Re: Books by Abby Jimenez
i read all 3 AJ novels so here are my thoughts on this series
I finished Emily Henry novels and now I’ve finished this series from Abby Jimenez. Stellar writing, even more poignant messaging, and such nuance in each character’s love story. I love the descriptive writing, depth of all the characters and the tension between them, and easy plot development. The only thing is that these are very millennial love stories but I’m still obsessed with her writing and the humor and wit that her characters have. And the romcom environment and setting the scene and the Minnesota landscape is so much fun to read about.
Just For The Summer
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5
Summary
Basically a Good Luck Chuck premise. Starts off with an r/aita Reddit post Justin about how he named his dog after his best friend who found his soulmate after Justin’s last date and Briana slides into his DMs with her own stories. The two unlucky-in-love characters, conspire to break out of their curses of being the last person someone dates before they find their spouse by dating each other to find their own soulmates right after.
Maddy, Emma’s best friend and travel nurse coworker, surprisingly agrees to postpone their Hawaii contract to work in Minnesota for a month so Emma can meet up with Justin. The next 6 weeks are filled with situations where unstable parental figures, siblings, friends, and sickness wreak havoc and create chaos amidst their romantic dates.
Review
Justin is the most considerate and funniest character ever, even considering his circumstances. After his dad was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver, his mom coped by embezzling money and is now looking at 6 years in prison, so he now has to learn how to take care of his three siblings. Despite the stress of working in tech full time and being a single guardian of three troubled kids, he still is extremely thoughtful in planning and executing the best dates with Emma before she leaves.
Emma, on the other hand, has to deal with the arrival of her toxic mother Amber’s surprise visit. Almost immediately Amber starts a new relationship with Emma’s boss which is insanely stressful to read about, but Jimenez does an incredible job describing emotional entrapment and complicated relationships. It also becomes evident t hrough her interactions with Maddy and Justin that she has a severely avoidant attachment style to the point where it felt like I was reading a nonfiction psychology case study (in a good way) at some points.
The plot was insanely jumpy and unpredictable, but very much mirrored the feelings of seeing how Emma processed and grappled with her childhood trauma in those tumultuous scenes, as she bounced between anxiety, fear, and denial in her interactions with Amber, Justin, and his siblings. So glad I knew about Amber from the first book in the series, that was very helpful for me to contextualize the situation. But I thought the 23andMe was such an odd interjection. Logically I suppose there aren’t many ways to make that seem natural, so it’s fine but it just felt very forced.
Like with all of her books, Jimenez does a great job of bringing the background characters into the forefront, allowing them to have depth and dimension in their growth and development, so to see accurate representations of adult friendships and genuine understanding portrayed by Maddy’s character was deeply compelling. Loved the ending of this one so much and how she had the self awareness to choose to prioritize herself to not perpetuate the vicious cycle.
Yours Truly
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.25
Summary
Briana, an ER doctor, is dealing with the stressors of finalizing a messy divorce where her ex cheated on her with her friend and finding her brother Benny a kidney donor while competing for a promotion in the ER with the new transfer doctor, Jacob. Briana lashes out at Jacob for something, but he retaliates by writing her a letter.
In his first letter, Jacob details his social anxiety and his harmless nature through humorous words and eloquent prose. Briana responds with a letter of her own and that’s just how the story goes for the first third of the book. Just two friends exchanging letters and having lunch in a supply room closet up until Briana’s boss (and Jacob’s best friend) accidentally reveals to Briana that Jacob has decided to donate a kidney to her brother.
Some backstory, Jacob transferred hospitals because he was avoiding his ex-fiancé who left him for his brother, and in an effort to seem like he was okay with it all, he convinces his family to forgive his brother and even attend their wedding in three months by telling them that he moved hospitals because he had a new girlfriend. And this is where he begrudgingly cashes in a favor from Briana to be his date for the next few months.
Review
LOVED Jacob Maddox. I think its mostly because I see a lot of myself in him. Conveying how he internalized his anxiety through the letters and inside thoughts was really helpful in contextualizing Briana and Jacob’s relationship and their individual character growths. He clearly puts himself over others though, and that’s what causes the anxiety spirals. Stunned by that realization. He’s so selfless, even going as far as to anonymously donate a kidney to Benny just for the necessity of it, not even specifically for Briana.
Briana’s character was also portrayed so well in how she dealt with past trauma from her divorce and learning to love again. As their friendship progresses under the charade of dating, they end up really helping each other out in rebuilding their trust in the concept of love because of how considerate and thoughtful they are with each other. I do wish that they decided to keep the transplant between themselves though, and not involve the rest of the family and whatnot because that nuance of gratitude from Benny was not depicted well.
Part Of Your World
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.0
Summary
When Alexis’ car breaks down while driving through a forgettable town, the town mayor Daniel fixes her car. Their immediate chemistry results in a one-night stand…until Alexis comes back under the guise of returning his hoodie to escape her real life. They continue their little casual hookups but it’s obvious they both have had feelings for each other since their first encounter.
Unfortunately, Alexis struggles to reconcile her two identities to placate both her family and partner. She is carrying the burden of her family legacy of being a chief surgeon at a hospital their family has worked in for 125 years after her brother leaves to Cambodia to be with his new wife and is reeling with navigating a breakup from a toxic man her parents both love.
On the other hand, Daniel is struggling to carry the ownership of a small town mansion that has been in his family for the past 125 years by turning it into a B&B during the off season. The longer Alexis spends with Daniel in the small town, she begins to realize the importance of pursuing healthy relationships and advocating for her wants.
Review
Honestly, I only read this book because I wanted to read Yours Truly and I couldn’t just skip the first book. I wasn’t initially intrigued by the marketed premise of an age gap romance but this was beyond whatever it is being advertised as. If anything, I think the struggles between the characters came from their socioeconomic gap and childhood upbringing. Not only was this book well written, but also delivered interspersed messages about the differences between platonic, familial, toxic, and healthy love through the foils of each main character’s well developed side characters.
I really appreciated the communication shown between Alexis and Daniel as they tried to navigate the realities of their situations so as to avoid miscommunications. Really hated Alexis hiding her hospital life and identity, but loved how she helped Daniel grow and find a stronger self worth as a talented carpenter. Also loved that Daniel continued to show up and offer compromises to reassure her of his love. Great side character development and growth, especially in how Alexis’ ex actually went to therapy and allowed her to leave.
This book really normalized the power of considering individuality before entering a relationship, something that authors could easily get out of by using some kind of fear of commitment or miscommunication tool. Her nuanced writing and consideration of each character’s selflessness is refreshing and really made me think about the idea of whether just the notion of love is truly enough to sustain a relationship between two individuals, or whether there needs to be something else woven into the fragile fabric of a partnership?
Rest of my reads can be found on my StoryGraph and if you haven’t already, catch my thoughts on romance novels!!
