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emotional
hopeful
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:
Yes
My first Abby Jimenez, and I loved it! Mental health rep and complex trauma, family relationships, all tied in with a hilarious and heartwarming love story!
Emma and Justin both have a curse... Each person they date, goes on to find their soulmate after dating them, usually marrying within 6 months! They decide to try to break this curse by dating each other, just for the summer, as when they break up they should find "the one". But, have they found them already?
I loved how PTSD and trauma were explored in the context of Emma and Justin's relationship, and the surrounding friendships and plot. It was interesting to compare and contrast Amber and Emma, and think about the ways that Emma was working to be different to her mother.
Jimenez was also just so funny!!! The way the book started had me gripped, and this humour continued throughout. Another element of the writing style I really liked, was the focus on emotions and inner thoughts. This really got me into the characters heads, for the good and the bad.
The summer vibes were also immaculate, and Justin's date ideas and little "surveys" really added to this. The lake in Minnesota was an iconic location, which really added to this summer ambience. The romance was really sweet, and positive too!
While I missed a lot of the Easter eggs as I haven't read Part of Your World, it did really make me want to read it! And I appreciated that she put a lot into the references for long time fans. I also loved to see the amount of research Jimenez put into really knowing her characters, their issues and triggers, the background behind their mental illnesses.
All in all, an emotional rollercoaster, but also a funny and heartwarming romantic summer read!
(Note for content warnings: the toxic relationship is the mother-daughter one, there wasn't a toxic parent tag!)
Emma and Justin both have a curse... Each person they date, goes on to find their soulmate after dating them, usually marrying within 6 months! They decide to try to break this curse by dating each other, just for the summer, as when they break up they should find "the one". But, have they found them already?
I loved how PTSD and trauma were explored in the context of Emma and Justin's relationship, and the surrounding friendships and plot. It was interesting to compare and contrast Amber and Emma, and think about the ways that Emma was working to be different to her mother.
Jimenez was also just so funny!!! The way the book started had me gripped, and this humour continued throughout. Another element of the writing style I really liked, was the focus on emotions and inner thoughts. This really got me into the characters heads, for the good and the bad.
The summer vibes were also immaculate, and Justin's date ideas and little "surveys" really added to this. The lake in Minnesota was an iconic location, which really added to this summer ambience. The romance was really sweet, and positive too!
While I missed a lot of the Easter eggs as I haven't read Part of Your World, it did really make me want to read it! And I appreciated that she put a lot into the references for long time fans. I also loved to see the amount of research Jimenez put into really knowing her characters, their issues and triggers, the background behind their mental illnesses.
All in all, an emotional rollercoaster, but also a funny and heartwarming romantic summer read!
(Note for content warnings: the toxic relationship is the mother-daughter one, there wasn't a toxic parent tag!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content
Minor: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Yes
A fun read with some deep revelations in the last quarter of the story, Just for the Summer was a wonderful romance but with SO much more. I'm not a huge romance reader but I'm trying to get into it more, and this definitely has enough "other stuff" going on that will keep you on your toes. Not to mention, Emma and Justin were such an amazing duo, and I loved reading from both of their perspectives. Maddy was basically a third main character, and she was also amazing and such a perfect friend.
The only thing that I didn't like about Just for the Summer was I think that it was a bit too dependent ontherapy being a cure all in this novel. Yes therapy is helpful but at the end of the day it's a tool and not a solution to all your problems, and I felt as though that part was glossed over in order to get to the conclusion of the novel. But overall I did really enjoy Just for the Summer and I give it 4.75/5 stars since it was a nearly perfect book for me!
The only thing that I didn't like about Just for the Summer was I think that it was a bit too dependent on
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Dementia, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What started off cozy became more fraught with angst as the book continued. The third-act breakup was the result of such huge trauma for the FMC (not caused by the MMC) that i'm now traumatized (and now knocking off a star).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual content, Vomit, Death of parent
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Abbyyyyy you’ve done it again.
I do think her writing keeps getting better!!!
The nuance her characters have, the depth, it’s so refreshing in a romance novel.
This was a fun romp of course, but also a meditation on reckoning with your parents’ flaws as adults, and setting boundaries, and knowing the difference between empathy and enabling.
I felt all the emotions reading this, I cried, I giggled, I kicked my feet, I squealed, and I smiled - A LOT.
Abby I will always be your fan xoxo.
I do think her writing keeps getting better!!!
The nuance her characters have, the depth, it’s so refreshing in a romance novel.
This was a fun romp of course, but also a meditation on reckoning with your parents’ flaws as adults, and setting boundaries, and knowing the difference between empathy and enabling.
I felt all the emotions reading this, I cried, I giggled, I kicked my feet, I squealed, and I smiled - A LOT.
Abby I will always be your fan xoxo.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting
emotional
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: Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed it and read it quicker than I’ve read anything in a while. There were points when I was getting quite frustrated with some of the characters and so this took my enjoyment down a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment
Moderate: Vomit
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Oh dear. After enjoying books #1 and #2 and thinking I had finally found an author that writes romance the way I like it - smart women, interesting men, has the complexity of real life emotions and is low on saccharine bulls**t, this book comes along and crashes me back down to Earth. Don't get me wrong, I love how Abby Jimenez writes about the crummy parts of life and uncomfortable issues, HOWEVER what I liked about the first two books is the low level cheesy, cringe garbage that is typical in the chik-lit genre - this book unfortunately made my eyes roll soooo many times. What happened Abby?? And god how many times did we have to hear about Emma becoming, being, getting SMALL?! We get it, she retreats into herself. And gosh if only every person had a friend as endlessly patient and supportive as Maddy. She thankfully brought some humour and reason to this sh*tshow. I must say, considering Emma and Maddy are nurses I was scratching my head several times thinking "really?" How could they be nurses and be so slow on the uptake? Oh and Emma giving wise, old wizard vibes when telling Justin to choose empathy over anger and that his mother has "cracks' after losing his father. REALLLLLLY?! You don't say. Made me think, how dim is Justin. Also, I once dated a guy that emailed me the type of nonsense that Justin sent to Emma. In real life, it is not cute and was so annoying. Especially the "how would you rate our date" rubbish - like the guy I was dating, I quickly lost interest in Justin after that and didn't care who he ended up with. The biggest WTF in this book was when Neil joyfully watched his house burn down because he had "grown from being an a**hole and this was his final karma. Umm what?? The last chapter where Emma and Justin declare that they have been in love since they first met, made me so mad but mainly at myself for persisting in reading when this pile of manure was awaiting me. Justin's mother getting released from prison after only 2 years is also a neat and easy way for Emma and Justin to get on with their lives sooner. Life is not like that and I would have respected the epilogue more if that was removed but hey, I was already so pissed by this point.
Ahhhhh bummer, so disappointed with this one. I think I would have liked it minus the romance and just focused on trauma and the other more interesting aspects of the novel... like more exploration ofAmber and what happened if anything to her early in life. The explanation we are given for her behaviour of Emma is her having to give up Daniel at 15 and her parents raising him/taking him so she didn't want to "lose" Emma. Which explains very little imo. Doesn't explain her treatment of Daniel either.
Ahhhhh bummer, so disappointed with this one. I think I would have liked it minus the romance and just focused on trauma and the other more interesting aspects of the novel... like more exploration of
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Grief
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent