Resonance (Dissonance #2) – Erica O’Rourke

    As a Walker between worlds, Del is responsible for the love of her life—and the fate of millions—in this thrilling sequel to Dissonance.
Del risked everything to save Simon, and now he’s gone, off in another world with no way for Del to find him.
She’s back at the Consort—training to be a Walker like everyone in her family. But the Free Walkers have other plans for her. This rebel group is trying to convince Del that the Consort is evil, and that her parents are unwittingly helping the Consort kill millions of people. The Free Walkers make Del the ultimate promise: if Del joins their fight, she will be reunited with Simon.
In agreeing, Del might be endangering her family. But if she doesn’t, innocent people will die, and Simon will be lost to her forever. The fate of the multiverse depends on her choice...

DISSONANCE really took me by surprise last year and ended up being one of my (many) favorite reads of 2014 so naturally, I couldn’t hold out too long when I was approved for a review copy of RESONANCE! I was anxious to dive back in to the main plot of the story and figure out what the ending of DISSONANCE really meant for Del and Simon and I was once again impressed with Erica O’Rourke’s crafty plotting and lovely writing.

What I really enjoyed about the beginning of RESONANCE is that the book doesn’t take too long to get back into the action and the possiblility of what happened to Simon but I also wasn’t dropped straight into action without a little refresher. There were also some nice allusions to the pieces of Addie’s story in HARMONIC (which isn’t necessary to read before RESONANCE but I highly recommend it — it’s helpful for the plot and characters and also because it was just really, really good)! The action stays steady throughout the whole book too. RESONANCE is a fast-paced, exciting adventure but also has some really great tender moments between characters and I really got to know each of them more.

I think I was more impressed with the world building in DISSONANCE but don’t get me wrong — RESONANCE is pretty awesome and twisty. There’s just a different side to be revealed in this book. DISSONANCE really gets the reader into how Walking works and what the general Consort rules are but RESONANCE is all about digging deeper into why those rules are in place and of course, we get more information about the Free Walkers too. There’s one HUGE plot point that really blew my mind and I loved it BUT it also affects the relationship of a couple characters (no spoiler — what huge plot point wouldn’t, right?) and I wasn’t sure how I felt about where those two were left. It was actually kind of a good thing in a way. I didn’t feel as strong about the link between those two characters but it also opened my eyes to how other people perceived what was going on too. It was a really interesting turn of events, especially assessing my own feelings towards what happened. Cryptic, I know, but when you read it, let me know because I think it’s a really neat thing to discuss!

I was kind of all over the place with my feelings for Del and Simon. I do love them but there were just so many things going on in this book. And then I was reminded that they’ve only really known each other for a few months. When you say it like that, it sounds like insta-love a bit but looking back on my relationship with my husband and when we first started dating, we fell pretty hard pretty fast so that’s really not an illogical connection, especially when things are so high-stakes. I actually didn’t even think about the shortness of their relationship until it was brought up in the book (oops) but it made me stop and think about it for a minute. Of course, though, I still love these two. I really adore how their relationship has serious highs and lows and they really do have to fight for each other. I guess really looking back on the book, I like that there were so many obstacles — both physically and mentally — that they had to face because once the book was over, I felt even more secure about their feelings for each other.

I just loved these two books from Erica O’Rourke (and novella!) and I’m so, so happy I got to read them. They were just so up my alley with the parallel universes, the musical elements, and the Chicago setting. If any or all of these things appeal to you, I highly recommend this series! These were just so well done Erica O’Rourke’s writing is just beautiful.

“The View from Goodreads” is a featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!

Del // Character Obsessions: Simon, Walking, the truth, integrity.
I think I liked Del a bit better in book one when she was more feisty and less heartbroken… but she’s still a pretty awesome MC! She may not be as sassy in RESONANCE but that’s just because her energy is directed towards making a BIG difference (but first and foremost, protecting her friends and family).
Simon // Character Obsessions: Protecting Del, family.
I LOVED how much Simon was involved in this book. Firstly, I liked that Del had to save Simon and it wasn’t the guy saving the girl. I’m not usually too picky about things like that or even notice things like that but it was really interesting to see that flip-flopped. I also really liked how much Simon meant to the book and that his involvement was much more than a love interest. Very, very cool stuff happening in this book.

Kept Me Hooked On: Echoes. If you haven’t read the series, the Echoes are the variations of us that live in each parallel universe. I was SO impressed with how this concept was handled and how detailed it was. Usually I save this space for something more general but learning about the Echoes was one of my favorite parts of the book. I really loved how Erica O’Rourke handed the different variations in each world and how they interacted with each other and with the Walkers.
Left Me Wanting More: Attitude. I missed Del’s attitude a bit. Oh, she’s still just as sassy but RESONANCE was a bit more serious than DISSONANCE so I felt like I didn’t get as much of Del’s attitude and sarcasm (or when she was sassy, it was towards authority). I mean, not a big deal but I like the tone it brings to the book and her character!

Addiction Rating
Buy it!

These two books were just great. I really love this series and how everything came together! If you’re a fan of parallel universes, you don’t want to miss these!

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