Delightful, heartbreaking, and so full of love. This book encompasses the saying “blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb” in a raw and vulnerable way, leaving me aching with affection for the entire cast of characters in this book. Sammy is so messy yet so relatable, her support network is unwavering, and Max is a stunningly dynamic love interest for someone who doesn’t have a POV in the book. Gorgeous.

Delightful, heartbreaking, and so full of love. This book encompasses the saying “blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb” in a raw and vulnerable way, leaving me aching with affection for the entire cast of characters in this book. Sammy is so messy yet so relatable, her support network is unwavering, and Max is a stunningly dynamic love interest for someone who doesn’t have a POV in the book. Gorgeous.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

This book really ended up being very middle of the road for me. I neither really liked nor disliked the characters, the story itself was alright, and it had romance. Even though this is listed as a romance (and seemed to have a good amount in it!) it just didn’t do anything for me. Sammy and Max seemed like a terrible combination and they’re just not easy for me to root for. I don’t want to root for a couple that lacks communication skills and someone who lies before the relationship even begins. Even Sammy’s friend tries repeatedly to get her to tell Max the truth and she just doesn’t. As I sit here trying to write this review, all I can think is “it’s alright”.

I don’t know that I would recommend it but I wouldn’t steer anyone away from this book who wants to read it.

Thank you NetGalley and author for this ARC!

YESSSSS!! I enjoyed it a lot! Such a cute book. This book is a fun and flirty romantic comedy. I highly recommend this and will most definitely will be reading again.

Sammy writes reviews of bands and their music. However, she has been fluffing them to reflect well on her untalented lover who is a singer. She has one last chance to save her job with the magazine, but it involves interviewing the elusive rock god Max Ryan, who originates from her home town and ghosted her years ago. A mess, she heads back that tiny hometown, following clues that he's hiding out there. They run into each other and restart their romance. But the issues that pulled them apart before still exist. Can they get together in the end, issues resolved?

I had trouble getting into the story and almost stopped reading. Sammy was so unformed for her age (29), her married friends who helped save her weren't very interesting, and her relationship with her mother, which was pivotal, was hard to understand for a long time. It just made Sammy seem kind of lame. But then the story got going, Sammy started showing some backbone, and the mysteries were clarified. I did really like Paloma, and her time with Sammy was rich and poignant. The ending was predictable.

Sammy Espinoza’s life could be better recently.

She got broken up with her musician girlfriend and wrote an article about her without thinking of the consequences, which puts her job as a music reviewer in jeopardy. As well, she just finds out that her grandpa on her dad’s side died a year before the story starts, which means that, since her dad died before she was born, she only has one living relative on her dad’s side.

Desperate to make a connection with the side of her family she’s never known, she plans on going back to her hometown to talk to her grandma. And, in perfect timing, she hears a rumor that former musician (and man she’s had a night with in the past) Max Ryan is creating a new solo album in her hometown. It makes perfect sense to return home, meet her grandma, and write about Max Ryan’s music all in the same trip!

I really enjoyed seeing Sammy unravel the different relationships in her life and the misconceptions she had of them! There’s a lot of misunderstandings (and downright lying) in Sammy’s life, and seeing her move past that and create new relationships felt so good to read!

There were a lot of funny moments I enjoyed throughout this book (such as Max Ryan whipping out a meme in the middle of karaoke), but I also found this book to be quite sad. Without spoiling the book for you, there was a big moment near the end that had me sobbing, but a large reason for that was because of how much I loved the characters and their relationships. It’s very easy to care for these characters and feel for them both when good things happen and bad, which I think is one of the strongest aspects of this book.

I definitely really enjoyed Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review, and I think a lot of people should keep a look out for when it releases!

I really loved this book. I think the premise was unique and interesting, and both main characters felt robust and deeply developed as characters. I genuinely cried in the third act, and the redemption arcs for both characters felt realistic and genuine. It was a joy to read.

*Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC of this book*

Mejia is onto something with their newest adult book.

I had no expectations going into this read as I didn't really have it on my radar. But I'm so glad I was able to get my hands on an ARC.

The journey I went on with characters was an exercise in gratitude.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

This book was so beautiful and warm in tone. It felt like a hug on a warm summer evening with some rather incredible music as the backgrounding force. A really stunning tale.

Sammy Espinoza's Last Review made me feel the same way the lead-up to a thunderstorm does--like the world is brimming with possibility, and at any moment the tension could break and create something beautiful--or horrible.

Sammy Espinoza is fresh off a breakup, and at risk of losing her job. Ina desperate attempt to regain a semblance of control over her life, she promises to get early access to Max Ryan's solo album. The Max Ryan nobody has heard from in years. The same Max Ryan who broke her heart a decade ago. And he just so happens to be from the town she calls home--the place she spent one year of her childhood. She doesn't expect to run into him her very first night back. She definitely doesn't expect him to have forgotten who she is. And she absolutely did not expect that it would be so hard to ask him for an interview on their first date, or their second.
And while this is happening, Sammy has decided to connect with the grandmother she's never met--the only living member of her father's side of the family.

Sammy Espinoza's Last Review is breathtaking. The characters are complex--wonderful and flawed and maddening at times. They both carry traumas they're trying to overcome--traumas that keep dragging them under, making them question if they can change.

Tw for neglectful parents, familial death, and some substance abuse

I adored this small town romance story that was absolutely full of heart, good tunes, and life lessons.

There are so many layers to this story that it is tough for me to write much of a synopsis; let’s just say that Sammy is a music critic who has traveled to the small town that feels like home in order to attempt a career saving article in the form of an interview with Max Ryan. Sammy and Max have history- they met and had one night together prior to Max getting a record deal and disappearing on tour.

The romance portion of the book is beautifully written, with two wounded characters trying to be vulnerable with each other while being scared out of their minds. Sammy has abandonment fears after growing up with a mother who was never properly there for her, and those issues run deep throughout the story. I don’t know if a I’ve ever disliked a mother character as much as I disliked this mom 🫠

I felt so much sympathy for Sammy at times, and then her actions made me so frustrated at others. Her actions are all reactions to the things that have happened in her past, and I was happy when I started to see some character growth from her. Found family is another big part of the story, and Sammy’s family support was beautiful to see once she finally opened her eyes to it.

The small town of Ridley Falls was a fun setting, and I could feel the crisp air and hear the songs in my ears as Sammy blasted them while driving through town. What a great setting for a touching story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The book was sent to me out of the blue as an ARC on Netgalley, and I downloaded it because I’m a sucker for romance although I had no idea what to expect.

I am so glad I read this book! I fell in love with Ridley Falls, with Sammy and her chosen family, and Max Ryan…total dreamboat. The writing and dialogue was snappy and sarcastic, the love story was swoony and fun, and Sammy is the funny, charmingly irreverent and totally badass best friend I never knew I was missing. This book made me want to crank up the music and go for a drive. Or dance in the grass at an outdoor concert. Sing karaoke at a dive bar. All of the above, please!

Sammy is a music critic in Seattle who writes anonymously. When her column crashes and burns, Sammy retreats to the only place she ever knew as home. She has a plan to save her job and restore credibility, but it involves finding a famous musician who hasn’t been seen in years. A hot rock star god who Sammy also happens to have a history with…

The book touched on so many different types of relationship dynamics. Sammy and Max were front and center with the love story, but equally as important was the relationships Sammy sought out with her estranged family, her best friend, and her hot mess mother. It got surprisingly deep, and and you really just root for Sammy to get the family she deserves.

This was a small town romance done right! This was Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first adult novel, and hopefully not their last.

Thanks to NetGally and Random House- Ballantine for the e-ARC!

I went into this book blind and so glad
I did! I loved the writing style which I’ve seen previously reviewed as choppy, but I liked it a lot. It felt real and raw to me, as did the characters. I loved the character growth and although this is a love story, it truly is a story about falling in love with ourselves! I really enjoyed it a lot and would recommend!

I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't- the characters weren't relatable at all and I just couldn't connect to them (as a very character driven person).

Thanks for the opportunity to read this tho.

I wanted to love this book. I tried so hard but ended up DNFing about fourty percent in. The storyline wasnt my cup of tea. the characters werent relatable imo, the FMC was a tad annoying imo. not for me but others might love it

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: July 18, 2023

Rating: 2 stars

I was initially drawn into the book based on it's synopsis, however, I quickly learned that the story/writing style were not for me as a reader. The writing style was on the choppy side which led to me struggling to remember where in the story we were in. There was also a lot of telling rather than showing within the story which led to a hard time connecting with the story. I put this book down and really struggled to pick it back up.

4.5/5

Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review is a second chance romance within the story of family, friendship, and the way a person can be shaped by abandonment and the simultaneous absence and presence of the people who we think we should love and those whom we allow to love us. Sammy Espinoza is returning to the small town of Ridley Falls, where she spent the largest part of her tumultuous and transient childhood. Here, she runs into Max Ryan, her teenage crush/former rockstar who ghosted her but now has no memory of having met her— he is also the very person Sammy is pinning her hopes onto for saving her career as a music critic. Additionally, Ridley Falls is the place that Sammy has spent most of her adult life avoiding despite it being home to most of the handful of people she loves, for it is also the place of the family who abandoned her before she was born.

Sammy is messy. And honestly, that’s relatable. She’s made mistakes and keeps making mistakes, but her journey of self-discovery helps her understand the traumatic roots of why she’s kept making those same mistakes. While her deception had me /stressed/ from the inevitable way it would blow up, I ultimately really felt for her. (Her simultaneous fear and expectation of abandonment, same.)

And Max. He holds my heart. The way his story unfolds, and his reactions felt real to me. Healing in not linear, and that shows in Max.

Sammy’s story is steeped in grief, love, loss, the family she inherited, the family she chose, and the family whose very absence shaped her life. I will be the first to admit that I don’t always remember everything I’ve read, but Sammy’s journey and relationship to multiple definitions of family struck me and has stuck with me long since I read the last page of her story.

Thank you Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the ARC!

cw: (major) abandonment, grief; (moderate) alcohol, death, death of parent, medical trauma, panic attacks/disorders, pregnancy, sexual content; (minor) abortion, body shaming, car accident, injury/injury detail

Sammy Espinoza's Last Review is a romance, but it's also about finding oneself. We tend to think that people should be fully formed by their twenties, but so many people are still finding their way in this decade (and beyond). Sammy is a great demonstration of the importance of found family and the support that we all need in our lives. I wasn't entirely invested in the central romance, but the friendship and search for a purpose did pull me in.

This book was great! I found the premise so interesting and loved how the plot was structured. Highly recommend.

Sammy Espinoza is a music critic who lost her reviewing honesty when she started dating a musician. When the diva breaks up with her, Sammy is set adrift and scrambling to reclaim her credibility. One night she hatches a drunken plan to return to her hometown and find the famous musician who once broke her heart. Sammy is positive this is the story that could save her career. But Ridley Falls holds more secrets than musicians and Sammy will have to face her past when she returns.

Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review struck me with how emotional and heartfelt it was. Sammy has a lot to face in Ridley Falls and I loved how it was handled. She’s been estranged from her family in the Falls and she finally gets the chance to reconnect. I liked Max Ryan, the musician love interest, but my favorite part was the found family that Sammy has built. I especially loved her best friend Willa and her wife Brook. They provided such a strong support system for Sammy. I disliked how long it took Sammy to tell Max the real reason she was initially trying to connect with him. I think it was handled as well as it could’ve been, but I felt frustrated with Sammy as she stalled!

Overall this was a funny and enjoyable romance. Readers who love second-chance romance, queer found family, and reconnecting with estranged family will love this. Readers who enjoyed Funny You Should Ask (Elissa Sussman), Happy Place (Emily Henry), and The Roughest Draft (Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka) should check this book out!

Thank you so much to Tehlor Kay Mejia, Random House Publishing- Ballantine, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc