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emotional
reflective
sad
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:
No
This one hurt. It hurt a lot. In both a good and a bad way. This one was close to home for me and I found myself very invested in the characters and felt their emotions throughout the novel. I do think some of the wishing the other was there could have been trimmed back a little or done in a different way because it got repetitive after awhile. This one really makes you appreciate what you have and is also one of my favorites that I will not insist that my mom read too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Dementia, Grief
Minor: Sexual content
This vaguely reminds me of when I first read The Friend Zone. Her debut and her latest are not even remotely the same in terms of plot + characters but my feelings toward both are similar. If you are expecting a romance, look elsewhere. The love felt overshadowed by the caregiving side of Samantha’s life and Xavier’s woe is me / constantly broke vibes. I didn’t understand the feelings they allegedly had for each other because where were they? The ACOTAR references made me cringe. Samantha’s siblings also irritated me. Overall, in my opinion, this is more of a contemporary fiction novel and less romance centered. I’m also not 100% certain what Samantha’s job is supposed to be officially.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Minor: Death, Sexual content
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“There is nothing more beautiful than being a witness to someone's life. To know them inside and out and be with them through everything, share the same memories. Memories are everything, I want that.”
I think this is my favorite book so far from this author! Although I have enjoyed the others that I read, this one has so much heart. It's more than just a long-distance romance story though. The real-life struggles of the main characters are interesting stories too. Samantha moves back home to help care for her mother who has early-onset dementia. Xavier, son of abusive parents, remains in Minnesota to run his veterinary practice. Neither are financially well-off, so it's not easy to just jump on a plane when they miss each other. I appreciated the honest portrayal of dementia with the family as the full-time caregivers. The epilogue was perfect and I enjoyed the author's note as well.
I think this is my favorite book so far from this author! Although I have enjoyed the others that I read, this one has so much heart. It's more than just a long-distance romance story though. The real-life struggles of the main characters are interesting stories too. Samantha moves back home to help care for her mother who has early-onset dementia. Xavier, son of abusive parents, remains in Minnesota to run his veterinary practice. Neither are financially well-off, so it's not easy to just jump on a plane when they miss each other. I appreciated the honest portrayal of dementia with the family as the full-time caregivers. The epilogue was perfect and I enjoyed the author's note as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Gaslighting
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TL;DR: It's probably best for audiences looking for romance with a heavier touch of angat/drama, or enjoyed watching tear-jerker romance movies like "A Walk to Remember."
I think someone has said the book reads more like contemporary fiction than a typical romance book, and I agree.
The main characters somehow fell in love instantly (despite the fact they never met each other for the 3 years they lived in the same city), and then the MMC constantly skirting the line of 'falling on the sword' in the relationship. The FMM I felt at times somewhat immature (though it could the age gap between myself and her), so I cannot really relate to her.
There is also a substantial amount of illness / medical trauma that I had not expected (I had read the warning, but it appears I underestimated).
There are also instances of animals in peril / implied animal cruelty (even most of the current instances they ended well).
I know this book was marketed as rom-com, but I feel it is more like a romantic drama.
All in all, it was an interesting read, but I felt I would have felt differently had I knew / understand better of amount of angst this book had in store.
I think someone has said the book reads more like contemporary fiction than a typical romance book, and I agree.
The main characters somehow fell in love instantly (despite the fact they never met each other for the 3 years they lived in the same city), and then the MMC constantly skirting the line of 'falling on the sword' in the relationship. The FMM I felt at times somewhat immature (though it could the age gap between myself and her), so I cannot really relate to her.
There is also a substantial amount of illness / medical trauma that I had not expected (I had read the warning, but it appears I underestimated).
There are also instances of animals in peril / implied animal cruelty (even most of the current instances they ended well).
I know this book was marketed as rom-com, but I feel it is more like a romantic drama.
All in all, it was an interesting read, but I felt I would have felt differently had I knew / understand better of amount of angst this book had in store.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Gaslighting
challenging
dark
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:
Complicated
⚠️”This book contains detailed descriptions of someone with advanced dementia. There’s mention of a cheating spouse and of a side character, mention of past child abuse both physical and emotional. Mention of animal abuse, cruelty, neglect, and death. There’s a scene where a dog is in peril. (The dog doesn’t die. The main character’s dog will NEVER die.) Sudden off-page death of a side character with a heart condition.”⚠️
Yes, I read this in LESS than 24 hours. I could not put it down. Abby did not disappoint. 👏
I literally laughed out loud and sobbed all within pages of each other. This is SO much more than a romantic comedy or romance story. To me? It honestly was more of a subplot. There were so many more important and truly impactful themes discussed in this book that took precedence. Truly an emotional read that I will never forget.
Highly recommend you add this to your tbr.
Who would you cast as Samantha?
-Lucy Hale
Who would you cast as Xavier?
-Matthew Daddario
Can this please be made into a movie or tv series? I am obsessed. 🥰💕
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content
Minor: Infidelity
Side character infidelity, side character alternative lifestyle, lots of hard looks at dementia as a care giver- may be hard to read for many
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a romance that stars Samantha and Xavier. They both live in Minnesota. Samantha is a social media manager for a mustard company. Xavier is a veterinarian who fairly recently opened his own clinic. Samantha discovers a stray kitten. She brings the kitten to Xavier's clinic to have it checked. He discovers that the kitten has a serious medical condition that would kill the kitten if the kitten does not have surgery. The surgery is very expensive and there is no guarantee of success. He recommends the kitten be euthanized. Samantha gets angry at this advice. She leaves and starts a Go-Fund Me campaign (or a similar crowd-funding campaign). She raises the money for the surgery. Xavier makes a contribution. The kitten survives the surgery. Samantha brings the kitten to Xavier's clinic to make she everything is okay with the kitten. The kitten is fine. Partly because Samantha suggests it, Xavier asks Samantha out. They have a great date. They have a great attraction to each other from the start. But Samantha needs to soon move to California to help take care of her aging mother who has a serious medical condition. Xavier can't move to California because he took on a lot of debt to start his clinic. It will take years for him to pay off the debt. Xavier also has some serious family drama. Samantha and Xavier make great efforts to make a long-distance romance work. The story goes from there. I had a little trouble with the insta-love. Some of the latter parts of the story didn't quite ring true. There are some very mild sex scenes. Not very graphic. Reading about the condition Samantha's mother has, and the difficulty Samantha and her family have dealing with it is hard at points. There is some child abust. Overall, I liked the story a lot. I recommend this story for anyone who wants to read a really good romance. Just take into account the concerns I mentioned. If any are difficult for you to read, you may not want to get the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Dementia
Moderate: Sexual content
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Child abuse, Death
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I LOVE her writting, but this wasn't my favorite of hers. Fantastic characters, romance, banter, longing, and overall writing. But the HEA was dELAYED too much for me. There were a few too many financial mistakes, family catastrophe and poor decisions to make this a true romantic COMEDY. I still love Jimenez and will read anything she writes ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death, Dementia
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“Love is the brightest color in a gray world.”
One of my most anticipated book release this year and I've seen so many mixed reviews about it and it's a bummer because this is such a realistic story plot. A couple who just met and had instant chemistry but is destined to live far from one another due to certain reasonable situations. Most couple wouldn't even bother trying to make it work given they've only been on a single date but I guess if it's really meant to be, you got to work hard to make it be.
The only downside in this story is how Xavier gave so much compared to Samantha but if you really think about it, it's sort of also reasonable because she is the one with a mother that has dementia and can't really adjust as much. Xavier's backstory for me seems lacking in terms of what's going to happen to his parent but knowing Hank was the vet who made Xavier want to be a vet is a cute plot point. This book is the epitome of insta-love though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content