Yesterday: A Novel of Reincarnation by Samyann
A tender love story pulls the reader back to previous lives and a time richly elegant. In modern day Chicago, deja vu draws together a handsome mounted policeman and the beautiful young woman who saves his life. Yesterday is also a harrowing tale of escape through the American Civil War, the heart wrenching love of slaves for their young white charges, and The Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In this historical romance, Mark fights through Amanda’s rejection to prove that she will love again as she once loved — Yesterday.
Diane Anderson’s Review: 5-Stars
Yesterday: A Novel of Reincarnation by Sammyann
A death-defying encounter with a random stranger and a fire ravaged old clock propels a young Chicago woman into a journey of a lifetime, or rather two lifetimes, as she soon discovers she may have lived before during some of the most significant points in her city’s past. Yesterday is more than a typical romance. Rather it’s a historical time travel study that delves into the deepest aspects of who we are, who we possibly were and facing the path before us toward a future destiny.
Amanda Parker is haunted by a tragic past of loss and betrayal when she crosses paths, literally, with handsome Chicago police officer, Mark Callahan. Although she has no intentions of risking her heart again, a strange connection pulls her toward those mesmerizing blue eyes and the man’s familiar face. But how could that be? She’s sure they’ve never met and resists his attentions, until an old grandfather clock, musty and smelling of smoke damage, brings back haunting memories of an undeniable past reaching back to the 19th century. A childhood during the Civil War left orphaned in the care of runaway slaves, and later barely escaping the Great Chicago fire.
As the story unravels back toward these events, the reader discovers gems of untold history and ordinary people who survived the odds, luring us deeper into their lives and connecting seemingly unrelated events as if they could have truly happened that way. By the end, I was almost ready to believe in reincarnation, the author does such a good job of giving insight and background into the para-science, showing her meticulous research into the field as well as the historical background facts.
Underscoring it all is the city of Chicago, resonating as a character within the setting and a vibrant backdrop as luminous as the cover art, featuring an actual painting of the Great Fire from the Chicago Art Museum. I had the privilege of watching this story unfold as a critique partner and waited with bated breath to have the completed copy in hand. It’s a story I’ve returned to again and again, always finding something new to discover in its multi-layered story — a romance, a mystery, a psychological thriller, historical drama, and a heartwarming family saga.
A little something for everyone and just my kind of read! 5.0-stars!
Elkin Hardcoves Review: 4.6-stars
Yesterday by Samyann Curtis is a reincarnation historical fiction novel that tells of the never-ending love between two souls that meet again, defying the laws of time. Amanda, a writer for Plethora Magazine, has been through more heartbreaks than one can count by hand. Hence, she forms the idea that anyone she feels deeply for will vanish and she pushes away those who try to get too close. However, it all changes when she saves Mark Callahan’s life, and shortly thereafter they both begin to experience déjà vu feelings with one another. After experiencing such intense emotions, they decide to go through hypnotherapy to find out if they have known each other in past lives.
This therapy serves for the basis of the past life aspect that is an important plot element.
One of the best parts about Samyann’s writing is that she described the relationship between Mark and Amanda through the different couples that they were, thus allowing the reader to easily follow these past lives without any confusion on how they relate to the present relationship.
In my opinion, Amanda was justified in feeling the way she felt. She’d been grieving the loss of people close to her, from childhood to her adult years. Her thought process: she was mature, logical, reasonable, and above all understandable. In addition, the other characters are distinct and are well woven into the narrative, whether they had great roles or somewhat minor roles. Mark was interesting enough: His faithfulness while expected, was relatively believable, and his casual demeanor made the story seems more realistic. Despite how level-headed he seemed, I felt that there were times when he rushed into his feelings a bit. Also, the arc with his character was not as dramatic, or in depth, as Amanda’s. Then there were Bonnie, Jack, Daniel, Papa, Magdalene, and Ben…So many characters and personalities yet they were a part of the same story. The diversity and in-depth overview of each character made for a rich plot that drew me in.
I’d give this story a rating of 4.6 out of five.
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