This story created such an eerie, atmospheric setting that I felt completely immersed from the start. The author slowly built the mystery, revealing just enough to keep me guessing while maintaining a sense of suspense throughout.

I particularly enjoyed the emotional undertones that ran beneath the mystery. The characters felt believable, and their personal journeys added weight to the larger story unfolding around them.

A haunting and engaging read that fans of gothic mystery will likely enjoy.

(3.5 stars)

First off, I would like to thank Nat for allowing me access to a free copy of your book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you!

House of Echoes was an interesting read for sure. It is quite unique from most books I have read recently. For starters, the book is written in third person, following Rian and his group of friends and followers. I enjoyed this use of that perspective, as it felt like reading a chronicle of past events which made everything that was happening feel even more crucial.

Nat’s world building was my favorite aspect of the book. The whole history of how the world became flooded, the true nature of the voice under the ground, the quasi-political, quasi-religious House of Echoes and their questionable moral system…it was all so fascinating to me. This book shows how overzealousness mixed with a strong desire for power creates a dangerous cocktail that brings the extinction of humanity to the forefront of history.

At one point, the world feels much bigger when another “colony” begins showing themselves. This one named The Choir. They have their own separate philosophy that may seem darker than that of The House of Echoes but is it really? This story makes you question how your own ethics would change if you were living in this fragmented and dangerous society.

Oh I forgot to mention, this book has a map at the beginning! One of my favorite things fantasy authors include is a map for their world, so I am happy Nat was kind enough to include one.

While the plot intrigue was present throughout the story, I do wish we could have experienced more of how the normal population was going about their lives in this dystopian world. For the most part, the majority of the focus is on those affiliated with The House of Echoes. We do get scenes in which Rian is within the outer ruins amongst the citizens but there is not too much detail on how they were going about the day to day in that environment.

This book is only 157 pages long so the events happen in relative quick procession. While this did take me some time to get used to, I ended up enjoying the fast pace nature of the writing. It added an extra level of excitement for sure.

As far as the dialogue is concerned, the characters felt more like machines themselves than actual human beings with personalities. Most of the dialogue is quick, unattached and worded in such a roundabout way, to the point where it felt as though everyone was trying to sound as philosophical and deep as possible. The fact most of the main characters are teenagers, this felt a bit odd. There were some interesting words of wisdom throughout however that I thought was quite profound.

All of that being said, I enjoyed The House of Echoes quite a bit. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a short and fast paced dystopian fantasy. This is the first in a series, so I am very curious to see where Nat takes this whole story of his!

Once again, thank you Nat for allowing me to read your book for free, in exchange for my honest opinion!