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Echoes of Us
High school seniors, Teagan and Emmaline, find themselves navigating an unfortunate living situation in the middle of the school year. Forced to live together due to unforeseen circumstances, the girls could not be more opposite. Teagan, raised by a mother struggling with addiction, has learned to fend for herself in a world that often seems stacked against her. Emmaline comes from a well-off religious household where she’s always had everything she ever wanted.
From the moment they meet, they clash. Their hatred is fueled by contrasting backgrounds and personalities. Teagan resents Emmaline for her easy life and holier-than-thou attitude. Emmaline dislikes Teagan because of her deep rooted prejudices and selfish idea of how her senior year should go. However, as they navigate the challenges of their meshed lives, their resentment slowly begins to unravel. Despite their initial hatred, Teagan and Emmaline find themselves drawn to each other in ways they never expected.
Caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, Emmaline must confront the realization that her growing feelings for Teagan defy everything she knows. Teagan must decide if Emmaline is worth losing the new life she has grown to love. “Echoes of Us” is a story of self-discovery, acceptance, and the power of love.
Join Teagan and Emmaline on their journey to challenge societal norms and explore the complexities of identity, faith, and fearing the loss of those you love.
From the moment they meet, they clash. Their hatred is fueled by contrasting backgrounds and personalities. Teagan resents Emmaline for her easy life and holier-than-thou attitude. Emmaline dislikes Teagan because of her deep rooted prejudices and selfish idea of how her senior year should go. However, as they navigate the challenges of their meshed lives, their resentment slowly begins to unravel. Despite their initial hatred, Teagan and Emmaline find themselves drawn to each other in ways they never expected.
Caught in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, Emmaline must confront the realization that her growing feelings for Teagan defy everything she knows. Teagan must decide if Emmaline is worth losing the new life she has grown to love. “Echoes of Us” is a story of self-discovery, acceptance, and the power of love.
Join Teagan and Emmaline on their journey to challenge societal norms and explore the complexities of identity, faith, and fearing the loss of those you love.
281 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2024
44 people are currently reading
220 people want to read
About the author
Madison Gould
1 book9 followersMadison Gould is an author with imposter syndrome. Born in Montgomery, AL, she grew up in the Bible Belt, which made her coming out journey more like a tightrope walk over a pit of fire. After nearly a decade in Government Affairs (yes, it’s as boring as it sounds), Madison stumbled upon an old high school writing prompt. Fast forward twenty-eight days, and voilà—a novel was born! Now living the good life in Orlando, FL, with her wife Maddie, their three dogs, and two cats, Madison enjoys going to the theme parks and drinking a nice glass of wine on Park Avenue. She’s already cooking up her next romance novel and a sapphic sci-fi series. Stay tuned—things are about to get interesting!
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 5, 2024
I wish it was longer
January 23, 2025
The character development, for all characters, not just the main characters, is meticulously planned and flawlessly executed. The storyline is captivating and entertaining throughout. The writing style is easy to follow, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
Despite the book's depiction of a difficult period in Tegan's life after her mother's passing, she is a truly remarkable character. I admired her intelligence and academic success, especially considering her humble background. Emmaline, positioned on the opposite end of the societal spectrum with her affluent associates and lavish lifestyle, is nonetheless a well-developed and engaging character. While her spoiled nature occasionally grated on my nerves, this highlights the author's ability to evoke a wide range of emotions.
I enjoyed the emotional depth of the book, and the development of Tegan and Emmaline's relationship was charming and heartwarming, especially later in the story. I appreciated that they initially disagreed, but as they came to know and understand each other better and grew as individuals, their eventual pairing felt entirely natural and satisfying.
While I don't typically read young adult literature, I found this book to be a delightful and engaging read. The characters were relatable, and I highly recommend it. I look forward to reading more from Madison in the future.
Star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating. 🔥
I received a review paperback copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Despite the book's depiction of a difficult period in Tegan's life after her mother's passing, she is a truly remarkable character. I admired her intelligence and academic success, especially considering her humble background. Emmaline, positioned on the opposite end of the societal spectrum with her affluent associates and lavish lifestyle, is nonetheless a well-developed and engaging character. While her spoiled nature occasionally grated on my nerves, this highlights the author's ability to evoke a wide range of emotions.
I enjoyed the emotional depth of the book, and the development of Tegan and Emmaline's relationship was charming and heartwarming, especially later in the story. I appreciated that they initially disagreed, but as they came to know and understand each other better and grew as individuals, their eventual pairing felt entirely natural and satisfying.
