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adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
She seems to outdo herself with each and every book and this one is no different. While Just for the Summer may still be my favorite, this one is a super close second!
I felt ALL of the emotions. It was funny, sweet, and emotional. Sometimes it’s so easy to get attached to characters that you almost feel what they would be feeling with them during the hard times. And this book definitely had some hard times.
It also feels like even though the MC’s are far apart, their time together is quality time and it’s written in a way that you almost don’t notice they are apart for a lot of the story. That aspect was so well done!
I never thought I’d enjoy a story about a couple struggling through a long distance relationship and navigating some TOUGH family/life issues but… here we are! I loved every bit of this.
And as always, humor and banter was perfection!
Tropes:
Insta-Love
Long Distance
Veterinarian MMC
Witty Banter
Emotional
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
I felt ALL of the emotions. It was funny, sweet, and emotional. Sometimes it’s so easy to get attached to characters that you almost feel what they would be feeling with them during the hard times. And this book definitely had some hard times.
It also feels like even though the MC’s are far apart, their time together is quality time and it’s written in a way that you almost don’t notice they are apart for a lot of the story. That aspect was so well done!
I never thought I’d enjoy a story about a couple struggling through a long distance relationship and navigating some TOUGH family/life issues but… here we are! I loved every bit of this.
And as always, humor and banter was perfection!
Tropes:
Insta-Love
Long Distance
Veterinarian MMC
Witty Banter
Emotional
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Medical content
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
a book hasn’t made me cry so much in a long time.
abby manages to capture raw emotion so well that you feel the emotions physically and are forced to sit with them.
i loved samantha and xavier, their dedication and love for each-other and determination to make long distance work even with everything stacked against them.
the representation of a family member living with dementia hit close to home, i feel a lot of people in similar circumstances will be able to relate to the complexity of living through that.
abby manages to capture raw emotion so well that you feel the emotions physically and are forced to sit with them.
i loved samantha and xavier, their dedication and love for each-other and determination to make long distance work even with everything stacked against them.
the representation of a family member living with dementia hit close to home, i feel a lot of people in similar circumstances will be able to relate to the complexity of living through that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Gaslighting
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I’ve read all of Abby’s books and loved them all. I MAY love this one a bit more than the others. Besides the fact that it’s hilarious but also made my heart do weird things the MMC’s name is Xavier….like my son! AND….HIS mom has MS like ME! What are the odds??
All of Abby’s books are in the same “world” but you can definitely read them as stand alones. It’s just fun to see the Easter eggs in each book. So this is a romm-comm but it also tackles serious issues like dementia and caregiver burn out. I love how the author can seamlessly weave heavy subjects with comedy because that IS my life.
I always recommend Abby Jimenez’s books. All of them. I don’t discriminate. She’s a genius. Check her out. I’m going to meet her at an author event next week. I’m beyond excited!
5 super duper stars!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Yeah this wasn't my fav of Abby's books. I found it awfully heavy/sad, and while there were moments I laughed especially towards the end of the book they were fewer and farther between.
I also don't know how I feel about the ending.Like idk what I wanted to happen but him just leaving his business to move to California seemed like an easy ending? Idk it's not my fav when problems in books are just easily resolved and the solution is just why didn't they do that the whole time?
I do think it's still a very important story - caretaking is a good thing to highlight. One of my all time favorite romances is The Heart Principle which has similar themes. But I think the combination of long distance relationship in this on top of everything else made it a tougher read for me.
The juxtaposition of her mother losing her memory against the MCs trying to build new memories together is bittersweet. That concept is so beautiful: the importance of memories, and how it's the little things that build a life. But I am left feeling rather melancholy...
I also don't know how I feel about the ending.
I do think it's still a very important story - caretaking is a good thing to highlight. One of my all time favorite romances is The Heart Principle which has similar themes. But I think the combination of long distance relationship in this on top of everything else made it a tougher read for me.
The juxtaposition of her mother losing her memory against the MCs trying to build new memories together is bittersweet. That concept is so beautiful: the importance of memories, and how it's the little things that build a life. But I am left feeling rather melancholy...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Medical content
Minor: Sexual content
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I saw too much negative chatter about the book before it was released and got in my head about it for the first few chapters. But I absolutely LOVE Abby’s ability to combine difficult circumstances with an adorable meet cute and swoony MMC and still have you laughing despite the underlying heavy topics.
