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Say You'll Remember Me #1
Say You'll Remember Me
There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes鈥攁ll while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there鈥檚 nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong鈥�
. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date鈥攑ossibly the best in living history鈥擲amantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.
Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life鈥攁nd even a love鈥攚orth remembering.
. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date鈥攑ossibly the best in living history鈥擲amantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.
Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life鈥攁nd even a love鈥攚orth remembering.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2025
22.7k people are currently reading
394k people want to read
About the author
Abby Jimenez
16听books73.1k听followersAbby Jimenez is a Food Network winner, #1 New York Times best selling author of Just for the Summer, and recipient of the 2022 Minnesota Book Award for her novel Life's Too Short. Her book Yours Truly was the first romance novel in the history of Book of the Month to win the coveted Dolly Award for Book of the Year. Abby founded Nadia Cakes out of her home kitchen back in 2007. The bakery has since gone on to win numerous Food Network competitions and, like her books, has amassed an international following.
Abby loves a good romance, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house.
Abby loves a good romance, coffee, doglets, and not leaving the house.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 21,286 reviews
April 13, 2025
2.75!
Abby Jimenez is one of those authors who can just sweep me away by just her writing style, but 'Say You'll Remember Me' fell short in so many ways. I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it, because there were times and scenes that I enjoyed鈥攂ut all of them were before the 50% mark, when I was actually invested in the story, rooting for the characters, and enjoying it. But as the story moved forward, the erratic decisions, the constant conflicts thrown, and the decisions made and supported in this book pissed the fuck out of me. I can praise Abby's writing to an extent because even that had some problems to some extent, but it was captivating. It did keep me hooked, but the constant TikTok language put me off so much鈥攁nd the Rhysand mentions!!! At first, I didn鈥檛 really mind that much, but there came a time when they got too much, like wayyy too much, and that bothered me so much. It鈥檚 very annoying to read a book by an author you love, and you wait a whole agonizing year for their new book, and it ends up like this!
Xavier, I liked Xavier quite a lot. He was a vet, he loved animalsss, he was very thoughtful, caring, and basically the whole package鈥攂ut umm the patheticness was taken up to another notch because while I found the willingness in him to do anything for Samantha cute at the start... it quickly changed into being embarrassing. Because I would not be willing to leave everything for someone I barely know. But besides that, I liked his grumpy nature and some of the scenes here in the book, and the interactions between the characters in them were very well done. Like the whole escape room scene was very cute.
Samantha, I really tried to like her, but Abby just does not know how to write female characters, because with the exception of Emma from JFTS, most of her FMCs always do something that is just so unbearable, and honestly, I just could not be invested in Samantha鈥檚 character. I appreciated the struggles that were depicted, and also the storyline about her mother suffering from dementia also hit very hard鈥攁nd I could relate to it because of my grandfather. But the way the whole situation was handled made me so mad.
The romance鈥攊t was insta lust, but honestly, I did not mind that part because the chemistry between them felt so natural and so good to read. Reading about their interactions and the scenes that they shared together were so fun to read. Honestly, those were my favorite parts of the book because their interactions just felt so easy, and I really thought the romance moving forward would be good. But the long distance, though realistic, made it so frustrating. It took away so much of the screen time off the romance, and like most of it was dedicated to Samantha struggling with her life鈥攁nd tbh, I don鈥檛 mind that when there鈥檚 a good balance or when I don鈥檛 feel the romance missing. Honestly, this book was so messy because the insta lust made their interactions by the first half feel like everything that could have happened, happened. But then so many conflicts were thrown that the fun romance just lost all its charm.
The thing that pissed me off the most was the DAD. The way he was cheating on the mom, and the way it was normalized by him and his children?? And he wasn't even guilty?? And the fact that when Tristan (the son) got mad, the sister stopped talking to him?? And the whole grandma drama didn't really hit me because I was so disconnected from the book. And also the way the dad said that he wanted to put the mother in a nursing home because he couldn't take care of her alone?? All of this was so frustrating to read because first of all, you're still married AND seeing other women and fucking them is still CHEATING, and it is wrong. And the way Abby tried to normalize it was very disappointing. And to say that he could not take care of her alone while the children were there to help as well!! And tbh, I saw my grandmother take care of my grandfather, and it got very, very hard for her sometimes to do that, but never once did she recommend something like putting him in a nursing home. I guess at the end of the day, it just matters how much you love your spouse to be willing to do so much for them. And the worst part was the mom never wanted to go to the nursing home. It was honestly what dropped my rating to a two
___
Dropping everything to start my second most anticipated book of the year 馃檹馃徎 I just know I'll love it 馃じ馃徎 ( aged like milk)
___
I'll read her grocery list at this point 馃檪鈥嶁啎锔�
-Abby jimenez is yet to disappoint me so high hopes 馃構
Abby Jimenez is one of those authors who can just sweep me away by just her writing style, but 'Say You'll Remember Me' fell short in so many ways. I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it, because there were times and scenes that I enjoyed鈥攂ut all of them were before the 50% mark, when I was actually invested in the story, rooting for the characters, and enjoying it. But as the story moved forward, the erratic decisions, the constant conflicts thrown, and the decisions made and supported in this book pissed the fuck out of me. I can praise Abby's writing to an extent because even that had some problems to some extent, but it was captivating. It did keep me hooked, but the constant TikTok language put me off so much鈥攁nd the Rhysand mentions!!! At first, I didn鈥檛 really mind that much, but there came a time when they got too much, like wayyy too much, and that bothered me so much. It鈥檚 very annoying to read a book by an author you love, and you wait a whole agonizing year for their new book, and it ends up like this!
Xavier, I liked Xavier quite a lot. He was a vet, he loved animalsss, he was very thoughtful, caring, and basically the whole package鈥攂ut umm the patheticness was taken up to another notch because while I found the willingness in him to do anything for Samantha cute at the start... it quickly changed into being embarrassing. Because I would not be willing to leave everything for someone I barely know. But besides that, I liked his grumpy nature and some of the scenes here in the book, and the interactions between the characters in them were very well done. Like the whole escape room scene was very cute.
Samantha, I really tried to like her, but Abby just does not know how to write female characters, because with the exception of Emma from JFTS, most of her FMCs always do something that is just so unbearable, and honestly, I just could not be invested in Samantha鈥檚 character. I appreciated the struggles that were depicted, and also the storyline about her mother suffering from dementia also hit very hard鈥攁nd I could relate to it because of my grandfather. But the way the whole situation was handled made me so mad.
The romance鈥攊t was insta lust, but honestly, I did not mind that part because the chemistry between them felt so natural and so good to read. Reading about their interactions and the scenes that they shared together were so fun to read. Honestly, those were my favorite parts of the book because their interactions just felt so easy, and I really thought the romance moving forward would be good. But the long distance, though realistic, made it so frustrating. It took away so much of the screen time off the romance, and like most of it was dedicated to Samantha struggling with her life鈥攁nd tbh, I don鈥檛 mind that when there鈥檚 a good balance or when I don鈥檛 feel the romance missing. Honestly, this book was so messy because the insta lust made their interactions by the first half feel like everything that could have happened, happened. But then so many conflicts were thrown that the fun romance just lost all its charm.
The thing that pissed me off the most was the DAD. The way he was cheating on the mom, and the way it was normalized by him and his children?? And he wasn't even guilty?? And the fact that when Tristan (the son) got mad, the sister stopped talking to him?? And the whole grandma drama didn't really hit me because I was so disconnected from the book. And also the way the dad said that he wanted to put the mother in a nursing home because he couldn't take care of her alone?? All of this was so frustrating to read because first of all, you're still married AND seeing other women and fucking them is still CHEATING, and it is wrong. And the way Abby tried to normalize it was very disappointing. And to say that he could not take care of her alone while the children were there to help as well!! And tbh, I saw my grandmother take care of my grandfather, and it got very, very hard for her sometimes to do that, but never once did she recommend something like putting him in a nursing home. I guess at the end of the day, it just matters how much you love your spouse to be willing to do so much for them. And the worst part was the mom never wanted to go to the nursing home. It was honestly what dropped my rating to a two
___
Dropping everything to start my second most anticipated book of the year 馃檹馃徎 I just know I'll love it 馃じ馃徎 ( aged like milk)
___
I'll read her grocery list at this point 馃檪鈥嶁啎锔�
-Abby jimenez is yet to disappoint me so high hopes 馃構
April 11, 2025
Lots of humor & silly moments, but mixed nicely with the more vulnerable and emotional ones. Not my favorite tropes (insta love + grumpy x sunshine), but I think Abby Jiminez did them justice & I enjoyed seeing how these characters fought to keep the relationship going through everything (literally they could not catch a break). I also really liked how Xavier stepped up and took care of everyone around him
Definitely makes you leave wanting to cherish every memory you make (the small ones especially)!
Definitely makes you leave wanting to cherish every memory you make (the small ones especially)!
April 3, 2025
the easiest five star i鈥檝e ever given.
鈥渋鈥檇 like to look back on my life and remember every single thing. but if I don鈥檛, I hope I remember that it was a love story. And that the love story was about you.鈥�
鈥渋鈥檇 like to look back on my life and remember every single thing. but if I don鈥檛, I hope I remember that it was a love story. And that the love story was about you.鈥�
November 21, 2024
Every time I finish a book by Abby I think it can never get better than this鈥� and then it does. Say You鈥檒l Remember Me might be my new favorite by her. I laughed out loud and also sobbed. The characters and setting are so relatable, I hope everyone reads this one. I will recommend this book until the end of time.
April 3, 2025
4.5 猸愶笍I ATE THIS UP AND LEFT NOTHING BEHIND. The ending was cute but also a bit rushed, I kidna wish to have seen more after all the bs we were put through. Xavier was 10/10 book boyfriend material.
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December 25, 2024Trigger/content warnings:
While my books are all romcoms, there鈥檚 still some themes in this story that may be triggering for some readers. If you feel trigger warnings are spoilers and you don鈥檛 need them, please skip the next paragraph.
****CONTENT WARNINGS BELOW****
This book contains detailed descriptions of someone with advanced dementia. There's mention of a cheating spouse of a side character, mention of past child abuse both physical and emotional. Mention of animal abuse, cruelty, and neglect. There's a scene where a dog is in peril (the dog doesn't die. The dog will NEVER die.) Sudden unexpected death of an on page side character.
While my books are all romcoms, there鈥檚 still some themes in this story that may be triggering for some readers. If you feel trigger warnings are spoilers and you don鈥檛 need them, please skip the next paragraph.
****CONTENT WARNINGS BELOW****
This book contains detailed descriptions of someone with advanced dementia. There's mention of a cheating spouse of a side character, mention of past child abuse both physical and emotional. Mention of animal abuse, cruelty, and neglect. There's a scene where a dog is in peril (the dog doesn't die. The dog will NEVER die.) Sudden unexpected death of an on page side character.
April 23, 2025
鈥� here we go. 2.5 stars.
Say You鈥檒l Remember Me was, ironically, not very memorable.
what to expect:
鈦� a lot of family drama + trauma (family member with dementia, estranged parents, siblings feuding, cheating, etc.)
鈦� long distance relationship
鈦� insta love (!!!)
鈦� MMC is a veterinarian
鈦� California / Minnesota settings
鈦� no explicit spice
what i liked:
鈦� he loves animals
鈦� it was under 400 pages
鈦� MMC is a natural caretaker
鈦� banter + humor (until i got tired of mustard jokes)
yeah, that鈥檚 about it
what i didn鈥檛 enjoy:
鈦� swallowing of the earbud
鈦� more than one Rhysand comparison needed to be edited out
鈦� an abundance of 鈥榗ontemplative gazes鈥�
鈦� um鈥� the dad鈥檚 behavior??? absolutely not.馃檪鈥嶁啍锔忦煓傗€嶁啍锔忦煓傗€嶁啍锔�
鈦� multi-week and month jumps between chapters (and between our main characters seeing each other)
鈦� literally everyone was miserable for 95% of this book and it was exhausting
鈦� 2020s lingo: lit, mid, hits different, left you on read, be so freaking for real right now, etc.
鈦� i simply couldn鈥檛 relate to anyone in this book
鈦� repetitive internal monologues
鈦� i felt like Abby was trying *too* hard to add depth to this book by constantly creating new obstacles, problems, and drama
鈦� not enough build up for the romance + lack of chemistry
i can see why people would love this but it just wasn鈥檛 memorable, satisfying, or even *FUN* for me.
鈥⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌�
**book club read
read new releases with us 馃馃徎
Say You鈥檒l Remember Me was, ironically, not very memorable.
what to expect:
鈦� a lot of family drama + trauma (family member with dementia, estranged parents, siblings feuding, cheating, etc.)
鈦� long distance relationship
鈦� insta love (!!!)
鈦� MMC is a veterinarian
鈦� California / Minnesota settings
鈦� no explicit spice
what i liked:
鈦� he loves animals
鈦� it was under 400 pages
鈦� MMC is a natural caretaker
鈦� banter + humor (until i got tired of mustard jokes)
yeah, that鈥檚 about it
what i didn鈥檛 enjoy:
鈦� swallowing of the earbud
鈦� more than one Rhysand comparison needed to be edited out
鈦� an abundance of 鈥榗ontemplative gazes鈥�
鈦� um鈥� the dad鈥檚 behavior??? absolutely not.馃檪鈥嶁啍锔忦煓傗€嶁啍锔忦煓傗€嶁啍锔�
鈦� multi-week and month jumps between chapters (and between our main characters seeing each other)
鈦� literally everyone was miserable for 95% of this book and it was exhausting
鈦� 2020s lingo: lit, mid, hits different, left you on read, be so freaking for real right now, etc.
鈦� i simply couldn鈥檛 relate to anyone in this book
鈦� repetitive internal monologues
鈦� i felt like Abby was trying *too* hard to add depth to this book by constantly creating new obstacles, problems, and drama
鈦� not enough build up for the romance + lack of chemistry
i can see why people would love this but it just wasn鈥檛 memorable, satisfying, or even *FUN* for me.
鈥⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌⑩赌�
**book club read
read new releases with us 馃馃徎
July 23, 2024
(I work for the publisher.) I read the entire manuscript in two days because I couldn鈥檛 put it down. Abby is simply wonderful, and this new novel is another perfect reason as to why we all adore her here at Hachette. I can鈥檛 wait for y鈥檃ll to read it! (In the meantime, make sure to pick up her new book, Just for the Summer!)
April 15, 2025
3 Stars.
I really enjoyed some parts of the story. I thought the MMC was super sweet and cute. The FMC was a little bit of a spitfire and I found her personality pretty delightful.
The huge emphasis on the MMC looking like Rhys from ACOTAR was exhausting. Like beating a not funny joke half to death over and over.
I also feel like Abby dumbs her characters down so much to wrap everything up in a convenient bow. The obstacle standing between these two being together didn't seem that big of a deal for me and could have been easily resolved and yet their entire reason for being separated hinges on it.
It felt silly to me like most of Abby's books.(For me) Parts of it were cute, some parts cringe- overall I'm kinda indifferent about it. If you typically enjoy AJ's books it's worth the read. 馃挆
Meagan why's your dog on this here cover? 馃槄馃惥馃挊
Almost here!! Expected Pub Date - 04/01/25
馃挅Enemies to Lovers
馃惥Opposites Attract
馃挅Swoony MMC
馃惥Slow Burn
馃挅Forced Distance
馃惥Deeply Emotional
馃挅Second Chances
馃惥Vet MMC
馃挅Strong Family Ties
馃惥No Third Act
鈰嗏湸锔幩氾健鈰� 藯藦藡鈽呪€匡傅鈥� 藲 鈧娾姽
I really enjoyed some parts of the story. I thought the MMC was super sweet and cute. The FMC was a little bit of a spitfire and I found her personality pretty delightful.
The huge emphasis on the MMC looking like Rhys from ACOTAR was exhausting. Like beating a not funny joke half to death over and over.
I also feel like Abby dumbs her characters down so much to wrap everything up in a convenient bow. The obstacle standing between these two being together didn't seem that big of a deal for me and could have been easily resolved and yet their entire reason for being separated hinges on it.
It felt silly to me like most of Abby's books.(For me) Parts of it were cute, some parts cringe- overall I'm kinda indifferent about it. If you typically enjoy AJ's books it's worth the read. 馃挆
Meagan why's your dog on this here cover? 馃槄馃惥馃挊
Almost here!! Expected Pub Date - 04/01/25
馃挅Enemies to Lovers
馃惥Opposites Attract
馃挅Swoony MMC
馃惥Slow Burn
馃挅Forced Distance
馃惥Deeply Emotional
馃挅Second Chances
馃惥Vet MMC
馃挅Strong Family Ties
馃惥No Third Act
鈰嗏湸锔幩氾健鈰� 藯藦藡鈽呪€匡傅鈥� 藲 鈧娾姽
Read
April 8, 2025nvm idk how i feel
January 5, 2025
6 starsssss!!!! if you鈥檙e a very sentimental person or thinks actively about remembering 鈥�. this is gonna do a NUMBER on you鈥� like it did on me. no notes
November 12, 2024
A UFO escape room, organic mustard, a VILF and 鈥楥ome on, Eileen鈥欌€� what more could you want from a romance story 馃馃徏
5 stars for Abby Jimenez. Every time I think she can鈥檛 outdo her last book she goes and creates something that equally pulls on my heart strings and makes me giggle so loud.
(Thank you NetGalley and little brown book group for the advance copy to read ahead of this book release!)
5 stars for Abby Jimenez. Every time I think she can鈥檛 outdo her last book she goes and creates something that equally pulls on my heart strings and makes me giggle so loud.
(Thank you NetGalley and little brown book group for the advance copy to read ahead of this book release!)
April 26, 2025
I鈥檓 a devoted fangirl of Abby Jimenez鈥檚 books鈥攕he knows exactly how to tug at heartstrings and compose a unique melody that resonates deeply. She never sugarcoats difficult, triggering topics or handles them with kid gloves, yet her tender and genuine approach always touches your heart, melting it while reminding you of the beautiful moments and cherished people in your life. Her writing is like a triple chocolate lava cake for my soul鈥攅ach layer brings an even greater rush of emotion and euphoria!
This book is not just a heartfelt long-distance love story; it鈥檚 also a deeply moving family drama centered around a tight-knit household navigating a tragic, life-altering situation. The family matriarch, Lisa, is battling early-onset dementia, and while the emotional weight of this struggle sometimes overshadows the romance, the story remains powerful and thought-provoking. It鈥檚 the kind of book that feels like wrapping yourself in the softest blanket while sipping your favorite warm drink鈥攃omforting, moving, and impossible to put down.
Samantha, with her sharp sense of humor and internal conflict between logic and emotions, tries to resist falling for the grumpy, Greek-god-shaped veterinarian, Xavier. He鈥檚 a cinnamon roll of a man鈥攁rguably the best book boyfriend Jimenez has ever created鈥攈iding behind a tough exterior shaped by years of trauma and abuse. I adored both characters, but Xavier, with his unwavering dependability and sweetness, stole my heart. He鈥檚 the kind of dream guy every woman wishes for but rarely finds in real life.
Samantha鈥檚 family is just as compelling鈥攆rom her strong single-mom sister and her little boys to her artistic, straightforward brother, their sweet and caring grandmother, and their father, who鈥檚 on the verge of burnout from trying to hold everything together. And, of course, there鈥檚 Lisa, who faces one of the cruelest diseases, losing pieces of herself each day.
Samantha and Xavier鈥檚 paths cross in the most unexpected way鈥攖hrough a cat with no butthole in need of urgent surgery. Their first interaction is anything but a meet-cute, as Xavier accidentally says the wrong thing, but he quickly realizes his mistake and makes it up to her with a date that turns into a night neither of them will ever forget鈥攁ll set to the soundtrack of Come On Eileen.
But just as sparks fly, reality crashes in. Samantha is moving to Los Angeles the next morning, and Xavier assumes that鈥檚 the end of their connection鈥攗ntil he realizes he can鈥檛 let her go so easily. Samantha, bound by duty to help care for her mother, can鈥檛 relocate, leaving Xavier to make the effort of flying 2,000 miles just to be with her. Can a long-distance relationship survive when Samantha is convinced it won鈥檛 work? Is love worth the risk, even when life is already overwhelming? Will they find a way to make it against all odds? You鈥檒l have to read and find out!
Overall: This might just be my favorite Abby Jimenez book yet! If I could give it five gazillion stars, I would. I wholeheartedly recommend grabbing a copy ASAP!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with an ARC of one of the most anticipated books of the year in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
This book is not just a heartfelt long-distance love story; it鈥檚 also a deeply moving family drama centered around a tight-knit household navigating a tragic, life-altering situation. The family matriarch, Lisa, is battling early-onset dementia, and while the emotional weight of this struggle sometimes overshadows the romance, the story remains powerful and thought-provoking. It鈥檚 the kind of book that feels like wrapping yourself in the softest blanket while sipping your favorite warm drink鈥攃omforting, moving, and impossible to put down.
Samantha, with her sharp sense of humor and internal conflict between logic and emotions, tries to resist falling for the grumpy, Greek-god-shaped veterinarian, Xavier. He鈥檚 a cinnamon roll of a man鈥攁rguably the best book boyfriend Jimenez has ever created鈥攈iding behind a tough exterior shaped by years of trauma and abuse. I adored both characters, but Xavier, with his unwavering dependability and sweetness, stole my heart. He鈥檚 the kind of dream guy every woman wishes for but rarely finds in real life.
