Yesterday: A Novel of Reincarnation by Samyann   (Historical Fiction/Romance)

 

Narration: 

Darlene Allen is a good choice as narrator of this story. Her reading voice has a pendulum quality to it that allows listeners to slip easily in and out of present and past. That quality is her greatest contribution to the narration of this book. Her male voices are easy to accept, with the exception of one that is masculine in attitude though not in voice. She handles the dialects, both of race and region, well. Her voice for the protagonist, Mark, tends to lose its accent, but the voice is consistently masculine. Her female performances are well done.

Book Review: Yesterday: A Novel of Reincarnation by Samyann

A young woman, who feels that tragedy is her lot in life, disagrees with Tennyson’s argument that it is better to have loved and lost. Amanda prefers her own poetic conviction that it’s better not to love and therefore have no one to lose. Mark wants to be Amanda’s love in this lifetime as he believes he was in the past. He joins forces with one of Amanda’s family members, and the two of them work to help her find the strength of character she needs to face her past and embrace her present in an attitude of optimism.

Samyann is a skilled writer capable of creating a fictional world that comes to life through its characters, setting, and details. Yesterday contains fascinating historical information that is integrated aptly into the story. I very much like her take on reincarnation and the way she uses it in this story to address the psychological issues of the female protagonist as well as using it as a bridge from one period of time to the next, for the two lovers. I found her connections between the two time periods and the two lovers to be enjoyable examples of creative genius. Moreover, the tension in some of her scenes, including the opening one in which the heroine saves the hero’s life, is some of the best I have encountered.

At intervals, momentum in the story is slow because both the past and the present worlds are so fully developed. Listeners are completely immersed in the present world and then completely immersed in the past world. This cycle continues throughout the story and undermines the tension in it. On the other hand, if you can appreciate this sequence, you won’t have a problem with the way the present and past are described. Both time-periods are well-written and interesting within their own rights, and they contain much in the way of in-depth characters and historical details. Several of the final scenes in the book restore the tension in ways you won’t want to miss. I found the author’s contribution of religious and moral beliefs to be nicely understated.
The sex scenes in this story are not explicit. There is a generous amount of profanity used, primarily in the present-tense of the story.

I liked the two main characters, Amanda and Mark. Amanda is the kind of person that requires a lot of patience. I didn’t always have that patience, yet it doesn’t matter that I didn’t. Samyann made Amanda true to this character’s nature, and I value that kind of consistency over impatience. Mark is the ideal supporter for Amanda, and I didn’t experience that support as unrealistic. Aunt Mary was a favorite of mine, as well as some of the minor characters. The author introduces these minor characters in ways that make them stand out and stay with you.
Listeners and readers of reincarnation romantic-fiction should add this book to their collection.

 

You can hear an audio sample, and download details are available.

Bibliography: Yesterday: A Novel of Reincarnation by Samyann
Length: 10 hrs and 48 seconds
Publisher: © 04-03-13  Samyann