First

by Kim Pritekel

Emily Thomas is a successful New York attorney who enjoys a happy homelife with her beautiful partner. Beth Sayers was the childhood best friend with whom she shared big dreams as they grew up in Pueblo, Colorado. Inseparable by age nine, together they learned about life, each other, themselves, and most importantly love.

When Emily hears of Beth's death at the age of 34, after more than a decade of estrangement, she must piece together her tumultuous past and come to terms with the defining relationship in her life. Why had her friendship with Beth deteriorated and what part of herself had she lost with it?

First is Emily's journey back to Colorado, back to her childhood, and back to face the ghost of a woman who had captured her heart and never really let it go.

Genres: Lesbian

190 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2006

About the author

Kim Pritekel is a published author living in Denver, Colorado. She is also a very popular online author of many novels, novellas and short stories. She is the Royal Academy of Bards 2005 Hall of Fame Author.
Her love of writing began at age 9, and she wrote her first novel at age 12, wishing to follow in the footsteps of childhood idol, S.E. Hinton. She was published for the first time at age 24 with her novel, First.
Kim has followed her dreams right into the film industry, writing screenplays for production companies in Los Angeles, as well as for her own production company, Asp Films with business partner, Kelly Neal. Their first feature film, Self Portrait – written, directed and co-produced by Kim – premiered in Denver in June of 2013.
She enjoys spending time with her family, friends and her beloved cats. She is always adding to her ever-growing collection of swords and historic memorabilia. She is a huge fan of music, including musical theater. The "musical" love of her life is Sarah Brightman, who she tosses a mention of in every book she can.
Kim is a writing machine, so come back often to see what she's working on next!

Reviews

[Lady Avalon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - not a full 5 stars because of the flashbacks being "confusing" sometimes. More than once I had to start reading the same paragraph again to be sure whether it was in the past or in the present. She jumped back and forth with no "warning" at all, and sometimes it was kind of confusing.

Other than that... What an emotional journey! It made me cry, it made think and raw feelings were resurfaced. If you are looking for a HEA, this is not your book... however, it's certainly worth reading it.

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very contentious between MC's. Twin story lines in two different time periods. *Extremely* difficult to differentiate switching between them. Insanely distracting. Not even an *** to tip the reader off that it's switched. Sometimes after only a few paragraphs. It's a pretty painful book. Kinda not fun.

[Jo reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fecking brilliant!

Lots of flash backs but such a good book if you can get past them.
I've never come across the story line in any other books, and it is so sad in parts and leaves you with raw emotions.. and all I kept whispering under my breath 'oh for fuck sake, will you just kiss her'.

[Bib · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Pritekel’s earlier works, I find myself favouring her earlier works. I knew there is death in this book, and have been sitting on it for years. First is a story about first love, growing pains, missed opportunities, loss and love again.
I agree with other readers that the writing can be confusing, jumping back and forth between past and present. But I applaud Pritekel’s creativity and guts in approaching the story in such a way. A book which i won’t easily forget.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though the book is filled with flashbacks I found for the most part they were well done and not confusing. Only a couple times I had to stop and think..ok what time frame are we in. I should take a star off for keeping me up till way past my sleep time and then waking up early to finish it.

[Dide · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first completed book in 2019 🥂.
This is an emotionally laden story from beginning to end, it almost feels like a true life tale. That said, many times I confused Rebecca with Beth... Perhaps it is the way the story was written or perhaps the two names seemed to alike for me mentally hence the confusion.
Anyways, I anticipated that this was going to be close to earning a 4star rating from the reviews but it came across to me as 3.5

[Milkiways · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perfect fan fiction turned novel. Can't say what exactly wrong with it perhaps, typical storyline or unrealistic scenes...hmm.. don't know. Definitely entertaining if you are looking for something simple and lots of feel good romance :)

2.5/5

[Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of books, but they tend to be set in places like Chicago, San Francisco, New York City, Europe, or somewhere in Great Britain and Ireland. I have read more books set in New Delhi or Greenland than what I've read set in my own hometown. So, it was an interesting experience reading a book set in Pueblo, Colorado. I would not say this book is the best I've read, though it was pretty good, but it sticks out in my reading for being so local without making a big deal of the fact. I thought a bit about the experience of colonialism in literature while reading this book, and how easy it is to think one's hometown and local experiences are boring and not worth examination when literature is ALWAYS about someplace else. The fact that so many Americans come from families that emigrated from somewhere else maybe means that we are a nation colonized by the rest of the world, absorbing everyone else's stories while discounting our own lived stories as unimportant by comparison. In any case, this book was good, a story about a lesbian woman who returns to Pueblo to bury her childhood best friend. It deals with issues of identity, loss, and the nature of various sorts of relationships.

[Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily and Beth, two very different people that made me think about my friends and how they impact my life. My need to have some friends in my life more than others. Most importantly, it made me think about my life partner and why she is a part of my life and how blessed and fortunate I am. This story is sad yet reflective. Rebecca is steady and awesome.

[SpritetheRight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty emotional but not really depressing at least not to me.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I cried through the entire thing. I thought the flashbacks were told perfectly and found them easy to understand. I also thought they were realistic because memories can overwhelm us, and our brain flitters between past and present. Man, such a beautiful story, one that will stick with me for a long time.

[Ann Vik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the book, it's style, pace (I didn't even want to skip any pages 😀). I thought that "first" was Beth for Emily, but it turned out to be the opposite... The story is pretty sad! Epilogue brought a lump to my throat, but there were no tears – would there have been more details (after all, want to "Leave. Flee. Run." is not a reason convincing enough), the things might've been different.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal! So sad. Still crying.

[Silvia Jasom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will always stay with me, in my mind, in my heart. I never ever cry after watching or reading a sad story. Nobody close to my heart has ever died or left me, either. Yet I cannot find the words to express my feelings after having finished reading it. Man, you got to me. A huge thank you to the author. Love, Silvia.

[Ulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was very hard for me to read - so tragic!

[Dingsters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-wrenching! Loved it!

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional!