Echoes in the Silence

By Julie Johnstone

The action of urban fantasy and the heat of paranormal romance combine in Echoes in the Silence. You won’t want to miss this new spin on the legend of the Sirens—and the doomed, protective race of Cordisi Hunters who must kill them in order to live or face death in order to love.
--Susannah Sandlin, author of the award-winning Penton Legacy paranormal romance series

"A dark and suspenseful journey into the lives of creatures we've always believed to be myths, Julie Johnstone's Echoes in the Silence will have you on the edge of your seat, rooting for these deadly star-crossed lovers."
-Jerrica Knight-Cantania

The saying Love Kills could be the epitaph on Alyse Estes’ tombstone if only she could die. An immortal descended from a mythical Siren race, she’s fated to find her soul mate in the race of her sworn enemy, the Cordisi. As if that’s not troublesome enough, she's also destined to bear him the daughter who will eventually kill him. Alyse knows just how inescapable the curse can be. After all, she killed her own father. But all of her attempts to make a perfectly normal, perfectly respectable, perfectly safe life for herself come tumbling down when she meets Maximillian Rheinhart.

One graze of Max's hand brings the reality of her dark past―and her darker future―rushing to the surface. He's mysterious, alluring, unaware Alyse is a Siren...and he wants her. Death roulette is not exactly the kind of foreplay she wants with love, but Max is a force of nature. He's everywhere―at the law firm that just hired her and the club she goes to, in her inexplicably realistic daydreams and the dark nightmares that haunt her sleep―and he's very convincing. He's also the Cordisi whose father is a Hunter intent on wiping out the Siren race.

Despite her efforts to resist Max, he captures her heart. She has one chance to save herself and the man that she's come to need, but to guarantee Max's safety, she might have to lose his love or succumb to what she’s fought all her life―accepting the Siren within.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julie Johnstone
• Release date: Dec 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310854859

Julie Johnstone

Julie Johnstone is a USA TODAY best-selling author of Scottish Medieval Romance, Regency Romance and the author of a new urban fantasy/paranormal romance book. She’s been a voracious reader of books since she was a young girl. Her mother would tell you that as a child Julie had a rich fantasy life made up of many different make believe friends. As an adult, Julie is one of the lucky few who can say she is living the dream by working with her passion of creating worlds from her imagination. When Julie is not writing she is chasing her two precocious children around, cooking, reading or exercising. Julie loves to hear from her readers. You can download her Regency book After Forever to try for FREE here: https://goo.gl/Y4M7gp If you love her, and she hopes you do!, you can follow her on Bookbub, and they will send you notices whenever she has a sale or a new release. You can follow her here: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/julie-johnstone You can also join her newsletter to get great prizes and inside scoops! Join here: https://goo.gl/qnkXFF She really wants to hear from you! It makes her day! Email her here: [e-mail] She's on Facebook a great deal chatting about books and life. If you want to follow her, you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/authorjuliejohnstone Can't get enough of her? Well, good! Come see her here: Twitter - @juliejohnstone Goodreads - https://goo.gl/T57MTA

Book preview

PROLOGUE

My multicolor gypsy skirt swirls around me in a rainbow blur, tickling my ankles and jingling because of the bells sewn into the edge of the material. My bare toes grip the shag carpet of our living room floor as I twirl in circles, enjoying the cool created by the momentum of my heavy swinging hair that whispers against my cheeks and neck every time I complete a turn. Air rushes into my lungs. I start to sing, though my singing gives my father a terrible migraine.

Alyse, he calls in a strained voice. He waves at me to stop, but it’s my eighth birthday, and I deserve, for once, to do what I want. Don’t I?

My mother is seeing a customer out, so I’m safe, for the moment. The song makes my lungs full. I need to sing. I have to sing. I throw my head back as I sing, the room spinning me somewhere else, somewhere beautiful. I can’t even hear Stevie Nicks anymore over my own beautiful voice. I should sing more. Why won’t anyone ever let me?

A cold hand grips my arm and jerks me to a halt. My mother’s face twists as she screams at me before she shoves me to the carpet. I hit the floor with a thud and land face-to-face with my father. A tiny sliver of blood runs down the left side of his cheek. His eyes are rolled back in the funniest angle. Stop that, I demand of him.

ONE

I rarely thought about the day I killed my father, so when I stepped onto the elevator and the song playing was the same one that had been on the radio the day he died, I stiffened. If anyone joined me in the next forty floors they might be inclined to call the police. People didn’t like crazy, and I was about to seem certifiable. I held my breath and started erecting mental barricades. When my memories of my father did slip through, it was always because of this song.

I might be a deadly Siren, but this song had the power to undo me and take me unwillingly back to that day. My eyelids began to twitch. Not good. I glared at the elevator door. Close, damn it. The singer’s sultry voice invaded my head, my ears, and my thoughts.

The doors started to shut and then a hand jammed through the slit, followed by a man with jet-black hair and intense indigo eyes. Good morning. His velvet voice slid over me and made me shiver.

Don’t scream. Stay in the present. Davis & Stone law firm won’t hire you if you’re carted out of the elevator in a straitjacket. What floor do you need? My tone was steady, but I was slipping. The doors shut, locking me in with the stranger. His lips moved, but all I heard was the deep rhythm of the song’s guitar. My heart beat in time with it. Desperate, I pressed my back against the wall and counted tiles. The elevator moved so slowly up the shaft the thing must’ve been held to a crawl by the weight of my guilt.

The stranger frowned. Then his lips moved as he said something.

Over my freaking loud heartbeat, I couldn’t hear him. I took a wild guess and answered. Yeah, I’m fine. Hot. It’s hot in here. My steady breaths shortened into gasps, my vision swam. It was happening. I couldn’t stop it. The singer hit a high note, the tune flowed through my veins and my reality shifted.

I reached out and touched the warm, sticky blood running down my father’s cold, already colorless cheek. "Daddy?"

I’ve been called a lot of things in my time, a baritone that promised nothing but trouble said, "but daddy has never been one of them."

I blinked as the velvet voice yanked me back to the present. Relief crashed through me. That was the shortest trip back to my own personal hell I’d ever taken.

You need me to call someone? The stranger assessed me with his beautiful, probing eyes.

Crap. Time to think fast. Damage was controllable, for once. You c-caught me daydreaming. My tone was that of a stammering, silly woman, just like I wanted.

The man’s eyes crinkled softly at the edges with a smile. That’s kind of creepy that you daydream about your daddy.

"Oh, you’re funny, I replied. The word not" hung unsaid.

His eyes lightened to a silvery blue. Are you always this friendly? He sounded mildly amused.

Normally, this would have been my cue to give him a caustic remark and my back to stare at. I didn’t move or speak. I usually had no problem ignoring men, but this guy was beautiful. Too beautiful in an inhumanly perfect sort of way. Just like my father had been. Goose bumps popped up all over my arms. Fear tangoed down my spine. With great effort, I averted my gaze and prayed I was being paranoid.

I’m really sorry. His voice made the tingles on my arms race like lightning to my scalp. The last time I’d felt all tingly I’d been nine and a Cordisi Hunter had threatened to plant a dagger in my heart.

I don’t usually make jokes in poor taste. The contriteness in his voice drew my gaze to his face before I could stop myself. His innocent look reinforced his words. Still, it would be foolish as hell to take any chances. Chiseled cheekbones and creamy, dreamy skin didn’t scream human.

No problem, I said. My stomach clenched as I calculated the odds that this man might be a Cordisi Hunter here to kill me. But then why hadn’t he already tried to do it? Because the chances are one in a million, sister psychotic.

Are you going on an interview? He assessed me with his light eyes.

Blood rushed through my veins, humming a warning to ignore him. Quit talking. Be freaking smart. Excuse me? The stupid part of me had obviously taken up residence in my brain.

Mirth curled his lips. I asked if you’re interviewing for a job.

I started to answer, then paused. Maybe what I’d thought was amusement was him toying with me. Was he reading my mind? Some Cordisi had that power. What would make you think that? I demanded.

He ran a hand through his hair. My heart, normally a trusty, bored thing, sped at the grace of his movement and the smirk pulling at his lips. Well, Officer—his words dripped with laughing sarcasm—"your How to Shine in an Interview book gave me a clue."

I glanced down at the book hidden mostly in my purse. No way could he have seen that. My inner alarm rang so loudly I was surprised sexy stranger didn’t hear. He stared at me with a look of intense interest. What to do now? Sing and risk everything I’d worked for and possibly escape, or try to play it cool and hope this guy wasn’t what I thought and that I’d never see him again.

Sweat trickled down my sides. Decisions, decisions. The elevator dinged, interrupting my inner debate. I scrambled out, my heel catching on the rug in my rush to escape my possible would-be killer. I stumbled to my knees. My purse spilled open and my phone slid across the marble floor, stopping only when it hit the glass door. It took a full thirty seconds for my horror to register. Bad things really did happen in slow motion. I’d just made my entrance to the most important job interview of my life on my knees.

