Review by haegle27 -- Yesterday by Samyann

[haegle27]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Amanda Parker is resigned to her fate. After losing her fiancé Joe in a plane crash, she doesn't want to ever love again, and that was far from the only horrible thing that happened to her in her life, both of her parents died and her older brother as well. Naturally, she'd be afraid of letting anyone close to her for fear of getting hurt once more by losing someone she loves.

As fate would have it, she found herself in the middle of a catastrophic event, when a train derailed doing a lot of damage not only to the surrounding buildings but also to the people unlucky enough to witness everything. During that incident, Amanda saved the life of police officer, Mark Callahan, and was rightfully called a hero for it by everyone. It turned out that Amanda and Mark both had the feeling of knowing the other somehow, although it didn't make much sense to them since they'd never met before. Their paths crossed again, in the antique shop that was also relevant in the whole life-saving affair and even though Amanda was still in a fragile state, our journey seemed to start there, but theirs certainly didn't, since there are much more mysteries involved than at first believed.

I'll start by giving my impression of the two main characters, Amanda and Mark. At first, Amanda seemed a little crazy talking to her cat and the fact that she'd been seeing a shrink; I know that just because she's seeing a shrink it doesn't necessarily mean that she's crazy, but still. As the story developed, I got a clearer inside into her person and started to understand her better. She has noticeable blue eyes and works at a place that appraises antiques, which matches her personality perfectly. Mark Callahan is a police officer with an Irish heritage, who is also a perfect gentleman while trying to solve the mystery of feeling like knowing Amanda somehow. Both of them have a vast knowledge of antiquities and named their animals bizarre names; Amanda called her cat Oprah and Mark called his horse Boomerang.

The clock that Amanda bought in the antique shop has a mysterious background that is linked to both, Amanda and Mark in some way and plays an important role in the story. In the book, it's not only about the present but, how the past influenced the present, it brought up the question if this was all destiny or random chance. The story is based, on the possibility of reincarnation which permits personal insides on the civil war and the Chicago fire.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars, even if, I thought a lot about giving it 4. The only thing I have to say that isn't solely positive is that I believe Yesterday tends more into the Romance than Historical Fiction genre. All in all, it's really a breathtaking story that keeps you on your toes if you're patient enough to let it ensnare you. There were moments that I was so touched by what I was reading that I had to blink back tears, and I'm only a little ashamed to admit it. This book was an emotional roller coaster. It splintered tiny pieces of my heart, only to put them back together with passages like the one I will quote now: “You indeed have my heart, (...). You own it completely, for eternity, in this life, the last, and the next.”

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Yesterday
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