Samantha鈥檚 family is just as compelling鈥攆rom her strong single-mom sister and her little boys to her artistic, straightforward brother, their sweet and caring grandmother, and their father, who鈥檚 on the verge of burnout from trying to hold everything together. And, of course, there鈥檚 Lisa, who faces one of the cruelest diseases, losing pieces of herself each day.
Samantha and Xavier鈥檚 paths cross in the most unexpected way鈥攖hrough a cat with no butthole in need of urgent surgery. Their first interaction is anything but a meet-cute, as Xavier accidentally says the wrong thing, but he quickly realizes his mistake and makes it up to her with a date that turns into a night neither of them will ever forget鈥攁ll set to the soundtrack of Come On Eileen.
But just as sparks fly, reality crashes in. Samantha is moving to Los Angeles the next morning, and Xavier assumes that鈥檚 the end of their connection鈥攗ntil he realizes he can鈥檛 let her go so easily. Samantha, bound by duty to help care for her mother, can鈥檛 relocate, leaving Xavier to make the effort of flying 2,000 miles just to be with her. Can a long-distance relationship survive when Samantha is convinced it won鈥檛 work? Is love worth the risk, even when life is already overwhelming? Will they find a way to make it against all odds? You鈥檒l have to read and find out!
Overall: This might just be my favorite Abby Jimenez book yet! If I could give it five gazillion stars, I would. I wholeheartedly recommend grabbing a copy ASAP!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with an ARC of one of the most anticipated books of the year in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
April 9, 2025
3.99 猸愶笍
April 25, 2025
鉃� 2.5 Stars.
鈥淗e fucked off to his motherland.鈥�
That鈥檚 how Omar鈥攆mc鈥檚 sister鈥檚 ex-husband鈥攚as described. diabolic if you ask me. focus on his name for a bit.
I鈥檝e seen that the editor will cut this line off in the final script but I had an advanced copy and it was in it. despite it being removed or not, it rubs be the wrong way that the author wrote such line to being with.
Update: regarding the problematic sentence ^^^
the publisher deleted it off the final script. apparently her sister鈥檚 ex husband is not named omar now and his story line is now changed, but as I said above even if it鈥檚 deleted now it still rubs me the wrong way that she wrote it in the original script but I can give her a little respect for listening to us.
鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌
this was my first abby book, and to say my expectations were sky-high would be an understatement. every review I鈥檝e seen about her writing is practically glowing, which made me go into this with excitement and confidence. I fully expected this to be a four- or five-star read, no questions asked. now, don鈥檛 get me wrong鈥擨 think the book was enjoyable to some extent. But there were certain things that held it back for me, keeping it from reaching that four- or five-star range.
鉃� I enjoyed how fast-paced the writing style was. It was ridiculously addictive. I tore through 400 pages in maybe three or four hours, which is honestly wild. It was the kind of book that i don鈥檛 even realize I鈥檓 flying through until i look up and see I鈥檓 70% in. but here鈥檚 the thing: while I appreciate an easy, engaging read, it also felt鈥� unstable? abrupt. uneven. almost jerky. I don鈥檛 mind books that are simple and quick, but considering how highly this author is praised, I expected something with a little more finesse. maybe something along the lines of 鈥淓mily Henry鈥檚鈥� writing鈥攆lowy, rich, and immersive. Instead, the prose was bad and the pacing felt like it was rushing from one scene to the next without giving moments enough weight.
another thing that threw me off?? The sheer number of modern references. I don鈥檛 know if this is just Abby鈥檚 style, but it felt like every other chapter had a pop culture mention, and after a while, the one that annoyed me the most? The mmc being described as Rhysand from ACOTAR. repeatedly like, why? I hated it aspecially because I hate Rhysand. some of the references were funny, I鈥檒l admit like that viral video scene, but at the same time, they were excessive. It felt like the book was trying too hard to be trendy, and that kind of thing ages fast.
鉃� let鈥檚 talk about the romance. this book features insta-love, which is usually one of my least favorite tropes. but surprisingly, I didn鈥檛 FULLY hate it here. that being said, I do think the feelings developed too quickly even for an insta-love. they had one date, and then suddenly, when he called her while she was in Cali, they were picking up the conversation like a full-blown couple with no further due. It was a little jarring. I would鈥檝e liked to see even just a bit of a slower burn鈥攎ore time developing their connection before jumping into the deep end.
and honestly, that leads me to my biggest issue: the romance itself felt underdeveloped.
鉃� xavier and samantha clearly love each other deeply. their bond is strong, and no matter what they went through, they never truly wavered. but because the book was so fast-paced, I felt like I was rushing through the story rather than fully immersing myself in it. a book has the space to dig deep, to explore the nuances of a relationship in a way that other forms of storytelling can鈥檛鈥攁nd yet, I felt like this story barely scratched the surface. the moments where they overthought their relationship and their family issues took up more space than their actual romance, which made it hard to fully feel their love.
the book relied more on telling than showing, making the emotions feel surface-level rather than deeply felt. the characters repeatedly declared how much they meant to each other, constantly insisting on their love and devotion. yet, those words didn鈥檛 translate into a connection I could truly believe in. I wanted to feel their bond鈥攖he longing, the tension, the quiet moments that speak louder than words鈥攂ut the book moved too quickly to make that happen. Instead of showing scenes that proved the truth of their words, the story rushed through their relationship, focusing more on other plot elements than on actually developing their romance. their love was described as intense and all-consuming, but without the moments to back it up, it never truly came alive on the page in my opinion and it hurts!!
it felt like we were skipping over crucial moments instead of living in them. I wanted more time with them鈥攅specially toward the end. there were so many moments that could have been fleshed out, but instead, they were just鈥� skipped. and that frustrated me because they had so much potential.
I usually love books where the mmc does way more for the fmc than she does for him. I don鈥檛 even care鈥擨 just love when he loves her more, when he鈥檚 constantly doing things for her, showing up for her, going all out. and in this book, Xavier definitely does that鈥攈e鈥檚 all in for Samantha, doing all these big things. but it just didn鈥檛 land. Instead of loving it like I normally do, it honestly felt kind of boring. they felt like strangers. It was like he was doing all these grand gestures for someone he barely knew, because the relationship moved so fast, no real connection behind it. Just vibes, no depth.
so, while I enjoyed them as characters and found their relationship compelling to some extent, something still felt missing. and that brings me to my final thoughts.
this didn鈥檛 feel like a deeply complex relationship unfolding naturally, Instead, the characters felt like they were just there to deliver their lines. they were two dimensional. like the author gave them trauma not as a genuine part of their personality but as a plot device. and unfortunately, while I enjoyed the characters a little bit, I wasn鈥檛 fully connected to them in a way that made them unforgettable. they were fine鈥攇ood, even鈥攂ut still lacked that extra depth that would鈥檝e made them feel real to me.
鉃� and then there鈥檚 the ending. I kept hearing that it was going to be emotional, but because everything was moving at breakneck speed, I didn鈥檛 feel much of anything. I think I was supposed to be sad, but the way certain things were thrown in鈥攍ike the grandmother鈥檚 trauma鈥攆elt forced rather than organic. It was like the book was trying to add extra layers of sadness for the sake of making it feel emotional, but it didn鈥檛 really work. and Xavier鈥檚 financial struggles? the loans and business stress? Maybe it鈥檚 just because I study in tech and my brain is wired to stress over finances, but that part had me more anxious than anything else. 馃槶 my final words will be that it was a very shaky book that had potential to be great. so go read Promise me sunshine. the trauma and struggles were actually real in that book with a very loveable couple.
鉃� ARC provided by the publisher鈥攆orever (grand central publishing)鈥攊n exchange for an honest review.
鈥淗e fucked off to his motherland.鈥�
That鈥檚 how Omar鈥攆mc鈥檚 sister鈥檚 ex-husband鈥攚as described. diabolic if you ask me. focus on his name for a bit.
I鈥檝e seen that the editor will cut this line off in the final script but I had an advanced copy and it was in it. despite it being removed or not, it rubs be the wrong way that the author wrote such line to being with.
Update: regarding the problematic sentence ^^^
the publisher deleted it off the final script. apparently her sister鈥檚 ex husband is not named omar now and his story line is now changed, but as I said above even if it鈥檚 deleted now it still rubs me the wrong way that she wrote it in the original script but I can give her a little respect for listening to us.
鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌鈹赌
this was my first abby book, and to say my expectations were sky-high would be an understatement. every review I鈥檝e seen about her writing is practically glowing, which made me go into this with excitement and confidence. I fully expected this to be a four- or five-star read, no questions asked. now, don鈥檛 get me wrong鈥擨 think the book was enjoyable to some extent. But there were certain things that held it back for me, keeping it from reaching that four- or five-star range.
鉃� I enjoyed how fast-paced the writing style was. It was ridiculously addictive. I tore through 400 pages in maybe three or four hours, which is honestly wild. It was the kind of book that i don鈥檛 even realize I鈥檓 flying through until i look up and see I鈥檓 70% in. but here鈥檚 the thing: while I appreciate an easy, engaging read, it also felt鈥� unstable? abrupt. uneven. almost jerky. I don鈥檛 mind books that are simple and quick, but considering how highly this author is praised, I expected something with a little more finesse. maybe something along the lines of 鈥淓mily Henry鈥檚鈥� writing鈥攆lowy, rich, and immersive. Instead, the prose was bad and the pacing felt like it was rushing from one scene to the next without giving moments enough weight.
another thing that threw me off?? The sheer number of modern references. I don鈥檛 know if this is just Abby鈥檚 style, but it felt like every other chapter had a pop culture mention, and after a while, the one that annoyed me the most? The mmc being described as Rhysand from ACOTAR. repeatedly like, why? I hated it aspecially because I hate Rhysand. some of the references were funny, I鈥檒l admit like that viral video scene, but at the same time, they were excessive. It felt like the book was trying too hard to be trendy, and that kind of thing ages fast.
鉃� let鈥檚 talk about the romance. this book features insta-love, which is usually one of my least favorite tropes. but surprisingly, I didn鈥檛 FULLY hate it here. that being said, I do think the feelings developed too quickly even for an insta-love. they had one date, and then suddenly, when he called her while she was in Cali, they were picking up the conversation like a full-blown couple with no further due. It was a little jarring. I would鈥檝e liked to see even just a bit of a slower burn鈥攎ore time developing their connection before jumping into the deep end.
and honestly, that leads me to my biggest issue: the romance itself felt underdeveloped.
