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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sammy goes back to the hometown of the deceased father she never knew and also her found family. In order to save her career as a music journalist, she intends to track down a reclusive father ex-boy band member for an interview on his rumoured new album. Meanwhile, she also unravels the story of her father’s family and their rejection of her as an infant.
All of the characters, main and supporting, were well developed and had an appropriate amount of page time. This is the first book I’ve read from Tehlor Kay Mejia but I’m definitely going to see if she wrote another book about Sammy’s best friends. I especially found the foil of the grandmother to the mother to be an impactful choice on the part of the author.
Wonderful writing that I look forward to enjoying again in the future!
I was so glad that the whole track-down-the-celebrity trope didn’t last very long. The new Annabel Monghan book shares this trope but also takes a different approach (though the scenario is very different).
Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
All of the characters, main and supporting, were well developed and had an appropriate amount of page time. This is the first book I’ve read from Tehlor Kay Mejia but I’m definitely going to see if she wrote another book about Sammy’s best friends. I especially found the foil of the grandmother to the mother to be an impactful choice on the part of the author.
Wonderful writing that I look forward to enjoying again in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Dell for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
got halfway thru and could not finish. the main character is so insufferably infatuated with her love interest that i could not finish it she is just to millennial cringe for me to care
emotional
More like 4 1/2 stars
Thank you to Tiffani @penguinrandomhouse for sending me Tehlor Kay Mejia's Adult Romance Debut: Sammy Espinoza’s last review. I went into this completely blind and I really enjoyed this book.
I didn’t know what to expect from this music critic who needs to get her life back on track and a musician who is afraid to get back on stage again. Sammy has had a rough childhood and honestly all I wanted to do was love her because she felt so unloved with no family. Max is a musician who walked off stage one night and never came back. But now he would like to get back up there. He and Sammy met just as Max was getting started and he ditched her. Needless to say she never forgot it. She’s now a music critic about to lose her job unless Max Ryan lets her write about his super secret new album.
This one really squeezed my heart but it was very good!
Thank you to Tiffani @penguinrandomhouse for sending me Tehlor Kay Mejia's Adult Romance Debut: Sammy Espinoza’s last review. I went into this completely blind and I really enjoyed this book.
I didn’t know what to expect from this music critic who needs to get her life back on track and a musician who is afraid to get back on stage again. Sammy has had a rough childhood and honestly all I wanted to do was love her because she felt so unloved with no family. Max is a musician who walked off stage one night and never came back. But now he would like to get back up there. He and Sammy met just as Max was getting started and he ditched her. Needless to say she never forgot it. She’s now a music critic about to lose her job unless Max Ryan lets her write about his super secret new album.
This one really squeezed my heart but it was very good!
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
FULL REVIEW IN Aisha's Book World
After her girlfriend dumped her publicly and her credibility as a Music Critic has been hit very hard, putting her job in jeopardy, Samantha “Sammy” Espinosa returns to Ridley Falls, the small town she spent most of her childhood, with a mission: to find former Rockstar Max Ryan and convince him to give her an exclusive interview—including hearing his new album, as some forums have been insisting he’s supposedly recording, so she can review it as a way to save her career.
Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review is a story about second chances, knowing yourself, conquering your demons and yes, forgiveness. This is the first time I read one of Mejía’s books, and I really liked it. This book’s writing is witty and made me laugh a lot. The reading has a perfect pace and the transitions between scenes are fantastic. Also, kudos for the natural way the LGBTQ+ aspects of the book—starting with a queer heroine—which I LOVE, are added to the story, without effort nor being forced to the plot. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the ending much. It’s not a bad one, to be clear. It’s just Sammy and Max deserved better, in my humble opinion. After all, a second chance romance should always be better.
• ARC given by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via Netgalley. Thanks for your trust.
After her girlfriend dumped her publicly and her credibility as a Music Critic has been hit very hard, putting her job in jeopardy, Samantha “Sammy” Espinosa returns to Ridley Falls, the small town she spent most of her childhood, with a mission: to find former Rockstar Max Ryan and convince him to give her an exclusive interview—including hearing his new album, as some forums have been insisting he’s supposedly recording, so she can review it as a way to save her career.
Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review is a story about second chances, knowing yourself, conquering your demons and yes, forgiveness. This is the first time I read one of Mejía’s books, and I really liked it. This book’s writing is witty and made me laugh a lot. The reading has a perfect pace and the transitions between scenes are fantastic. Also, kudos for the natural way the LGBTQ+ aspects of the book—starting with a queer heroine—which I LOVE, are added to the story, without effort nor being forced to the plot. Unfortunately, I didn’t like the ending much. It’s not a bad one, to be clear. It’s just Sammy and Max deserved better, in my humble opinion. After all, a second chance romance should always be better.
• ARC given by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via Netgalley. Thanks for your trust.
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes