3.5 stars rounded up.

I really liked the premise for this book. I loved the relationship between Sammy and the Cross family and Willa and Brook were my two favorite characters. I enjoyed learning more about Sammy’s place in their lives and the special sisterhood Willa and Sammy share. I felt the exploration of Sammy’s relationships with her mother and grandmother were extremely well done. You understand why Sammy makes the choices she does and why she constantly worries about being abandoned. It’s easy to see why as an 18-year old she got caught up in a whirlwind one-night connection.

I wasn’t, however, sold on Sammy’s and Max’s relationship. Their relationship begins almost exactly the same way - a chance meeting and an instant connection - and they continue to make the same choices as their teenage selves. There’s no growth in their interactions that shows why they should be together. I know this is a romance novel but honestly that’s the weakest part of the book. I think I would have been more invested with the story just focusing on Sammy’s return to Ridley Falls and her connection to the Espinoza family. She has amazing growth in the novel that is somewhat diminished by her choices regarding her relationship with Max.

Overall, this was an enjoyable and charming read. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the first few pages, it seems like it is still a YA book. I know this was her debut novel into adult romance but to me it does not seem that is the case. Reading more I just felt this was not the book for me but does not mean it is not the book for everyone else. Give this book a try!

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.

The protagonist lying and manipulating the love interest made it impossible for me to enjoy the romance, I just spent most of the book feeling bad for Max...And then the third-act conflict is so artificially and explicitly tailored to each character's worst fears, it was jut too much.

While this was a fun read, I didn’t feel like it quite hit the mark for adult fiction and read very young adult in terms of the conflict. This works be perfect for someone who likes to read YA but wants to dip their toes into something slightly more mature. However, I’m very sad that it wasn’t really my cup of tea.

This book was such an adventure. The main character, Sammy, was down on her luck. Being dumped and losing your job really sucks. Some of the choices the main characters were making were unlikeable but everything was so relatable. It honestly took me back to my college days with some of the decisions that were being made... whew thank goodness I'm past all that.

The expected chemistry between the characters was well done. We all know what we are getting into when we read romance.. and even though we know what's coming, the author did a great job with the conflict/resolution.

It was an enjoyable read and exactly what I need & look for when I'm picking up a book for an "escape."

Thank you Random House for reaching out personally to ask me to read this ARC & leave an honest review.

Sammy Espinoza is a mess. She just got dumped and basically lost her job in the process. She decides to go home and do some healing. Little did she know that she'd meet up with a past flame!

I loved seeing Sammy's growth! Facing her demons wasn't something she usually does. I loved her and Max and everyone back home.

This is a great second chance romance with a side of family drama. Highly recommend!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

There is a lot to like in Sammy Espinoza's Last Review, the adult debut by Tehlor Kay Mejia. I really responded to some of the uglier truths about the ways that Sammy and Max both allowed their childhood trauma to influence (often negatively) their adult decisions and interactions. Even though they were often making unlikeable choices, they were relatable. I also quite enjoyed Sammy's relationship with Paloma.

That said, at times this felt quite YA. I didn't always buy that these were 30 year olds, and a lot of their conflict felt very juvenile. Same for their third act break up and make up and break up again - it felt like the behavior of much younger characters than a 29 and 31 year old. I also found the rest of the secondary characters to be underdeveloped, which is a shame, as I think Willa and Brook in particular could have really helped Sammy to focus in on her true issues, if they were allowed agency separate from her.

This was an enjoyable read, and for those looking for some romance with more depth, this is a good one to pick up. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

This is an awesome book that held my attention throughout as it was so different and unique! Sammy "meets" Max years after she's had a crush on the musician even when he ghosted her. Now he appears to have no memory of her whatsoever and she confides in friends, Brooke and Willa with whom she is staying. So many great complications and crazy scenes that kept my head spinning but I loved it! Even as she re-connects with her grandmother, Sammy finds answers to questions she's longed to know. Heartfelt and poignant!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This book gave me all the feels and took me on quite a ride. Sammy comes back to Ridley Falls, the only place she ever considered home. Getting over a bad breakup, on the verge of losing her job, and learning about family she never had the chance to get to know, life isn’t going great.

Sammy reconnects with Max and old feelings begin to resurface. He hurt her once and she doesn’t want to let him in again. Despite the fact that they end up hurting each other, they also help each other grow.

The underlying theme of this story is family. Sammy had a desperate need to learn more about her dad and his side of the family. Along the way she realizes she had family all along. Sammy felt like no one wanted her but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this in advance.