鉃� xavier and samantha clearly love each other deeply. their bond is strong, and no matter what they went through, they never truly wavered. but because the book was so fast-paced, I felt like I was rushing through the story rather than fully immersing myself in it. a book has the space to dig deep, to explore the nuances of a relationship in a way that other forms of storytelling can鈥檛鈥攁nd yet, I felt like this story barely scratched the surface. the moments where they overthought their relationship and their family issues took up more space than their actual romance, which made it hard to fully feel their love.
the book relied more on telling than showing, making the emotions feel surface-level rather than deeply felt. the characters repeatedly declared how much they meant to each other, constantly insisting on their love and devotion. yet, those words didn鈥檛 translate into a connection I could truly believe in. I wanted to feel their bond鈥攖he longing, the tension, the quiet moments that speak louder than words鈥攂ut the book moved too quickly to make that happen. Instead of showing scenes that proved the truth of their words, the story rushed through their relationship, focusing more on other plot elements than on actually developing their romance. their love was described as intense and all-consuming, but without the moments to back it up, it never truly came alive on the page in my opinion and it hurts!!
it felt like we were skipping over crucial moments instead of living in them. I wanted more time with them鈥攅specially toward the end. there were so many moments that could have been fleshed out, but instead, they were just鈥� skipped. and that frustrated me because they had so much potential.
I usually love books where the mmc does way more for the fmc than she does for him. I don鈥檛 even care鈥擨 just love when he loves her more, when he鈥檚 constantly doing things for her, showing up for her, going all out. and in this book, Xavier definitely does that鈥攈e鈥檚 all in for Samantha, doing all these big things. but it just didn鈥檛 land. Instead of loving it like I normally do, it honestly felt kind of boring. they felt like strangers. It was like he was doing all these grand gestures for someone he barely knew, because the relationship moved so fast, no real connection behind it. Just vibes, no depth.
so, while I enjoyed them as characters and found their relationship compelling to some extent, something still felt missing. and that brings me to my final thoughts.
this didn鈥檛 feel like a deeply complex relationship unfolding naturally, Instead, the characters felt like they were just there to deliver their lines. they were two dimensional. like the author gave them trauma not as a genuine part of their personality but as a plot device. and unfortunately, while I enjoyed the characters a little bit, I wasn鈥檛 fully connected to them in a way that made them unforgettable. they were fine鈥攇ood, even鈥攂ut still lacked that extra depth that would鈥檝e made them feel real to me.
鉃� and then there鈥檚 the ending. I kept hearing that it was going to be emotional, but because everything was moving at breakneck speed, I didn鈥檛 feel much of anything. I think I was supposed to be sad, but the way certain things were thrown in鈥攍ike the grandmother鈥檚 trauma鈥攆elt forced rather than organic. It was like the book was trying to add extra layers of sadness for the sake of making it feel emotional, but it didn鈥檛 really work. and Xavier鈥檚 financial struggles? the loans and business stress? Maybe it鈥檚 just because I study in tech and my brain is wired to stress over finances, but that part had me more anxious than anything else. 馃槶 my final words will be that it was a very shaky book that had potential to be great. so go read Promise me sunshine. the trauma and struggles were actually real in that book with a very loveable couple.
鉃� ARC provided by the publisher鈥攆orever (grand central publishing)鈥攊n exchange for an honest review.
鈹佲攣鈹佲攣鈹佲攣鈹佲攣鈹佲攣 鈾� 鈹佲攣鈹佲攣鈹佲攣鈹佲攣鈹佲攣
April 1, 2025
鈥别别迟-肠耻迟别
鈥orced proximity
鈥ong distance relationship
鈥ual point of view
鈥innamon roll MMC
鈥omplicated family dynamics (x2)
"None of the fear and worry I had was because I didn鈥檛 think it would work. The fear and worry was because I knew it would. I was going to fall in love with this man."
As with each of her books that came before it, Say You'll Remember Me quickly sucked me in. Abby's books are so easy to lose yourself in & nearly impossible to put down!!
Xavier & Samantha are brought together by fate...by way of a rescued kitten lacking a butthole. Despite an initial clash of personalities and a slight lack of faith, there is definitely a spark. These two share a nearly perfect, and completely unforgettable, date...the night before Samantha is set to move back across the country. Their connection may be strong but will allllll the hurdles thrown at them be too much to overcome?
Abby's books always bring the laughs along with the tears, but this one does land on the heavier side for sure! (Check trigger warnings before you read it) Tragedy & triumph. Heart & hope. These characters and this story will be on my mind for a long time to come.
4/5 猸愶笍
1/5 馃尪锔�
Thank you to Forever for granting my wish for a digital ARC of Say You'll Remember Me in exchange for my honest review.
鈥orced proximity
鈥ong distance relationship
鈥ual point of view
鈥innamon roll MMC
鈥omplicated family dynamics (x2)
"None of the fear and worry I had was because I didn鈥檛 think it would work. The fear and worry was because I knew it would. I was going to fall in love with this man."
As with each of her books that came before it, Say You'll Remember Me quickly sucked me in. Abby's books are so easy to lose yourself in & nearly impossible to put down!!
Xavier & Samantha are brought together by fate...by way of a rescued kitten lacking a butthole. Despite an initial clash of personalities and a slight lack of faith, there is definitely a spark. These two share a nearly perfect, and completely unforgettable, date...the night before Samantha is set to move back across the country. Their connection may be strong but will allllll the hurdles thrown at them be too much to overcome?
Abby's books always bring the laughs along with the tears, but this one does land on the heavier side for sure! (Check trigger warnings before you read it) Tragedy & triumph. Heart & hope. These characters and this story will be on my mind for a long time to come.
4/5 猸愶笍
1/5 馃尪锔�
Thank you to Forever for granting my wish for a digital ARC of Say You'll Remember Me in exchange for my honest review.
April 5, 2025
鈥淏ut she still knew what love was.
Maybe that鈥檚 the last thing we forget. Or we never forget it at all. Not really. We lose the words to say it. We lose the ability to show it. But we never lose the ability to feel it or recognize it when we see it.Love is the brightest color in a gray world.鈥�
I鈥檓 SOOO disappointed 鉁嬸煆火煒� the way i was super hyped and excited for this!! Like veryyy but now i feel so disappointed because what the hell was this!!! Abby what did you do? i was rotting for u 馃鈥嶁檧锔忦煣嶁€嶁檧锔忦煣嶁€嶁檧锔� such a downgrade from just for the summer 馃寶
let鈥檚 start with the romance
I don鈥檛 even know if i can call this insta love because insta love at least take sometime for thing to happen but here omg everything was moving so fast i got whiplash!!Like savannah slow down please 鉁嬸煆� they went on the first date and then everything went downhill from there!! They acted like they have been in this relationship for years while in fact they only knew each-other for like what one week?馃槶馃槶馃槶 they already did everything when i got to the 50% so I don鈥檛 know why i kept reading since everything already happened and he was calling her wifey by then so 馃槶馃鈥嶁檧锔� also it was going sooo fast, there was no build up no anything which made every sweet moment between them feels flat for me!! Like the cute things Xavier did instead of finding it cute i found it annoying because i didn鈥檛 understand how he loved her so fast????
her dad drama
That was a BIG NO from me 鉁嬸煆� disgusting!!!! Idc what anyone says. Divorce your wife if u can鈥檛 handle all this and go fuck around as much as you want but you fucking around while you still married to her is a big ass no!! And omg he said that what鈥檚 between him and his wife is a true love 馃槶馃槶馃ぁ馃ぁ馃ぁ may this type of this true love never ever find me馃檹馃徎馃檹馃徎馃檹馃徎馃檹馃徎 And the fact that abby normalized that shit and that everyone was soo okay with it by the end and that Samantha sister got angry at Tristan and stopped talking to him because he was the only one who refused what鈥檚 going on ugh disgusting how can u do that 鉁嬸煆烩湅馃徎 i was soo angry like omg ewww!!
Xavier
Listen i love pathetic and down bad men like it鈥檚 so satisfying reading about them but omg here he was the type of pathetic that was annoying because like bro was giving everything to her and IT WAS ONLY AFTER THE FIRST DATE!!!!! He had personality but it vanished when Samantha showed up it was sooo embarrassing I couldn鈥檛 even 鉁嬸煆� but that also doesn鈥檛 men that he is not hot and that his love for animals and dogss is such a turn on 馃槍馃槷鈥嶐煉煒€嶐煉�
the ending so underwhelming and rushed 馃槶馃槶 like noo I didn鈥檛 like it 鉁嬸煆�
But overall at let鈥檚 i got to yapp and hate read it with my bestie buket 馃き馃じ馃徎鈥嶁檧锔忦煠� always pleasure!! The way we would wake up so early just to read some of this plsss we need compensation for the effort this book is not worth it 馃槶馃槶鉁嬸煆烩湅馃徎
April 8, 2025
I鈥檓 so sorry but giving this 2 stars only for Xavier and a few quotes that were cute.
-1 star for mentioning Rhysand from ACOTAR multiple times
-1 star for being too Tiktok-y (can we abolish mentioning current trends and slang in books? please?)
-1 star for the cheating dad and the family drama
As someone who loves Abby Jimenez鈥檚 books, I鈥檓 so disappointed in this one. There were a few cute moments but I just didn鈥檛 connect with this story like I did with her other books.
The way all of my highly anticipated releases this year (with the exception of Onyx Storm) have been disappointing. 馃様鉁�
-1 star for mentioning Rhysand from ACOTAR multiple times
-1 star for being too Tiktok-y (can we abolish mentioning current trends and slang in books? please?)
-1 star for the cheating dad and the family drama
As someone who loves Abby Jimenez鈥檚 books, I鈥檓 so disappointed in this one. There were a few cute moments but I just didn鈥檛 connect with this story like I did with her other books.
The way all of my highly anticipated releases this year (with the exception of Onyx Storm) have been disappointing. 馃様鉁�
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2025
I WANTED LOVE & GOT A FAMILY SOAP OPERA INSTEAD.
馃槶
Y鈥檃ll. My first Abby Jimenez book & I am HUGELY disappointed. The romance?? Barely there. Instead, we get a front-row seat to messy family drama I did not sign up for.
No one is talking about this, but Sam鈥檚 dad is out here sneaking around, cheating, and planning to move on while his wife鈥攚ho has dementia 鈥�is still alive. EXCUSE ME??? That is NOT love. That is Betrayal. And the worst part? The kids just... accept it. Sam鈥檚 sister is like 鈥渋t is what it is,鈥� Sam stays quiet, and Tristan yells at their dad but does absolutely NOTHING to help their mom. WTF.
I just cannot with how the book normalized this. How would YOU feel if your spouse of 30+ years started sleeping around while you were vulnerable & sick? It鈥檚 disgusting. And this book treats it like a 鈥渓ife is complicated鈥� moment. Nah. It鈥檚 just wrong.
馃挅Now, the romance... if you can call it that. Xavier Rush is giving Greek god meets soft vet with a kitten vibes. LOVE that for us. But the love story? Fast-tracked. Insta-love on steroids. One magical night, and suddenly, we鈥檙e acting like we鈥檝e been through ten years of longing??? Where鈥檚 the build-up? The tension? The actual relationship development?
馃敼 I loved Xavier (duh, he鈥檚 perfect).
馃敼 The family struggles were real and emotional, I won鈥檛 lie.
馃敼 Abby鈥檚 writing? Super bingeable. You鈥檒l fly through this.
馃敼 But the romance??? Not enough. The drama overshadowed the love story.
And don鈥檛 even get me started on how many times Xavier was compared to Rhysand. WHY. STOP. It was funny the first time. After the tenth?? I wanted to throw the book.
鉁� Final thoughts? 鉁� If you love family drama with romance on the side, this is for you. If you鈥檙e here for the epic, all-consuming romance that Abby Jimenez is hyped for?? This one falls short. Hard.
Would I read another Abby book? Maybe. But this one?? Not it.
Y鈥檃ll. My first Abby Jimenez book & I am HUGELY disappointed. The romance?? Barely there. Instead, we get a front-row seat to messy family drama I did not sign up for.
No one is talking about this, but Sam鈥檚 dad is out here sneaking around, cheating, and planning to move on while his wife鈥攚ho has dementia 鈥�is still alive. EXCUSE ME??? That is NOT love. That is Betrayal. And the worst part? The kids just... accept it. Sam鈥檚 sister is like 鈥渋t is what it is,鈥� Sam stays quiet, and Tristan yells at their dad but does absolutely NOTHING to help their mom. WTF.
I just cannot with how the book normalized this. How would YOU feel if your spouse of 30+ years started sleeping around while you were vulnerable & sick? It鈥檚 disgusting. And this book treats it like a 鈥渓ife is complicated鈥� moment. Nah. It鈥檚 just wrong.
馃挅Now, the romance... if you can call it that. Xavier Rush is giving Greek god meets soft vet with a kitten vibes. LOVE that for us. But the love story? Fast-tracked. Insta-love on steroids. One magical night, and suddenly, we鈥檙e acting like we鈥檝e been through ten years of longing??? Where鈥檚 the build-up? The tension? The actual relationship development?
馃敼 I loved Xavier (duh, he鈥檚 perfect).
馃敼 The family struggles were real and emotional, I won鈥檛 lie.
馃敼 Abby鈥檚 writing? Super bingeable. You鈥檒l fly through this.
馃敼 But the romance??? Not enough. The drama overshadowed the love story.
And don鈥檛 even get me started on how many times Xavier was compared to Rhysand. WHY. STOP. It was funny the first time. After the tenth?? I wanted to throw the book.
鉁� Final thoughts? 鉁� If you love family drama with romance on the side, this is for you. If you鈥檙e here for the epic, all-consuming romance that Abby Jimenez is hyped for?? This one falls short. Hard.
Would I read another Abby book? Maybe. But this one?? Not it.
April 24, 2025
3 stars 嗉夆€р倞藲.
鈥漇ome things are worth remembering, Samantha. No matter how much they hurt.鈥�
鈧娝气姽鈰�
i鈥檓 a bit conflicted on how i feel about this. objectively, it a good book. well-written, easy to read, and many swoony moments. i never felt trapped in this book, desperate to be done. i liked it.
but this isn鈥檛 just any author. this isn鈥檛 a debut. and my expectations were much higher. so, a tip? go in with an open mind, and pretend this isn鈥檛 the same author who wrote Yours Truly. i鈥檓 not saying every single one of her books has to be some emotional masterpiece, but i do wish i could have connected with the characters more. and with the amount of individual conflicts they were facing, it actually should have been an emotional read. something was missing and i鈥檓 not sure what it was.
i so desperately want this review to look nice, with sections for each character, but to be completely honest, i don鈥檛 have much to say about them. i鈥檇 say they were both developed and xavier always said and did right thing, as every male main character should. samantha was kind and her hardships were realistic.
however, i wish the characters resolved some of their issues alone, so that their relationship could be stronger once they were together. it seemed like the author was just piling on struggles. and she did it in the most stereotypical way. the characters would have that one deep conversation and then never talk about it again.
i also didn鈥檛 love how鈥redictable(?) this was. and no, not predictable like one would describe a fantasy book, i鈥檓 not expecting plot twists to come out of nowhere constantly. it just followed the same structure that every other romance novel follows and didn鈥檛 bring anything new to the table.
another thing. the brainrot/slang鈥攁bsolutely diabolical. never once did i think to see any of these terms in one of my silly little romance books. titkok slang does not belong in books (in my ever so humble opinion).
let me present the evidence.
He made a dismissive noise. 鈥淢id.鈥�
鈥淒id you just call my cat mid?鈥�
鈥滺补驳.鈥�
鈥淧ick me.鈥�
鈥漎补补补补蝉.
the book world is supposed to be an escape. you think i like the amount of words being added to the dictionary? i鈥檓 just as fed up with 鈥渂rain rot鈥� slang as millennials are. abby jimenez, i love you, dearly. but please, for our sake, delete tiktok. you know? if it gets banned again, i won鈥檛 be too mad. maybe my favorite romance authors will stop trying to appeal to the younger audience and continue to write what made them popular in the first place.
Nothing. about him gave me the ick. I had the opposite of the ick right now. It was actually a problem.
Like, literally how dare my v*gina betray me like this. The audacity.
鈥滺earing my grandma read thirst comments about my boyfriend was not on my bingo card today.鈥�
鈥漍补惫颈别谤?鈥�
鈥淲ould you still want me if I was a worm?鈥�
*constantly comparing Xavier to 鈥淩hysand from ACOTAR鈥�*
you all understand though right? think about it. when you find a new singer you like, you like them because of their original style of music. and when they start trying to be more mainstream, it鈥檚 frustrating, isn鈥檛 it? i think that鈥檚 where my disappointment mostly stems from with this book. i deemed abby jimenez as a favorite author because i liked the research and time she put into each book. i liked feeling emotional by the end of the book and getting attached to the characters. and my favorite aspect was that she took time resolving conflicts, because realistically, change takes a while. part of your world and yours truly are my primary examples (i still have yet to read the friend zone series). my main point is, this book wasn鈥檛 bad, it鈥檚 just not the same as her other books and my expectations were a lot higher going into this.
[START OF SPOILERS]
and my final issue, their family conflict. just because your wife has dementia doesn鈥檛 give you a free pass to go and cheat on her. the way the kids brushed that off like it was nothing kind of confused me. yes, they were grieving and going through their own struggles, but at the end of the day, cheating is cheating. it鈥檚 fine to go on dates and have fun, but to leave in the middle of the night when your wife needs you? no thanks. hopefully someone agrees with me because i was so put off by this..
[END SPOILERS]
overall, the book was NOT bad. please don鈥檛 let my review dictate whether you should read this or not. this is only my personal thoughts and feelings. if you disagree, i鈥檓 happy you enjoyed, and if you agree, i鈥檇 love to hear some of your opinions!! i will still be continuing to read whatever else she puts out. it doesn鈥檛 feel right to completely alter my opinion based on this one book.
鈧娝气姽鈰�
鈥漇ome things are worth remembering, Samantha. No matter how much they hurt.鈥�
鈧娝气姽鈰�
i鈥檓 a bit conflicted on how i feel about this. objectively, it a good book. well-written, easy to read, and many swoony moments. i never felt trapped in this book, desperate to be done. i liked it.
but this isn鈥檛 just any author. this isn鈥檛 a debut. and my expectations were much higher. so, a tip? go in with an open mind, and pretend this isn鈥檛 the same author who wrote Yours Truly. i鈥檓 not saying every single one of her books has to be some emotional masterpiece, but i do wish i could have connected with the characters more. and with the amount of individual conflicts they were facing, it actually should have been an emotional read. something was missing and i鈥檓 not sure what it was.
i so desperately want this review to look nice, with sections for each character, but to be completely honest, i don鈥檛 have much to say about them. i鈥檇 say they were both developed and xavier always said and did right thing, as every male main character should. samantha was kind and her hardships were realistic.
however, i wish the characters resolved some of their issues alone, so that their relationship could be stronger once they were together. it seemed like the author was just piling on struggles. and she did it in the most stereotypical way. the characters would have that one deep conversation and then never talk about it again.
i also didn鈥檛 love how鈥redictable(?) this was. and no, not predictable like one would describe a fantasy book, i鈥檓 not expecting plot twists to come out of nowhere constantly. it just followed the same structure that every other romance novel follows and didn鈥檛 bring anything new to the table.
another thing. the brainrot/slang鈥攁bsolutely diabolical. never once did i think to see any of these terms in one of my silly little romance books. titkok slang does not belong in books (in my ever so humble opinion).
let me present the evidence.
He made a dismissive noise. 鈥淢id.鈥�
鈥淒id you just call my cat mid?鈥�
鈥滺补驳.鈥�
鈥淧ick me.鈥�
鈥漎补补补补蝉.
the book world is supposed to be an escape. you think i like the amount of words being added to the dictionary? i鈥檓 just as fed up with 鈥渂rain rot鈥� slang as millennials are. abby jimenez, i love you, dearly. but please, for our sake, delete tiktok. you know? if it gets banned again, i won鈥檛 be too mad. maybe my favorite romance authors will stop trying to appeal to the younger audience and continue to write what made them popular in the first place.
Nothing. about him gave me the ick. I had the opposite of the ick right now. It was actually a problem.
Like, literally how dare my v*gina betray me like this. The audacity.
鈥滺earing my grandma read thirst comments about my boyfriend was not on my bingo card today.鈥�
鈥漍补惫颈别谤?鈥�
鈥淲ould you still want me if I was a worm?鈥�
*constantly comparing Xavier to 鈥淩hysand from ACOTAR鈥�*
you all understand though right? think about it. when you find a new singer you like, you like them because of their original style of music. and when they start trying to be more mainstream, it鈥檚 frustrating, isn鈥檛 it? i think that鈥檚 where my disappointment mostly stems from with this book. i deemed abby jimenez as a favorite author because i liked the research and time she put into each book. i liked feeling emotional by the end of the book and getting attached to the characters. and my favorite aspect was that she took time resolving conflicts, because realistically, change takes a while. part of your world and yours truly are my primary examples (i still have yet to read the friend zone series). my main point is, this book wasn鈥檛 bad, it鈥檚 just not the same as her other books and my expectations were a lot higher going into this.
[START OF SPOILERS]
and my final issue, their family conflict. just because your wife has dementia doesn鈥檛 give you a free pass to go and cheat on her. the way the kids brushed that off like it was nothing kind of confused me. yes, they were grieving and going through their own struggles, but at the end of the day, cheating is cheating. it鈥檚 fine to go on dates and have fun, but to leave in the middle of the night when your wife needs you? no thanks. hopefully someone agrees with me because i was so put off by this..
[END SPOILERS]
overall, the book was NOT bad. please don鈥檛 let my review dictate whether you should read this or not. this is only my personal thoughts and feelings. if you disagree, i鈥檓 happy you enjoyed, and if you agree, i鈥檇 love to hear some of your opinions!! i will still be continuing to read whatever else she puts out. it doesn鈥檛 feel right to completely alter my opinion based on this one book.
