3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
The novel, Yesterday, by Samyann begin with Amanda Parker on her way to work when an overhead train derails causing horse patrolman Mark Callahan’s horse to throw him. Amanda pulls the stunned officer out of the way of flying debris and saves his life. Regaining consciousness, Mark feels he knows this woman although they have never met.
Thrust into this situation, Amanda resists Mark’s romantic interest and her own attraction to him; her tragic losses of parents and a fiancé have left her with survivors' guilt. However, with determination and Irish charm, Mark embraces his attraction to Amanda. Although Amanda resists Mark, she too feels a past connection and agrees to undergo Past Life Therapy which her good friend Mary specializes in. Through regression therapy, Amanda experiences life as Bonnie, a young girl in South Carolina during the Civil War. Their attraction develops despite Amanda’s resistance and fears.
The author uses language with wit and precision in describing scenes whether in Chicago or the red dust life of Civil War South Carolina. The writer’s research infuses the realities she describes as Bonnie makes her way from Charleston, South Carolina to Chicago during the Civil War and her experience of the Chicago fire. The textures, smells, the sounds, and characters’ language fit the scenes and characters. The writer tells the story using well-crafted sentences that move the story along briskly. The use of regression therapy provides an effective link between past and present and makes the recall of past experiences in different times credible.
The writer’s descriptive power, unfortunately, does not work as well when exploring the inner worlds of the main characters. Amanda’s struggles seem more a list of experiences than felt events. We get no real sense of her deceased parents or fiance. Mark seems motivated solely by an unrelenting love for Amanda. The characters never come fully alive for this reader.
As romantic fiction, the novel hits the correct keys. The main characters possess great beauty and in Mark's case charm. They act heroically. The female character seeks the protective strength of the male character. The novel moves at a brisk pace with secondary characters providing experiences that deepen Bonnie’s historical narrative. I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. Readers who like a quick paced read without much introspection should enjoy this book. They will find Mark a likable and determined suitor and Amanda a troubled but attractive heroine.
******
Yesterday
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like jgraney8's review? Post a comment saying so!
