This was a beautiful friends to lovers romance with a love that transcends time. It starts in present day with Summer and her grappling with the life changing decision she has made, however, Echo is the one who is there to help her piece herself back together and then we see a glimpse into the past to learn how they became best friends. The back and forth between past and present day actually adds another layer to the book because it keeps you engaged and wanting to see what caused them to not talk for so many years. Through it all you get to understand their history and what went awry. I liked that Echo knew it was always Summer for him and even after all the time that has passed it would always be her for him. Even though he felt this way he still wanted to respect her wishes and giver her space to figure things out for herself. He applied some pressure but not too much because he knew her so well he knew how she would react. Summer knew deep down Echo was the one for her too but she just had to come around to that realization.

Summer's character was very relatable as a teenager and even as an adult because things that she experienced in the book both girls and women have gone through before so it was nice to see her character written in that way. The parents played a part in their "friendship/relationship" as well because they always wanted what was best for their child even if it wasn't the best decision to be made which was also very realistic. This book was definitely a slow burn and not too heavy on the spice but a nice love story overall and I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Black Odyssey Media for this ARC in exchange for my honest review,

A tender, sun‑drenched romance with just the right amount of ache, Summer’s Echo feels like slipping into a memory you’re not ready to let go of. Robbi Renee’s writing is crisp and melodic, painting small moments—shared glances, quiet confessions—with a warmth that lingers. The characters feel lived‑in and layered, carrying heartbreak and hope in equal measure. It’s a short read, but the emotional resonance is deep; a perfect pick if you want something heartfelt, poetic, and quietly powerful.

Summer’s Echo was such a sweet and heartfelt friends-to-lovers, coming-of-age, second-chance story! Robbi Renee does an incredible job of making you feel every emotion throughout the journey. It’s a slow burn, but so worth it since time and space were essential for the healing both characters needed.

I absolutely adored the way Echo loved Summer. He always knew what he wanted but also respected Summer’s need to work through her situation at her own pace.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you're a fan of second-chance romances and friends-to-lovers tropes. It will tug at your heartstrings in all the best ways!

Thank you, NetGalley and Black Odyssey Media, for the e-ARC.

Summer’s Echo by Robbi Renee
Rating: 4.5⭐️
Pub Date: July 29, 2025

This book was one of my favorite Slow burn friends to lovers books Ive read so far this year. I will never forget Summer and Echos love story.

Firstly, thank you so much to NetGalley and my faves, Black Odsessy Media (the publisher) for this e-ARC. Honestly, I devoured this book! Summer and Echo have been through literally so much! I did not go into the story really expecting much like I read the synopsis, but I didn’t really know how it was going to unfold! This is my first read Robbi Renee and definitely will not be my last!

One sentence summary - Summer and Echo as teenagers shared the most magical summer together, and from there their lives have been intertwined, however, when they come crash landing and back into each other, they are forced to reconcile both their complicated past and present. 4.5 out of 5, rounded up!

The best way that I can describe this book is tender, and deeply intimate. As we follow Echo and Summer's story - all I kept thinking was some people are MEANT TO BE TOGETHER, no matter what. This book was told both in the past and in the present and so you have to really pay attention to where in the timeline you are, however, it was so well done that it didn’t even feel disjointed or complicated to me! It just flowed as like questions in the present, would be answered via the past. Above all Summer and Echo, we’re just teenagers trying to figure out being in a relationship and these sweet babies had their entire world shifted upside down when they came together. But like in a beautiful, love- enriching way.

I would recommend this book to people who love very dynamic and complicated main characters, folks who enjoy a best friend to lovers story or those who really enjoy second chance romances, people who enjoy stories with emotional depth of an ocean, and girlies who love a love story with DRAMA!

Summer’s Echo by Robbi Renee - ARC review
Release date: July 29th
4,75⭐

What a book! What a story!🤎

Robbi tells us the story of Summer and Echo in the present and in the past.
From friends to lovers, slow burn, second chance with secrets and overwhelming feelings mixed in, these two young people at 18 already have a lot of baggage.

It's a story of personal growth, unconditional love, struggle, anguish and the secrets that bind.
I was taken aback by the direction of the narrative.

