**Thank you to Random House and Tehlor Kay Mejia for sending me an ARC of Sammy Espinoza's Last Review in exchange for an honest review!!** I really enjoyed this book. I was intrigued by the premise and I was also excited to see that the main character is bi. Sammy's life is honestly a mess, which made her very relatable. Her relationships with Willa and her family were so heartwarming and I really liked seeing how they truly embraced her. Willa and her wife Brook were such interesting characters and I liked seeing Sammy's friendships with both of them. The plotline of this book is very interesting and it really makes you think about missed chances and opportunities throughout your life. I also liked seeing Sammy talk about how isolated she felt by not knowing her Mexican relatives. It must be very frustrating to not know about a big part of your heritage and culture. I definitely cried reading this book but I was happy with the resolution. I look forward to reading more books from Tehlor Kay Mejia!

This was a good debut adult novel. I really enjoyed Sammy and her chaotic self learning how to work out all of the choices she was needing to make to keep herself from drowning. Her relationship with Max is instant connection from the beginning, and I could feel that when they met when they were 18 and again at 29. I was relieved when Brook called Willa out on her controlling behavior towards Sammy, because I was getting extremely annoyed in the beginning with her constantly repeating herself. I felt like the resolution was good between them. I also liked how Sammy’s relationship with her mother wasn’t resolved within the short time frame of this book. Sometimes books wants everything wrapped up in a pink bow at the end, and that’s just not how life works. It’s messy and complicated, and I think Mejia did a great job of showing that through Sammy and the people in her life. Even her relationship with Max is complicated and messy from the start, but along the way they begin to work out things and how they’ve hurt each other in the process. I was so sad for her when Paloma died. I wanted to give her a hug, but I was so glad that she got some time to love on her grandmother and learn a bit about a side of her heritage she didn’t grow up knowing.

I would’ve liked to have been able to read the Last Review or at least snippets of it. The ending felt a bit rushed to me, but it all wrapped up nicely and I felt good how it ended. The epilogue gave a glimpse into what was going on with Sammy, Max, and the rest of their found family. Found family is one of my favorite tropes, and this book was a great reflection of it. I also loved the queer representation in this book. It wasn’t flashy or a huge plot point, but just a normal part of Sammy’s existence. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Sammy Espinoza's Last Review to review!
3.5 stars
Sammy has hit her quarter life crisis. She is about to lose her job as a music critic and she just got broken up with in a stint of public humiliation. She decides to move home to Ridley Falls to find her ground again but she also read a rumor that Max Ryan, a former rock star that also happens to be from Ridley Falls, is living in his hometown and working on his first solo album. In an attempt to save her job Sammy decides to try to find Max Ryan in Ridley Falls to convince him to let her review his yet to be released solo album. When her accidental meeting with Max turns into more than she could've ever predicted, her plan is pulled out from under her and her trip home brings her more than she could've imagined.
This book was so much more than I initially thought it would be. It had a great love story but it was also a great story about finding yourself and growing more connected to your friends and family. I love rock star love stories and Max Ryan seriously gave me Daisy Jones & the Six vibes. I also loved the whole "met once at 18 and never saw each other again" addition. I thought that was a very cool touch even though it wasn't super relevant to the story. I thought Max was a 10/10 love interest. I loved seeing Sammy become more connected with her biological and non-biological family throughout the story. I thought Brooks and Willa were so cool and I loved how they brought a little bit of comic relief while still being extremely relevant to Sammy's personal growth. I also thought the ending was very unpredictable which I loved, sometimes it's really nice to just go into a book like this with zero expectations and see where it takes you. I also thought the writing was so much more evolved than I expected it to be. I did think that the last third of the book dragged a bit but other than that I thought this was a genuinely enjoyable read that I was pleasantly surprised by.

4.5/5 stars
1.5/5 spice

An emotional journey of finding oneself, healing past trauma, and the importance of being honest.

Tropes:
Second chance romance
Small town vibes
Found family
Self discovery
Latinx rep
LGBTQIA rep
Musician MMC
Single POV

Loved this book so much! Sammy is relatable. I think we've all had a moment in life that was basically a "sit in my car in the rain and cry" kind of meltdown... or equal to. She experienced so much growing up that you're immediately rooting for her to finally be honest with herself and be brave enough to face her past.

