{Review} Nightwish (Echoes of Eternity, #1) by Sydney Bristow

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: August 9th, 2015
Finished Date: November 9th, 2015

Publishers: Self Published
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasty
Source: For Review
Format: eBook

Pages: 258
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US 

Serena Sykes just discovered that the mother, identical twin sister, and niece she never knew existed…are the last remaining witches on the planet. That is, except for Serena, who recently received her own limited, albeit wildly erratic supernatural abilities.

But her newfound family isn’t interested in helping her master those gifts. After all, Serena’s mother has been communicating beyond the veil with the first witch in their line, a sorceress named Zephora who hopes to return to this dimension and destroy an ancient curse that would unleash paranormal creatures across the globe.

To help guide her in this new landscape, Serena turns to her grandmother, an elderly woman suffering from dementia and the only vampire in existence, a man who has his own mysterious agenda. With less than 48 hours to prevent her family from triggering a supernatural wasteland, Serena must learn to control her abilities…if she hopes to save the world!

The Review: Nightwish is the first instalment of the ‘Echoes of Eternity’ series and we’re in for some witchy shenanigans.

In Nightwish we meet Serena Sykes, recent graduate from college with big ideas for her Grandmothers shop. Her world is rocked completely when she discovers that her Grandmother hasn’t totally been honest with her….. for a start – her mother is very much alive, she has a twin sister an also a niece but to top it all off … they are all witches with lineage traced back to the Salem witch trials. As Serena tries to come to terms with this knowledge, she realises that her grandmother is not quite herself, could the dementia be getting worse at a faster rate? She needs answers and the old womans mind is in no fit state to give them and considering she is the only one who can give them – Serena is lost. When a mysterious ‘vampire’ turns up and tells her that he must protect her, she has to learn who to trust on her own but when events begin to escalate and all hell threatens to let loose – it’s up to Serena to master her abilities and save them all.

So, I really enjoyed this book and found it easy to read and become involved with the characters. Serena was easy to route for as we follow her in her new discoveries. I liked her outlook on life and how she handled all of the revelations that came her way especially when she finds out that her mother kept her twin sister and left her behind – that has to do something to a persons self esteem – thank goodness for her Grandma though who loved her enough that it counted. I enjoyed seeing her powers manifest and how she used them, I have a feeling she will be very powerful. She has a love interest that definitely brought the heat to her life but that wasn’t really delved into here, it was more about the discoveries. I have to mention that her mother is a class A b*tch and her sister is one of those characters that you can see has hidden depth that needs coaxing out of her and her niece is adorable, at least the niece is happy to have Serena in her life and she balanced out the other influences.

The storyline was a very good start, definitely a getting to know you and your world scenario but with plenty of twists and turns to keep you on your toes. Not only do we discover Serena’s new family, we discover her heritage and her power – I liked that we discovered everything at the same time as the character, it endears me to her more as I imagine how I would react too. Her heritage was very interesting and plays a big part in the story – so pay attention – I always liked stories about witches. Her powers are different, they aren’t cut and dried like usual witches and there are limits to who gets what in the family hierarchy – for instance, the oldest always gets more power and that is a plot thread here to. It’s hard to know who to trust throughout the book, there are so many people with agendas that it always has you on edge and I really liked that I couldn’t trust people 100%. I think this book just shows the tip of the iceberg of what potential it has as a series and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Thank you to Sydney Bristow for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.