Overall this is a wonderful story. Amanda and Mark have a whirlwind adventure discovering their history together with the help of Amandas Aunt. The ending was a slight let down, but for any Romance reader, I'd imagine it was thoroughly enjoyed. Time in this book also was a huge annoyance for me. I wasn't sure ever how many real days had pasted, even know I'm not sure the time span this book take place over. While the "back in time" parts were most all dated so you knew when and where you were.

It is a really great take on reincarnation, and well worth the read. ( )

Yesterday is a story of loss, tragedy, and when to souls are destined to meet.

I found the premise of this book to be very promising and loved how Amanda was immediately relatable: talking through problems with her pet, working past loss while balancing life and a professional career. However, as the story progressed I never found Amanda progressing and growing with the story. She seemed stagnant and stuck in repetitive behaviors, I began to disconnect with her. I think she could have been stronger and that nagging feeling is what made it hard to become very invested in her.

I was pretty happy with Mark and the supporting characters. Each of them introduced details, backstory and momentum for the novel to continue forward. Mark was a critical aspect of the story and his patience with Amanda made me appreciate him more. Despite his actions though, I found it very hard to believe in his and Amanda's attraction. I understood the deja vu aspect, the unspoken unknown idea of knowing one another, but the relationship moved so quickly - especially in the physical aspect - that it seemed shallow in some scenes. The romance was apparent and okay but the amount of sex in the book grew distracting from the actual plot for me. If the present day had been as developed and detail oriented as the past I would have enjoyed it more and the entire work would have been seamless.

The past lives were beautifully done. I absolutely loved the southern civil war and old Chicago atmospheres. The world building had plenty of detail and the scenes held tension, happiness and fear. I was able to connect and go through the story with the characters of the past in a way I couldn't with the modern characters.

Overall, it wasn't bad. I enjoyed the historical aspect the most. The world building during the civil war was nicely constructed. I would read another work by this author but I don't think I would re-read this one because it was just "okay" or "fair " for me. ( )

Yesterday: A Novel of Reincarnation focuses on Amanda and Mark and their search to learn about their past lives in order to understand how it is affecting their present.

The novel is well-written but the main character, Amanda, comes off as flighty in parts of the novel. Mark is a bit too well versed in Gaelic and Irish lore for a current day Chicago native. It comes off as contrived after a while. If the goal was imbuing the story with authentic Irish characters and atmosphere, promoting the myth about corned beef and cabbage being an Irish dish rather than an Irish American dish could have been left out.

Despite these relatively minor irritations, the story was enjoyable overall. I bought the kindle book and was given the audible version by the author in exchange for a review. I alternated reading and listening through whispersync and the story line kept me intrigued enough to finish it in a day.
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I'm a sucker for reincarnation stories, I'll admit it. But I am also a believer that you either get a reincarnation story really right, or really wrong. This one gets it right. Both Mark and Amanda had their good points and their flaws, and loved each other anyway. The story of Bonnie and Daniel pulled me in immediately. I was just as enthralled with the flashbacks as I was with the main story. My heart broke for Amanda as she was struck by tragedy over and over again, and I ached for Mark as he fought through her walls despite her every effort to push him away. I hope Samyann writes another book like this, with a different historical reference point and a different pair of star-crossed lovers. She could definitely have a series on her hands, and it would be a great treat for her readers if she decides to go that direction. ( )