I loved that her found family, although flawed, still had her back and loved her unconditionally. She had guidance but ultimately needed to answer all her questions by herself. I didn't agree with her choices in the beginning, but it makes sense for her character growth. She needed to slowly come to the conclusion that the only way to solve her problems was to be 100% honest, with herself and with those around her.

Since this was a single POV, it felt less of a romance and more of a self-discovery journey with a romantic subplot. Her romance with Max was part of the healing process, and I actually enjoyed the author's choice for a single POV. Whereas I usually crave that second POV, in this book, it was unnecessary and worked this way.

Since Sammy is working through some past traumas, please check the trigger warnings. The spice level is low even though it is open door. It wasn't very detailed and focused more on the emotion.

Overall, I highly recommend this book for fans of flawed heroines who are in a journey of healing, second chance romance, and small town vibes.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

Trigger/Content warnings:
Death of parent (past tense), neglectful and narcissistic parent, child abandonment, teen pregnancy (past tense), sexual content, addiction

This book is hard for me to give a rating to, because in many ways it felt very much like two separate books. Sammy’s personal life and very complicated, layered, difficult family drama could be an entire “women’s fiction” book on its own. There are glimpses or really interesting growth and depth and I would have love to seen more, especially as it relates to learning about one’s own cultural heritage. But these family/friend segments were far superior to the romance. Sammy and Max, the entire relationship is built on a complete (hurtful, awful) lie and it made me lose all respect and understanding for Sammy. The final conflict literally does not make sense to me, as Max could have behaved in any number of ways but the one he did. I dunno, I couldn’t root for them at all, and the romance was a big downer for me. If you like a good deal of drama, miscommunications, and a sprinkling of music this may be for you. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Sometimes it feels like when life gets you down it won’t let you up again and you’re afraid of messing up any good that comes your way. This is Sammy Espinoza. She’s trying to find her way but not being true to herself or the people around her. This was a peaks and valleys read. When the story hit a peak it was gooood but I feel that I spent too much time down in the valley just waiting for Sammy to get on with it and figure out her life. The story took turns I was expecting and turns that I wasn’t expecting. Big city girl returns to her small town to find herself. Second chance romance.

This was a fun, quick read for me. I enjoyed the story and the characters, but I wasn't overly invested. It was a nice read

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for an early copy of this title.

Tehlor Kay Mejia is a new to me author, but she has published many young adult and middle grade novels. I thoroughly enjoyed her adult debut.

This book takes us on a journey of growth and healing as Sammy navigates her childhood trauma while in the only place she has ever felt at home, Ridley Falls Washington. Sammy, Seattle based music critic, has fled the big city for a small-town reprieve after her famous rockstar girlfriend publicly dumps her and she is in hot water at work. Spending some time with her best friend Willa, her wife Brook and pseudo parents seem like the perfect way to mend her broken heart and fix her career.

Told in single POV, this book follows Sammy as she gets a second chance with a missed connection from years earlier, confronts her paternal grandmother who shunned her mother and deals with the loneliness and baggage her moms choices has left her with.

There were so many things I loved about this book: Willa and Brook, Willa’s parents (reminded me so much of Georgie’s parents from Georgie, All Along), the pacing, the small town setting and chance to rebuild a relationship with her grandmother. The romance piece was a little bit light since Sammy had so many other things going on and I didn’t quite understand the reason for their broken promises in the past, but I still enjoyed it. But the true winner for me was the found family development, discussions with her mom and time spent learning her culture with her grandma.

Overall, I flew through this adult debut and look forward to reading what comes next for Tehlor Kay Mejia.

To be honest, this book just wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't feel a strong connection with the characters, Sammy and Max, as they seemed to exhibit more teenage behavior rather than mature individuals in their late 20s. The romance aspect didn't engage me either, and overall, I didn't find the reading experience enjoyable. Initially, it seemed promising, but my interest quickly waned. The writing style was a bit scattered, making it difficult for me to follow the storyline. Moreover, it relied heavily on explanations rather than vivid descriptions, which made it challenging for me to immerse myself in the book. Unfortunately, I couldn't overlook my issues with the characters and the writing. Nevertheless, I believe there may be other readers who would appreciate it.

