Review by Slingrider 10 -- Yesterday by Samyann
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Slingrider 10
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Review by Slingrider 10 -- Yesterday by Samyann
[Following is a volunteer review of "Yesterday" by Samyann.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Yesterday, by Samyann, allows the reader to transcend generations, surrounded by sights and events as they would have existed once upon a time. Her descriptive powers are powerful, her research impeccable and characters memorable.
Yesterday is a novel of discovery through reincarnation. For the adventurer, the heroine and hero narrowly escape death in the first chapter following a disastrous train wreck, thus captivating the reader from page one: “Debris rained down around them. He twisted around and took her in his arms, tumbling them across the sidewalk away from the chaotic street. They came to rest against the granite threshold of a storefront. He lay on top of her, shielding her from falling stonework.”
Don’t speed-read the epic wagon ride through gray and blue battlefields. Civil War separates the heroine as a young child from parents and home, leaving only a black freeman and his wife to care for her. Bonnie trusts them without doubt, as did her father.
“‘Ben,’ cried Bonnie. ‘Papa has to come. Papa has to come.’ Ben whispered into her hair. ‘He wants us to go, li’l girl. Dat’s what yo’ papa say, Bonnie May. So dat’s what we doin’. Come on, now.’ She burrowed her face into the coarse, damp wool of his shirt, and breathed in campfire smoke, tobacco, sweat. Ben wrapped his strong, comforting arms around the ache deep in her chest. Bonnie turned to the rumble, the tall smokestack, a gigantic tulip belching pillows of black smoke into the sky. The earth shook as the big train approached and growled a guttural chug-a-chug. A great clatter and a spitting hiss of steam engulfed the platform in billowing white plumes as it slowed to a stop.”
Samyann immerses the reader in emotions and surroundings with details and dialog as in the example above. Romance scenes are sassy, steamy and sexy without vulgarity – very classy. The hero is a cop’s cop – dedicated, honorable, intelligent and handsome. He rides a horse for heaven’s sake!
“Mark lowered his hand and touched his forehead to hers. … ‘It was more than mere accident that brought us together.’ Pulling her into his arms, he whispered into her ear. ‘... I will always be there for you. And in some strange way I don’t understand, I know I always have. There is something between us, something powerful that binds my heart to yours.’ She trembled in his arms and he leaned back to meet eyes welled with tears. He pressed his hand to her cheek, and whispered … ‘No more tears. I’m not going anywhere.’ His arms tightened around her. The weeping willow overhead drooped long, swaying branches and narrow, sage-green leaves shimmered against a cornflower sky. He held Amanda against his chest until her trembling stopped.”
The cat, the clock and the godmother’s guidance into the world of reincarnation are mesmerizing: “Mary set her teaspoon on the place mat. ‘Time is linear, relative, circular, objective - who knows?’ Not waiting for an answer, she continued, ‘Beliefs about time are all over the board, pick one. Carl Sagan defined time as profoundly resistant to a simple definition. That’s the best observation, as far as I’m concerned, because it says we don’t really know squat.’”
Occasional quips, contributed in conversation by the godmother and the heroine, are hilarious – sometimes bawdy, sometimes ridiculous. The book nails it for historical time, place and feasibility. Escape from the destruction and mayhem of the 1871 Chicago Fire revives painful mental scars for the then teenage heroine.
“‘A dangerous situation is developing. In a few hours that fire has covered the entire southwest horizon. Chicago is a tinderbox, complete with seventy-five miles of tarred wood streets, and that wind is carrying the fire this way. In no time at all we can expect to see thousands of people trying to escape the fire, and panic does not make men rational.’ He stepped to the table and continued to speak as he filled a knapsack with boxes of cartridges, a knife, a small axe, and other tools. … A finger of panic crept up her spine. ‘Do you really need those guns?’ Daniel cinched the buckle of a holstered weapon around his waist, eyeing her with concern.”
