REVIEW
cw: trauma, parental abandonment, death, mentions of DV and alcoholism, depression

Robbie and Jenn are meant to be together. After eight months apart, they've reconciled their five year relationship. But just as they're close to home, a head-on collision has other plans. Suddenly Robbie finds himself thrown back into Jenn's past, watching moments from her memories.

Wow. This was such a powerful book, with a concept unlike any I've read before. There was very little preamble. We start the book as the RTA is just about to happen, and then the memories begin, slowly revealing Robbie and Jenn's history, as well as Jenn's childhood, both from Robbie's POV as an observer to her memories, and through Jenn's own POV.
These were two people who couldn't have been more different. They were both heartbreakingly, humanly flawed in their own ways, their love story beautiful and poignant in equal measure. I thought Jenn's difficult teenage years were so well-observed, and laid the foundations for the serious, responsible person she became. But I loved how fun-loving (and yes, sometimes irresponsible) Robbie was able to spark some joy into her life. The way my emotions went from wanting to hug Robbie one moment, then wanting to slap him, and back again, was a testament to the author's skills at writing such a complex, flawed, but ultimately lovable and charasmatic character. I loved the development of his character as the story progressed and the 'faraways' were so well-incorporated, and beautifully poignant.
There were some wonderful supporting characters. I loved Hilary and Chris. Duncan was such a good man and I really felt for him. I also loved Robbie's family. But, the ways this book made me cry. My goodness! I lost count of how many tissues I went through. The entire third act had me crying, wiping away the tears, and crying again. I completely lost it over chapter forty-two. Seriously. This was the first book I've read since I read The Red Wedding in ASOIAF that I would have put in the freezer had it not been an eARC (obscure 'Friends' reference there but if you know, you know). I consider that one of my highest compliments, and I'll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Heat Rating:. 5

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. Echoes of Us is published today in the UK*

(Stock up on tissues and fluids. You'll need to hydrate after this book)

Favourite Quotes:

She made me want to think about the future because, for the first time in my life, someone really believed in that future. Believed in me.

...she feels him somehow, here in this place beside her, as though the steps he took before her all those years ago are still in the soil. As though he’s standing right beside her.

I never really thought about it before, how brief life is. How it can be there one moment, and gone the next. Just like that.

Unless you ask the people you love questions when you have the chance, the information goes – just like that.

It’s odd watching myself from only yesterday. I look exactly the same, but I feel so different to this guy sitting in front of me. It’s amazing how much can change in the blink of an eye.

...it’s not about the length of time we get on this planet – it’s about what we do while we’re here.

She’s always tried and tried and tried to please everyone else.
And she needs to stop.
She needs to love herself.

This story will stay with me for a long, long time. Beautifully written, witty, engaging and desperately romantic, this is the story of Jenn and Robbie’s relationship, how they met, their family and friends, their split and reunion.

Jenn and Robbie reunite after 8 months apart and it’s amazing but the tragedy strikes and Robbie has to make some changes so that he can put things right. The problem is, he only has seconds to make those changes and he’s thrown into the most difficult of situations, a life and death one.

This is an incredible story and I can’t wait to read more from Emma Steele.

This will stop your heart. Read it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early reader copy.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 4*
Writing skill : 4*
Plot: 4*
Pace: 3*
Characters: 4*

I was torn whether this was a 3* or a 4* and right up until the last 10% I was more swaying towards 3. The timelines were a bit weird for me, I wasn't sure the jumping around was necessary, couldn't we just see it in chronological order? But since finishing I understand why the author did it the way she did. Its a hard story to review without spoilers, but the character progression in this book was phenomenal. Robbie grated on me the whole way, until the very end, but when a character comes full circle praise is needed.
I would say this will be a massive hit for fans of One Day. Bring tissues.

Wow. I just loved this book from the beginning. Jenny/Jenn meets Robbie at a crucial point in her life, just as she is offered her dream job in Australia. Jenn decides not to go, knowing that Robbie is someone special. The book flips throughout the book from Jenny’s early childhood memories, through school and her teenage years, university, medical training and through to current day. The book is basically Jenn’s life flashing before Robbie’s eyes! Through these flashbacks Robbie realises the mistakes he made and how he may have a chance to make up for them as he realises, almost too late, that Jenn is the only one for him.

I went through almost every emotion reading this book, joy, happiness, anger, fear and contentment.

Before you dive into this one make sure you have plenty of tissues!!!!
Following the car accident, Jenn’s life flashes before Robbie’s eyes and he becomes desperate to prevent the accident and uncover Jenn’s secret, believing it holds the key to changing their fate.
A truly stunning debut novel will make you think about the choices you make and the truths you keep hidden.
The perfect read for lovers of romantic reads with a sprinkling of supernatural suspense.

Be prepared for tears of joy and heartache as you read the story of Robbie and Jenn.

The story begins with the couple reuniting after some time apart. There's something Jenn needs to tell Robbie, but before she can, they're involved in an accident. From that moment on, we move back and forward in time as Robbie watches pivotal moments in Jenn's life. He sees the things she never shared and he also sees how he treated her.

He's desperate to prevent the accident and to find out what Jenn needed to tell him, believing that might be the key to changing the outcome.

No spoilers for the ending, but I will say grab your tissues.

This was not a cheesy romance (which I also love so not knocking a cheesy love story). This romance was messy and real and imperfect. It was moving and devastating as we learned more about Jenn's early life and why her father left.

Ultimately, The Echoes of Us is a story that reminds us to share our feelings and thoughts, to live and make memories while we can and to love deeply.

This is one of those books that stays with you. It's very thought-provoking romantic read that moves through different timelines. You might need tissues with this book.

