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sezillee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism and Death of parent
juliaegreene's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment and Death
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
jt04's review
3.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism
flyingryndeer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, and Drug abuse
nearbethexperience's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This fits more into coming-of-age fiction with a romantic subplot rather than a capital R romance. I love either! I just want to help level others’ expectations.
This book is told in first-person, present-tense POV of Sammy Espinoza, who was almost let go from her music writing job and was just publicly dumped by her musician ex-girlfriend. She is returning to the one place she ever felt she could call “home,” a small town in the Pacific North West, Ridley Falls. With her mom constantly traveling the world and following her next love interest, Sammy has learned to expect abandonment from everyone who claims to care about her.
She had stayed in Ridley Falls for one year with her friend Willa and Willa’s parents, and heard that a former one-night-stand (from 11 years ago), Max Ryan is returning to Ridley Falls to record his first ever solo album at his home studio. Sammy hopes to write a review on him that will save her job, but things get complicated when she starts developing feelings for him again. You could call this a bit of a second-chance romance, but I think it focuses a lot more on Sammy’s growth, as far as the way she views love and connections, especially with her neglectful mom, her friends Willa and Brook, and her estranged grandmother Paloma (who lives in Ridley Falls too👀)
There is a lot of miscommunication and “ghosting” in this (not just romantic ghosting!) so be prepared! I think it all felt quite authentic though, and I really appreciated the representation of:
- single parent/child dynamic
- teen parent/child dynamic
- losing a parent before you were even born!
- alcoholism/addiction/sobriety
- found family
- sensitive, messy bisexuals
- 29-year-olds at a crossroads in life & having their own midlife crises
steam rating: 2/5
cw: child abuse, death/death of a parent, grief, sexual context, abandonment, toxic mother-daughter relationship, gaslighting, addiction, alcoholism
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Child abuse, Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
alyssajp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy and Medical content
what_karla_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Death, Grief, Abandonment, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
sebrittainclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Grief
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- SAMMY ESPINOZA'S LAST REVIEW is for all the former emo girls out there.
- There is so much going on in this book - second chances, friend fights, flighty mom, long lost family and more - and it all works. It all serves to make Sammy and everyone in Ridley Falls feel like real, whole humans even with a complicated romcom plot.
- It's a thoughtful, loving exploration of how emotional traumas linger and affect your actions years later, even when you know what's happening and why. I just love a romance novel that's both swoony and rooted in reality.
Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Cursing, and Medical content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Sexual content
Minor: Racism