Even better than the first one!! My biggest issues with book one was how oblivious Kembral could be, but she was way more on top of things this time around! I am obsessed with the world building in this series, it’s so unique and fascinating!! I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here, as long as I get more of Kem and Rika then I’m happy!!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Hot take - I actually enjoyed this second installment more than the first. Melissa Caruso expands on the world she created in The Last Hour Between Worlds; the world building is more detailed and we are introduced to new settings, echoes and side characters all which help make this a more vibrant story than it's predecessor. Kem and Rika set out on yet another quest to save lives but this time we get to learn more about Kem's relationship with not only her friends, but past versions of herself. I was super excited to get more Kem and Rika and this book did not disappoint.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rare case where I think I enjoyed the sequel more than the original! Where The Last Hour Between Worlds got a bit clunky in how many characters it wanted to introduce quickly, this gives us a breadth of new people each with very defined personalities that felt much smoother. I'm very intrigued by the Deep Echoes, which I imagine is the drawing point for most readers, so I was excited to return to this setting for some grotesque horror combined expect comedic weirdness. I did expected this to just be another Kembral and Rika have to explore echoes in an unrelated situation type book but I really enjoyed how threads from the first book are developing instead of just plopping the characters into a separate situation. Plus, I love a locked room mystery so much; fantasy mystery, you are everything to me. I do wish we got more deaths one by one because I think that's so fun especially with the idea of the clock ticking down, but then I think we'd need more characters and this was the perfect amount. I do continue to find Jaycel annoying (sorry!) but I loved the addition of Vy to Kem's Friend Gang. Less "revolution is bad" ideology in this book too, which was annoying enough to me that I docked the rating of the first book; here, there's one line about hoping the revolution to remove a king doesn't get violent, and that's it, thank goodness. Definitely recommend to other who enjoyed the first book but were hesitant about picking this one up, as was the case with me, as I think this instalment is stronger! (3.75 rounded up)

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with a digital ARC of this novel!

I had so much fun reading the first book in The Echo Archives series, The Last Hour Between Worlds. I had a couple of critiques, but I largely found the book to be charming, unique, and super interesting. I knew when I saw The Last Soul Among Wolves that I was interested in reading it, but I was a bit nervous that it would be hard to follow the first book, since that one had such a wild premise that couldn't be duplicated in future installments. Much to my surprise, though, I would argue that The Last Soul Among Wolves is even better than its predecessor! It dives deeper into the world and improves on some of the areas I struggled with in Book One.

The story picks up with Kem ten weeks after the events in the previous novel. She is still on maternity leave, but she arranges for her new babysitter to take over when Jaycel Morningray asks Kem to accompany her to a will reading in a creepy mansion near their childhood homes. Kem feels uneasy, especially when she sees all of her old friends in attendance, along with Rika working a job at the reading. Her intuition turns out to be correct, as three cursed relics are revealed and the reading turns into a dangerous game of survival for all of Kem's friends. Is there Echo involvement, and can Kem figure out how to break the curse in time to save her friends? It's another whirlwind mystery, but in a much different setting this time around.

I really liked the setting of this book and how it allowed the author to branch out into new locations. Throughout the first portion of the book, we get to see a few new spots in Prime; I won't reveal where, because of spoilers, but it's fascinating and helps to shed more light on the world. I'm always a sucker for spooky, dilapidated houses, so I enjoyed the main mansion setting, too. As with the last book, we get to see different Echoes and learn more about the other realities, as well. The Echoes shined just as much as last time! I love all of their horrific, yet sometimes comedic weirdness. I was happy to see so many new Echoes show up, too.

The characters are strong in this book. We get to spend way more time with Rika and Kem as a couple. I still liked both of their characters and especially found Rika's arc to be interesting in this installment. There are some returning side characters, as well as plenty of brand new ones (including a fabulous new character who I can't say anything about because of spoilers). I liked most of the new folks and loved getting to see a few returners come back. I wish that some of the characters from Book One got page time (I was sad that two in particular never appeared). Even some of those who were present could have gotten more development, in my opinion. But, at the same time, I appreciate that the author expanded the world by adding in new faces and not simply leaning on everyone who we already knew about.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this novel was seeing Caruso's writing grow. My two primary critiques of the first book were that the world was too vague (to the point that I could never quite get my footing with the plot) and that there was too much telling, rather than showing. Both of those things were improved upon in this book. The Last Soul Among Wolves does not waste any time explaining anything that was mentioned previously, so it is never repetitive. It also drops a lot of fairly subtle hints and foreshadowing throughout the story, so it is easier to follow along with the mystery and make educated guesses. I still think Kem tells readers a bit too much, rather than showing us how she feels, but even that was markedly improved in this story. I liked the themes more in this novel and found the writing surrounding them to be stronger. Additionally, the pacing is better and builds up to a more fulfilling ending. So, props to the author! The campy atmosphere from Book One is still present here at times, but the dialogue is much less cheesy; so, if you took issue with that in the last story, I think you'll find this sequel to be much better.

I had a lovely time reading this! I don't have many other critiques, except that I would have liked to have seen more character growth from Kem. I also would have maybe liked to have seen more of a romantic connection between Kem and Rika. Their romance is very present throughout the story, but I struggled to connect with it at times. I don't need this series to be steamy, but I wouldn't have minded more romantic moments between them (or at least to have read more about how Rika made Kem feel while I was in Kem's head). Even these critiques are minor, though.

I want to go on and on about how refreshingly different The Last Soul Among Wolves is, but it's just so difficult to talk about any of the plot points or characters without revealing spoilers, so I'll stop here. I do genuinely appreciate this series, though, and how much it pulls off. Somehow, it manages to balance horror, coziness, sapphic romance, and mystery while having the characters navigate a whimsical (and terrifying) fantasy world. It's very good! You absolutely have to read The Last Hour Between Worlds before starting this one, though, so go pick that up if this book sounds interesting to you and you haven't already read it. If you read the first book and are on the fence about starting this one, I definitely recommend giving it a try once it is published, because I found it better all around.

4.5 stars out of 5 stars. I'm rounding down, because I think I needed just a little bit more from the characters to make this a 5-star read. It was so, so close, though!

STORY 4/5:

I always love me a good curse and "only one survivor" as a plot line. This one felt even more Sherlock Holmes murder mystery-esque than the first, a s I really enjoyed seeing some of the characters come back. The story was just more interesting to me than the party scenario from the first story. The visits in and out of the levels of the Echoes felt very balanced, and the ending was wonderful!

WRITING 3.5/5:

I actually felt like this book was easier to read than the first book in the series. I am not sure if that is because the writing style slightly changed or just because I already knew a lot of the terms being used (where in book 1 I was lost a lot of the time with so many names and places and concepts), but I just found this book a lot more enjoyable and I zoomed through it.

CHARACTERS 4/5:

Some of my favorite characters from book 1 make another appearance. I was worried about who was going to die once they announced the curse, that's for sure. I liked how they built more on some of them being childhood friends instead of just coworkers.

The building of the relationship between Rika and Kem was nice, and it felt realistic. And I must say, Rika is a BADASS. I feel she really steals the show, in a good way.

Thank you to Netgalley for offering me thjs book early in exchange for my honest review.

Overall I think this gets 3.5 stars rounded up for me. It's quite nice to be in the second book of this series because we've got most of the world building out of the way in the first one. So this book gets a chance to explore the whodunnit a bit deeper, dive a bit into the politics/cosmic forces, and show us a bit more of the other guilds (although I still want more).

In The Last Hour Between Worlds, we had Kem's motherhood front and center. While that doesn't resonate with me so much, I could see it being at the forefront of her mind given that it was her first outing after giving birth. We get that in the first third of this book as well, which was a bit more jarring to me. Sometimes it felt ham-fisted like (view spoiler) and others just didn't feel realistic to conversations I've had with my friends who are career-oriented but also moms. It was kind of souring me on the book, if I'm being honest.

And then something changed. Partway through the book (30%? 50%? I can't quite remember because I was flying through this on a plane) those parts drop out and we're more focused on the friendship and whodunnit. The main reason I mention this dynamic is because I found it jarring and it broke my immersion. Second half of the book I was all in.

Overall I prefer the mystery of this book to that of the first, which I also liked. This mystery and diving into Kem's old friendships and past were just a bit more to my liking.

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC.