It was my first book by this author. But it certainly won't be my last. Her emotional writing held me from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Favourite quotes:
“And together, we cried, our sobs blending into the most devastating, harmonic melody, a sorrowful lullaby that only we would ever sing.”
“’But if you walk away … (…) Don’t do it because you’re scared. Do it because you’re sure’.”
“’Baby, love ain’t supposed to be perfect. It ain’t always neat and convenient. But real love?’ (…) ‘Real love has a way of making you face yourself. Face your fears. And I think Echo ha been doing that to you since the moment you laid eyes on him.’”

"I was never Summer to him, but instead his Sunshine, his Sun, and him? He was Mine-Summer's Echo"

A beautiful story. Wrapping you in from the first page. Reading this gives you so much nostalgia. Takes you back to the first time you fell in love. The first kiss, the touch, and flutter of butterflies. It also takes you back to your first heartbreak. The first time you had to make a decision that would change your path.

Here we meet Summer and Echo in present day. She's a runaway bride. Trying to hide from herself and feelings only she can't hide from him. There is no place she can hide from Echo.

From present day we are pushed back to the past to the summer that changed everything for them. This is a slow burn and in parts a coming of age because most of our time is spent in the past watching them fall.

I wish we would have gotten more present day. Especially Echo's side. Learning more about how the decisions made that summer impacted them as adults. This was a slow burn the author takes her time wrapping this love around you and when you make it to the end its hard to close the book because you want to explore more!

**⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Poignant, Bittersweet, and Brimming with Longing**

*Summer’s Echo* delivers a heart-tugging journey through memory, missed chances, and the enduring power of first love. Summer Knight and Echo Abara’s story unfolds with emotional depth, tracing the quiet ache of unspoken feelings born under campfire skies and golden afternoons. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and their reunion years later brims with tension, nostalgia, and just the right amount of hope.

What sets this novel apart is its careful unraveling of the past—layer by layer, the reader is drawn into the emotional complexity of a secret that fractured more than just a budding romance. The author excels at capturing the awkward grace of reconnection, the fear of vulnerability, and the way time doesn’t always soften the sharp edges of regret.

This was such a great summer romance. I can’t wait for the pub day.

First, I just want to take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous cover, I'm obsessed.

Now, I love an emotionally devastating book and this was no exception. These two made me feel so many things that I don't even know what to say. Summer and Echo have a bond that is written in the stars. They've spent so much time apart but their feelings have never once gone away. The year they spent together just outweighs anything else.

I love that the book begins with her not even going to her wedding, no offense to that man but she was never going to marry you. When we get the flashback of Echo describing Summer's perfect proposal and it's the opposite of what she got, I ate that up. Even after all these years Echo knows Summer better than anyone else.

The fact that Echo wasn't even going to go to the wedding but decided he had to be there for his best friend, I'm in love. Did she maybe hop into bed(literally) with Echo the same day of her wedding, yeah, but everyone knew that they were inevitable. Their love is just so strong and I need more about their future.

When they were kids they fell in love so hard even though they barely acknowledged it. They were so inseparable and were so afraid things would change if they admitted what was between them. It's a huge part of their journey but it so sad what happened when they did admit they loved each other. The flashbacks to when they were teenagers were some of my favorite parts of the story.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Robbi Renee does it again! One thing she's gonna do is write some romance! I loved this story so much its so hot, romantic, and sexy! 10/10 would recommend! Thank you to Robbi Renee, Black Odyssey Media, and NetGalley for providing us this ARC.

Summer Knight and Echo Abara met at a summer camp when they were co-counselors in the art department. Years (decades!) later, Summer has fled her wedding to a man who's good on paper. Knowing she is without allies, she heads to the camp once again to collect herself. Having never forgotten her, Echo knows where Summer will retreat when in a crisis. The two meet again, and all of their past is resurfaced and confronted.

I love a second-chance romance, and I loved the central idea that we cannot escape our past. I was eager to love this book, but I found myself pulled out of the narrative for several reasons. First, the author uses a dual timeline along with dual perspectives. The jumping through times and perspectives is frequent and often jarring. It appears that many other readers were able to follow this narrative choice without feeling too disconnected from the central love story, but for me, this wasn't easy. In addition to the sequencing issues, there are some unfortunate anachronisms, such as the supposed existence of iPads in 2004. I normally don't hone in on details like this, but in this case, it caused me to lose my connection to the love story.

Clearly, this is a meaningful and powerful book for other readers, and my age (midlife) and culture may possibly prevent me from a robust appreciation. I love black romances generally, and I hope to elevate writers such as Renee, as she offers an important voice. I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity!

i cannot say enough about this book. and sometimes i dont even want to write a review because lets face it, im not the best, and i dont want to ruin just how blooming brilliant this book is by a shoddy review.
Summer and Echo were like summers in my heart that echoed throughout my soul. they meet at summer camp. they fall. and yes we berrrrlieeeeve it even back then. but life happened, with a few more bits mixed it that meant they went different directions. but then different directions later in life bought them back together. and here they are. here we all are ladies and gentleman and arent we just glad for it!
read other people reviews. im gushing far too much for this one and blushing too. because i was in love with the characters. in love with the book. and in love with everything. every sentence and every word was chosen perfection.
loved this. if someone wants to gift me this book so i can have it forever id be more than happy with that.
when books like this come along i almost get emotional. because they are just so good and they mean something to you. they truly do. and it reminds me and once again blows me away that we have talent like this amongst us. and how we are so lucky that they are sharing it.

I enjoyed this book about Echo and Summer and their journey. These two were ment to be together but life had other plans for them. Teenage bestfriends who met at summer camp, turned lovers, forced to separate by the parents so they had to move on. Summer decided life would be better settling for a man whom she cared for but never truly loved like she loved Echo. Echo and Summer's love is timeless

Two things I love in a book - two POV and two timelines. I loved that we got the past, Summer and Echo at Summer Camp, and the present day. I loved the story being told from both characters' perspectives. It get’s right into the drama, from the beginning, you are pulled in. LOVE THAT! It is one of those books where you can visualize every single scene, and those are my favorite. Not only was the book romantic, but it felt real and relatable, something you could have gone through. It has the predictable romance elements but also some twists and turns that keep you guessing. I really enjoyed this book, my first by the author but won’t be my last.

Rating: 4.25

This is how you write a love story! Wow, this has me had me hooked from the beginning. I loved how the author went back and forth between the two main characters and showing the growth between them individually and together. The characters being my age in the book made it even better and so easy to reminisce with, especially detailing the clothes and events. The story isn’t too short or too long which also helps with it being a good and fun read. I recommend everyone add Summer’s Echo to their summer reading list.

📚A slow burn second chance romance.
That met in the Summer, and succumbed to the Echos of the past. Although I found the show burden a bit slower than I liked, I read Robbi Rebee's story came to life; I wanted to keep reading; I becamr committed to seeing how Summer and Echo's story ended. The FMC and MMC held on to find memories of their past together, as they navigated their future and all the possibilities it held.
The second chance romances, I have read were those where there was pain and turmoil of some sort at the hand of the other. The presentation of the second chance offered in Summer's Echo was refreshing.

Thank you Netgalley and Robbi Renee for the opportunity to review Summer's Echo.

Overall: 5/5
Spice level: 1.5/5
Tropes: slow burn, best friends to lovers, second chance

This most assuredly will not be my last Robbi Renee book! The slow best friends to lovers storyline made me the think of All I've Wanted, All I've Needed by AE Valdez.

The slow burn building to their fiery, explosive HEA had you rooting for their second chance the whole time.

I absolutely adored how their friendship laid the foundation for their romance. The evolution felt beautifully inevitable.

Even the flashback scenes to their teen years had this cute banter-y chemistry about it. The way boys and girls tease each other...

Summer and Echo are easily one of my favorite book couples for 2025 so far! This book is filled with so much build up and emotion, along with themes of familial closeness. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

“Love, when its real, has a way of finding you no matter how far or fast you run.”

The first half of this book had me SAT. I loved the writing. How it drew you into Echo & Summer’s love story. It was so cute. But eventually the story dragged. But in the end, I loved their story

Perfect summer read! This book swept me away from the dramatic start. Excellent writing, beautifully complex characters, and a realistic, if complicated, second chance at love. Definitely will make you reminisce on teenage love and asks the question of if that love can endure. A little heavier than most summer reads, but in a dramatic way, not in a sad/depressing way.

🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
Huge thanks to NetGalley for the ebook!

This one’s a slow burn in the best way. Summer and Echo meet at camp the summer before senior year of high school, and from the second Echo sees her, he knows that’s his girl. Summer doesn’t exactly fall right away, but their connection builds into something real.
The story flips between past and present showing how they went from inseparable best friends to losing touch for 15 years only to find their way back to each other. And when they reconnect…just wow! It gave chemistry, history, and all the feels.
I loved the way their love story unfolded. It felt deep, emotional, and so worth the wait. A beautiful reminder that some bonds don’t fade with time, they just wait for the right moment.