' or I was just expecting more romance and wasn't at first into the politics. That being said-

This is first a political SciFi before it is a romance! Do not go into this booking thinking you're getting a romance in space.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book group UK/Orbit for a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

How I rate books
1- I disliked this book very much. Highly unlikely to read this author again
2- Eh. I didn't hate it. Might give the author another go
3- It was fun
4- Amazing and would read again
5- I'm in love. Give me more right now!

I quite enjoyed Maxwell's debut, "Winter's Orbit", so I was excited to see more of its scifi world in "Ocean's Echo". Sadly, I didn't find this sequel quite as engaging or enjoyable.

The world Maxwell sets up is still an interesting one, though the world building is rather disjointed and all over the place, making it difficult to really picture the setting. There are also some weird decisions I just could not understand until the very end - in this society, there are people that can read minds and people that can control minds. One kind can read your thoughts, the other literally make you do whatever they want. And... the READERS are the ones society is afraid of?? How does this make any sense at all? Everyone's fine with the people who can, you know, make you jump off a bridge if they feel so inclined, but they draw the line at someone possibly finding out that you secretly think your boss would look good in leather? How? Why? This is honestly a premise that irked me the entire time I was reading it, and the explanations Maxwell gives us are flimsy at best and do not help.

Also, you probably won't enjoy this novel much if you're not interested in military scifi. I'm not, but I have enjoyed some military centered stories in the past, which is why I had hopes for this one. But... honestly, I was very bored by it. This wasn't helped by the aforementioned wishywashy kind of world building centering all these military factions. Also, after reading the first book, I just really wanted to read more about the Resolution.

The two main characters, Tennal and Surit, are interesting and I do love the order/chaos trope they represent, but they did remind me a lot of the first book's protagonists just with a different twist here and there and because of the way the story was structured I never really felt like I got to know them. Their romance isn't very impressive, but it's also not the focus of the book and is more of a mild background development, but I didn't mind that. I did mind that I never really felt any actual chemistry between the two, but that might also be because I'm just no fan of the whole syncing process. I just felt like they are mostly written as slowly developing friends, and whenever there were sudden bursts of desire I just didn't understand where that came from, especially from Surit. The side characters are kind of there, and I couldn't really tell you much about them. Sadly, the Big Bad is rather boring too so the whole conflict didn't work for me.

Still, there are some great things in here! I enjoy the way gender is viewed in this society (though it is sometimes rather clumsily written), and there's a lot of potential in the concept of the remnants and the Resolution. This world is a big one, too, allowing for lots more stories to be set in it. Maybe the next one Maxwell writes will be more my thing - this time around, it's primarily a case of "this story doesn't fit this particular reader". It's still well written, though sometimes a little dry, and you can see all these ideas Maxwell has for her universe.

Two stars.

Thank you for the ARC.

Absolutely in love with Maxwell’s writing style and this world that is being fleshed out through their novels. They perfectly balance the romance and military politics ❤️ Can’t wait to see what they write next.

Ocean's Echo is a science fiction romance novel from Everina Maxwell, whose Winter's Orbit I really enjoyed reading last year. For those of you familiar with that one: this story takes place in the same universe, but without any significant crossover in character or local setting. For those of you coming to this fresh: don't worry, it's a standalone, and you don't need to know anything going in to enjoy it. On which note: what even is it? Well, it's one part sci-fi mystery, delving for ancient relics and exploring the sociopolitical ramifications of exposing people to powers their society may not be prepared for. One part character study, exploring the emotional rocks, the trauma stricken, the self destructive - and the way those emotions, and the people they're wrapped around, can find meaning and feeling and purpose and love. It's a story laced through with action and (mis)adventure, crisis and moral choice, but it's also a story of two people reaching out expecting to be hurt, and finding each other.

Speaking of the people, who are they? Well, one of them is Tennal. Tennal is, by his own admission, a disaster area. He's smart and funny and charming and socially adept. He can manipulate people (and does), he can read people (and does). He's also prone to making poor decisions. Or decisions which will cause the maximum amount of chaos, intentionally or otherwise. In a lot of ways, Tennal is a fuse, walking around bumping into a whole variety of lit matches. For all that, he's perhaps harder on himself than anyone. Tennal has a self image that is determined to accept and be honest about his worst qualities, but skates around his more positive ones, his live wire energy and enthusiasm, his passion and compassion, his love of family. Tennal is also running hard from being a poor little rich boy. His aunt is a high up member of planetary government, and Tennal is someone who will fight against the expectations of a path laid out for him. To some success, admittedly, but also...not. Anyway. As the story begins, Tennal finds himself rather abruptly put into a new situation, and watching him rebuild himself and his image, and also try and reshape the institution's he's in, is a delight.

