Review by alexiconic - Yours Truly

alexiconic 's review for:

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

2.0

emotional hopeful relaxing fast-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: Yes

I appreciate what the author did (or tried to) in giving both characters struggles to cope with in an otherwise pretty straightforward romance. It should add depth to the characters, and in some respects it did: I liked that both were older, had hangups from their previous relationships to deal with, and that their struggles played up at different moments in their relationship. But somehow the story lacked depth and still felt superficial - and I think it would have helped if the middle portion had been shorter while the final portion was given more attention. I was not interested enough in Briana and Jacob to look past the tropiness of the book. Perhaps Jimenez’ work is simply not for me.

To list some of the frustrations: Why did it take so long for the book to address Briana’s (pretty bad) trauma responses? Why were her issues solved in the epilogue and did we see none of this development in the book, whereas Jacob’s entire journey seems to have been integral to the plot? I find it extra frustrating because Briana - to me - had many more issues influencing the unhealthiness of their relationship: she acknowledges later that she’s given up her social life in favor of Jacob very quickly, she is accommodating him to an almost extreme extent whilst not allowing him to be equipped enough to do the same. Not to mention her outward disgust towards men as a whole, despite her having several proofs that not all men are cheats - I’m glad it was addressed as a disproportionate trauma response but it was not constructively dealt with. Also - a pregnancy??? And an engagement after all within two years??

Content Warnings