While I don't typically read young adult literature, I found this book to be a delightful and engaging read. The characters were relatable, and I highly recommend it. I look forward to reading more from Madison in the future.
Star rating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice rating. 🔥
I received a review paperback copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
March 26, 2025
Oh, this novel. What to say. My opinions on this novel changed considerably between the beginning and the ending. I take notes while reading and this novel left me with a considerable list of nitpicks and complaints. That said, the overall reading experience was absolutely delightful and by the end I can say I was definitely a fan. So instead of elaborating on what I just said for six paragraphs, I think ill mostly leave it at that.
This was an enjoyable novel that was incredibly easy to read and goes fast. It is not perfect by any means (reference to that list of nitpicks) but the overall experience was a good one and if the description sounds like the kind of novel you would enjoy, then you probably would. The positive attributes of this novel are big, and the negative ones are small.
This reads like a first novel, but like a surprisingly good first novel.
My Rating: “A-“
Converted Rating: 4-Stars
This was an enjoyable novel that was incredibly easy to read and goes fast. It is not perfect by any means (reference to that list of nitpicks) but the overall experience was a good one and if the description sounds like the kind of novel you would enjoy, then you probably would. The positive attributes of this novel are big, and the negative ones are small.
This reads like a first novel, but like a surprisingly good first novel.
My Rating: “A-“
Converted Rating: 4-Stars
March 27, 2025
This book was absolutely amazing! I was so hooked that I stayed up until 3 AM, unable to put it down. I just wish it had been longer—I wasn’t ready for it to end! For a debut novel, Madison completely nailed the storytelling. The plot, the characters, the emotions—everything was just so well done. I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
May 5, 2025
New author - really pulled me in. Well written and excellent story. Impressive.
November 29, 2025
(rounded up from 3.5)
This was enjoyable enough, but it does suffer from the one thing I hate with YA dialogue (a lack of contractions). As a result, most sentences sound like this: "I am sure he will want to come, so I will ask him tomorrow". Naturalistic dialogue for kids in the US without contractions sounds really unnatural and silly.
Anyway, I appreciate that we took our time establishing the main characters and their relationship, even though we kind of rushed past the end. Overall, enjoyable and not a bad YA sapphic romance.
This was enjoyable enough, but it does suffer from the one thing I hate with YA dialogue (a lack of contractions). As a result, most sentences sound like this: "I am sure he will want to come, so I will ask him tomorrow". Naturalistic dialogue for kids in the US without contractions sounds really unnatural and silly.
Anyway, I appreciate that we took our time establishing the main characters and their relationship, even though we kind of rushed past the end. Overall, enjoyable and not a bad YA sapphic romance.
September 6, 2024
Teagan is a teenage girl who moves in with her aunt after her mom dies. Her aunt’s husband is in the army and wants nothing to do with Teagan. He soon gets stationed in Japan and her aunt ends up asking the pastor at her church if he can help them find Teagan a home for the next 7 months (until she turns 18). Teagan moves in with the Briggs, a family of four. Their teenage daughter Emmaline has a hard time accepting Teagan and joins her friends, which makes her life at school and home difficult.
I felt so much empathy for Teagan. She seems thick-skinned, but she’s a sensitive character who struggles to adapt to her new life and to understand why Emmaline hates her so much. My heart would crush for her whenever I’d read about Emmaline being rude to her. I struggled to connect with Emmaline because of how difficult, disrespectful, and bratty she is towards Teagan.
Teagan went through many difficult times during her childhood and adolescence, but we learn that she does great in school, and plays the piano, giving her a promising future.
I’d say the book is a decent YA story. I’d recommend it to those thinking of coming out while growing up in a religious household/community.
I felt so much empathy for Teagan. She seems thick-skinned, but she’s a sensitive character who struggles to adapt to her new life and to understand why Emmaline hates her so much. My heart would crush for her whenever I’d read about Emmaline being rude to her. I struggled to connect with Emmaline because of how difficult, disrespectful, and bratty she is towards Teagan.
Teagan went through many difficult times during her childhood and adolescence, but we learn that she does great in school, and plays the piano, giving her a promising future.
I’d say the book is a decent YA story. I’d recommend it to those thinking of coming out while growing up in a religious household/community.
March 26, 2025
Such a sweet debut from this new author!
