I’m always looking for new fantasy books and when I saw the cover of A Crown of Echoes I definitely became curious. Today is my stop on the tour for this book hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours. I’ll tell you about the book, what I thought and I even have an interview with the author!

A big thanks to the author for providing an e-arc of this book to read and review.

A Crown of Echoes by Brindi Quinn
Genre: New Adult Fantasy
Publishing Date: June 11, 2020

“I’ve wondered what you taste like for so damn long. You taste better than I ever could have imagined… my queen.”
He shouldn’t be calling me that. Beau was his queen.
And I had a problem.
I wasn’t supposed to feel this way.

Queen Merrin might be the least queenly queen in all the realms. After all, queens don’t typically sneak out at night to drink with their guards. When her best friend and neighboring queen, Beau, goes missing, Merrin won’t leave rescue to the knights. She sets out from the civilized world and into the wilds to retrieve her lost friend, but with ancient hexes, stolen power, and a mountain of giants’ bones, Merrin stumbles into something much greater than a simple rescue mission. Get ready for a swoony whirlwind of dark magic and forbidden romance, as Merrin finds strength in the whispers of the forest and comfort in the arms of a guard with tantalizing abilities.

Book Links

Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Review

A Crown of Echoes really surprised me in such a pleasant way! The world was really interesting, I loved the main character and the side characters make this story complete! We’re taken on an adventure with an adventure, humor, romance, swoony moments, friendship and a very independent main character.

Brindi Quinn writes this story in a way that made it hard to put down. I loved how Merrin talked to the reader. This made reading it feel even more like I was there. The main character is nowhere near the typical Queen we see in a lot of fantasy books. She does what she sees fit, is sarcastic, strong, loyal and her love is strong.

Also, I’m a big fan of romance, but I love that the developing romance in this story didn’t take over the whole plot. It gave me what I wanted, but it also left me wanting more. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this author and I can’t wait to read the sequel to this great start of a series.

Author Interview

Thank you so much for taking the time to interview me! I’m always happy to geek out over my worlds and characters. 

1 – What has been your favorite part of your writing and publishing journey so far?

My absolute favorite moment is holding a proof of a new book for the first time. There’s just nothing quite as sparkly or magical as the moment a world inside your head becomes something tangible you can hold in your hand. Other than that, I really love diving in and watching my characters. For me, crafting a story is like watching a movie, where little bits of the plot and world are revealed at a time. I love getting to know the characters and seeing where they’re taking me. 

2- What is your all time favorite book? Why?

I love Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass. It was one of my first exposures to fantasy as a child, and I have a tattered copy of the illustrated version on my desk that I used to read over and over again as a kid. I also really love the works of Poe. They were a go-to read in middle school because I enjoyed the thick, chewy, over-indulgent nature of his writing. 

3- Besides writing, what are other hobbies/interests you have?

I’m a huge video game nerd! My favorites are JRPGs and first-person survival horror. I’m a sucker for big fantasy worlds like those of Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and the Tales series, and in my free time I like to watch YouTube videos on lore, secrets, and cheats. I’m also addicted to ASMR and sometimes listen to it while writing. My favorite channels are Rapunzel ASMR and Be Brave Be You ASMR. 

4- What does a typical writing day look like?

It varies by the book or series. I also work in IT, so I typically do IT-ish things during the day and save writing for night. With this series, the characters are most active between 9PM and 2AM, so I find it’s best to dip into their world in cozy settings when the real world begins to sleep. I’m a bit stereotypical in that I prefer a big floppy robe and a glass of tea to go along with my writing. I tend to listen to music unless I’m writing dialogue-heavy scenes, in which case I need silence to hear them clearly—and if I get stuck or blocked, I usually go work out to clear my head, leading to many a midnight cardio.  

5- If you were to put yourself in A Crown of Echoes, what kind of character would you be?

Ooooh! Good question! I would be a villain! But not, like, a real villain. A misunderstood villain with a tragic backstory that could be turned good with a little bit of coaxing—likely someone from Ascian’s coven (for those who have read Book 2). Conflicted villains are always so fun to write because they have so many dimensions—and all the better if they’re hot, right? I think it would be fun to face off against Merrin and the gang and to maybe end up on their team in the end. 

6 – What is your favorite quote from A Crown of Echoes?

That’s so hard! There are a lot of good swoony ones from Windley, but I don’t want to give anything away, so instead I’ll go with: “In the absence of understanding, people create stories. To cope with fear.” I think it shows a bit of Merrin’s insightfulness and is also a good summary of one of the series’ main themes. 

7- When you wrote this book did you have it all mapped out? Or did the characters take you along for the ride?

I usually start out knowing the twists, but I never know the full story until the characters reveal it to me. For this one, I knew there was going to be a rescue mission and that I wanted it to be set in a world ruled by queens, but a lot of the plot bloomed open along the way, making the book as surprising for me as it might be for a reader. The good thing about Merrin and Windley is that they are both strong characters in my mind and make driving the plot easy. They, like all my characters, like to pester me when I’m showering, driving, or trying to sleep, revealing little snippets as they see fit. 

It’s so great to meet you, not just from me but from the whole ACOE gang. Merrin, Windley, Rafe and the rest can’t wait to see you in future books!

 

Tour Schedule

There are a lot of amazing bloggers and bookstagrammers participating in this tour. I definitely recommending checking out their posts. Click here for the full tour schedule.

Giveaway (Open Internationally)

One reader will win a signed finished copy of A Crown of Echoes. This giveaway ends on January 19th. Click here to enter.

About the Author

“Not just another vampire romance.” – Amazon Reviewer

Brindi Quinn is a fantasy/paranormal author from Minnesota specializing in world building and romance. She is an advocate of quirky love and firmly believes that banter makes the heart grow fonder.

Since 2011, Quinn has written over a dozen young adult novels beginning with her debut epic fantasy series, Heart of Farellah. Her works often blur the lines between paranormal romance, science fiction and fantasy, and her series have been hailed as addictive, unique reads within the YA genre by reviewers across platforms. Her bestselling series, The Pursuit of Zillow Stone, made it to #12 in the science fiction romance category on Amazon.

Quinn has a bachelor’s in general communication studies and is contracted through Never & Ever Publishing. She considers herself an avid fangirl, indulging heavily in video game lore and good SF TV.

Be sure to catch her latest epic fantasy series, A Crown of Echoes.

Author Links

Website
Instagram
Goodreads
Facebook

This was such a fun book to read and I’ll definitely be reading the sequel, A Crown of Reveries, very soon! If you’re looking for an interesting fantasy story with a main character that really tells you the story, I definitely recommend checking this book out!