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adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Dementia
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcoholism
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse
Wow I was expecting a silly goofy rom com but this me in my feels and crying a little bit at the end. The FMC’s mother has dementia and the elements between the family having to move back in together to care for their mother was touching, raw, and real. The book has two main story lines, the love story and the family dealing with their new reality of being care givers and having to work together. The storyline of the family was so strong in its own that it could have honestly been its own literary fiction books. Also, my girl Abby Jimenez writes literally the best book boyfriends in the biz.
sad
slow-paced
Lots of mixed feelings about this one…I love Abby Jimenez and will read anything she writes, but this one didn’t resonate with me. There was so much family drama that it overpowered the romance, and while I usually enjoy getting to know characters through their families, here it just felt like too much. The story felt super repetitive, some of the TikTok references made me cringe, and overall it felt like the tone stayed sad for too long. That said, I did love the animal rescue/vet angles and Hank totally stole the show in his short scene. Not my favorite Abby, book but okay overall and I could definitely see someone else loving it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Dementia
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death
I wanted to like this more than I did. I felt like I didn’t actually get to know the couple that well beyond the fact that they missed each other. There was some fun banter (Abby does that well!) but honestly every character was pretty miserable for 95% of the book. Also I could not stand how black and white some of the characters were. Drowning puppies? Trying to murder pugs by locking them in hot cars ? Wtf was going on here?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Another solid book from Abby Jimenez. At times (often) I found myself annoyed by how difficult the main female character was being about the distance, but I get it. It’s not easy. And seeing how that was kinda half the plot line, I shouldn’t be surprised. But to be willing to throw away a good thing because it’s hard isn’t something I can relate to. They really weren’t even spending that much time apart when you look at the big picture. Yet she was willing to write it all off from the start. Meanwhile, dude is over here working himself to death. Not to try to one up a fictional character, but some of us have spent literal years apart, divided by whole countries. You can’t go a couple of months with a few states between you? Get real. And she was always like ‘it’s always going to be like this’, ‘it will never work out’… hate to tell you girl, but things change. Quick. Even if it’s 10 years, that goes by faster than you realize. Come onnnn. But in the end, it all worked out for her, so I guess being a spoiled little princess about it worked, so what do I know?
Aside from the whiny nonsense, the book was good. It was a nice break from fantasy books that were starting to give me a headache. I could appreciate the depiction of a family caring for someone with an illness and the challenges that come along with that. I feel like it was able to shine a light on things many don’t stop to think about. You would think that would put things into perspective a bit for the main character, but… I digress.
Aside from the whiny nonsense, the book was good. It was a nice break from fantasy books that were starting to give me a headache. I could appreciate the depiction of a family caring for someone with an illness and the challenges that come along with that. I feel like it was able to shine a light on things many don’t stop to think about. You would think that would put things into perspective a bit for the main character, but… I digress.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Grief, Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A lot to dissect here! Okay so I did like this, but I have a few pretty big issues that prevented me from enjoying it more. What I'm learning about Abby Jimenez books is that I really like her writing and characters, but she loves a lil bit of family trauma thrown into a romance novel and I'm not always ready for that lol
Xavier and Samantha were super sweet. Their relationship was solidly instalove but I don't hate that trope as much as others so I didn't mind it. They were both really cute and well developed characters, and I particularly loved Xavier. Hot vet hello! His whole storyline with his estranged parents was really well written and made me angy! (compliment)
Unfortunately about 75% of this book was just the two of them missing each other because they're long distance, which... like, yeah, that's the plot, but it also just made it hard for me to enjoy the book because I wanted to see more of them together. Maybe long distance romances are not for me! I was always left just wanting more of their scenes together and they were over so quickly. I just want the happy ending!!!!
I also felt like there were just a few too many things that just worked themselves out in a way that made me suspend disbelief a little bit. We brushed way too quickly over the fact thatthey both tried to surprise each other and pulled the ole swap-a-roo and I know they touched on it, but how did everyone in this have so much money all the time! I'm a social media manager, I know Samantha wasn't making six figures! The in-universe social posts also made me cringe idk maybe that's a me problem... not to mention the fact that there's no way "Come on Eileen" plays THAT much everywhere they go. Am I just too cynical??? Things don't happen like this! It all just felt a little too convenient at times.
Also, while I appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning, I don't feel like they emphasized just how much those things are in the book - or maybe I'm just over sensitive - because I was NOOOTTT ready for it to literally open with a scene about a dog getting put down. (spoiler: he doesn't actually, but it was abrupt!) There's also a decent amount of discussion of pets in distressing situations that was a bit much for me at times. Also, like a whole third of this book is about Samantha's mom having dementia, and that was also difficult to read about and I don't even have any history of dealing with that or anything... so just heed those warnings, I'd say.
All this being said, I did really like the story and the characters felt very real and lived-in, which I loved. I also LOVED the narrators for this book, they did such a good job bringing the characters to life. I'll def continue to read more of her books, but maybe prepare myself a little better in the future!!
Xavier and Samantha were super sweet. Their relationship was solidly instalove but I don't hate that trope as much as others so I didn't mind it. They were both really cute and well developed characters, and I particularly loved Xavier. Hot vet hello! His whole storyline with his estranged parents was really well written and made me angy! (compliment)
Unfortunately about 75% of this book was just the two of them missing each other because they're long distance, which... like, yeah, that's the plot, but it also just made it hard for me to enjoy the book because I wanted to see more of them together. Maybe long distance romances are not for me! I was always left just wanting more of their scenes together and they were over so quickly. I just want the happy ending!!!!
I also felt like there were just a few too many things that just worked themselves out in a way that made me suspend disbelief a little bit. We brushed way too quickly over the fact that
Also, while I appreciated the trigger warnings at the beginning, I don't feel like they emphasized just how much those things are in the book - or maybe I'm just over sensitive - because I was NOOOTTT ready for it to literally open with a scene about a dog getting put down. (spoiler: he doesn't actually, but it was abrupt!) There's also a decent amount of discussion of pets in distressing situations that was a bit much for me at times. Also, like a whole third of this book is about Samantha's mom having dementia, and that was also difficult to read about and I don't even have any history of dealing with that or anything... so just heed those warnings, I'd say.
All this being said, I did really like the story and the characters felt very real and lived-in, which I loved. I also LOVED the narrators for this book, they did such a good job bringing the characters to life. I'll def continue to read more of her books, but maybe prepare myself a little better in the future!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death
challenging
emotional
funny
relaxing
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse
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:
No
When people say a romance book made them kick their feet in joy this is what they mean!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Dementia
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death