The cover alone had me hooked (I love that the art was inspired by the school from 10 Things I Hate About You—one of my all-time favorite ‘90s rom-coms!). But what really sealed the deal was that it’s a WLW romance. We definitely need more of this genre in literary fiction!
Echoes of Us is an emotional LGBTQ+ love story that beautifully captures the highs and lows of first love and self-discovery. The characters felt very real, and their journey was incredibly moving.
This was a heartfelt, coming-of-age story with authentic representation, and was worth the read.
The cover alone had me hooked (I love that the art was inspired by the school from 10 Things I Hate About You—one of my all-time favorite ‘90s rom-coms!). But what really sealed the deal was that it’s a WLW romance. We definitely need more of this genre in literary fiction!
Echoes of Us is an emotional LGBTQ+ love story that beautifully captures the highs and lows of first love and self-discovery. The characters felt very real, and their journey was incredibly moving.
This was a heartfelt, coming-of-age story with authentic representation, and was worth the read.
September 4, 2025
cute book!! a lot of the characters were likable (my favorite was Sean) and there were some very bad ones too.. haha
I feel like some storylines could have been wrapped up a bit better like the beef between Grace (soccer captain) and Emmaline. Also I feel there could have been some more scenes slowly developing emmaline and teagans relationship
But all that aside it was really enjoyable and I read it super fast! Impressive for a debut author!
Overall 3.5 or 3.75 ☆
I feel like some storylines could have been wrapped up a bit better like the beef between Grace (soccer captain) and Emmaline. Also I feel there could have been some more scenes slowly developing emmaline and teagans relationship
But all that aside it was really enjoyable and I read it super fast! Impressive for a debut author!
Overall 3.5 or 3.75 ☆
April 26, 2025
Echoes of Us brings together two dissimilar young women under less than ideal circumstances and turns the situation into a great story. Emotions run strong, occasionally bordering on melodrama, but the very slow growth of their relationship is an engaging read. There is a good supporting cast providing the reader with a more nuanced understanding of the main characters than is evident in their direct interactions. The epilogue encompasses many changes, not all of them well explained, but the tale does come to a very satisfying conclusion.
September 4, 2025
Good for a quick read
I am a sucker of enemies to lovers romance- now I would really like to give this a 4 stars because of the flow of the story, and the plot. But I think that the story could have been improved, in a way that you’ll feel the characters emotion. The development between Teagan, and Em could have been a bit longer. There’s something missing on this book but seriously this has a lot of potential if rewritten.
I am a sucker of enemies to lovers romance- now I would really like to give this a 4 stars because of the flow of the story, and the plot. But I think that the story could have been improved, in a way that you’ll feel the characters emotion. The development between Teagan, and Em could have been a bit longer. There’s something missing on this book but seriously this has a lot of potential if rewritten.
May 6, 2025
I love the storytelling and character development but the ending felt rushed.
August 23, 2024
This was a superb YA enemies to lovers kind of story. Sometimes I get frustrated when the enemies phase ends after a minute and a half and… that definitely wasn’t the case here! It was kind of wonderful to see the two so at odds while oh-so-slowly realizing there was something wrong with how they were treating each other and something more to the other person than they realized. The timing of the whole thing really worked well for me: not too fast, not too slow, just right.
That said, go in with your eyes open: after the first few chapters, I wrote a note to my reading buddy saying: “OK, actually *everybody* in this book is a jerk! 😂 Honestly, it makes me really look forward to how the author is going to turn some of them around. I feel like it’s either going to be an epic fail, or really cool and moving.”
Well… it was really cool and moving! I mean, there were some characters I still wanted to smack at the end (you know who you are), but I suppose that’s as it should be. It was so, so rewarding to see Teagan and Emmaline come around, along with Sean and some of Emmaline’s friends… not to mention EJ who was there for them all along (rock on, EJ!).
All in all, a very impressive debut. I also can’t help but be excited that, according to the author bio, there’s a sci-fi series coming. Woo-hoo! :)
That said, go in with your eyes open: after the first few chapters, I wrote a note to my reading buddy saying: “OK, actually *everybody* in this book is a jerk! 😂 Honestly, it makes me really look forward to how the author is going to turn some of them around. I feel like it’s either going to be an epic fail, or really cool and moving.”
