I am new to this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Happy to report that I loved the writing in this one. I found this to be very enjoyable, and the secondary characters truly stole the show! My biggest critique is Sammy. I cannot stand any romances that have cheating/lying/revenge etc in them. Sammy starts her relationship with Max wanting revenge after he ghosted her after ONE NIGHT like ten years ago. She then continues to lie to him for 80% of the novel. I just don’t think it was necessary. Without that, this probably would have gotten 4.5 stars. But again, the secondary characters were absolutely lovely and Ridley Falls was a great setting.

3.75⭐️

Sammy Espinoza's life is a bit of a mess. She's gone through a terrible breakup and she's about to lose her job, if she can't convince Max Ryan, the guy who ghosted her a decade ago to let her interview him about his new solo album. Back in Ridley Falls she is going to be forced to confront her past and the family who didn't want her. It's both a wonderful romance and a beautiful story about family that made me cry.

Life as Sammy Espinoza knew it is crumbling down around her. Her girl friend dumped her, she is about to be fired from her job and she’s moving back to Ridley Falls, the place that feels closest to home. She has no clue where she’s going with her life, but she does have a crazy plan to redeem herself and keep her job. Rumor has it that former rock star, Max Ryan, lives in Ridley Falls and is working on a solo album. Sammy promises her boss an exclusive story with a sneak peek of the new album, but can she actually deliver? Sammy also has ulterior motives, Max Ryan ghosted her years ago and she’s never fully gotten over it. Will everything go as planned or will Sammy’s crazy plan blow up in face?

I found this to be a very enjoyable romance that kept me on my toes. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about Sammy wanting to ‘use’ Max to farther her career, but the way everything played out sat well with me. I really liked the characters of Sammy and Max and enjoyed seeing how their pasts formed them into the people they were currently. Everyone has a bit of a secret that you don’t see on the surface and I liked how Sammy and Max’s secrets played out. The whole time I was reading this book I thought I was going to give it a solid 4 stars, but the last few chapters were so good, in my opinion, that I had to give it the full 5. This was an enjoyable romance with some drama thrown in. It was definitely worth the read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I liked the characters in this book more than I would have thought, from reading the summary. A quick read with some attitude!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an advanced copy of this book.

Tehlor Kay Mejia sure knows how to tell a story. I love a functional dysfunctional family whether they are related by blood or found family. She did a great job with Sammy in developing each relationship.

Was some of it cliche, yes. Was it a good book that kept me interested, again yes.

Pick this one up!

Sammy's life is a mess when she decides to return to a former home. Redemption is there in the form of Max Ryan, a former Rock god, who she hopes to get the scoop on and save her job. The catch...they have history. Sammy confronts her history, finds new ties, and even maybe love?

I'll be honest. I didn't expect to like this book when I started it. But...I loved this book SO much! When you read about Sammy's life and spend time with her and Max, you just get sucked in and fall for this girl with rough edges who just wants to belong somewhere but has always belonged in Ridley Falls. This author is a top notch story teller and I want more.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine (Random House Publishing Group) for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of Tehlor Kay Mejia's SAMMY ESPINOZA'S LAST REVIEW. The promise is cute and has lots of promise; however, the execution fell a little flat for me--and the ending had the potential to have greater impact. Additionally, I didn't feel super connected to the characters. Sammy and Max have a great meet-cute (well, second time around, anyway), but from the beginning, we know Sammy's plan is going to blow up in her face later. If the ending had been more of a How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days more of a public situation with the review it would have been cuter.

It was just eh. I wasn’t really invested in the love story between Sammy and Max, I wanted more about her friendship with Willa, her chosen family, her grandmother, and her mother. There was so much more to those relationships than the romantic one. Although Sammy had baggage and trauma in her life and has a lot to unpack in terms of finding herself, it just didn’t felt more like she was a year from 30. It read more like she was in her early 20s and trying to figure it all out. Everyone has their own pace at life but I just wasn’t that invested in her journey. I wish Max and Sammy were more honest with each other and I did love her connection with her grandma. It was sweet!

I adored this big-hearted adult fiction debut featuring a cast of queer characters, found family, small town charm and an utterly cheer-worthy second chance romance between Sammy, a pansexual music reviewer and Max, a Rockstar looking for a comeback.

Great on audio and it seems like there just might be a second book coming??? I would definitely love to return to Ridley Falls and get more Sammy and Max stories. Recommended for fans of authors like BK Borrison or Courtney Kae.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and @prhaudio for early digital and audio copies in exchange for my honest review!

CW: recovering alcoholic, absentee/neglectful parent, death of a loved one

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!

a cute and charming second chance romance that was delightful.

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review had some really enjoyable moments but overall it fell flat for me.

Sammy Espinoza’s life is a raging dumpster fire. To save her music critic job at a paper she has a write an article on Max Ryan. Max, the former rock god, is secretly recording his first-ever solo album years. Max is also the guy that Sammy spent an unforgettable night with years prior and hasn’t seen him since. Meeting up with Max again means visiting Ridley Falls, Washington, where Sammy has history with a family that never wanted her and a million unanswered questions. Going back would mean confronting it all-but what else does she have to lose?

I really liked certain aspects of this book like the characters deep love for music. I really resonated with Sammy on her connection with music. I also enjoyed Sammy’s relationship journey with her grandmother. I thought their growth was really sweet to read. I loved the fact that Sammy was Pansexual it was great to see that rep in this book.

