Review by Molly_faith -- Yesterday by Samyann
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Molly_faith
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Review by Molly_faith -- Yesterday by Samyann
[Following is a volunteer review of "Yesterday" by Samyann.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Yesterday follows the story of Amanda Parker, a twenty-six-year-old orphan whose life becomes impossibly entangled with Chicago policeman, Mark Callahan, after a devastating train crash. It’s in shop owner Ed Morgan’s antique store that Amanda and Mark’s fates collide again, linked by an old clock, a chance meeting and a strange – but undeniable – sense of recognition. Amanda swears she remembers Mark, and Mark swears he remembers Amanda. It’s not until a session of regression therapy, suggested and performed by her no-nonsense psychiatrist grandmother, Mary, that Amanda wonders if perhaps it’s not just another time that she remembers Mark from, but another life entirely.
Whilst delving into memories of her past lives with her grandmother, Amanda discovers her once-lived life as Bonnie, a young girl trying to survive during the American civil war. As the novel progresses, we see a variety of flashbacks, portraying Bonnie’s frantic move across the country with her beloved cousin, Jack, and caretaker, Magdalene, and her eventual emergence into young adulthood.
In both lives Amanda is orphaned young, driving home her ardent belief that those she loves are destined to die. This causes her to continually refuse the advances of Mark, despite the fact she might not have only loved him in this life, but in another.
Despite a slightly slow first half, I came to really enjoy Yesterday. Amanda is a competent and likable protagonist, whose journey through another life is compelling from the get-go. I felt the story of Bonnie was done well, portraying both the century and the young age believably. As someone who admittedly isn’t well-versed in the American civil war, the era provided an interesting backdrop, with a healthy dose of action to keep me hooked. I liked that Amanda and Bonnie, despite being different ages and from different eras, still represented the same person and the same soul who fell, inevitably, in love with the same person in every life. It offered an eternal view of love that every romantic can appreciate.
However, as previously mentioned, the start was a little slow for me (excluding the action-packed first chapter, of course). Specifically, Amanda’s story felt slow in places, and the pace unpredictable – I felt that Bonnie’s story could’ve been introduced a little earlier to add some intrigue. In addition, though I enjoyed watching the relationship between Amanda and Mark evolve, Amanda’s continued insistence on pushing Mark away due to her troubled past became a little tiresome for me. In regard to the actual writing, there seemed to be an overuse of italics in some places, specifically when portraying characters thoughts, although apart from this, the writing style was generally very enjoyable.
Overall, I gave Yesterday a 3 out of 4 stars. I felt the intriguing concept, likeable characters and good writing warranted a strong three stars, but the sometimes-slow pacing and consequential unnecessary lengthiness stopped it from being a four-star read for me.
******
Yesterday
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3 out of 4 stars
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Yesterday follows the story of Amanda Parker, a twenty-six-year-old orphan whose life becomes impossibly entangled with Chicago policeman, Mark Callahan, after a devastating train crash. It’s in shop owner Ed Morgan’s antique store that Amanda and Mark’s fates collide again, linked by an old clock, a chance meeting and a strange – but undeniable – sense of recognition. Amanda swears she remembers Mark, and Mark swears he remembers Amanda. It’s not until a session of regression therapy, suggested and performed by her no-nonsense psychiatrist grandmother, Mary, that Amanda wonders if perhaps it’s not just another time that she remembers Mark from, but another life entirely.
Whilst delving into memories of her past lives with her grandmother, Amanda discovers her once-lived life as Bonnie, a young girl trying to survive during the American civil war. As the novel progresses, we see a variety of flashbacks, portraying Bonnie’s frantic move across the country with her beloved cousin, Jack, and caretaker, Magdalene, and her eventual emergence into young adulthood.
In both lives Amanda is orphaned young, driving home her ardent belief that those she loves are destined to die. This causes her to continually refuse the advances of Mark, despite the fact she might not have only loved him in this life, but in another.
Despite a slightly slow first half, I came to really enjoy Yesterday. Amanda is a competent and likable protagonist, whose journey through another life is compelling from the get-go. I felt the story of Bonnie was done well, portraying both the century and the young age believably. As someone who admittedly isn’t well-versed in the American civil war, the era provided an interesting backdrop, with a healthy dose of action to keep me hooked. I liked that Amanda and Bonnie, despite being different ages and from different eras, still represented the same person and the same soul who fell, inevitably, in love with the same person in every life. It offered an eternal view of love that every romantic can appreciate.
However, as previously mentioned, the start was a little slow for me (excluding the action-packed first chapter, of course). Specifically, Amanda’s story felt slow in places, and the pace unpredictable – I felt that Bonnie’s story could’ve been introduced a little earlier to add some intrigue. In addition, though I enjoyed watching the relationship between Amanda and Mark evolve, Amanda’s continued insistence on pushing Mark away due to her troubled past became a little tiresome for me. In regard to the actual writing, there seemed to be an overuse of italics in some places, specifically when portraying characters thoughts, although apart from this, the writing style was generally very enjoyable.
Overall, I gave Yesterday a 3 out of 4 stars. I felt the intriguing concept, likeable characters and good writing warranted a strong three stars, but the sometimes-slow pacing and consequential unnecessary lengthiness stopped it from being a four-star read for me.
******
Yesterday
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Strong Heart by Charlie Sheldon