Highlights:

Queer representation.
Second-chance romance.
Small town setting.
Rock star hero.
Found family.
Overcoming child abandonment trauma and addiction.

Sammy Espinoza's Last Review has a couple of tropes that I usually enjoy. And I think I liked the idea of the book more than the execution. I found it hard to warm up to the characters and get swept away by the love story. Sammy and Max are pushing thirty, but both made immature decisions that frustrated me. Some very likable secondary characters made the story better. I loved Sammy's best friends and her grandma. I wish we got more of Sammy's grandmother. But Sammy's relationship with Max left me wanting more. I might recommend this book to romance readers who enjoy the tropes mentioned.

This was a really lovely read. Lots of hard topics are brought up and covered here (loss, parental emotional abuse, alcoholism, etc.) so it has a more serious tone than I normally read, but still really good.

Sammy was an interesting character to hear this story through. She's on the brink of losing her job, she's grown up with a flighty mom and almost no one else, and now she's being strong-armed into returning to the only town that kinda felt like home. She goes through a lot in this book. She's forced to confront lies she always thought truth, her past demons, the people who were in her life but maybe didn't really care for her, and more. It's a lot happening to her and Mejia handles it all beautifully. This book really could have been bogged down with Sammy's internal and external problems, but there were still light and heartfelt moments that kept me from feeling in down in the dumps about everything.

Also, I loved getting to know Max, our love interest. He's an ex-rock star so I expected him to be super arrogant and demanding and maybe abrasive, but he wasn't at all. He was soft and nervous and forward yet considerate. He really took me by surprise which doesn't happen all too often.

Overall, this is a definite read for those who enjoy realistic romances and plots. I typically enjoy something more lighthearted and comedic, but I still sped through this book in a couple of days. Two thumbs up from me.

I loved following along on Sammy’s journey. This was a heartfelt story and i loved the writing style.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a second-chance romance filled with self-discovery and a great found family.

This story follows Sammy, whose life is a bit of a mess after going through some things and hitting rock bottom. After her grandfather passes away, Sammy decides she needs to connect with the family she has left. She then returns to her small town to be with her family. She also has hopes to save her career by getting a sneak peek at a musician’s new music. The musician is Max, who Sammy had met years before and had a connection with before he disappeared.

I loved the relationships in this story of strong friendships and found family. I loved watching the characters connect and grow. The setting of the small town was so great and filled with quirky characters. Both characters have miscommunications and baggage but they also have amazing character growth.

If you are in the mood for a swoony romance that features rock stars, self-discovery, and found family then this book is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review,

This book really had me feeling a lot of things - I laughed, I cried, I got angry, I got soooo frustrated, and, as someone with similar abandonment/commitment issues, I really resonated with the main character. It was so beautiful to see her grow throughout this book - I truly love a dynamic character arc. And the romance was beautifully written (and kinda hot- I always did have a thing for emo/screamo boys back in high school. I just know young me would have loved young Max, and older me adores older Max).

This was the first book I've read by this author, but I've had plenty of others on my TBR for awhile now. It looks like I might have to bump them up the list a little.

DNF. This one wasn’t for me. It starts with just pages after pages of exposition being thrown at the reader instead of any action happening. I don’t know why the author didn’t show any of these scenes or at least intersperse some of it as flashbacks within the plot, but it started off so boring I have no desire to read any further.

Listen. This book was SO GOOD. I didn’t know what I was expecting but it was so much better than I could have ever imagined. Don’t get me wrong, it also HURT MY FEELINGS. A LOT. But the second chance, found family, finally finding a safe place to land, uncovering things that desperately needed to be uncovered, all the music…it was all so good.

I loved Sammy so much. She was lost and searching for a way to safe her career and instead she found herself. It took place over just two weeks and so much happened! I loved her and Max, and her and Willa and Brook, and Maeve and Larry! And Paloma! They all had such important relationships with Sammy but it wasn’t until now that she knew what to actually do with that. And I loved watching her figure it all out. I loved watching her go back to the one place where she has family, found and biological, and find some sort of peace. It took a second, and it wasn’t easy. But she finally came home and it was exactly where she needed to be.

I also really loved Max’s story! It was very much Sammy’s story, but his journey was so important to Sammy too!