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The format and grammar are nicely done and key to understanding live action and surreal dream action.
******
Yesterday
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Yesterday, by Samyann, allows the reader to transcend generations, surrounded by sights and events as they would have existed once upon a time. Her descriptive powers are powerful, her research impeccable and characters memorable.
Yesterday is a novel of discovery through reincarnation. For the adventurer, the heroine and hero narrowly escape death in the first chapter following a disastrous train wreck, thus captivating the reader from page one: “Debris rained down around them. He twisted around and took her in his arms, tumbling them across the sidewalk away from the chaotic street. They came to rest against the granite threshold of a storefront. He lay on top of her, shielding her from falling stonework.”
Don’t speed-read the epic wagon ride through gray and blue battlefields. Civil War separates the heroine as a young child from parents and home, leaving only a black freeman and his wife to care for her. Bonnie trusts them without doubt, as did her father.
“‘Ben,’ cried Bonnie. ‘Papa has to come. Papa has to come.’ Ben whispered into her hair. ‘He wants us to go, li’l girl. Dat’s what yo’ papa say, Bonnie May. So dat’s what we doin’. Come on, now.’ She burrowed her face into the coarse, damp wool of his shirt, and breathed in campfire smoke, tobacco, sweat. Ben wrapped his strong, comforting arms around the ache deep in her chest. Bonnie turned to the rumble, the tall smokestack, a gigantic tulip belching pillows of black smoke into the sky. The earth shook as the big train approached and growled a guttural chug-a-chug. A great clatter and a spitting hiss of steam engulfed the platform in billowing white plumes as it slowed to a stop.”
Samyann immerses the reader in emotions and surroundings with details and dialog as in the example above. Romance scenes are sassy, steamy and sexy without vulgarity – very classy. The hero is a cop’s cop – dedicated, honorable, intelligent and handsome. He rides a horse for heaven’s sake!
“Mark lowered his hand and touched his forehead to hers. … ‘It was more than mere accident that brought us together.’ Pulling her into his arms, he whispered into her ear. ‘... I will always be there for you. And in some strange way I don’t understand, I know I always have. There is something between us, something powerful that binds my heart to yours.’ She trembled in his arms and he leaned back to meet eyes welled with tears. He pressed his hand to her cheek, and whispered … ‘No more tears. I’m not going anywhere.’ His arms tightened around her. The weeping willow overhead drooped long, swaying branches and narrow, sage-green leaves shimmered against a cornflower sky. He held Amanda against his chest until her trembling stopped.”
The cat, the clock and the godmother’s guidance into the world of reincarnation are mesmerizing: “Mary set her teaspoon on the place mat. ‘Time is linear, relative, circular, objective - who knows?’ Not waiting for an answer, she continued, ‘Beliefs about time are all over the board, pick one. Carl Sagan defined time as profoundly resistant to a simple definition. That’s the best observation, as far as I’m concerned, because it says we don’t really know squat.’”
Occasional quips, contributed in conversation by the godmother and the heroine, are hilarious – sometimes bawdy, sometimes ridiculous. The book nails it for historical time, place and feasibility. Escape from the destruction and mayhem of the 1871 Chicago Fire revives painful mental scars for the then teenage heroine.
“‘A dangerous situation is developing. In a few hours that fire has covered the entire southwest horizon. Chicago is a tinderbox, complete with seventy-five miles of tarred wood streets, and that wind is carrying the fire this way. In no time at all we can expect to see thousands of people trying to escape the fire, and panic does not make men rational.’ He stepped to the table and continued to speak as he filled a knapsack with boxes of cartridges, a knife, a small axe, and other tools. … A finger of panic crept up her spine. ‘Do you really need those guns?’ Daniel cinched the buckle of a holstered weapon around his waist, eyeing her with concern.”
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The format and grammar are nicely done and key to understanding live action and surreal dream action.
******
Yesterday
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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