Melissa Caruso has done it again with her second installment of the Echo Archives. As with The Last Hour Between Worlds, we don't have to wait for the buildup because we get it in the very first chapter. We're reunited with some of our favorite characters and introduced to new ones that immediately win our hearts. Caruso's writing once again pulled me in and stirred emotions that led to things like my wanting to slap the daylights out of characters I felt were being unreasonable, to nearly making me cry over an echo demon that just wanted to experience friendship. Book 2 was solid and able to stand on its own. It was fun and emotional and has me eager for the final installment,

The only thing that kept me from giving this book five stars was the incredibly predictable twist. It was frustrating to see the main characters be given the biggest hint they could have possibly been given, only for them to suddenly lack the intelligence to see it. Aside from that, this book was solid.

I absolutely loved reading this book! I really enjoyed the first book, and I was excited to see what this sequel would hold, and yeah, it was so fantastic! To see this world when they're not in an immediately dangerous situation that wasn't initially pretty contained, though it eventually became dangerous and contained!

Seeing what Kem's life looks like post events of the first book was so wonderful, that's started to find a balance between personal and work. I can't imagine what it'd feel like to go back to work after having a baby, especially with the whole naming a year thing.

The developments in her and Rika's relationship were so fantastic! That they had to work together on this case was both good and bad, because that was time spent together, but it raised some issues about control and safety, which was something that they had to work on.

Finding out what was going on with these relics and how they work-and getting to know more of Kem's childhood friends, loved that! There was a ton of machinations, as the bodies piled up, of who was behind this, and all the different threads from the different plots. That ending was pretty explosive and epic, and I loved how it turned out!

Loved reading this book and I can't wait for more!

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. Thank you!

I discovered this series thanks to Audible making it one of their deal of the day audiobooks. A sapphic fantasy book narrated by Moira Quirk? I couldn't say no. I ended up loving the first book, with its excellent worldbuilding and a story full of action, romance, potentially reality ruining situations that our heroines have to find a way to solve, murder, deadly amoral immortals... so many things I like wrapped up in a well written story with two really good main characters.

The world is as much a character as the characters are in these books. The Prime reality, where the "normal" humans live sits on top of layers of Echo worlds. Echos are different versions of Prime and the further down you go, the weirder things get. The city may have relatively the same layout, but things get more different and more dangerous the further down you get.

Our protagonist Kembral is a Hound, a member of a guild that deals with things like Echos who escape into Prime, or humans who get kidnapped or lost in Echos. Kembral has the unique ability to blink step, which means she can slide into a different reality briefly to avoid obstacles or gain an advantage in a fight.

The last book centered around what was basically the world's deadliest New Year's party. This book starts two months or so after the first. Kembral and her girlfriend Rika are getting used to their new relationship, and Kembral is technically still on leave from her job, taking care of her baby Emmi. Kembral gets pulled into a bad situation by her childhood friend Jaycel. Jaycel and several of other Kembral's childhood friends had broken into a creepy old mansion when they were kids and put their names into a cursed book. When the owner of the book dies, the price of that action comes due. Kembral has to find out how to break the curse before any of her friends pays the ultimate price. (And Rika is hired by another of the people with their name in the book to help as well).

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first, if not more because the relationship between Kembral and Rika (which was quite contentious for a large part of the first book because of some unresolved tension from before the book started) had more time to develop and while there were some conflicts in this as well, they were always resolved in a satisfying way.

The mystery was set up well, with a roomful of suspects who all have a motive to want the others out of the way. As with the first book, I enjoyed watching Kembral use her knowledge of Echos, smarts, and determination to solve the mystery and try to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles to save her friends from both the curse and, eventually, the person who first created it.

The characters are all well drawn, even the ones you don't spend that much time with, and you care about all of them (well the ones that aren't big jerks lol), which ups the stakes.

We find out more information about Echos and the immortals who dwell in them and use humans as pawns, and we learn more about Rika's mysterious past and legacy.

It's hard to say too much without spoiling things, so I'll just say if you enjoyed the first book, you'll enjoy this one. It manages to be just as good without repeating itself, while also introducing us to more interesting supporting characters, further developing the main relationship, and giving us a couple of pretty decent action scenes. Also, a great example of a fantasy book that takes its worldbuilding seriously and cares about building a story where the characters' choices make sense for them and take actions that are rooted in the reality the author has built.