Also I LOVED MAX AND SAMMY. The way they fell right back into their easy relationship. And they were able to use each other to work through their problems. While it hurt that Max didn’t recognize her immediately…he did eventually! And he was able to tell her that all those years ago she changed everything for him!

The last quarter or so…HURT. I wasn’t expecting any of it. And while I loved what happened afterward and the full circle moments and the realizations and the declarations…I was tearing to the whole time.

And I love a good epilogue! It was so so sweet and a perfect button to the story!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin Random house for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed reading Sammy Espinoza's Last Review over a period of a few days.

Sammy is a critic who needs a breakthrough moment, deciding to go back to one of her previous hometowns. Ridley Falls is where her later father's family is from, but also where her past love now rockstar Max lives. With Sammy promising her boss she will get Max to let her review his newest album that the public hasn't heard, she sets out to look back on the past. Filled with found family and lost love, Sammy Espinoza's Last Review is a fabulous contemporary debut.

Sammy Espinoza's is a book I felt was more contemporary than romance. While I loved learning and reading about Sammy and Max, I found myself more compelled towards the story of Sammy and everyone else in her world. The sexual scenes, while good, felt unnecessary and like a page filler. Overall, I look forward to whatever Tehlor Kay Meija puts out next!

"Sammy Espinoza's Last Review" by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a peppy and delightful novel that will leave you with a smile on your face and a warm feeling in your heart. Sammy Espinoza, a music critic caught in a whirlwind of chaos, finds herself with one last chance to save her career and seek revenge on her teenage crush. With a mix of humor, sweet moments, and a dash of second chances, this story is a true delight.

Tehlor Kay Mejia has written a vibrant and relatable protagonist in Sammy. Her determination to redeem herself and her witty humor make her instantly likable. As Sammy sets out on her mission to access Max Ryan's exclusive music, readers are taken on a rollercoaster of emotions, rooting for her every step of the way.

Set in the charming town of Ridley Falls, Washington, the story offers more than just a chance at revenge. It explores the themes of found family and confronting past traumas. Sammy's return to Ridley Falls brings with it a sense of nostalgia, unanswered questions, and the opportunity for personal growth. The chemistry between Sammy and Max adds a touch of romance and sparks fly as they navigate their complicated history. The author's ability to balance humor, sweet moments, and deeper emotional exploration makes this story an enjoyable and satisfying read.

Yes this is a romance (and a trope-y one at that) but it's also about learning about yourself. Sammy is back in Ridley Falls, the town where she sorta grew up, with a plan to revive her own career by taking advantage of Max, the rock star she's got a past with, She's a music reviewer but she's been tanking her life lately, Now in Ridley Falls, she's finally getting to know her grandmother and,, well Max, Max has some things to deal with in his own life, not the least of which is getting his music going. You know how this is going to go but then it's a bit broader. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, Good characters and storytelling,

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review is a somewhat promising adult debut from YA and middle grade writer Tehlor Kay Mejia. I’ve read a bit of her work before, and am pleased that some of the aspects I’ve enjoyed in the past are present here, like the Latine culture and great queer rep in the main and supporting cast.
I love the small-town atmosphere, including some found-family aspects. While I have some other issues with Max, I do respect what he gets out of solitude in this little isolated town. And Sammy’s own past connection to it plays a pivotal role in her growth, and I love seeing her come to appreciate them.
I do like Sammy as a main character. She’s a music reviewer, and her love of music comes through in a strong way. And as a reviewer myself, even if it is for a different art form, I love how she engages with her community and enthuses over the things she loves. Her relationship with her mother is a particularly complex aspect of her life, and I felt this was explored well throughout.
But the romance was hard to root for. They’re quite dysfunctional, going beyond the standard miscommunication to being quite toxic at times. I do see where it’s coming from to an extent, as both have their share of childhood trauma, but I personally wasn’t won over by them by the end, especially with the ridiculousness of the third-act breakup. I’m all for a messy romance between messy people, but the execution wasn’t really to my personal taste.
Whether this book works for you will depend on your personal preferences. If you’re interested in a contemporary that has equal emphasis on multiple dysfunctional relationships (both familial and romantic) in a person’s life, and sees them attempting to put their life back together, I’d recommend giving it a try in hopes you enjoy it more than I did.