#Tour: ECHO CAMPAIGN by TAYLOR BROOKE #review #giveaway

Title: ECHO Campaign
Author: Taylor Brooke
Series: Isolation #2
Published by: Limitless Publishing
Publication date: November 1st 2016
Genres: Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Young Adult

BLURB

Brooklyn Harper’s worst nightmare has become her reality. She has been captured by Isolation…

Trapped in a white-walled labyrinth by Juneau Malloy, Brooklyn is faced with the horrors of Isolation’s finest training yet. The skills she learned as an Omen Operative in Camp Number Eleven are put to the test in the form of brutal assessments of her strength, skills, and fortitude. Confused and disheartened, Brooklyn and the group of renegade Omens prepare for whatever trials Isolation has in store for them.

Juneau has caged her once again, but Brooklyn is far from broken…

When Brooklyn finds out her best friend Gabriel is alive, she goes on a violent rampage in search of her, but instead earns herself a stint in solitary confinement. Juneau attempts to tame Brooklyn through grueling exercises before offering her one radical choice. Brooklyn must hand over her freedom in order to spare her friends. She’ll become a showpiece Juneau will auction off to the highest bidder for her skills in assassination, defense, and combat.

There must be a way out, and the renegade Omens have to find it…

Brooklyn has no intention of becoming Juneau’s latest achievement. During a mind-warping training simulation, Brooklyn uncovers Isolation’s greatest secret and their darkest mistake. Juneau Malloy has created something far more sinister than the Omens, and it’s ready to eat the world alive.

As the battle with Isolation intensifies, Brooklyn is faced with her most dangerous choice yet…

Save her friends—or save humanity.

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Check out my review of Omen Operation HERE!!

Review

Taylor Brooke’s second book in the Isolation series begins almost immediately where Omen Operation ended. Brooklyn and her friends, and fellow Omens are in captivity – disorientated, unsure who is alive or dead and also a little scared.

Echo Campaign is written with the same fast pace as Omen Operation with the reader witnessing each unnerving and often violent stage of the Omen’s initiation into Isolation. For the first time, it appears that the characters have no means of escape from their sterile and controlled environment, other than to comply with Juneau Malloy’s request for them to train for the purpose they were made – to kill.

Taylor Brooke’s writing is no less absorbing in this second book as some of the relationships between Brooklyn and her friends are strengthened and others are destroyed.

Although a picture of Gabriel appears on the book’s cover it is still Brooklyn that is the story’s focus. I really liked the fact that the narrative is not concentrated solely on Brooklyn, helping the reader to understand the struggles and mixed emotions of Gabriel, Porter, Dawson, Amber, Charlie, Julian and Rayce as well.

I often find that sequels can be disappointing but with Echo Campaign Taylor Brooke not only develops her characters but the plot. The Legacy mystery and identity of ‘Kirin’ is intriguing and leads to Taylor Brooke commenting on the contemporary world and environmental issues. The future she forsees for us is a frightening one.

I can be frustrated by the fact that young adult authors choose to include an unnecessary romance element to their stories. Initially, this is how I felt about the three relationships here – Dawson and Gabriel, Rayce and Julian, Porter and Brooklyn – even though they began in Omen Operation. However, after a time I realized that the romance does have a purpose. It not only creates stronger ties between the characters but also reminds the reader that they may be Omens with enhanced strength and senses, but they have retained many human qualities and needs. This connects us emotionally with them and we appreciate how difficult Juneau’s end goal for them is.

The ending of Echo Campaign leads excellently to Legacy Strain, which promises to be as exciting as the first two books in the Isolation series. Echo Campaign gets a big Omen strength thumbs up from me!

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About the Author

Taylor Brooke is the author of the sci-fi adventure trilogy The Isolation Series. She started out as a freelance makeup artist, and quickly discovered her love of elves, zombies, mermaids, kaiju, and monsters of all kinds. After receiving eight professional certifications in special effects makeup, working on countless projects, and fleshing out a multitude of fantastical creatures, she turned her imagination back to her one true love — books. Taylor has had a knack for writing since she was a little girl, and received recognition for her skills throughout grade school and junior college. When she’s not nestled in a blanket typing away on her laptop, she can be found haunting the local bookstore with a cup of steaming hot tea in her hands, scanning the shelves for new reads, or hiking one of the many mountains that surround her home in Oregon.

Links: Website | Twitter | Goodreads