There's another book planned and I really hope that the series continues even beyond that because there's a lot of the world that could be explored.

Thank you to Melissa Caruso, Orbit, and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of The Last Soul Among Wolves in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Soul Among Wolves is the second book in the Echo Archives and takes place 10 weeks after the conclusion of The Last Hour Between Worlds. In this book, Kembral is called by one of her childhood friends who wants Kembral's help. Not thinking much of it, Kembral agrees and is shocked to find her new girlfriend, Rika, has been hired by another one of her childhood friends. It turns out that shortly after Kembral moved, her friends signed in blood a book that is an echo artifact. Now, everyone who signed that book is going to die, and the last one standing will be the new heir. Determined to save her friends, Kembral and Rika embark on a quest that will take them through places that terrify them in order to figure out how to stop these people from dying.

This book was so much fun to read. I would describe this book as a fantasy mystery. There are certain elements of this book that you do not know. Normally, I am not someone who loves a mystery book, but with this one, I had such a good time. I enjoyed trying to solve the many mysteries that come up in this book alongside Kembral. I appreciated the fact that it was possible to solve the mystery if I was paying attention, but it also was NOT easy, and there were elements of the mystery that took me by surprise. I am not normally one to read a fantasy book, no matter the length, in one sitting, but I could not put this down. From the second I started the book, I needed to know what happened, who was going to die, how this was going to be solved, and so much more. I was hesitant to read this book as the first book was not my favorite, but I am so glad that I did because this book was such a better time for me, and I am excited to see what book three will bring to the table.

The Last Soul Among Wolves feels a bit like a Knives Out meets school reunion story. There's very much this sense of a ticking clock as friends start dropping like flies, but there's this added component of friends of Kem. We get to know these side characters and they give Kem a chance to confront her past versions of herself. Who were they all before life gets rolling? Not only that, but in order to save them, she must be even more clever than ever before. Let's get this straight, I was reading to see more Kem and Rika. And I was rewarded.

I enjoyed the eerie vibe and the unique wolf mythology, but I missed the depth in character development that the first book handled so well. Overall, while The Last Soul Among Wolves was an entertaining enough read, it was one of those books that I’ll forget about by tomorrow.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While not quite as strong as The Last Hour Between Worlds (though I definitely think that Moira Quirk’s narration will elevate the audiobook immensely), The Last Soul Among Wolves was engaging, clever, witty, and built upon the characters and world(s) introduced in book one. Rika especially got to shine in this one; I liked seeing beyond her role as the mysterious will-they-won’t-they who seems to defy expectations and logic and show up where you least expect her. We got to see her vulnerable and scared and fucking up, and that did a whole lot to cement her and her relationship with Kembral in my mind.

The timeline was a little wonky to me. A whole heck of a lot of things happened in less than two days, to the point where I kind of wanted a little bit more rigidity as far as the passage of time (like maybe each chapter header included what time it was or a countdown to the next scheduled character death) because I definitely thought it was like a week but then it all happened in less than two days and I was like “wait what?”

Sign me up for book 3!

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5 Stars

I think this book did a great job of smoothing out some of the rough aspects from the first one. The pacing is much better and the writing felt much smoother. I always appreciate characters who don't make ridiculous out of character choices just for the sake of moving the plot along or causing a conflict, and Melissa Caruso definitely delivered. Overall, a solid sequel that felt even better and more polished than its predecessor.

I really loved The Last Hour Between Worlds. It introduced Kem, a hound who could blink step and fearlessly would descend the layers of reality to save people. And it introduced Rika, a thief who was much more than she seemed and also cared about Kem deeply. That book was wonderful and when I heard there was going to be a sequel, of course I had to read it and review it too.

The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso is that sequel. Kem and Rika are back and this time they both end up at a mysterious mansion in the middle of a weird will reading that leads to old friends of Kem’s being put in mortal danger. Once again, Kem must solve a dangerous puzzle and descend the layers of reality to save others. Rika joins her on her journey and they face dangers both personal and cosmic.

This sequel builds on the first book while also crafting its own narrative, introducing new characters and bringing back old ones. The Last Soul Among Wolves is a fantasy with a touch of mystery and action-adventure. It also absolutely kept me on the edge of my seat as I wondered just how the heck Kem and Rika and the others would get out of this one.