鈧娝气姽鈰�
March 7, 2025
2 猸愶笍 | | |
I鈥檒l start by saying I am a fan of this author鈥檚 other work and have rated all her other books above 4猸愶笍.
I typically find her books to have in-depth characters, well-researched & meaningful inclusion of emotional & physical traumas, great banter, and wonderful nonromantic relationships.
This lacked so many of the aspects I鈥檝e come to love and enjoy in the author鈥檚 other work and overall was a huge letdown.
This book is for fans of insta-love, those who don鈥檛 mind an excessive amount of pop culture references and cheesy humor, and who like their happily ever afters to be grand gesture + unbelievable luck created perfection.
What I did enjoy鈥�
鈼� There are a handful of funny moments and while I鈥檓 not in love with the excessive dad jokes I did giggle some.
鈼� Grandma - she is the best character imo
鈼� The viral video and specifically the families reaction to it.
鈼� Family dynamics and representation of early onset dementia although I will say I think the family was super irresponsible caring for the mother at the beginning of the book
鈼� I think the book鈥檚 prose improved vastly in the last 30%
Things I did not enjoy
鈼� Insta-love to the max
While I think it is possible for strong feelings to develop quickly in the way they did in this book, we don鈥檛 actually see much of the two MCs together or their feelings or relationship developing. It makes it very difficult to relate to or understand the relationship.
鈼� This book is severely lacking in tension/angst/chemistry between the two characters
Aside from being told how they feel about each other we are not SHOWN any of these feelings.
鈼� On that subject there was an exorbitant amount of TELLING and a dismal amount of SHOWING.
I knew how the MCs felt bc the author told us its how they felt, not because she showed us these feelings
鈼� The prose in this book is the author鈥檚 choppiest yet
Look, the author isn鈥檛 know for their eloquent and lyrical writing and that is OK, I like simple basic writing most of the time. But this book? it was choppy. so choppy. the choppiest. Sentences felt stunted. the sheer number of periods. it was outrageous. too much. I couldn鈥檛 handle it.
鈼� The two POVs were nearly indistinguishable.
I can鈥檛 count the number of times I had to double check which POV I was currently in so that I could understand who was feeling what.
the only difference between the two POVs was the name at the beginning of the chapter and the change from he/she said
鈼� These MCs felt flat
see above, it was hard to distinguish between the two voices and that is largely because these characters had nothing but their physical appearance and past/current trauma to tell them apart.
鈼� Personally, I found the FMC insufferable
She was rude to her family, especially her brother. Rude to the MC - excuse me but I think going on a date with someone when
鈼� Speaking of the MC鈥檚 - I found it hard to believe they were in their late 20s and acting this way
also both of them desperately needed to be in therapy and I am so surprise that they weren鈥檛鈥�
鈼� Least favorite abby book boyfriend to date
鈼� I am ALL for trauma in my books, I joke that I prefer my romances with a side of trauma - I think (usually) it adds emotional depth and complexity to the characters, it makes them feel real and relatable. BUT鈥�.
I did not think the onslaught at the end was needed, nor do I think it added to the overall story
鈼� Maybe its just me but that ending was just ridiculous
I like a cheesy perfect happy ending as much as the next person but this required a strong dose of delulu to believe.
Now what I call 鈥渉ow to alienate a group of readers while doing a really poor job at describing the physical appearance of your MMC 101鈥�
AKA the use of ACOTAR references (5 total by my count) to describe the physical appearance of the MC
鈼� first, I dislike very specific pop culture references within books to begin with. I think it dates a book, and also it assumes that the reader understands them. As someone that does not keep up with trends, celebrities, or pop culture this alienates me as a reader and forces me out of the story.
鈼� secondly, even if you do not agree that SJM and ACOTAR are problematic there is a whole massive group of people that do. By including references like this in a book you are essentially telling a whole group of people their feelings and opinions are invalid. - On the other hand not including these references offends/hurts no one.
On the subject of insensitivity鈥�
鈼�I think the FMC using the phrase 鈥渇ucked off back to his motherland鈥� in reference to Omar is harmful at best and straight up racist at worst. UPDATE: Forever Publishing has confirmed this statement has been removed from the book and will NOT appear in the final edition. I will be leaving this here until I can confirm the content was adjusted in the final copy.
鈼� While I鈥檓 at it I strongly dislike that the abusive and alcoholic character in the book鈥檚 career is鈥� surprise surprise, military - this isn鈥檛 the first time I鈥檝e been uncomfortable with Abby Jimenez鈥檚 portrayal of individuals in the military, something tells me it won鈥檛 be the last.
I am aware that occasionally changes are made from advance reader copy to final print (we all make mistakes). Rest assured I am eager to remove these critiques should the publisher and author make changes to the final copy.
Overall this certainly wasn鈥檛 a BAD book, but it was a complete let down when compared to this author鈥檚 other books. Maybe it鈥檚 not fair to rate it compared to her other books, but it鈥檚 my goodreads so I鈥檒l do what I want. 馃槤
Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
I鈥檒l start by saying I am a fan of this author鈥檚 other work and have rated all her other books above 4猸愶笍.
I typically find her books to have in-depth characters, well-researched & meaningful inclusion of emotional & physical traumas, great banter, and wonderful nonromantic relationships.
This lacked so many of the aspects I鈥檝e come to love and enjoy in the author鈥檚 other work and overall was a huge letdown.
This book is for fans of insta-love, those who don鈥檛 mind an excessive amount of pop culture references and cheesy humor, and who like their happily ever afters to be grand gesture + unbelievable luck created perfection.
What I did enjoy鈥�
鈼� There are a handful of funny moments and while I鈥檓 not in love with the excessive dad jokes I did giggle some.
鈼� Grandma - she is the best character imo
鈼� The viral video and specifically the families reaction to it.
鈼� Family dynamics and representation of early onset dementia although I will say I think the family was super irresponsible caring for the mother at the beginning of the book
鈼� I think the book鈥檚 prose improved vastly in the last 30%
Things I did not enjoy
鈼� Insta-love to the max
While I think it is possible for strong feelings to develop quickly in the way they did in this book, we don鈥檛 actually see much of the two MCs together or their feelings or relationship developing. It makes it very difficult to relate to or understand the relationship.
鈼� This book is severely lacking in tension/angst/chemistry between the two characters
Aside from being told how they feel about each other we are not SHOWN any of these feelings.
鈼� On that subject there was an exorbitant amount of TELLING and a dismal amount of SHOWING.
I knew how the MCs felt bc the author told us its how they felt, not because she showed us these feelings
鈼� The prose in this book is the author鈥檚 choppiest yet
Look, the author isn鈥檛 know for their eloquent and lyrical writing and that is OK, I like simple basic writing most of the time. But this book? it was choppy. so choppy. the choppiest. Sentences felt stunted. the sheer number of periods. it was outrageous. too much. I couldn鈥檛 handle it.
鈼� The two POVs were nearly indistinguishable.
I can鈥檛 count the number of times I had to double check which POV I was currently in so that I could understand who was feeling what.
the only difference between the two POVs was the name at the beginning of the chapter and the change from he/she said
鈼� These MCs felt flat
see above, it was hard to distinguish between the two voices and that is largely because these characters had nothing but their physical appearance and past/current trauma to tell them apart.
鈼� Personally, I found the FMC insufferable
She was rude to her family, especially her brother. Rude to the MC - excuse me but I think going on a date with someone when
鈼� Speaking of the MC鈥檚 - I found it hard to believe they were in their late 20s and acting this way
also both of them desperately needed to be in therapy and I am so surprise that they weren鈥檛鈥�
鈼� Least favorite abby book boyfriend to date
鈼� I am ALL for trauma in my books, I joke that I prefer my romances with a side of trauma - I think (usually) it adds emotional depth and complexity to the characters, it makes them feel real and relatable. BUT鈥�.
I did not think the onslaught at the end was needed, nor do I think it added to the overall story
鈼� Maybe its just me but that ending was just ridiculous
I like a cheesy perfect happy ending as much as the next person but this required a strong dose of delulu to believe.
Now what I call 鈥渉ow to alienate a group of readers while doing a really poor job at describing the physical appearance of your MMC 101鈥�
AKA the use of ACOTAR references (5 total by my count) to describe the physical appearance of the MC
鈼� first, I dislike very specific pop culture references within books to begin with. I think it dates a book, and also it assumes that the reader understands them. As someone that does not keep up with trends, celebrities, or pop culture this alienates me as a reader and forces me out of the story.
鈼� secondly, even if you do not agree that SJM and ACOTAR are problematic there is a whole massive group of people that do. By including references like this in a book you are essentially telling a whole group of people their feelings and opinions are invalid. - On the other hand not including these references offends/hurts no one.
On the subject of insensitivity鈥�
鈼�
鈼� While I鈥檓 at it I strongly dislike that the abusive and alcoholic character in the book鈥檚 career is鈥� surprise surprise, military - this isn鈥檛 the first time I鈥檝e been uncomfortable with Abby Jimenez鈥檚 portrayal of individuals in the military, something tells me it won鈥檛 be the last.
I am aware that occasionally changes are made from advance reader copy to final print (we all make mistakes). Rest assured I am eager to remove these critiques should the publisher and author make changes to the final copy.
Overall this certainly wasn鈥檛 a BAD book, but it was a complete let down when compared to this author鈥檚 other books. Maybe it鈥檚 not fair to rate it compared to her other books, but it鈥檚 my goodreads so I鈥檒l do what I want. 馃槤
Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
April 5, 2025
Audible : 馃帶
9 hours 59 minutes at 1x speed
6 hours 40 minutes at 1.5x speed
5 hours at 2x speed which I was able to easily listen to.
Described as an 鈥渆motional contemporary romance鈥� rather than as a ROM COM, the latest offering from Abby Jimenez IS a bit different from past books.
So what does that mean?
The author has always written Rom Coms that included a serious topic as well as witty banter and plenty of spice, with characters who are under the age of 30. But, this time, the serious topics share equal time with the romance, and while the witty banter still exists, the spice takes a back seat.
Fortunately, as a reader who is outside of the demographic that is her usual target audience-it still worked for me, as I just LOVE her characters and writing.
So, what鈥檚 this one about?
Xavier Rush is a gorgeous, but grumpy veterinarian.
And, Samantha is all sunshine when she brings a kitten she found to his Minneapolis practice-that is until he informs her that her kitten will need a serious and VERY EXPENSIVE operation to survive, and he recommends euthanasia instead.
Although he means well-that is UNACCEPTABLE.
Samantha will find the money for the surgery and she returns to his practice just to show him her healthy, happy kitten, Pooter -but instead of finding an arrogant DR, she discovers one who is quite contrite. He asks her to dinner, and she accepts-because why not? She is moving to California the next day, to become a caretaker for her Mom who has advanced dementia.
So what happens after you go on the BEST first date of your life, with a person who could very well be 鈥淭HE ONE鈥� when a future seems impossible?
