Happy Tuesday Pub Day! Up today is Tehlor Kay Mejia’s first adult romance: Sammy Espinoza’s Last Review. Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for this free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is out TODAY 8/18!
I LOVE Mejia’s Paola Santiago books and was so excited to be able to read their first adult romance! Sammy is everything. She is smart, funny, and oh-so-relatable. Even when some of her decisions are stressing me the f*** out, I still love her and would lend her my car. I really struggle in books when a character omits really important information and then they have multiple opportunities to share that info…so I’ll just say that there were many moments while reading that I wanted to put the book down and walk away. However, obviously that is a personal anxiety I have, and should not reflect on whether this book is “good” or not (spoiler: it is.) There is a lot going on in this book–a job on the line, a second-chance romance, bio-parental stress, questions of what one really wants out of life, light friendship drama, literal found family…but it doesn’t feel like too much when reading. It feels real and complex.
What I love about this book is that all of these characters feel so real and like people I know. Well, except for the rock star, but I would absolutely NOT complain if a Max Ryan walked into my life because damn. Yum. His and Sammy’s connection is lovely. Their ability to talk about everything (except, lol, some big things), laugh with each other, and connect through music made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Sammy has a lot of growing to do (I would argue Max does too), but she owns it and you get to see her actively working on processing and learning from her childhood traumas as you get through the book.
This all might seem like this book is consistently heavy, but it’s not. There are sweet, funny, joyful, and swoon-worthy moments…as well as painful ones. See? Real. I was WEEPING at the end.
Anyway–read this if you want to read about characters who are messy and lovable and doing their best. The romance is great too.
The Bookish Bird 