And the story does not disappoint! The ending was perfect. The whole story was perfect. I don’t want to give away anymore than I already have about the story. I just love every single character in this book too. Though I especially love Kem and Rika. I love their beautiful relationship and how they interact with each other. I love them as individuals too. Their part of the story is so beautiful. And the rest of the story is thrilling and fun. The Last Soul Among Wolves is so good. It may be even better than the first book!

Also I hope I’m not revealing anything out of turn but the end of the book promises a third book to come! I am so excited about that. I hope we get to spend as much time as possible with Kem, Rika, and this amazing world that Melissa Caruso has created.

Melissa Caruso is an excellent writer. She knows her characters very well and crafts fun, snappy dialogue and wonderful descriptive passages. The book, much like the world that Kem and Rika live in, has layers. It goes from fun to scary to thrilling to heart-breaking and back to its wonderful self as the story twists and turns and then feels absolutely complete. There is room for another book, and another book is coming, but if this had been the last book, well, I would have had nothing to complain about.

You should definitely read The Last Hour Between Worlds before you read this book though. The Last Hour introduces these characters and introduces the world and the concept of layers and echoes and other things. Together, these two books are the start of a dazzling series. I hope it goes on for awhile and the third book isn’t the last. Though I’m sure if it is, Melissa Caruso will provide a fantastic conclusion.

I highly recommend both of these books!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of this book for review. The Last Soul Among Wolves comes out on August 19th, 2025.

Loved the first book in the series, this one was a lot harder to follow for me unfortunately. Didn’t grasp my attention right away and quickly lost track after that.

I was almost wary to read this one because The Last Hour Between Worlds is one of my all time favorites. But I never should have doubted that Melissa Caruso would knock it out of the park again with this story. It is an absolutely perfect follow up and an Excellent tale in its own right.

My favorite part of this Very Good Book was the way we get to step out of the somewhat limited physical space of the first book and out into the universe it is part of. Similarly, characters that were painted in broader strokes get fine detail here and we see new perspectives and much more nuance with the main characters and their relationship dynamics.

Who am I kidding though, as a new mom reading mostly in the middle of the night with my kid on my lap, I will never not laugh and cry and flat out cheer while reading a Kembral Thorne book. I’m truly grateful to have found this series at this stage of my life and cannot wait to read more.

Another great book in the echo archives! Really loved book one and book two blew my socks off. A fantastic mystery to unravel and characters that I’m already attached to! Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this one. It was a pretty great read and I just think that this series is so unique. I highly recommend it. Looking forward to more set in this world.

Honestly, I think this is one of my favourite new series in the last couple of years.

The Last Soul Among Wolves picks up six months after The Last Hour Between Worlds and guess what? Kem has been dragged into danger again and once again has a mystery on her hands that will result in deaths if she doesn't solve it. But no pressure!

I loved how we got to see Kem's childhood friends and their dynamic, both in present-day and the references to their past. They were great characters, all with defined personalities and yet I could see why they had been friends. I would have loved to spend a bit more time with this group of secondary characters, for selfish reasons of enjoying them and their dynamic with one another.

This book continues to build upon the world and the lore of the first book, and that was one of the top strengths of the first book. I think this world is just so creative and with such strong, vivid imagery. Still such a highlight of these books.

Locked room-esque murder mysteries with people dying off one by one start with a great premise, and this one was twisty and well-plotted. Engaging, had obvious stakes (people dying! Kem's friends slated for death unless Kem can do something about it!), and with solid pacing.

The only thing I could have asked for was a bit more of the relationship between Kem and Rika, in the sense where yes, we moved each of them forward as individual characters and I like them together quite a lot, but I did feel the growth of their relationship with one another didn't really get much attention - and to be clear, I don't particularly want more romance focus! I'm very happy with the level of romance currently! I just would have liked to see a bit more character development around their relationship and personalities.

If you liked The Last Hour Between Worlds (and you should have liked it; it was wonderful), you'll definitely like this one as well. And if you need another little tidbit to sell you: dragon babysitter?!

Thank you to the publisher, Orbit, and to NetGalley for the ARC.