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A review by rachelkay1821
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley, author Abby Jimenez, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
I truly did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! It is clear that Jimenez's writing is improving upon each book that she writes, and I really commend her for dealing with such complicated topics in her romance novels. Out of the 3 books that I have read of hers (the Part of Your World trilogy), this was definitely the best, and honestly for most of the book was about a 4.5 star read for me, which is super high for my non-romance taste!! I was unfortunately SO disappointed by the way this book connects to the characters in the other two books because it did not read as realistic overall and was WAY overkill. This really cheapened the book for me to the point where it definitely affected my personal rating/enjoyment. I loved how this book tackled such important mental health issues alongside complicated family dynamics, which is what I enjoyed in Yours Truly as well. I did not personally enjoy Part of Your World because of the magical realism elements/how cheesy it was, and I felt like making the connections to the characters in this book recalled similar aspects to that book. I would love to see Jimenez do more of a women's fiction book next because I think her writing is great, and she handles her character development SO well! I ultimately really enjoyed the relationship unfolding between Emma and Justin, and the commentary on narcissistic parents and how they affect your own mental health was uncomfortable to read at times but so necessary because it is so relatable. I will definitely give her other books and whatever she has coming out next a shot, and I think if I were to revisit this book now knowing the "twist", I would perhaps enjoy it more to bump it back up to its original rating for me. Overall, this was still such a solid, lovely read that I greatly enjoyed!
I truly did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did! It is clear that Jimenez's writing is improving upon each book that she writes, and I really commend her for dealing with such complicated topics in her romance novels. Out of the 3 books that I have read of hers (the Part of Your World trilogy), this was definitely the best, and honestly for most of the book was about a 4.5 star read for me, which is super high for my non-romance taste!! I was unfortunately SO disappointed by the way this book connects to the characters in the other two books because it did not read as realistic overall and was WAY overkill. This really cheapened the book for me to the point where it definitely affected my personal rating/enjoyment. I loved how this book tackled such important mental health issues alongside complicated family dynamics, which is what I enjoyed in Yours Truly as well. I did not personally enjoy Part of Your World because of the magical realism elements/how cheesy it was, and I felt like making the connections to the characters in this book recalled similar aspects to that book. I would love to see Jimenez do more of a women's fiction book next because I think her writing is great, and she handles her character development SO well! I ultimately really enjoyed the relationship unfolding between Emma and Justin, and the commentary on narcissistic parents and how they affect your own mental health was uncomfortable to read at times but so necessary because it is so relatable. I will definitely give her other books and whatever she has coming out next a shot, and I think if I were to revisit this book now knowing the "twist", I would perhaps enjoy it more to bump it back up to its original rating for me. Overall, this was still such a solid, lovely read that I greatly enjoyed!