You okay? I could smell him above me. How had I missed his smell before? Focus, damn it. I tried not to breathe too deeply. His scent was making me dizzy like only a Cordisi’s would. It might have been years since I’d encountered a Hunter, but I’d never forget how I felt in their presence. Nor would I forget that they’d massacred my race and wouldn’t hesitate to kill me if they knew I was alive.

I glanced up at him. Best to appear as normal as possible. I’m fine.

He leaned toward me, and when he did, his black T-shirt rode up his bicep to reveal the stark outline of a Siren tattoo. Fuck. Normally I considered the word too vulgar to even think, but crap just wouldn’t suffice in this instance. A thousand pinpricks tingled over my skin, tensing my muscles.

His eyes glittered. Let me help you up.

Before I could protest he grasped my hand and pulled me to my feet. His touch, at once familiar and thrilling, unleashed strange images in my mind.

Me, but I look different. Hair down, very long to my waist, a sheer gown belted with a rope, a crown of flowers on my head. Woods lush and green all around me. The stranger walks toward me, shirtless, every muscle of his lean chest rippling as he walks, shining iridescent under the glow of the moon. His hair flows, as black as night, touching his shoulders, a necklace of flowers around his neck.

He beckons to me, and I stand, running barefoot through wet grass and crunching leaves, and when we touch, it’s as if I come alive.

I jerked my hand away. That was new. Flashing anywhere other than my dark past had never happened before. This guy wasn’t human. No way. I had to talk. I couldn’t just stand here and fall apart. Finally, I motioned to his bicep but quickly dropped my hand in case he should notice how nervous I was. Your girlfriend?

No. He pressed his lips together on his smile. Somehow, his humor relieved a bit of my tension. He pulled up the sleeve of his T-shirt. This is a Siren. Do you know Greek mythology?

Do I know Greek mythology? Was this some weird test? How to answer? Tick tock went my inner clock. Finally, I nodded, surprising myself with the ability to do so. A little. I squeaked, lucky to get those two words out. Gaping idiot would have to do for a moment.

Then I’m sure you’ve heard of Sirens. He traced over the outline on his skin.

I’ve heard of them. My heart pounded from following the movement of his long, slender fingers. Fingers that could kill me with the flick of a pure silver dagger. But not in public. Not to mention broad daylight.

They’re mythical creatures rumored to have had the power to kill men and other mythical creatures with their song.

Guess they don’t make for a great date, I said with a laugh.

His eyes darkened to twin small glaciers of cobalt. I wouldn’t know.

My palms grew moist. I started to wipe them on my skirt, then stilled. His gaze tracked my every movement.

I better get to my interview. Before I could bend to gather the contents of my purse, he collected my stuff.

Damn, he was fast and graceful. He moved with an effortlessness that reminded me of the way the water sluiced down the stone wall in the center of the pool at my best friend Chloe’s apartment complex. I shivered, the stark chill of fear wrapping its icy arms around me. I was no longer afraid he was here to kill me. I was afraid he was my soul mate—an infinitely more terrifying prospect given the curse on the Cordisi and the Sirens. I didn’t want to be a factor in someone’s death—twice—and I sure as hell didn’t want him killing me.

Our fingers brushed as I made a grab for my purse. His body radiated heat like an oven, not like a normal person’s temperature should be. My body temperature increased quickly, thanks to my sensitive Siren blood. I already felt the pull to him.

He leaned toward me. What’s your name? His warm breath caressed my skin.

Jane, I said, barely suppressing my shudder. I wasn’t about to tell him my real name. The nerves in my cheeks twitched as I eyed my book he still clutched. I couldn’t afford to leave him with any trace of me. Can I have my book?

He glanced down at his hands. His dark eyebrows pulled together as he looked up. You’re very distracting.

He didn’t know the half of it. If he was my Cordisi soul mate, I was his best fantasy and worst nightmare all wrapped into one. He’d want to love me, but deep within he’d know he needed to kill me, unless he wanted to risk becoming a casualty by the daughter I was fated to bear him. Our sweet little angel would be destined to kill him. Sure, we might have one hundred great years or it could be as little as nine months. Who wanted to play death roulette?

Thanks for your help. I snatched my property out of his hands and pushed through the glass doors of Davis & Stone, not slowing my pace until I stood in front of the receptionist’s desk and told the woman who I was, the pounding of my heart filling my ears.

Without looking at me, she pointed to a chair. Sit there. I’ll go announce you.

I sat in one of the brown leather chairs—though I wanted to collapse. I was careful to keep my gaze straight ahead in case the stranger still lingered somewhere behind me, possibly already drawn to me by our cursed destiny. The destiny had proven inescapable time and again. My parents were a perfect, foolish example. Being a Cordisi, with all my dad’s powers, had not saved him from my deadly Siren song. In the end, he’d died just as Zeus had long ago cursed. If my mom, with all her precautions, hadn’t been able to stop fate from taking her soul mate, I didn’t stand a chance. Plus, recent history had proven the Cordisi had decided they’d rather kill us Sirens rather than risk death, no matter how much euphoria loving us would bring. Couldn’t say I blamed them.

My head throbbed, but I didn’t allow myself the luxury of any movement that would make me appear distraught. Instead, I squinted against the lingering ache the memory of my dad had left just above my eyes.

I had to get it together. I couldn’t blow this interview. I’d spent the fifteen years since my father’s death wishing to be mortal—and a good eight years of my life orchestrating what sort of average human I would be. Tomorrow my mom would be forced to keep her begrudgingly given vow. As the only Siren left besides me, she was the only one capable of draining me of my song and making me mortal, and it couldn’t happen soon enough.

Once I was normal, this job would be my ticket to the ordinary life I’d dreamed about since the day I’d killed my father. I challenged any independent woman to sing the praises of being single when it was all she’d ever known and would ever know. I’d always been alone—afraid to chance getting close to a mortal man because one slip of a note from me and he’d likely be dead. And Cordisi men were out. Only soul mates enticed us Sirens. Talk about deadly attraction.

The receptionist glided through the door and stopped in front of me. Jack said he’ll see you now.

As I stood to walk back to my interview warm, pleasurable tingles started at my scalp and flowed like water over my face, down my neck, chest, arms, legs, and to the tips of my toes. I knew before turning that the stranger was close.

When I did turn, I barely contained my gasp. The stranger from the elevator stood right behind me. Now that my freak-out had faded, my senses sharpened. The hunger burning in his eyes scorched me. He craved me, but the friendly smile on his face told me he clearly didn’t know why yet.

TWO

What do you want? I demanded.

I believe that’s my question. The receptionist’s tone was about as warm as a glacier.

I wanted to slap a hand over my big mouth. Instead, I mumbled an apology.

The stranger’s mouth quirked with amusement. Great, I was the entertainment.

I’m Maximillian Rheinhart, and I’m here to see Jack Davis. He glanced at me. His sexy name suited him. Great. Why couldn’t he have been a Bob? Maybe images of warriors wouldn’t be in my head now. Henceforth, he was Max. He winked at me. I can wait to see Mr. Davis.

I didn’t want any favors from Max, but I’d take this one. I looked away from him in time to see the receptionist’s narrowed gaze lock on me. Stress must have been making me extra jumpy, because I could have sworn her brown eyes appeared momentarily violet. Before I could decide if I was cracking up, she gave me a keep-your-mouth-shut look with definite muddy brown eyes. Jitters were definitely making me see things.

I’m Mary Grace, she said, focusing on Max. Unlike Max, her name didn’t suit her at all. Kind of like my mom’s cat Cupcake. That witchy feline was anything but sweet. You looked at her wrong, and she’d claw your eyes out. I bet Mary Grace had the same tendencies.

Mary Grace batted her eyes at Max. It was all I could do not to roll mine. Do you have an appointment?

He shook his head, his black locks swaying. No. I just stopped by to give Mr. Davis a letter.

My fingers itched to touch Max’s hair. Not good. Not good at all.

The receptionist licked her lips like Max was a treat she was about to devour. Unfortunately, I felt the same way. I hoped I was doing a better job disguising my desire. Her tongue darted out again, touching her upper and then lower lip. I had the urge to offer her some ChapStick for her problem. Somehow, I managed to keep my mouth shut this time.

She sighed as she undid a few buttons on her blouse. Let me see if he wants to squeeze you in before the interview.

I averted my gaze to hide my irritation. I wanted Max to go away and I wanted her to quit acting like a dog in heat. He was just a beautiful, possibly deadly, thought-reading immortal. Nothing to act so crazy about. Hysteria was rising in my throat and threatening to come out as irrational laughter. I bit my lower lip, until the pain replaced the panic.

