Sammy Espinoza's Last Review follows Sammy, a music critic who finds herself back in Ridley Falls, the closest place to a home she has ever had. After a bad breakup and work trouble, Sammy's time in Ridley Falls is meant to be a way of figuring out her life. While Sammy is happy to spend time with her best friend, Willa, she also hopes her time in Ridley Falls will give her a way to save her career. Sammy hopes to run into Max Ryan, a famous musician rumored to be back in Ridley Falls creating a new album after a long hiatus. Sammy and Max had a fling in the past, so Sammy hopes to run into him and ask him for the favor of giving her a peek on what he has been working on. Writing about Max Ryan's new music could save her career. Sammy's time in Ridley Falls is also complicated by the presence of her grandmother who she has never met.

I was meant to read Sammy Espinoza's Last Review in 2023 and I regret not getting to it sooner! The romance in this novel is great, but I loved that it was about so much more than romantic love. You see Sammy's love for music, her deep friendship with Willa, and her blossoming relationship with the grandmother she never knew. Sammy also faces the childhood trauma of having a flighty mother who tends to choose everyone but Sammy. Sammy grows so much throughout the novel and while I was annoyed by her at times (mostly for lying to everyone she cares about) she acknowledges her faults and works on them as the story progresses.

Similarly, Max also grows within this novel and while we do not read from his perspective, I found his story just as transformative as Sammy's. Both characters cannot deny their connection, but they have to face the parts of themselves that are keeping them apart so that they can find true happiness. I loved that this novel focused on the romance, but also family and facing hard truths.

This story is fun and sweet at times, but it also deals with heavy topics like trauma, addiction, and loss of a loved one. If you like your romances light and fluffy, this may be a harder read.

I really loved this one and I look forward to reading more of Mejia's work in the future.

e-ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review* by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a heartfelt coming-of-age novel that explores identity, friendship, and self-expression. Sammy’s voice is authentic and relatable, capturing the complexities of being a teenager while navigating family expectations and personal desires. Mejia’s writing is vivid, and the themes of community and belonging are compelling. However, the pacing can feel slow at times, and the plot lacks a strong central conflict, making some sections drag. Though the characters are likable, they could have been further developed. Overall, it’s a solid read but doesn’t quite reach its full potential. A good, but not exceptional, novel.

3,5 ⭐
This kind of genre is so out of my comfort zone. As an adult romance debut, this story isn't bad at all. However, it just didn't stand out for my taste.

Sammy is a music critics whose career is on the line. Her romance isn't getting better, too. As an effort to make things better, she needed to stay with best friend in her hometown where the Espinoza's name meant something. And ofc it's where a long lost ons, a rockstar, decided to go back to music and the album might make Sammy able to salvage her work. However, the price she had to pay dealt with her mother issue, the abandonment. The family who isn't feel like one.

The writing is atmospheric, the loneliness Sammy's felt. The way she finally face to face with her mother.

Now about the romance.... I don't really feel the connection between Sammy and Max. It's that time-bomb kind of trope bcs they know they hide something vital from each other. It's not my personal favourite.

I kinda expect more from the journalist thing, but there's really not much. The music passion is very nice and it's my first time reading this kind of genre 💖

Sammy's circle deserved everything good in the world.

If you're into second chance love, found family, family you chose vs blood family, music/rockstar vibes, time-bomb trope that might shatter the entire relationship, GIVE IT A GO!!!

Thankyouuuuu so much for the arc in exchange of honest review 🩷

Sammy Espinoza's Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia mixes three of my favorite themes: love, bands, and revenge. LOL This is a fun book that celebrates second chances.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Sammy is not only finding out who she might have been, she’s learning to fill those roles even as they keep changing.

The book starts with Sammy Espinoza returning to the closest thing she ever had to a hometown, with her tail between her legs. While her best friend is still there, along with the beloved parents of her friend that she lived with for a year, the rest of it isn’t anything she ever missed. So she’ll swoop in, get the interview she needs to continue her career as a music journalist, and be gone again before anyone notices. Of course, these sort of plans never go as expected.

The story could have progressed as a completely predictable contemporary romance and drama, but the developments for a couple of the characters were largely unexpected. Even Sammy started out somewhat annoying, while letting herself be just a side character in a lot of her own life. She did what she had to in order to keep getting by, but it frequently felt like she was just filling a role and trying to appear happy.

By the end, this fun summer read earned 4 out of 5 stars. The characters ended up enjoyable while still realistic and the plot twists kept this reader engaged. This book could be recommended to those who like found-family dramas, contemporary romance, quirky characters with unique careers, and just a bit of music life and partying memories.

Well written coming-of-age novel masterfully detailing the messy complexities of life, complete with soundtrack.

✨ Book Review: SAMMY ESPINOZA’S LAST REVIEW by Tehlor Kay Mejia ✨

Sammy Espinoza is skirting disaster at work, was just publicly dumped by her musician girlfriend, and has never had a strong family foundation. She crawls to the one place she calls home and bunks with her best friend and her wife.

Sammy has a LOT to work through and the first half of this novel dragged because Sammy, as a character, is both deeply flawed by her upbringing and frustratingly obtuse about what is right in front of her. She is self aware enough to call herself out internally, but Sammy continues on her path of denial, running away from her problems and simultaneously into the arms of Max Ryan, the rock star that broke her heart 11 years ago but for some reason doesn’t remember her. Argh!

SAMMY ESPINOZA’S LAST REVIEW brought to life the self doubt, yearning, and self-inflicted drama emblematic of a 30-year-old on the brink of possibility and healing, or complete personal and professional disaster. The book is a strong coming-of-age novel with well-developed, complex characters. I really appreciate the cultural nuance too, but personally found the story overly long and Sammy’s immaturity to be a frustrating additional character. Still, there’s plenty here to enjoy.

Read SAMMY ESPINOZA’S LAST REVIEW for
🤫 Family secrets
💗 Found family
🫶 Coming of age
🎶 Music appreciation
✌️ Second-chance romance
🎸 Rock star x music critic romance

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5 stars)

😘 Thanks to @RandomHouse, @DellRomance, and @NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review and to my library for the audiobook version.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me this read in exchange for my honest review. I really enjoyed this story. I loved the banter and chemistry between Max and Sammy.

The romance was great, as was the story about music itself.

loved this! what a well written journey and I adored it. I will be reading more from this author 100%

While there was nothing technically wrong with this, it definitely felt like an amalgamation of several stories I've heard before. A fairly standard celebrity / non-celebrity romance, albeit with a revenge and second chances angle.

The main issue for me was that the writing seemed emotionally distant at times, so I never got fully invested in the characters. And partially from that and partially from just how the main characters were, I couldn't really see the main characters as a couple.

But, this was a quick read with some fun moments and some sweet moments, so if this style of story interests you, you may like this book.

I had to DNF this book at 35%. I started this book and zoomed through the first few chapters, but then started petering out. I was interested in Sammy's story because I could see a bit of myself in her circumstances, having never met one of my parents and wanting to potentially find some sort of closure in that regard. I didn't really understand how she had held on to a one night 'hangout' with a singer in a band, and then become so 'heartbroken' for over 10 years afterward because he 'ghosted' her? After one night? When his band was getting their big break? We also got hints of her relationship with Willa, and maybe it was beginning to crumble, but honestly, at 35% of the way in, I couldn't bring myself to care. I felt like Sammy was misleading Max after they reunited, and she selfishly withheld information from him. how is that ever a good idea (personally OR professionally)? I didn't want to read a whole book about Sammy making bad decisions and hurting the people around her, so I decided to DNF at 35%. #SammyEspinozasLastReview #NetGalley

While the plot had its ups and downs, Sammy’s journey of confronting her past in Ridley Falls, Washington, adds a layer of depth and emotion. Fans of second-chance romances and music industry dramas will likely enjoy this one, even if it didn’t hit all the high notes for me.

