Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Life's Too Short

The Happy Ever After Playlist is still my ultimate Abby Jimenez book! It was one of my five star reads last year! Life‘s too Short definitely checked all my romcom book needs! And I devoured this in a couple of days!

I find with Abby Jimenez books she kind of pulls you in from beginning to end and you feel every emotion along side the MCs! And the dual POV is always superior! Abyy really knows how to write a book that touches on real life issues and creating hope with in the pain around those issues!

BUT we always have that HEA at the end no matter the issue that is being worked through. Which is why we read these books in the first place to create sadness, then hope, then joy! At least that’s why I read romcoms!!

I will always pick up anything Abby Jimenez writes! She is an instant buy for me!

Content Warnings

dianapiskor's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Life's Too Short was a really interesting read for me because I truly felt like I enjoyed so much of it, only to be a bit let down at the end. I'm also going to preface this by saying I'm reading this series out of order because I'm getting these books through the library. This book was available before the second book in this series. So, while I don't think that's affecting my enjoyment, it could be a secondary factor.

What I loved about this book was the relationship between the FMC, Vanessa, and the MMC, Adrian. The banter was great! I laughed out loud in places while reading. And the fact that Vanessa had such an impact on Adrian was one of the highlights of this book for me. Their growth as characters, which was fleshed out well, and their transition was believable made this such a great read.

And I’m obsessed with Adrian. He’s the perfect book boyfriend. I also loved that he was this focused, grounded grump in contrast to Vanessa’s perkier attitude. I love me a grumpy/sunshine trope.

Now, without giving too much away, what I didn’t like was the ending. The WHOLE book is based off of one central medical issue. And we, as readers, are lead to believe this issue is not fixable. That it’s a dealbreaker and that’s just the way it is. And that’s ok because Abby Jimenez’s books are not light and fluffy romances all the time. But then, at the end, it’s all turned around and it’s not an issue anymore and if the character had just gone to the doctor in the first place, all of the conflict would’ve disappeared. I didn’t like that. I felt a little betrayed as a reader. I had invested all this emotion into the story and then poof, fixed. I feel like the author had to pick one or the other. Don’t make it an issue and then give me an HEA.

Overall, this was a good book, but the ending took away a bit of the excitement and joy I loved about it. I think it’s definitely worth a read, but be wary of the ending!

Content Warnings

tigtig686's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Content Warnings

abbypeekreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I hadn't expected much from this book when I first picked it up. I had liked Jimenez's other books, but they weren't my absolute favorites. But Life's Too Short was really something special for so many reasons, and is by far my favorite book by Abby Jimenez that I've read so far!

The characters in this book are some of my favorites in any book I've ever read. Adrian and Vanessa grabbed my heart from the beginning. I adored how sweet Adrian was and how big his heart was, especially towards Vanessa, and I loved how real Vanessa was from the beginning, no matter how messy she thought her life was.

Their character growth was quite literally top tier. They had a big struggle to overcome, and even though it was so heart-wrenching to read, it was also so beautiful in the end to watch them navigate it (together and separately). It made for some incredible and compelling storytelling and character development, so much so that I couldn't put the book down.

I've always appreciated how Jimenez tackles an important and difficult topic with each of her books. While I don't have any experience with chronic illness, I enjoyed being able to learn more about how chronic illnesses affect and shape people's lives and families. The way Jimenez handled it in this particular book felt very authentic as well.

As with her previous books, I felt the writing was still a bit cheesy at times. But because the story itself was so compelling, it honestly didn't detract from my experience all that much. All in all, this was truly a special read that I'm sure will stick with me for a long time.

Content Warnings

thecuriousbean's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Content Warnings

imds's review against another edition

Go to review page

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

More...