After a moment, the receptionist hung the phone up with a frown, except her scowl caused absolutely no creases on her skin. Odd. She must have been pumped full of Botox. Tapping her nails against the desk in a perfectly timed pattern she said, Sometimes Jack turns off his phone when he’s working. I’ll be right back.

She disappeared through the door, and I turned on Max. If he didn’t already know what I was, I wanted to drive him away. He had to understand I wasn’t interested. What are you doing?

His face was inscrutable, but his nostrils flared. Was he smelling me? My blood? Could he detect me? For some reason, I didn’t think he could. Whether the reason was that he was a human and not a Cordisi didn’t matter. Whatever he was, at the moment, he was dangerous to my plan. I was attracted to him in a way I’d never been attracted to a man before.

He gazed down at me. As I said, I’m here to see Mr. Davis.

He looked so earnest, I could almost believe him. But almost wasn’t good enough. I had to be strong. And bitchy.

Stalkers are a real turnoff, I practically snarled.

I’ve never stalked a woman in my life. His tone implied he hadn’t had to.

I was about to tell him where he could take that tone, but his gaze stopped me. It shimmered as it inched over my face, down my neck and chest, and then swept the length of my body to end back at my face. He’d just undressed me with his eyes. I should have been incensed. Instead, I was turned on. I tugged my frumpy blue skirt down farther and then swiftly pulled my blouse out until it bagged around my abdomen.

A slow smile spread across his face. I really am here to see Mr. Davis.

If you say so. I was having a really hard time looking away from his smile.

You don’t believe me? His mouth quirked wider.

Did I? I wasn’t sure? My mind felt mushy. I scrambled to refocus. You’re very astute.

He blinked in surprise, then laughed so loudly I glanced around to make sure no one was near enough to overhear us. The lobby was still empty.

He leaned close to me, his face inches from mine. Why would I lie?

I could think of a few deadly reasons. Like he was Hunter and he was screwing with me until he decided to kill me. Or he really was my Cordisi soul mate, but he didn’t understand who I was yet. Or he was a Cordisi who thought I was human, and wanted to screw me. The last scenario was the best, though it was still bad.

"I don’t know. Why do men lie so much? You tell me. My tone was woman with enormous emotional baggage, just like I wanted. Cordisi, like Sirens, were forbidden from revealing who they really were to humans. My mom said their leader was a nut job who believed they should keep their bloodline pure. As in only Cordisi being with Cordisi. Whether it was a law for them or not, I couldn’t say. Nor did I care. I just wanted him to leave me alone, and since men hated emotional baggage I was betting Cordisi men did as well. Listen—"

Before I could get my brushoff speech out, the door to the hall opened and Mary Grace sashayed toward us with the quietest steps I’d ever heard a human take. I strained to hear them, and as I did they became louder. What was wrong with me today? I had to turn off flip-out mode. I smiled at Mary Grace and she ignored me and focused on Max. Jack says he’ll see you for a minute and has asked that you wait. She gave me a pointed look.

I wanted to say hell no. Instead, I said, Of course. The surface of my voice was smooth as glass, but underneath it rippled like disturbed water. Mary Grace didn’t appear to notice, but Max quirked his eyebrows. My pulse pounded as his eyes darkened and narrowed. I forced myself to look away, afraid if he could read my mind, I was making it easier for him by staring.

If you don’t mind, Max said, go ahead and let Ms. Estes see Mr. Davis first. I just remembered I need to make an important call.

I gaped at Max. He knows my name. How? I hadn’t told him. But I’d told the receptionist. Had Max been near enough to hear me or had he read my mind?

You’re sure? Mary Grace asked in a silky purring tone. It could be a while.

A ghost of a smile tugged at his lips. I’ve got the time. Was that an immortality joke? I narrowed my gaze.

One eyebrow cocked up. Good luck.

I cleared my throat and prayed I sounded calmer than I felt. Thank you. As I followed Mary Grace down the hall and away from Max, I glanced back. He wasn’t making any important phone call. He was staring at me like he wanted to devour me body and soul.

THREE

Looking backward as you walk isn’t good policy. I ran straight into the wall. Where the hell had that come from? I hurried to catch up with Mary Grace. Luckily, she walked ahead of me, as if I didn’t exist. Now that I had a second to think, the story of my mom meeting my dad for the first time played like a tragic movie in my head. I’d heard it a thousand times. He’d touched her, and she saw their beautiful future. Was that what I had seen in that strange flash? The possibility of my future with a man I didn’t even know? The idea disturbed me. Being unable to dismiss Max bothered me even more.

I ground my teeth, listening to the slide of the enamel. What my mom hadn’t seen the day she met my dad was his ugly death. She’d ignored what she’d known about the curse on Sirens and Cordisi. I refused to do the same. When I was young I’d been a deadly Siren daughter, unwitting fulfiller of Zeus’s curse against the Sirens and Cordisi.

Now I was older, wiser and had made a choice. I would never allow myself to fall in love with a Cordisi. No way was I going to let my fate mirror my mom’s. Max could very well be a vicious Hunter trained to kill me, but if he was my soul mate, he didn’t stand a chance against the silent call of my soul to his. Only I could stop it. I had to stay focused. If I didn’t, one of us would die, possibly both. Possibly more. I had no idea how many Coridisi truly believed the Sirens should have been wiped out, but if I was a betting girl, I’d bet it had been most of them.

Before I knew it, Mary Grace showed me into a boardroom missing the dark suits and intimidating lawyers I’d expected. She didn’t bother to introduce me before leaving me. Clearly, she didn’t want me to get this job.

A man dressed in a white linen shirt, unbuttoned just enough to show the tip of his very tan chest, sat at the end of a long table. He typed furiously on his laptop, completely unaware of my presence. This was a helluva odd atmosphere for an associate interview. In my experience, law firms liked to intimidate the candidates by every partner grilling them at once. This law firm had four partners. Where were the other three?

My unease came back like a pesky stomach virus. I studied the oblivious man. Young, blond and tan. He had to be Jack Davis, based on the bio pictures I’d seen on the firm’s website. Two of the other partners had dark hair and a third had red hair that had reminded me of a flame.

It was a bit odd the partners were all so young, but who was I to label someone odd? They were a newer firm, so that probably explained their youth. Mr. Davis? I ventured, fairly certain in my guess.

He glanced up, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. Can I help you?

Beautiful people were coming out of the woodwork today. Jack Davis was a sun-kissed God—the sort of athletic man who looked like he surfed year-round, but never got any of the bad effects from the sun like wrinkles or frizzy hair. His cerulean eyes twinkled at me from the length of the table. Thank Zeus, his gaze didn’t evoke any odd feelings like Max’s had. I’m Alyse Estes. I’m here for the interview.

He pointed at the chairs across from him. Give me a minute. With that, he looked down and once more pecked away at his keyboard.

I would have gladly given him an hour if he’d asked. I needed to compose

Reviews for Echoes in the Silence

[mindaf_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was given the wonderful opportunity to read Echos in the Silence to share my thoughts. My first thought was OH my Goodness what a FABULOUS book. My second thought was oh I hope there is more and lookie here, this is going to be part of a saga so I am going to get my wish to read more about these wonderful characters! WOO HOO!Alyse Estes has had many things happen in her life. She endured a lot of sadness and a lot of secrets. I really liked Alyse, she's strong and independent and think she knows exactly what she wants out of life. However, like many of us, things change along that way that make her question if that is what she really wanted out of life. Maybe there is something else out that that Alyse would rather have in her life. I found Alyse's paranormal talents to be very interesting and they come in very useful a few times in the this story. Maximillian Rheinhart has a few hidden things in his life away well. He's also a very strong man with some interesting paranormal capabilities as well. Max is also extremely handsome and has an instant drawn connection to Alyse. Alyse tries to fight the connection because she knows that she should fight it hard. I really enjoyed Alyse and Max's story. There are so many things that happen along the way that I had really hard time putting this book. I found there were times when I had tears of sadness for Alyse and at other times I was laughing so hard I had tears of joy. This book really hit on a lot of emotions and I LOVED it!I had not had the chance to read any work by Julie Johnstone until I read Echos in the Silence. I found her to be very talented with creating fun characters that are dynamic and charming. Her writing was captivating and easy to read. I can not wait to read more of her work. I also CAN NOT wait to read more about these characters and find out what else can happen with this intriguing group of characters. I know I will be anxiously awaiting the release of the next book in the Siren Saga. If you enjoy a great paranormal story with some VERY interesting twists and turns I think you should check out Echos in the Silence. If you get a chance to read this book I would love to hear your thoughts. Please stop by my blog and let me know what you thought. I've included the link here, don't wait click now, grab yourself a copy of this great book. Don't forget to come back after you have read it and let me know what you think.I was given the opportunity to read this books to share my thoughts. As always it has been my great pleasure to share my thoughts with you on on this book.