My biggest gripe comes down to the characters and the romance. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters including Sammy. I wasn’t rooting for her I was constantly just frustrated by her. I also was upset with how she treated her friend who I thought was actually acting reasonably. I also didn’t like how Max treated Sammy. TWICE he hit her with the no communication instead of simply stating his feelings and Sammy was way to easily forgiving. If these characters were in high school maybe this behavior could be somewhat tolerable but not adults.

Overall I was entertained! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really tried to get into Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the main characters and writing style. Although this book wasn’t for me, I can see other people really enjoying it. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the arc.

Sammy Espinoza's Last Review was a fun and emotional second chance romance that is a lot more than just a romance. Sammy is struggling to find a new direction after a rough breakup and has one last possible way to save her job - getting a review/interview with a reclusive rock star in the small town of Ridley Falls who just happens to be the same rock star who broke her heart at 18.
I really loved all of Sammy's found family - they provided a lot of humor and heartwarming moments that certainly wouldn't come from Sammy's own biological mother. Max and Sammy's story is not easy - neither character is good at communication which leads to the bulk of the conflict in the novel - and both have the tendency to run from their problems. But the novel was very endearing, warm, and genuine - definitely recommend. Thank you to Random House, Ballantine/Dell, and NetGalley for the chance to read this novel.

Sammy Espinoza’s returns to Ridley Falls as her career is imploding. She is a music writer/critic whose credibility has taken a big hit. She promises her editor to give her one last chance to find former Rockstar Max Ryan and review his supposed comeback album. Ridley Falls is where he is supposedly living recording. It also happens to be the home of her best friend and a grandmother she has never met. To say there is a lot of issues happening all at once is an understatement.

The book has a melancholy tone, which I don’t mind. There are sweet moments but her feelings are often tinged with sadness based on how she was raised. Sammy’s best friend and her family are the positives in this story and the only real example of normal family life. Max himself is sweet, sexy and has some issues of his own. Neither win awards for open communication. And while I rooted for them. I didn’t love the ending and the jump to the epilogue. I wanted the epilogue to define more for me what is going on in their HEA. This to me felt much more Sammy’s story than Max’s.

I enjoyed the writing and as I’ve said I don’t mind the more serious issues and undertones. This celebrates chosen family and I kudos for the good LGTBQ representation with best friends being happily married women and Sammy herself queer. I’m new to the author and will look for more from her. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Balentine for the ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

✨️NetGalley Arc✨️

I've had this one my netgalley shelf for awhile, waiting until it's closer to publishing to read. Oh how I wish I would have read it sooner!

Sammy is a hot mess. Freshly dumped, one last chance at her job as a music critic, an even hotter mess of a mom, and no where to really call home besides a small town where her best friend lives.

But this small town has a lot of history. History that Sammy doesn't even know, with the Espinoza family. Not to mention who else lives there. None other than Max Ryan, her teenage crush and heartbreak.

This book is more than just a love story between Sammy and Max. So much more. It's about confronting life head-on. Getting answers to millions of unanswered questions. It's about how family isn't always blood, but found.

And it's so good. 5/5⭐️

Sammy's family complications and her found family were compelling, but the romance was so boring and flat. I never found myself rooting for them, and I was reluctant to pick the book back up because the romance had so little substance. I tried to push through for the other parts, but it just wasn't enough.

The story begins with Sammy being given one last chance to save her career, and out of any other options, goes back to the only home she’s ever known. She runs into Max, whom she had fallen in love with years ago, and to her great embarrassment, he doesn’t remember her! There is so much backstory and complications with the main characters, that I really struggled in the first half of the book.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves second chances, small town vibe, and found families. Thank you so much for NetGalley and publisher for this ARC!

I found Sammy Espinoza's Last Review to be an endearing story. While I had some difficulty forming a strong connection with the central relationship, I thoroughly enjoyed the captivating coming-of-age narrative.

If you're searching for a book showcasing the themes of found family, supportive friendships, and music references, this is definitely the one for you.

Thank you, Random House Publishing and NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC of this book.

⭐️: 4.5/5

Music critic Sammy Espinoza’s life and job are hanging on by a thread after she tries to use her column to save her relationship with her singer ex-girlfriend. When she hears a rumor that former rock-god Max Ryan is recording a new, solo album, she makes a plan to leverage her history of one, unforgettable night with him for an exclusive review of his new material in order to make a career comeback, while maybe getting a little revenge for his ghosting at the same time. But her plan means going back to Ridley Falls, where she has a whole other kind of history, and getting the scoop from Max means also confronting the family of her father that never wanted anything to do with her.

I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical once I figured out where the story was going, since one of the biggest pet peeves I have with rom-coms, especially second-chance rom-coms, is the whole “I can’t tell him the truth he’ll never forgive me but now that I haven’t told him, I know it’ll be worse for everyone when it eventually comes out, but that won’t be an issue, he’ll nEvEr FiNd OuT” thought process. I get it, a rom-com needs some drama, but I find screaming at characters in a book to “just talk to each other! Communicate!” quite frankly, exhausting. So color me surprised when the storyline ended up totally winning me over, and even had me shedding a tear or two towards the end. I love that the romance storyline was nowhere near the only storyline in this book, and that it confronts some hard, real topics without feeling self-congratulatory about the fact that it does. Ridley Falls set the scene for a perfect small town romance, and I loved how this one played into a lot of the tropes that we expect to see in rom-com movies. I really loved this read, and I can’t recommend it enough!

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhomse Ballantine for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!!