Review: A Solid Follow up to the First Novel -- Please Hurry up with Volume III!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 9, 2013
This was a lovely, light read with quick dialogue and a fast pace of action.  I found it to be a little darker than the first book, with a bit more graphic violence.  I bought it in the Kindle version, and found it totally unsuitable for reading on the commute because I simply didn't want to put it down.  This second novel is episodic in nature, with a few mini-stories tied together, but I didn't realize this until more than halfway through.For those of you new to Ms. Taylor's series, please read the first book before picking up this one.  A Symphony of Echoes is heavily referential to Volume I.  There's enough explanation that a first time reader will understand the story, but having read the other first will give better understanding of what's going on.Somewhere along the line, Ms. Taylor has become a bit more repetitive with her St. Mary's tropes than necessary, almost crossing into the annoying... yes, yes, you don't need to tell us yet again that if St. Mary's is involved something must be blowing up, on fire, etc.Those minor criticisms aside, this was an amusing read.  Max has grown since the last book, and continues to adapt and change as this story progresses.  She realizes some hard truths about herself, relationships, and the consequences of decisions.  Importantly, the other characters progress in their life journey, as well -- I can't abide stories where any of the characters, whether primary or secondary characters remain cardboard props -- and Ms. Taylor's writing satisfies nicely on this point.As usual, my recommendations don't deal too much with the plot of a story itself because I don't want to inadvertently give away a spoiler.  But I will say that I'm eagerly awaiting Volume III (wherein we travel to Troy!) and pleased to have this book in my collection.  It is definitely worth the purchase price!