In this, the aggressively civilian Tennal is helped out by the other half of our protagonist duo, Lieutenant Surit Yeni. Surit is closed off, compartmentalised, dealing with the aftermath of family tragedy and family history. He's a perfectionist, with a memory like diamond, morals to match and an expectation that everyone around him is trying their best. That expectation is often thwarted. Surit, career military, has to work with Tennal, who is the essence of everything that Surit isn't. Initially they're like oil and water, but as the story progresses...well, you'll see.

In any case, the characterisation here is top notch. The emotions, the drives, the needs of our characters are raw and painful and genuine, and make turning the page an absolute pleasure, trying to see what they'll get up to next.

Which brings us to the world. This is a society which has a history of violence, of the quiet rumbling of coups. It also has, more recently, a history of audacious body modification. After some rather classified experiments, parts of the population are now architects, or readers. The former can drop short term commands to cause people to do things; they seem to be prevalent in the military command structure. The latter on the other hand, can read minds, and are something of a controlled minority, following an attempted coup a few decades before the story begins. This is a world haunted by its past, by a history of struggles for advantage, trying to decide if this is going to be the time it settles down and has a bit of a quieter period, a world still trying to work out how to deal with the mind alterers and mind readers it's it's introduced into society. A world where the military divisions are large enough and competitive enough to almost be private fiefdoms. And it's also a world that has to keep one cautious eye on the skies, because out there, a larger intra-system community is watching, and waiting for any opportunity to step in to their affairs. There is, in other words, a lot of history going on, and that history is informing this story, which also has a lot going on. The setting is plausible, the background and context introduced to the reader with a skill that means it never feels like you're just getting an infodump, while giving you a rich tapestry as background to what the characters are up to. It is, in other words, a real world.

I don't want to talk about the story, because spoilers, and because if I'm honest, I couldn't put it down while wanting to know what happened next, and I don't want to ruin it for you. But! Yes, there's romance in here. If you're not really here for that, I'll note that it's relatively low key, and entirely relevant to the characters and their situation. It's also gloriously queer, but that's another topic. Anyway. There's a lot of politics here. And a lot of scheme and counter scheme. There's personal drama, and the kind of individual stakes that make you gasp and feel the tension in your gut while the protagonists try and solve the unsolvable. There's ground warfare and mind powers, and lots of delving in deep space into things which perhaps would have been better left undisturbed. In short, there's a damn good story, and I encourage you to give it a try.

Ocean’s Echo had me gripped in its tale of political intrigue and not-quite-enemies to lovers. This
entertaining and unapologetically queer space-romp has a central romance that blossoms and shines through.

Two men forced to be in each other's company, Sin Tennalhin is a mind reader and Surit Yeni can
control people telepathically. Assigned together, their relationship begins acerbically. Neither is fond of the circumstances or the legal repercussions of the sector’s legislator forcing her rebellious
nephew out of her way through conscription. Machinations force Tennal and Surit both together and apart, their bond growing stronger even when it begins as a lie aiming to dupe those in command of their compliance whilst plotting escape. I enjoyed uncovering the conspiracy alongside the diverse cast of characters.

If you enjoyed Maxwell’s debut Winter’s Orbit, this book takes place in the same universe but
includes an entirely new cast of characters and explores a fascinating science-fiction conceit with
care and consideration. I was amused by the relationship dynamics and the tightly weaved plot kept
me entertained.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. This was my first netgalley read and I had a fun time with it.

Thank you to the publisher Orbit and to NetGalley for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

Ocean's Echo is a standalone, sci-fi fantasy romance set in the same world as the author's past book, Winter's Orbit. It takes place around Tennal, a reader with a tendency to self destruct, and Surit, the perfect soldier who is also an architect. After Tennal pushes his aunt, the leader of the military too far, he is conscripted and placed into the army. Here he is supposed to be brought under control by brainwashing at the hands of Surit, who finds he can't do it. The two of them decide to fake this "synch" bond until Tennal can escape but things gradually get more complicated and intertwined with the two of them. I loved this book. I love the way that Everina Maxwell writes stories that are so easy to drop into and immerse yourself in the world. Tennal is such a good character who shows that you can't "fix" someone in an easy way. Surit had his own problems and traumas to deal with, which I thought was really done well. The world building was rich and the characters around the main two were so enjoyable. I'd love to read a sequel but ultimately I'd be happy with how this ended.