Echoes of War by Cheryl Campbell - HIGH

Echoes of War by Cheryl Campbell, 400 pages. SparkPress (BookSparks), 2019. $17.

Language: R (251 swears, 73 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

The Wardens are the army of alien invaders who started the war hundreds of years ago. While some humans are fighting to defend from the Wardens’ attacks, a large group of humans and aliens are simply trying to survive the chaos of the war raging around them. Dani is one of these survivors. She’s always looked out for herself and her dog, but, when the opportunity comes to reclaim her home from the Wardens, Dani can’t help herself from fighting against the odds.

I was intrigued by the premise but skeptical as the story started. However, as the story unfolded, I found myself lost in Dani’s struggles and vision for the future. Her seemingly reckless and determined nature made sure that there was never a boring moment, and I fell in love with her friends made along the way. This story necessitates several large time gaps where the author jumps over weeks, months, and even years at a time. Usually I am not a big fan of big time jumps, but Campbell expertly crafted the transitions is a way that the flow was smooth and the story continued to be engaging through each time jump. Campbell’s success in making me interested despite a pet peeve I usually have with books only made me more enthusiastic about reading what she had written. I have only rated this book as “optional” instead of “advisable” for purchase because of the language rating. The mature content rating is for sex, prostitution, and attempted rape; the violence rating is for war violence, death, and suicide contemplation.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen