Starred review from May 8, 2023
Bestselling YA author Mejia (We Set the Dark on Fire) makes their adult debut with a smart second-chance romance that packs a hefty emotional punch. Sammy Espinoza’s career as a music critic is in jeopardy after it comes out that she gave her ex-girlfriend’s mediocre band falsely positive reviews in hopes of winning her back. She has one chance to save her job: get an exclusive interview from reclusive former rock star Max Ryan, who’s rumored to have a long-awaited debut solo album in the works—and who ghosted Sammy after one “magical” night together 10 years before the book’s start. Sammy’s hoping she can use his guilt over this to her advantage, and is taken by surprise when Max doesn’t remember her and asks her out all over again. She says yes, planning to charm him into opening up before revealing their history and her true motives. As they begin to date, however, she finds herself falling for Max all over again, especially as he supports her through some family turmoil. Sammy proves a delightfully snarky and quick-witted narrator and a subplot about her digging into her complicated family history adds both depth and nuance to this heartfelt rom-com. This is a knockout.
June 1, 2023
YA author Mejia explores themes of grief, healing, and the power of second chances in their debut adult novel about a music critic who sets out to save her job and ends up reconnecting with a former rock star. Sammy Espinoza just got dumped by her girlfriend on stage, a musician whose talents Sammy wildly exaggerated in print, putting her career in jeopardy. To save her reputation, Sammy goes back home to Ridley Falls, Washington, to find Max Ryan, the elusive lead singer of Seven Shades of Monday, who vanished years ago. Sammy and Max were hot and heavy once, and she's hoping her teenage crush will let her hear and review his new solo album so she can scoop the competition. Wallowing in a post-breakup haze while exploring the small town that could have been her forever home if not for her unstable single mother, Sammy has to face uncomfortable feelings about herself and the guy that got away. With this sweet and funny tale and its messy and relatable characters, Mejia is a charming new voice in queer romance.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
June 15, 2023
A struggling music critic returns to her hometown in search of a story but faces up to her past in more ways than one. Sammy Espinoza's career is in jeopardy. After she used her column to try to win back a musician ex-girlfriend through positive reviews, her editor has threatened to ax her, so in a last-ditch attempt to salvage her reputation, Sammy pitches one more story idea. Former rock star Max Ryan hasn't been heard from since his band called it quits years ago, but rumor has it he's recording the beginnings of a new solo album, and Sammy thinks she can get exclusive access to his songs. The problem is that her connection to Max consists of one incredible night they spent together long before his band hit it big. On the other hand, Max is reportedly back in his hometown of Ridley Falls, Washington--the same place Sammy grew up. If she can score an in with Max, she might be able to make a comeback of her own, but Ridley Falls is tied to painful memories that Sammy has tried to forget, including a family she's always been estranged from. Returning there brings with it a lot of old baggage and even more complicated feelings, but Sammy is determined to make her last review her best one yet. What she doesn't count on is falling for the one who got away all over again. Mejia's adult debut is a poignant story about overcoming fears in relationships of all kinds, as Sammy reconnects with more than one aspect of her past. Readers drawn to late-blooming characters and the conceit of long-deserved reinvention will find all that and more to love within these pages. An emotionally resonant second-chance romance.
COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
June 1, 2023
Sammy Espinoza is a music journalist who needs a scoop to save her career. She finds out that reclusive rocker Max Ryan is rumored to be holed up in his hometown, working on an album, and she travels there to try to get an exclusive. What she doesn't tell her boss is that Max broke her heart when he was on the cusp of his big break a decade earlier. To add more complications, Sammy has roots in the same small town, including the surrogate parents who took her in as a child, her best friend and her wife, and an estranged relative. This novel, which digs into some tough subjects, won't be a hit for every romance reader, but it will appeal to people who are looking for real-world problems along with their happily-ever-after. VERDICT While a second-chance romance is at the center of Mejia's (Lucha of the Night Forest) adult debut, this novel builds on the complicated life of the title character to weave a sometimes traumatic but ultimately beautiful story of a complex woman finding her way in the world.--Jenny Kobiela-Mondor
Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.