Well… it was really cool and moving! I mean, there were some characters I still wanted to smack at the end (you know who you are), but I suppose that’s as it should be. It was so, so rewarding to see Teagan and Emmaline come around, along with Sean and some of Emmaline’s friends… not to mention EJ who was there for them all along (rock on, EJ!).
All in all, a very impressive debut. I also can’t help but be excited that, according to the author bio, there’s a sci-fi series coming. Woo-hoo! :)
September 3, 2024
Madison Gould’s Echoes of Us is a fun read for fans of young adult dramas akin to Riverdale and Never Have I Ever. This novel perfectly captures the essence of teenage angst and romance with a great perspective on LGBTQ+ love stories.
The story revolves around two main characters who are strikingly different, adding depth and dynamism to the narrative. Their contrasting personalities create interesting (and sometimes wild!) interactions that drive the plot forward and keep readers hooked. The chemistry between these characters is palpable, making their enemies to lovers compelling and heartwarming.
What truly sets Echoes of Us apart is its captivating love story. Gould masterfully crafts a romance that unfolds slowly, allowing readers to fall in love with the characters just as the protagonists do. This gradual development makes the emotional payoff all the more satisfying.
A standout aspect for me was the character arc of Emmaline. Initially, I found her quite unlikable, but as the story progressed, my perception shifted—mirroring the journey of Teagan, who also learns to appreciate Emmaline's complexities. This dynamic adds a layer of authenticity to the narrative, highlighting Gould’s skill in creating multidimensional characters.
Overall, Echoes of Us is a five-star gem blending engaging drama, romance, and character development. It’s a must-read for anyone who enjoys well-crafted young adult LGBTQ+ romance with relatable characters and an irresistible love story.
The story revolves around two main characters who are strikingly different, adding depth and dynamism to the narrative. Their contrasting personalities create interesting (and sometimes wild!) interactions that drive the plot forward and keep readers hooked. The chemistry between these characters is palpable, making their enemies to lovers compelling and heartwarming.
What truly sets Echoes of Us apart is its captivating love story. Gould masterfully crafts a romance that unfolds slowly, allowing readers to fall in love with the characters just as the protagonists do. This gradual development makes the emotional payoff all the more satisfying.
A standout aspect for me was the character arc of Emmaline. Initially, I found her quite unlikable, but as the story progressed, my perception shifted—mirroring the journey of Teagan, who also learns to appreciate Emmaline's complexities. This dynamic adds a layer of authenticity to the narrative, highlighting Gould’s skill in creating multidimensional characters.
Overall, Echoes of Us is a five-star gem blending engaging drama, romance, and character development. It’s a must-read for anyone who enjoys well-crafted young adult LGBTQ+ romance with relatable characters and an irresistible love story.
August 14, 2025
Oh, Teagan, my girl! I love her so much an wish her all the best of the world! Em on the other hand... The first half of the book I was so annoyed by Em's behaviour... She was just a Mean Girl and took quite some time to pull herself together and be more empathetic... It took more time than I thought, but she got there. I am very happy that she has the dad and brother and friends that she has, but I truly wonder why her parents are still married!
The book ended quite abruptly and I hoped the whole having-to-live-with-your-religious-and-homophobic-mom topic would have been worked through in more detail
The book ended quite abruptly and I hoped the whole having-to-live-with-your-religious-and-homophobic-mom topic would have been worked through in more detail
June 22, 2025
It was okay. I think that I wasn’t ready for the writing to be as low level as it was. I’ve been reading more adult books with higher maturity in the writing, not content, but writing. I just feel like the characters didn’t get a chance to develop it was like an overnight shift and the side characters were basically non existent 90% of the time. Teagan’s found family trope kept me going and I fell in love with her character but it was hard to feel anything for Emmaline when there wasn’t much to her.
September 26, 2025
Madison Gould does an incredible job balancing heartbreak with hope, showing how two people from such different worlds can collide and still find something worth holding onto. The characters feel real, their struggles are deeply relatable, and the slow unraveling of their connection is nothing short of breathtaking.
September 7, 2024
This was a very enjoyable read. It definitely spoke to my adolescent self, that's for sure. I do think there was a few pacing issues, the ending felt a bit rushed (to be absolutely fair it's very difficult to stick the landing). There also was a few things that happened that I think should've been addressed, that kind of just got glossed over. Other than that though I really loved the premise and the story.
November 21, 2024
A very sweet teenage romance. I loved Emmaline's character development in particular (though I did spend the first part of the book internally cussing her out lol).
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews