First Echo
Rebecca A. Jackson
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars
3.67
· Steam/Spice level: 3 of 5
Open door [?]
· 11 ratings · 278 pages · Published: 18 Apr 2025

When perfectionist Brooke Winters reluctantly agrees to tutor popular girl Madeline Hayes in chemistry, she expects nothing but frustration. Madeline represents everything Brooke avoids—superficial popularity, social politics, and the emotional messiness of getting close to others. Since losing her mother to cancer four years ago, Brooke has kept everyone at a distance, finding safety in solitude.
Madeline Hayes has her life perfectly arranged—popular friends, handsome boyfriend, and the carefully cultivated image everyone expects from her. But beneath her confident exterior lies uncertainty and a growing awareness that the person she pretends to be isn't who she really is.
When they go on a senior ski trip with school and end up sharing a room, their carefully constructed walls begin to crumble. Between snowboard lessons, quiet conversations, and moments of unexpected vulnerability, Brooke and Madeline discover a connection neither was looking for—one that challenges everything they thought they knew about themselves and each other.
First Echo is a lyrical, heart-stirring story about grief, identity, and the exhilarating terror of allowing yourself to be truly seen. With authentic characters and emotionally resonant prose, it explores how the most meaningful connections often come from the least expected places—and how sometimes, finding yourself means finding the courage to let someone else in.
Tagged as:
- lesbian romance 2
- queer romance 2
- contemporary 1
- young adult 1
- queer awakening 1
- class difference 1
- forced proximity 1
- cheating 1
- sports 1
- sassy heroine 1
- independent heroine 1
- take-charge heroine 1
- Add topics
- content warnings
- death / grief 1
- Format
- first person pov 1
- dual pov 1