What follows is a love story that prevails despite the very messy obstacles of two very real, very challenging, adult lives.
I paired my reading with the FABULOUS Audible version of this story-but found myself wanting to LISTEN because of the unique production. The Audible has two narrators and the story alternates between the POV鈥檚 of both Samantha and Xavier, BUT ALL of the conversations between the characters, no matter which POV you were listening to, were voiced by BOTH narrators!
In other words, whenever Samantha spoke it was in narrator Christine Laken鈥檚 voice and whenever Xavier spoke, it was in the voice of narrator Matt Lantor, no matter which POV you were listening to-and I loved that the conversations were both narrators speaking to each other no matter which POV the chapter featured!
With her trademark witty banter, a kitten, and a dog named 鈥淛ake, from State Farm鈥�- Abby Jimenez has penned another winner for me鉂ｏ笍
AVAILABLE NOW
Thank You to the Chandler Public Library for the loan of both formats! 鉂わ笍 As always, these are my candid thoughts!
9 hours 59 minutes at 1x speed
6 hours 40 minutes at 1.5x speed
5 hours at 2x speed which I was able to easily listen to.
Described as an 鈥渆motional contemporary romance鈥� rather than as a ROM COM, the latest offering from Abby Jimenez IS a bit different from past books.
So what does that mean?
The author has always written Rom Coms that included a serious topic as well as witty banter and plenty of spice, with characters who are under the age of 30. But, this time, the serious topics share equal time with the romance, and while the witty banter still exists, the spice takes a back seat.
Fortunately, as a reader who is outside of the demographic that is her usual target audience-it still worked for me, as I just LOVE her characters and writing.
So, what鈥檚 this one about?
Xavier Rush is a gorgeous, but grumpy veterinarian.
And, Samantha is all sunshine when she brings a kitten she found to his Minneapolis practice-that is until he informs her that her kitten will need a serious and VERY EXPENSIVE operation to survive, and he recommends euthanasia instead.
Although he means well-that is UNACCEPTABLE.
Samantha will find the money for the surgery and she returns to his practice just to show him her healthy, happy kitten, Pooter -but instead of finding an arrogant DR, she discovers one who is quite contrite. He asks her to dinner, and she accepts-because why not? She is moving to California the next day, to become a caretaker for her Mom who has advanced dementia.
So what happens after you go on the BEST first date of your life, with a person who could very well be 鈥淭HE ONE鈥� when a future seems impossible?
What follows is a love story that prevails despite the very messy obstacles of two very real, very challenging, adult lives.
I paired my reading with the FABULOUS Audible version of this story-but found myself wanting to LISTEN because of the unique production. The Audible has two narrators and the story alternates between the POV鈥檚 of both Samantha and Xavier, BUT ALL of the conversations between the characters, no matter which POV you were listening to, were voiced by BOTH narrators!
In other words, whenever Samantha spoke it was in narrator Christine Laken鈥檚 voice and whenever Xavier spoke, it was in the voice of narrator Matt Lantor, no matter which POV you were listening to-and I loved that the conversations were both narrators speaking to each other no matter which POV the chapter featured!
With her trademark witty banter, a kitten, and a dog named 鈥淛ake, from State Farm鈥�- Abby Jimenez has penned another winner for me鉂ｏ笍
AVAILABLE NOW
Thank You to the Chandler Public Library for the loan of both formats! 鉂わ笍 As always, these are my candid thoughts!
April 22, 2025
Okay, so I really didn鈥檛 like this. Get a snack because I have a LOT to unpack!
The TikTok Brain Rot: The writing style ruined this book 馃拃:
One of the most jarring aspects of this book is the sheer amount of TikTok language. I just cannot get behind it. I swear, downloading TikTok is the worst thing that has ever happened to Abby Jimenez鈥檚 career - because this book is FILLED with brain rot.
Let鈥檚 start with the pop culture references. I know this is a controversial aspect of books. Sometimes, they work - they make you laugh, add a little personality to a book. Other times, they make you cringe. But then there鈥檚 this, where the main character is compared to Rhysand from ACOTAR at least eight times. After eight, I lost count because I was too pissed off. A reference here and there? Fine. But this was overkill. And then, as if that wasn鈥檛 bad enough, the book is littered with TikTok phrases that read like someone copy-pasted their 鈥淩omance Tropes鈥� Pinterest board into a manuscript.
Here are just a few direct quotes:
鈥� 鈥淗e鈥檚 so safe and protective, I can turn my brain off around him.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淚 need him in a way that would set feminism back 100 years.鈥�
鈥� The would-you-still-love-me-if-I-were-a-worm trend.
鈥� 鈥淢y toxic trait is thinking I could change him.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淎s a concept, it鈥檚 fine. If you were in a book, you鈥檇 be an alpha male.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淓mbrace your inner Rhysand鈥�
It鈥檚 relentless. The entire book reads like horrific millennial humour meets TikTok inside jokes taken way too far. I don鈥檛 know if all of Abby Jimenez鈥檚 books are like this, or if she just recently discovered TikTok and now cannot write without shoving it into every other paragraph. Either way, it made this book feel cheap - like a romance novel written entirely from trending phrases rather than real, lived-in emotions.
Family Drama Overload:
I saw a review that said, 鈥滻 wanted romance, instead I got a whole family soap opera,鈥� and they were right.
This book wasn鈥檛 about the couple - it was about every single family issue imaginable crammed into one exhausting storyline. And don鈥檛 get me wrong, family drama can add depth to a romance novel. But this? This was draining. It felt like watching an actual soap opera, but without the fun, over-the-top ridiculousness. Instead, it was just exhausting.
The Romance: Unearned and Unbalanced:
And finally, the romance itself - the part that鈥檚 supposed to make all of this worthwhile. Except it didn鈥檛. This was THE most frustrating part!
They were strangers in chapter one. By chapter THREE, they were dating. This surpasses insta love. I don鈥檛 even know what to call it.
And the insta love itself is why this romance doesn鈥檛 work. Xavier keeps making massive sacrifices for Samantha - jumping into the sea to save her phone on their first date, going into debt just to see her, hospitalising himself working 80+ hours a week to pay for his flights to see her, and even playing caretaker when said expensive plans get derailed by her mother鈥檚 manic episode on their second date馃槶. And while I understand that he doesn鈥檛 mind doing these things, the issue is that the relationship isn鈥檛 developed enough for it to feel romantic. Instead of seeing a natural, mutual connection where both characters are investing in each other, we鈥檙e watching Xavier give everything while barely knowing her, and it makes the dynamic feel one-sided and weird. All of this happened after ONE date. And it鈥檚 not even her fault, because he doesn鈥檛 mind it! The book tries to push the idea that 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 matter what we鈥檙e doing, as long as we鈥檙e together,鈥� or, 鈥渢here鈥檚 no cost you鈥檙e not worth鈥� but without a solid foundation, it just reads as him being financially and emotionally reckless. He was constantly exhausting himself for someone whose chaotic life is draining him without much emotional payoff.
This could have been so much better if Xavier and Samantha had any kind of meaningful history - if they were childhood friends, or if they had an intense but brief teenage relationship that ended abruptly and never got closure. That would have made his devotion feel earned, like he鈥檚 making up for lost time or acting on long-held feelings. But because this all happens after just one date, it feels less like romance and more like reckless over-investment. Instead of swooning over his dedication, I just felt bad for him. Not in a 鈥渢his is so sweet鈥� way, but in a 鈥渢his man needs to STAND UP鈥� way.
Final Thoughts:
This book had potential, but between the TikTok brain rot, the soap opera-level family drama, and a romance that felt one-sided and unearned, it was just frustrating to read. Abby Jimenez might be a popular author, but if this book is any indication, I don鈥檛 understand the hype at ALL.
The TikTok Brain Rot: The writing style ruined this book 馃拃:
One of the most jarring aspects of this book is the sheer amount of TikTok language. I just cannot get behind it. I swear, downloading TikTok is the worst thing that has ever happened to Abby Jimenez鈥檚 career - because this book is FILLED with brain rot.
Let鈥檚 start with the pop culture references. I know this is a controversial aspect of books. Sometimes, they work - they make you laugh, add a little personality to a book. Other times, they make you cringe. But then there鈥檚 this, where the main character is compared to Rhysand from ACOTAR at least eight times. After eight, I lost count because I was too pissed off. A reference here and there? Fine. But this was overkill. And then, as if that wasn鈥檛 bad enough, the book is littered with TikTok phrases that read like someone copy-pasted their 鈥淩omance Tropes鈥� Pinterest board into a manuscript.
Here are just a few direct quotes:
鈥� 鈥淗e鈥檚 so safe and protective, I can turn my brain off around him.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淚 need him in a way that would set feminism back 100 years.鈥�
鈥� The would-you-still-love-me-if-I-were-a-worm trend.
鈥� 鈥淢y toxic trait is thinking I could change him.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淎s a concept, it鈥檚 fine. If you were in a book, you鈥檇 be an alpha male.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淓mbrace your inner Rhysand鈥�
It鈥檚 relentless. The entire book reads like horrific millennial humour meets TikTok inside jokes taken way too far. I don鈥檛 know if all of Abby Jimenez鈥檚 books are like this, or if she just recently discovered TikTok and now cannot write without shoving it into every other paragraph. Either way, it made this book feel cheap - like a romance novel written entirely from trending phrases rather than real, lived-in emotions.
Family Drama Overload:
I saw a review that said, 鈥滻 wanted romance, instead I got a whole family soap opera,鈥� and they were right.
This book wasn鈥檛 about the couple - it was about every single family issue imaginable crammed into one exhausting storyline. And don鈥檛 get me wrong, family drama can add depth to a romance novel. But this? This was draining. It felt like watching an actual soap opera, but without the fun, over-the-top ridiculousness. Instead, it was just exhausting.
The Romance: Unearned and Unbalanced:
And finally, the romance itself - the part that鈥檚 supposed to make all of this worthwhile. Except it didn鈥檛. This was THE most frustrating part!
They were strangers in chapter one. By chapter THREE, they were dating. This surpasses insta love. I don鈥檛 even know what to call it.
And the insta love itself is why this romance doesn鈥檛 work. Xavier keeps making massive sacrifices for Samantha - jumping into the sea to save her phone on their first date, going into debt just to see her, hospitalising himself working 80+ hours a week to pay for his flights to see her, and even playing caretaker when said expensive plans get derailed by her mother鈥檚 manic episode on their second date馃槶. And while I understand that he doesn鈥檛 mind doing these things, the issue is that the relationship isn鈥檛 developed enough for it to feel romantic. Instead of seeing a natural, mutual connection where both characters are investing in each other, we鈥檙e watching Xavier give everything while barely knowing her, and it makes the dynamic feel one-sided and weird. All of this happened after ONE date. And it鈥檚 not even her fault, because he doesn鈥檛 mind it! The book tries to push the idea that 鈥渋t doesn鈥檛 matter what we鈥檙e doing, as long as we鈥檙e together,鈥� or, 鈥渢here鈥檚 no cost you鈥檙e not worth鈥� but without a solid foundation, it just reads as him being financially and emotionally reckless. He was constantly exhausting himself for someone whose chaotic life is draining him without much emotional payoff.
