Echo in Emerald

This continues to be a very weird series, with a very weird premise. It also continues to be Sharon Shinn's version of romantasy, which I love very much. If anything, I'm almost wishing that there was more exploration of gender fluidity, but that's just my jam right now, and not any kind of criticism. The characters are solid, the adventure/ murder mystery is on point, the world is interesting, and the implications following this installment for the larger political background are interesting, too. I also appreciate how well her series books stand alone -- we get to visit some characters from previous, but they aren't integral to this story.

After a story about an ordinary woman pretending to be an echo, here is a woman pretending her echoes are ordinary people. Chessie has the ability to shift her consciousness between herself and her two echoes, enough to give the impression that they are three different people with different personalities and jobs. Usually she keeps to the lower classes, but one day she’s asked to deliver a message to a noble who is investigating a recent murder.

(Another inversion, another case of themes and variations, as the first book is about trying to conceal a murder.)

This builds upon the first book, deepening our understanding of the political context and of echoes. Chessie’s experience of identity is fascinating. Her love interest is show more supportive and understanding, especially when he learns the most distressing parts of Chessie’s history. I didn’t anticipate all of the twists. And I was relieved that, rather than trying to resolve everything too neatly, the book allowed a couple of things to be left open-ended. Undoubtedly my favourite of this trilogy.

Dezmen nodded past the brazier, to where Scar and Red were sitting quietly, holding hands. Red was resting her head on Scar’s shoulder and appeared to be drowsing, while Scar looked around absently, smothering a yawn now and then. “How about those two? Do you trust them?”
Like I trust my hand or my foot. Like I trust my eyes and my lungs. Of course, I’d seen people betrayed by their bodies before, as their hearts gave out or their brains turned on them. “Mostly,” I said again. “So far they’ve never let me down.” show less

The second book of this series (Uncommon Echoes) was better than Book 1 for high adventure and royal intrigue. The character "Chessie" is very engaging ~ the reader can easily develop great sympathy for her. The supporting characters, especially Dezmen and Jackal, are amusing and mysterious by turns. Shinn's writing felt more fluid and the individuals more fleshed out in this narrative. The final chapters were tense! Fraught with twists that were only slightly anticipated and the conclusion was very satisfying.

I really enjoyed this story. I enjoyed it a LOT more than the first book in the series. In fact, if you're interested in the world and the setting but not sure about the first book's plot, I think you could easily start here and probably have a more enjoyable experience. (I enjoyed book one. But I really liked book two.)

This story had a lot of twists. Some of them I saw coming, and others I feel I should have seen coming but didn't. I liked the main couple better in this one than the first book, and I think they are suited for each other. (I also want to learn more about Dezmen's sister now.)

The second in Shinn’s Uncommon Echoes series was by far my favorite. The main character Chessie is strong, mysterious, and so much fun. This installment fills in a lot of the growing political turmoil with lots of surprises along the way.