Hey guys! Welcome to my stop on the Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale Blog Tour hosted by Girls Heart Books Tours.
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Title: Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale
Series: Silent Echo Trilogy #1
Author: Elisa Freilich
Publication date: September 2013
Publisher: Diversion Books
Genre: YA Fantasy / Paranormal
Source: Review copy
~ Synopsis ~
Silence was Portia Griffin's nemesis. In a world where teens never cease to speak their minds, the sixteen-year-old Portia, rendered mysteriously mute at birth, has opted out of the mainstream conversation. Instead, this silent sophomore at Ridgewood Preparatory Academy finds solace in her keen love of music and bizarre obsession with birds. And it doesn't hurt that her best friend, Felix Fein, deaf at the age of eight, couldn't care less whether or not she is able to execute the spoken word.
But Portia's world is about to change - and not necessarily for the better. After sixteen silent years, Portia is suddenly gifted with a voice unparalleled in its purity and powers. Her new ability to persuade, to seduce and to destroy with her voice alone sends Portia on a search for answers she never imagined she'd have to accept.
~ My Thoughts ~
My Rating: 4 / 5
In Silent Echo: A Siren's Tale, a teenage girl named Portia who is mute is best friends with a teenage boy named Felix who is deaf. I adore Portia's name and thought their friendship was so cool - they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. I found it really refreshing to see a teenage girl and a teenage boy such a close relationship without romance being involved. It was quickly apparent that Felix has a crush on Portia, which worried me because I could tell she doesn't reciprocate those feelings.
She instead falls for a new student named Max almost instantly from the moment she sees him. I loved Max from the beginning of the book to the end. He's sincerely romantic and musically talented, plus the fact that he's attractive doesn't hurt. One night he even sang Portia a lullaby when she confided to him she's had trouble sleeping due to being plagued by bad dreams! What more could you want from a love interest?
Though I knew from the synopsis that Portia regains her voice, I wasn't prepared for how awful she became. At first, she was concerned with Felix's feelings, worried he would feel like she was leaving him behind now that she no longer had her disability. She thought more about his feelings than her own. The next thing I know, she's switching wildly from her usual personality to someone who treats others horribly, and I didn't recognize her anymore. I definitely didn't like her much anymore. At the same time, I knew she was trying to fight the influence trying to take over her body, and that was the only thing about her I found redeeming.
The ending was as intense as I thought it would be with so much build-up for it. There's so much to take in, so much happens, that if there hadn't been an epic battle at the end, then it all would have been for naught. Luckily that wasn't the case. I love Greek mythology, and this story takes the mythology of the Sirens in a young adult setting and gives you something new and fresh that made for a great story.
~ Purchase Links ~
~ About the Author: Elisa Freilich ~
Elisa Freilich has enjoyed a love affair with language from her earliest days. Raised in rural Monsey, New York, Elisa spent her days reading whatever crossed her path and developing a keen appreciation for the ever present music in her home - from classical to rock. French lessons and creative writing workshops complemented her adolescence, which was also greatly enhanced by a summer spent abroad at Cambridge University. From the time she could read and write, Elisa could often be found composing poems, song lyrics and satirical newspapers.
After her college years at Boston University, Elisa continued her creative pursuits, working as a junior VP of Marketing at a corporate graphic design agency and, later, as an interior decorator. Eventually, Elisa left the workforce to raise her family, in her now hometown of Englewood, NJ.
Throughout the years, Elisa has retained her devotion to all genres of books and music and was determined to synthesize her passions into one refreshing and original platform. The result is her debut novel, SILENT ECHO: A Siren's Tale, which will be published by Diversion Books in Summer 2013. With her own lyrical style, Elisa has created a world that young adults around the globe will find intensely gripping and refreshingly original.
When Elisa is not writing, her creative outlets still abound. She is fierce with a set of knitting needles, a hot glue gun and any ingredients that can somehow be fashioned into a sinful and highly caloric babka.
~ Social Links ~
