Review by Jaime Lync -- Yesterday by Samyann

[Jaime Lync]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Yesterday" by Samyann.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Yesterday: A Novel of Reincarnation is both a historical and a romance fiction novel. Samyann’s vivid depiction of the story merges both genres flawlessly. From the onset, Amanda and Mark are introduced in a dramatic way; they save each other from oncoming wreckage occasioned by a derailing train in modern day Chicago. During this predicament, both of them have the impression that they know each other but are also sure that they have never met before, at least in this lifetime. This intuitive notion and other conjectures spur Amanda to seek help from Mary, her godmother and a psychologist knowledgeable in past-life regression therapy. Meet Bonnie, one of Amanda’s past life personas, who lived a very similar life as her future counterpart. The story progresses mainly focusing on Amanda in the present and Bonnie in the past.

Samyann approaches the themes of reincarnation and romance from a very fascinating angle. Different schools of thoughts on the topic are briefly discussed. The impact of reincarnation on religious views is also contemplated. However, the mystic air that it is associated with is downplayed as most characters easily accept reincarnation as a plausible occurrence. It seems to me that in this novel time is thought to be cyclical. Hence, the pain of yesterday is evoked today, but love can arise again as well.

In my opinion, the most captivating aspect of this novel is that it is meticulously detailed. Though, it is a fiction novel, it draws from real historical events such as the American Civil War and The Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The author’s note at the end only serve to confirm the reader’s deduction that Samyann did a thorough research of these and other pertinent particularities. Sometimes, the level of detail in the book tempted me to skip paragraphs. However, the picturesque setting outlined by those passages are worth the read. Moreover, the story transitions flawlessly from the perspective of one character to another and from one timeline to another. Most characters were adequately ‘fleshed out’ to the point that I was emotionally invested in the novel. I was literally moved to tears at one point.

On the other hand, I have to give this novel a couple of demerits. Firstly, the romance between Amanda and Mark seems mawkish. The cycle of ‘make up’ and ‘break up’ is repeated a little too much for my taste. Also, in light of all the information we learned about Amanda’s past and present family, it was disappointing that Mark’s sisters and mother were just nameless characters.

In summary, Yesterday is a riveting novel. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. The cons that I identified are subjective; I belief that many other readers may not see these things as demerits. I would gladly recommend this novel to avid readers of both historical and romance fiction novels.

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Yesterday
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Like Jaime Lync's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Heidi M Simone]

Thank you for the insightful review, Jaime Lync! I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the read despite the aspects you didn't enjoy.

[General Doc]

This sounds interesting. I will really like to read this book. I enjoyed your review.

[Jaime Lync]

Thank you for the insightful review, Jaime Lync! I'm glad that you were able to enjoy the read despite the aspects you didn't enjoy.

Thanks Hsimone. It took a while to reply to this. I am glad for your feedback.

This sounds interesting. I will really like to read this book. I enjoyed your review.

Thanks General Doc. I hope you get to read this as well.

[AuGold]

Wow, this sounds quite intriguing. I might read Yesterday tomorrow, See what I did there? Great review.

[Jaime Lync]

Real clever AuGold.

[John Cand]

Nice review. This sounds worth the reading.

[Jaime Lync]

Thanks for reading John.