This could have been so much better if Xavier and Samantha had any kind of meaningful history - if they were childhood friends, or if they had an intense but brief teenage relationship that ended abruptly and never got closure. That would have made his devotion feel earned, like he鈥檚 making up for lost time or acting on long-held feelings. But because this all happens after just one date, it feels less like romance and more like reckless over-investment. Instead of swooning over his dedication, I just felt bad for him. Not in a 鈥渢his is so sweet鈥� way, but in a 鈥渢his man needs to STAND UP鈥� way.
Final Thoughts:
This book had potential, but between the TikTok brain rot, the soap opera-level family drama, and a romance that felt one-sided and unearned, it was just frustrating to read. Abby Jimenez might be a popular author, but if this book is any indication, I don鈥檛 understand the hype at ALL.
April 13, 2025
鉁� 4.5 stars 鉁�
鈥淚t鈥檚 weird knowing what鈥檚 going to be in your end-of-life montage, as it鈥檚 happening. But I already knew when my life flashed before my eyes, the best parts of it were going to be about her.鈥�
What to Expect:
鉃� Opposites Attract
鉃� Right Person, Wrong Time
鉃� Slow Burn
鉃� Forced Distance
鉃� Family Bonds
鉃� Dementia Rep
鉃� Mutual Pining
鉃� Veterinarian x Social Media Manager
鉃� Duet Narration
鉃� Dual First Person POV
Abby does it again! I absolutely adored this book! I鈥檝e seen a lot of negativity about the pop culture references that were used, but I thought the delivery of them was so genuinely funny that I didn鈥檛 mind them one bit. It probably helps that Rhysand is my top book boyfriend so I was maybe the target audience for that comparison, but the main thing I remember thinking as I read was 鈥淎bby gets it.鈥� 馃馃徎馃構
This book had so much heart and depth. It was kind of insta lovey, but it still felt very genuine. I鈥檝e met people in my life that I鈥檝e immediately clicked with. People who were like the ying to my yang that I formed an instant connection with. This felt like that. Their struggles felt so realistic to me and I鈥檓 sure they will resonate with anyone who has ever endured a long distance relationship.
I also think this will hit home for readers who鈥檝e lost someone to dementia. This was such a beautiful and heartbreaking representation of what a family goes through while caring for a loved one with this disease. I loved this quote in reference to her mom. 鈥淪he couldn鈥檛 make more memories with me. But I could still make memories with her. I would be a witness to her life, even though she was done witnessing mine鈥� 馃挃
Abby is truly a phenomenal writer. I feel like each of her books have left me a little softer and more empathetic to the world and the people around me, and isn鈥檛 that such a beautiful thing? I鈥檓 not sure I would say this is my favorite book by this author, but there鈥檚 really nothing I would change about it, so I鈥檓 gonna have to give it that coveted 5th star. 鉁ㄢ樅锔�
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
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Update: This was maybe the 5th tornado warning in 24 hours, but thankfully I am safe and in an area free of flooding. Still on a watch at the moment and it鈥檚 looking like it might be another long night. Hopefully it will all pass safely soon. 馃檹馃徎
Pre-read: Currently shut up in my tiny bathroom with tornado sirens blaring, but at least I have books. 馃檭馃槵
鈮� 鈼� 鉂� 鈼� 鈮�
Connect with me on
鈥淚t鈥檚 weird knowing what鈥檚 going to be in your end-of-life montage, as it鈥檚 happening. But I already knew when my life flashed before my eyes, the best parts of it were going to be about her.鈥�
What to Expect:
鉃� Opposites Attract
鉃� Right Person, Wrong Time
鉃� Slow Burn
鉃� Forced Distance
鉃� Family Bonds
鉃� Dementia Rep
鉃� Mutual Pining
鉃� Veterinarian x Social Media Manager
鉃� Duet Narration
鉃� Dual First Person POV
Abby does it again! I absolutely adored this book! I鈥檝e seen a lot of negativity about the pop culture references that were used, but I thought the delivery of them was so genuinely funny that I didn鈥檛 mind them one bit. It probably helps that Rhysand is my top book boyfriend so I was maybe the target audience for that comparison, but the main thing I remember thinking as I read was 鈥淎bby gets it.鈥� 馃馃徎馃構
This book had so much heart and depth. It was kind of insta lovey, but it still felt very genuine. I鈥檝e met people in my life that I鈥檝e immediately clicked with. People who were like the ying to my yang that I formed an instant connection with. This felt like that. Their struggles felt so realistic to me and I鈥檓 sure they will resonate with anyone who has ever endured a long distance relationship.
I also think this will hit home for readers who鈥檝e lost someone to dementia. This was such a beautiful and heartbreaking representation of what a family goes through while caring for a loved one with this disease. I loved this quote in reference to her mom. 鈥淪he couldn鈥檛 make more memories with me. But I could still make memories with her. I would be a witness to her life, even though she was done witnessing mine鈥� 馃挃
Abby is truly a phenomenal writer. I feel like each of her books have left me a little softer and more empathetic to the world and the people around me, and isn鈥檛 that such a beautiful thing? I鈥檓 not sure I would say this is my favorite book by this author, but there鈥檚 really nothing I would change about it, so I鈥檓 gonna have to give it that coveted 5th star. 鉁ㄢ樅锔�
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
鉁笺€€ 覊 銆€鉁笺€€ 覊 銆€鉁笺€€ 覊 銆€鉁笺€€ 覊 銆€鉁笺€€ 覊 銆€鉁笺€€ 覊 銆€鉁�
Update: This was maybe the 5th tornado warning in 24 hours, but thankfully I am safe and in an area free of flooding. Still on a watch at the moment and it鈥檚 looking like it might be another long night. Hopefully it will all pass safely soon. 馃檹馃徎
Pre-read: Currently shut up in my tiny bathroom with tornado sirens blaring, but at least I have books. 馃檭馃槵
鈮� 鈼� 鉂� 鈼� 鈮�
Connect with me on
Read
April 12, 2025rtc 鈽癸笍
鈥斺赌�
EEEEP IT鈥橲 HERE. Disappearing into my bat cave to read this rn 馃弮馃徏鈥嶁檧锔�
鈥斺赌�
Waiting for this book is like waiting for rain in this drought. Useless and disappointing 馃槥
(if you haven鈥檛 seen a cinderella story we can鈥檛 be friends soz)
鈥斺赌�
EEEEP IT鈥橲 HERE. Disappearing into my bat cave to read this rn 馃弮馃徏鈥嶁檧锔�
鈥斺赌�
Waiting for this book is like waiting for rain in this drought. Useless and disappointing 馃槥
(if you haven鈥檛 seen a cinderella story we can鈥檛 be friends soz)
April 4, 2025
I mean who expected less than 5 stars 馃槀
April 8, 2025
3.75!! THIS WAS SO TENDER. I was giddy as can be listening to this. Abby鈥檚 books are always SO GOOD. There were many moments in this book where I laughed out loud & squealed. I thought it would be 5 stars, but halfway things started getting a little repetitive (although, I understand why, but some were just plain cringe) & I would have loved to see more of other things.
SPOILERS
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Ok a few things:
-the Rhysand mention was funny the first time. The fact that like 4 different characters mentioned he looked like him was too much. It was almost too cringe??
-same with the Come On Eileen song. It was funny the first time & then there were way too many mentions of it randomly playing again hahaha
-Pooter? I can鈥檛
-Xavier was a sweetie but he鈥檚 the most bland Abby character to me.
-I also thought Samantha was so rude hahaha
Still a fun, tender, read. But I was a little let down
SPOILERS
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Ok a few things:
-the Rhysand mention was funny the first time. The fact that like 4 different characters mentioned he looked like him was too much. It was almost too cringe??
-same with the Come On Eileen song. It was funny the first time & then there were way too many mentions of it randomly playing again hahaha
-Pooter? I can鈥檛
-Xavier was a sweetie but he鈥檚 the most bland Abby character to me.
-I also thought Samantha was so rude hahaha
Still a fun, tender, read. But I was a little let down
April 4, 2025
well鈥 guess abby used the same ghost writer she used for the friend zone because this was equally bad鈥aybe more馃榾馃榾馃榾馃榾
~~~~
馃馃馃徏鈥嶁檧锔忦煣筐煏�5 STARS PLEASE馃暞馃Э馃馃徏鈥嶁檧锔忦煠�
reading with my precious Hoda 馃き馃┓馃グ馃构
~~~~
馃馃馃徏鈥嶁檧锔忦煣筐煏�5 STARS PLEASE馃暞馃Э馃馃徏鈥嶁檧锔忦煠�
reading with my precious Hoda 馃き馃┓馃グ馃构
April 15, 2025
2,5 stars
This book was high on my anticipation list this year but if this book were a person, we鈥檇 be arguing constantly.
From the start, I found myself rolling my eyes unintentionally every time TikTok slang popped up. It felt like the book was written with virality in mind.The family drama was too much and mostly unnecessary. Instead of enhancing the plot, it weighed it down.
The fmc was a bit rude to the MMC in the earlier chapters, which honestly broke my heart,to see him like that. I couldn鈥檛 root for the romance when one half of it seemed so unkind. It just wasn鈥檛 my cup of tea.
Also, what was with the excessive use of 鈥済rey in a colorful world鈥� metaphors? It felt like the author ran out of things to say and threw in some Rhysand/ACOTAR and the word 鈥済rey鈥� for flavor.
The one thing I truly enjoyed was the mmc. He was the only character that felt grounded and emotionally resonant.
I think it was good for a beach read.but it did disappointed me at the end
This book was high on my anticipation list this year but if this book were a person, we鈥檇 be arguing constantly.
From the start, I found myself rolling my eyes unintentionally every time TikTok slang popped up. It felt like the book was written with virality in mind.The family drama was too much and mostly unnecessary. Instead of enhancing the plot, it weighed it down.
The fmc was a bit rude to the MMC in the earlier chapters, which honestly broke my heart,to see him like that. I couldn鈥檛 root for the romance when one half of it seemed so unkind. It just wasn鈥檛 my cup of tea.
Also, what was with the excessive use of 鈥済rey in a colorful world鈥� metaphors? It felt like the author ran out of things to say and threw in some Rhysand/ACOTAR and the word 鈥済rey鈥� for flavor.
The one thing I truly enjoyed was the mmc. He was the only character that felt grounded and emotionally resonant.
I think it was good for a beach read.but it did disappointed me at the end
Want to read
October 2, 2024Just for the summer was THE book for me and this looks like that SO EXCITED!!
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