The Echoes of Us is one of those books with a premise I can’t stop thinking about, and an ending that has stuck in my head since I finished it. It’s reminiscent of books like The Time Traveller’s Wife and The Sight of You, both in its ideas and execution, and packs a real emotional punch that’s hard to forget.

I love books that pose the question ‘what if?’, and The Echoes of Us is definitely one of those. Told mostly in flashbacks, it’s the story of Robbie and Jenn, and their love story over the years. The twist is that Robbie is living through Jenn’s memories, thanks to a truck hurtling towards their car in real time, and seemingly has to change the past in order to alter the present and the future. Can he do it? That, dear reader, you will have to find out.

I really like realistic characters with visible emotional flaws, a category that both Robbie and Jenn fit into. Their life may look perfect from the outside, but it’s the complete opposite. They have doubts and insecurities, and though they love each other, sometimes it just doesn’t seem like enough. Seeing someone’s memories from their perspective is a fantastic way of holding yourself accountable, and this was my favourite part of the whole book — it’s eye-opening and refreshing, and I was left wondering whether it’s something I would ever like to be in a position to do.

The Echoes of Us is a thought-provoking, epic love story that will appeal to readers of all genres. It perfectly captures the complicated nuances of a long-term relationship, and how one moment or decision really can change someone’s life. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I’m already looking forward to Emma Steele’s next book. If it’s as good as this, we are in for a treat!

The premise of this sounded amazing, and time travel is always a good trope if it's done well. Unfortunately the timings were almost too disjointed - half the time I was trying to figure out if the new time period was chldhood/adolescence/adulthood, which took me out of the emotions of the story quite a lot I also was hoping for more of an answer at the end, but that might just be personal preference..

A romantic read that some will love but I found the jumping around of time periods meant I wasn’t engaged enough in the characters to be fully immersed. For me it was a nice read, not a great read.

I was so intrigued by the concept of this book and was really looking forward to discovering what was going on, unfortunately I was left disappointed. I found the constantly changing timelines very confusing and disjointed and I found myself skipping over paragraphs to get to the end rather than enjoying the experience. Sadly not a book for me.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

What a totally unexpected story, not in any way the usual 'romcom'. I found the intensity and the constant switching of times a little difficult, but have to admire the writing. Yes, heartbreaking, especially the end, yes intense, but unforgettable also. Thank you for the chance to read this book.

Well, that was a gut punch of a love story! Echoes of Us shows us the story of Jenn and Robbie through Jenn’s memories as her life flashes before her eyes, as a truck hurtles towards their car. Robbie is also a spectator of her memories, and we see her memories from both Jenn’s and his POV.

Robbie is hard to like in certain moments of the book, and his internal monologue got quite repetitive. Safe to say, he redeems himself. It really gets into the suspense throughout the second half of the book, when Robbie is trying to discover a secret that Jenn started to tell him in the car. The build up towards those last few pages was excellent, I couldn’t read it quickly enough!

A really unique read with an emotional build up, resulting in a bittersweet ending. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I’d like to thank Headline and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Echoes Of Us’ written by Emma Steele in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Robbie and Jenn meet up again after being apart for eight months but whilst driving home they’re faced with a truck hurtling towards them from the opposite direction.

I was really looking forward to reading ‘The Echoes Of Us’ as I like discovering new authors especially if the novel is described as a captivating love story that always grabs my attention. From the first page I became thoroughly confused by the timeline jumping from 2019 to 1999, 2014 to 2001 in just a matter of pages. I wasn’t enamoured enough by the characters to want to finish the book and find out what happened to them, which is a rare occurrence for me. From reading other reviews it’s apparent that I’m in the minority but this is my own opinion and I can see it appeals to others. I hope readers will give it a try and enjoy it more than I did.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

What an amazing debut book by Emma Steele. I absolutely loved reading it.

The story was heartbreaking, with lots of chemistry.

So beautifully written, and fabulous plots, a story that will stay with you a long time.

I highly recommend this book.

Gorgeously romantic, funny, heartwarming and ultimately, a devastating supernatural tearjerker.. Echoes of Us reminded me of One Day and The Lakehouse, I loved Jenn and Robbie so much, the only thing I struggled with was the back and forth between time periods, I got a bit confused here and there. I can’t wait to read more from Emma Steele, because I adored this.

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the chance to read this ARC, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy of this book.

Phewww, a very emotional read. I couldn't put it down, was racing my way through to see what happened. Loved it, cried, would read again.

Robbie and Jenn have just got back together after 8 months apart. Jenn left suddenly and has just a suddenly reappeared in Robbie;s life. They are driving when a truck appears out of nowhere and Jenn's life starts to flash before her. But Robbie can see it too and starts to realise things haven;t always been as they seemed.

For me this was very similar to David Nicholl's One Day. The idiot boyfriend,, the woman who's looking for more. I enjoyed it but it didn't have the spark that made me go wow. Perhaps it was because it seemed too familiar, perhaps because I figured out early on what was happening, I'm not sure.

It was well written and easy to follow and I'm sure there will be many people who will love it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. 3.5 stars

This is a beautiful debut novel told over different time lines and the two main characters perspectives. A poignant story of love, secrets, grief and what it’s like to see your life flashing before your eyes.

I appreciated how the author also highlighted and discussed the condition Huntington's disease as this is an illness which is not often talked about and I found these descriptions relatable having a friend who lost her mum to this terrible disease

Very excited for this one as I loved The Man I Never Met. So excited to read Emma Steels work and share my thoughts. Will be sharing a full review and thoughts very soon. This would make an excellent book club pick or movie.