Not sure how to rate this even though i finished it almost a week ago, so let's say 3.5 for now. this book is Sammy's, and honestly, she's a disaster. she's about to lose her job and is hoping to find a reclusive rock star to review an album that may or may not exist (she also got ghosted by him 11 years ago), her relationship with her mom is on the rocks, and she doesn't know her late father's family or culture at all, and she's going back to the town she lived in for a year when she was 9 to figure it all out. she is 29 years old. but despite that, this is a coming-of-age story. it's about figuring yourself out, family (whether it's blood or found), falling in love, and finding a path. this is technically a romance, but the real star of this book is Sammy and Paloma's relationship. The writing is engaging and the cast of characters is well-rounded. sammy and Max's relationship was not my favorite, especially with how they just kept hurting each other in the exact way the other had ASKED them not to. my biggest frustration was how messy it all gets. as Sammy continued to lie to the people she cares about and herself, avoid her problems, and push people away, it got harder to support her. (i listened to this on audio and there was a lot of yelling at her in the car.)

Maybe it's the aro in me maybe this couple just doesn't work and this book would have been exponentially better if there wasn't a romance at the end. Or maybe I should say that the romance in it is fine and I like that it's part of the story and part of the character development but I don't think they should have been end goal romance if that makes sense.

I also sometimes really struggle with understanding why someone is upset with another character first certain things. The end conflict I feel like is not proportionally dealt with. Like the guy gets so much more leeway in his mess up then Sammy does for hers. I feel like hers was very understandable decision yet everyone treated it like she did this terrible thing but like I get it. I'm not sure why it was villainized so much.

Anyway I really appreciated a lot of the story especially the best friend angle and the family angle. Those are definitely the strongest points for me and seeing Sammy learn about where she came from and who she is was really moving.

I feel like this probably would have been a five star if they didn't get back together at the end but because they did it's maybe three and a half or four. I don't know maybe four is generous. I don't even really feel like this is a spoiler because look at the cover and the synopsis.

I think that for whatever reason, I just am not vibing with YA right now, so I just wasn't really interested in this one, even though I really wanted to be.

This was a fine book but I just found myself having a hard time getting into the story. I don’t think there was anything wrong with the book just not for me

This is a story that builds in rich layers of complexity and emotional depth in such a way that it is absolutely worth it to stick with the story because the impact and delivery of both the second half of the book and especially the ending is just SO incredible and powerful!!

Sammy & Max met one fateful night when they were 18 with all the promises of a future together, but when Max leaves the next day and doesn’t reach out, Sammy realizes he’s left her like how people always do – like her mom who rarely prioritized her daughter while chasing the next best thing or guy, or her girlfriend who just got tired of their relationship. Sammy returns to her hometown after learning Max is there considering reviving his rock career and intends to write a review. Overall this was a quick read and had moments of really strong emotions, even though both characters were complicated and borderline unlikeable. This story is overflowing with miscommunication and toxic relationships, but the best part of the story is Sammy’s reunion with her late father’s mother and learning more about her paternal family history.

Thank you Random House/Dell and Netgalley for the ARC.

I love when books and music collide - and that is exactly what Sammy Espinoza's Last Review did. Sammy ruins her job to try to save her relationship. She may be able to save that job, but she will have to head to her hometown and find her old flame. Will she be able to do so?

A cute romance!

Tehlor pretty immediately cemented themselves as an auto-read for me with their YA "We Set the Dark on Fire" duology, but Sammy Espinoza just did not stand up to that. I don't know if it's because this is contemporary or just a case of a story not hitting me in the right feels, but this felt like on elf those books where there's a lot of pages but not a lot actually happens. I still plan to keep Tehlor on my radar, but their contemporary may just not be to my taste...

3.75 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this E-ARC. I cant believe it took me this long to read this book, but I enjoyed it soooo much. I loved Sammy because she was so real all her issues are things that we all go thru. The realness of this story is what got me hooked from beginning to end all the family interaction/drama was represented in such a real way that I loved it. Cant wait to read more from this author