Each of Abby’s books tackles a difficult topic and this one tackles dementia. While everyone’s experience with dementia may not be exactly the same, Abby’s writing absolutely reflects several common day-to-day challenges of a person with dementia and of the people caring for that person. I also appreciated how she described long distance relationships and all the nuances of successfully maintaining one.
I also LOVED all the little Easter eggs in this book that were nods to her other books! And chapter 34 had me laughing so hard I woke my husband up! I cannot WAIT to read Abby’s next book about Chris, the pharmacist because no one ever writes about pharmacists!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Abby has a way of writing stories that will absolutely crush you and then make you whole again. I really liked the long distance aspect of this one. It really gave the characters their own stories and then it was magic when they were able to be together. And as someone who has a parent with dementia, this one really hit home on that front and was so accurate when it comes to caregiving and making decisions for someone you love.
I DID NOT like the storyline for Samantha's dad. Just absolutely no. The more I think about it, the more it bugs me.
The audiobook was excellent!! Both narrators were great and I LOVE the duet narration!
I DID NOT like the storyline for Samantha's dad. Just absolutely no. The more I think about it, the more it bugs me.
The audiobook was excellent!! Both narrators were great and I LOVE the duet narration!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Terminal illness, Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was blessed with my preorder arriving early, and wow. Abby never fails to amaze me.
The characters in this book are so complex and dynamic. Their interplay is beautiful with each other and secondary characters.
The themes of this book are certainly difficult emotionally, but written with delicacy and sensitivity to those who may be going through similar issues. They’re truly heart wrenching at times, all thanks to the beautiful writing.
Another great novel!
The characters in this book are so complex and dynamic. Their interplay is beautiful with each other and secondary characters.
The themes of this book are certainly difficult emotionally, but written with delicacy and sensitivity to those who may be going through similar issues. They’re truly heart wrenching at times, all thanks to the beautiful writing.
Another great novel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexual content
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Abby Jimenez is super popular, you will be able to find plenty of gushing glowing reviews so I’m going to tell you what didn’t work for me. This wasn’t like the worst book I have ever read or anything but I have some complaints. I haven’t included any like major plot point spoilers in the review but I wouldn’t call it spoiler free either? I’d like you to read this but I get it if you don’t because you want to read a book without any details.
I don’t think the trauma to moments of joy ratio worked very well. Almost the entire book was the characters in emotional distress either from their respective life circumstances or from being apart from each other. This is borderline a family drama novel about dementia with a romance subplot for the main character. I like sad emotional romances but it was unbalanced for me. I think even just a better epilogue would have helped me because even that was more focused on her family than it was on the romance.
However… the main reason I dropped my rating was that at one point in the book Samantha is telling Xavier backstories about her family members. She says this (32% in ebook) when talking about her sister’s ex-husband, Omar. “She got full custody and he fucked off back to his motherland instead of getting therapy and paying child support.” Why is there just a random racist comment in the book? Wtf. The “fucked off to his motherland” line put a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. Swipe to the second photo to read the paragraph.
A tertiary gripe while I’m at it… it’s also it’s worth mentioning that there are like 4 or 5 times in the book that the MMC is compared to Rhysand from ACOTAR. Even once was too much but the subsequent instances made me roll my eyes so hard.
So right when I finished the book. I liked it… I was trying to focus the characters and the romance… But the more I sit with it… it’s a no for me.
I don’t think the trauma to moments of joy ratio worked very well. Almost the entire book was the characters in emotional distress either from their respective life circumstances or from being apart from each other. This is borderline a family drama novel about dementia with a romance subplot for the main character. I like sad emotional romances but it was unbalanced for me. I think even just a better epilogue would have helped me because even that was more focused on her family than it was on the romance.
However… the main reason I dropped my rating was that at one point in the book Samantha is telling Xavier backstories about her family members. She says this (32% in ebook) when talking about her sister’s ex-husband, Omar. “She got full custody and he fucked off back to his motherland instead of getting therapy and paying child support.” Why is there just a random racist comment in the book? Wtf. The “fucked off to his motherland” line put a bad taste in my mouth for the rest of the book. Swipe to the second photo to read the paragraph.
A tertiary gripe while I’m at it… it’s also it’s worth mentioning that there are like 4 or 5 times in the book that the MMC is compared to Rhysand from ACOTAR. Even once was too much but the subsequent instances made me roll my eyes so hard.
So right when I finished the book. I liked it… I was trying to focus the characters and the romance… But the more I sit with it… it’s a no for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism