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

Loved!

I really enjoyed the voice of the writing: it just flowed and was so easy to read. I really enjoyed that. The romance was good, not great but as a whole I enjoyed the story and all of the characters.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I loved the found family and second chance romance tropes. Those are two tropes I adore in romance novels. Thank you so much for the advance reader copy.

First of all... THAT COVER!

Second of all... LOVED IT. I have a big soft spot for found family and second chance tropes. I loved Sammy and Max. The music and the romantic banter were the icing on the cake.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

I’m sorry to say this they should have ended up together at all. This should have been book about them growing up after separating

I adore Sammy Espinoza and everything about Max Ryan. Obsessed! I loved everything about this unlikely love story and can’t wait for others to read it!

This probably would've worked better as a contemporary than as a romance as the main couple just should not be together. Otherwise the book has some lovely other plots and messages but the central theme is the romance and unfortunately it just didn't deserve the second chance it got.

Sweet, cute, and trope-y romance about crawling back, finding home, and reconnecting. I'm tired of messy male characters, but I guess Max is honest about it.

I had very low expectations for this book, and I will say the book exceeded these expectations, particularly the first half. I enjoyed getting to know Sammy and the other characters in the book. I thought she made some poor choices but I was still entertained by it all. The last third was a little over dramatic for me and more challenging to motivate myself to read.