Tehlor this was breathtaking. Seriously - this book. I devoured it. Too complex to be called a romedy, but too accessible to be what, women's fiction? This is the type of book I crave ... There's so much heart and friendship and romance and (amazing) bits of spice (the perfect amount, and not a turgid peak to be seen) and family and casual queerness.

Sammy Epsinoza's Last Review was a very fast-paced emotional rollercoaster that I could not put down! We meet Sammy whose life is a mess - bad break-up with her musician girlfriend, a distant mother who is in out of her life, and her career is hanging on by a thread. In order to keep her job she comes up with a plan to find a front man, Max, from a well known band and write a review about their new solo project. The catch, she spent one magical night with this man many years prior and she hasn't seen or spoken to him since then. Returning to the only place she's ever considered 'home' she finds herself, truths about her past, makes familial connections she didn't know she needed, and becomes more appreciative of those who have always been like family to her. I really enjoyed this story and was anxious to see how things would turn out for Sammy but I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed with the ending but just because I had my own idea of how it would end or how I thought it should end. Otherwise, this was a fun and sometimes heartbreaking read!

Thankful that I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you Netgalley!

The book starts with Sammy Espinoza having a rough time in her life. Her recent girlfriend dumps her, her mom isn't really in the picture, and she feels like this is her last chance to redeem herself at work. So she eventually goes back to her hometown where she meets someone she has to interview but then then it happens to be someone Sammy already knew from her past. Throughout the story, Sammy is healing from a lot of trauma and I like how this story comes to terms with some childhood issues with her mother. However, I didn't really connect with Max or Sammy.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m feeling pressure to review a book about a reviewer!

This book was so good. It had me emotionally vested in this story and I fell hard for Sammy and max. This is a must read!
I just reviewed Sammy Espinoza's Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia. #SammyEspinozasLastReview #NetGalley
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A bit of a dilemma here, but I really enjoyed this book, except I did not think the main couple should have ended up together. Which is a pretty huge issue for a romance book, so I can't justify giving it more than 3 stars.

I thought this book had an absolutely beautiful contemporary story about Sammy coming to terms with her childhood and her relationship with her mother, and reconnecting with her grandmother.

At the same time, there's the central romance, with two people who get a second chance at falling in love, but who still largely struggle with the same issues. They hurt each other because of that, and while I think it was a beautiful love story and it allowed them both to grow and change, I think they had a lot more healing to do and I felt like the romance should have ended when it did, and they shouldn't have gotten back together. I just wasn't sold on why they should be together.

A beautiful romance and equally moving story of finding family and finding yourself - Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review is a fabulous read!

Sammy isn’t looking forward to returning to Ridley Falls but has run out of other ideas to save her career and get out of a rut. Max is enjoying a reclusive life in Ridley Falls and is working on a comeback album. When their paths cross (for the second time in their lives), they find themselves drawn to one another. As they spend more time together, countless secrets threaten to tear them apart…

There is a ton to love about the story - flawed and vulnerable characters, banter, palpable chemistry, and more. Sammy has had a rough upbringing and a fear of abandonment has shaped her seemingly tough exterior. Max is quiet and sensitive while also struggling with his former fame. Together, they make a wonderful pair. While the romance is great, there is also a powerful story of Sammy discovering a family she never knew growing up. I loved it!

Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This romance does what it's supposed to do, which is kind of my problem with it. All of the secondary characters are unformed; they serve only to prop up and propel our main character. Even the hero, for most of the book, is a blank slate, dream guy. Mejia is trying to explore trauma and grief and personal discovery, and I really appreciate that. I just wish the narrative had felt truer to life and less like a machine made to get our heroine to her HEA.

Good enough that I'll keep an eye on more from the author, though.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

Great story about redemption, relationships, and family.
Sammy is a mess. Her job is on the line, her love-life has imploded, and she is back in the ownly town that really felt like home. In order to save hr job, she needs to interview her teenage crush and the man her spurned her. But, as she gets to know Max, she realizes that her crush never ended. And he seems to feel the same way. Being back in Ridley Falls has brought back many other memories as well. Her father died before she was born, her mother has moved them around, chasing after man afterman, and her grandmother, whom she never met, is her only family left.
Can Sammy get the story she needs to save her job, build a relationship with her grandmother, and settle things with her mother?

Sammy Espinoza and I are practically the same person which drew me to this story so much. Sammy’s world is falling apart from around her when she meets her famous rockstar crush Max Ryan from her teenage years. Both Sammy and Max helped each other grow in the best ways. This story wasn’t just about Sammy and Max; it did such an amazing job with highlighting the highs and lows of relationships between family and friends. Sammy’s “found family” is everything and more.