ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

All theaters have their ghosts, but death is another matter. Death is exactly what Zara Evans encounters when she comes to the Aurelia Theater. New to professional theater, Zara has nevertheless been cast as Echo in the Greek tragedy Echo and Ariston, a role she's always coveted. The legendary d difficult rector Leopold Henneman, who claims to have visions, helms the production, and he demands excellence, something that's easier said than done when members of the cast and crew start dying and people start saying the theater is haunted. As tragedies, both onstage and off, roll through the Aurelia, Zara grows close to Eli Vasquez, the assistant lighting designer. The two girls' friendship blossoms into romance, and for Zara, it's a light in a world that grows darker by the day: curse or no curse, there is something wicked in the Aurelia. With timeless, literary prose, Capetta spins a tale that is haunting indeed. Part love story and part mystery, this eerie offering studded with intriguing, secretive characters is beautiful and strange.

Horn Book (Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

[add subject: Performing arts]Zara is living her dream: cast from obscurity to star in a classic Greek tragedy with a famous director in a legendary NYC theater; and she's falling in love with gorgeous lighting assistant Eliza ("Eli"). However, mysterious deaths--possibly related to a curse on the theater--threaten the girls' idyll. Murder-mystery meets psychological thriller meets sweeping romance in a story both tragic and beautiful.

Kirkus Reviews

What do you do when all your dreams come true? What happens if those dreams have a nightmarish edge? Capetta explores the consequences of soured dreams in her latest.When 18-year-old Jewish Zara is cast in her dream roll of Echo in a Broadway production of the Greek tragedy Echo and Ariston, she believes all her hopes are falling into place. It seems even so when she falls unexpectedly for 19-year-old Latina lighting designer Eli (short for Eliza). Yet, amid the thrill of the stage and new romance, signs of cracks in the facade begin to appear. Almost as soon as she arrives in New York City to begin rehearsals, mysterious deaths begin to occur, and eventually Zara herself is in danger. Capetta deftly shifts the tone of the third-person-limited narrator in each chapter to highlight the distinct personalities and motives of the main characters. The style tries to balance the novel between a literary romance and a psychological thriller, occasionally faltering. The suspenseful plot can become tangled in metaphor, hampering the action, especially at the climax. Nevertheless, this tale will appeal to older teen audiences and likely some adults who enjoy their thrillers steamy, with more than a dash of romance.A twisted tale of theater, conspiracy, and romance that, like its protagonist, sometimes struggles with a minor identity crisis. (Romantic thriller. 14-adult)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Capetta (Entangled) seamlessly weaves a murder mystery and stirring love story into a suspenseful novel set in Manhattan-s theater community. -Backbiting- doesn-t begin to evoke the menacing atmosphere of Broadway-s Aurelia Theater, to which Pennsylvania high school senior Zara impulsively sends an audition tape for her favorite Greek tragedy, Echo and Ariston. That the intimidating and world-famous director Leopold Henneman selects Zara for Echo is only one of many shocks: there-s the dead body Zara finds on her first day

School Library Journal (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

Gr 9 Up-n old and glamorous theater with a storied past. A demonic director who sees visions. A plain but gifted ingénue, on her own for the first time in the big city. Fierce young love. Dangerous loyalties. Secrets, lies, and murder. This novel has it all, from the ancient costume designer to the movie star lead to the disappointed chorus girl. Seventeen-year-old Zara has dreamt of the theater her whole life, and has lived and breathed the classic Echo and Ariston, but she has never been in love. When her naiveté and raw talent get her cast in a new Broadway production, she is immediately entangled in the decades-old feuds, deceptions, destruction, and despair that haunt the old Aurelia Theater. She also has a burning, inescapable passion for Eli, the young, tattooed, and talented lighting designer who has demons of her own. Clichés are inescapable as Capetta's tale of theater, romance, and murderous mystery unfolds. However, the author embraces them fully and manages to inject a sincerity into this familiar story line. Winter deepens, and the plot thickens. As icicles and blood drip everywhere, the narrative becomes more predictable, but readers won't be able to look away until the final reveal. VERDICT Clichéd but classy, this is a theater tale and murder mystery for passionate readers.Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn Public Library

Voice of Youth Advocates (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Zara has dreamed of playing Echo in Echo and Ariston since she first encountered the Greek tragedy. When she lands the role at the Aurelia Theater, leaving high school and her parents behind for life in New York, she will do almost anything to keep her dream job. Throughout the process, she struggles to find her place and control her heart, especially as her director molds her fictional character and her new friend, Eli, stirs strong feelings she cannot ignore. This coming-of-age story takes readers through a tangled web of emotions, ruined careers, and past hurts mixed with young love, promise, death, and a curse. Echo after Echo will most appeal to readers who love theater, although it will also find an audience with those who enjoy romance. Readers gain a clear sense of the intense devotion the characters feel toward theater, but the story suffers from slow and uneven pacing. Zara and Eli are well formed, though, and the story is strongest as their friendship and romance develop. The portrayal of how Leopold, the director, wields the power of his brilliant artistic reputation is realistic and troubling in its believability. With the book’s dramatic tone, high emotions, and authentically flawed characters, teen readers will look past the length and irregular pacing and find a satisfying mystery and romance.—Cheryl French.