This was an okay story which had promise but I think it just fell a bit flat for me.
I think the character of Alex was underdeveloped in some ways - particularly as a lot of time and attention was focussed on Emma and her trauma and the impact this had on their relationship.
The character of Emma was particularly challenging and frustrating for me. She seemingly sees issues outside herself (and expresses her thoughts on these to others) but can’t recognise any of the patterns with her relationship with her mother and doesn’t listen when others point this out.
The reveal regarding Emma’s family could have come earlier. This would have given more time to develop the impact of this and the relationships.
Alex’s siblings felt a little too idealised in some ways - they had struggles but some of these seemed to have an easy fix.
I found Maddy and Emma’s friendship quite frustrating as there seemed to be deliberate misunderstanding at times - largely over Emma’s mother. But I think she did become the character to voice my frustration with Emma’s behaviours around her mother.
I have really enjoyed books by this author before but this one just didn’t work for me. Will definitely be looking out for more though!

LIKES
☀️ Amazing mental health representation. Finally an author who understands the seriousness of PTSD.
☀️ A fun meet cute that I’ve not seen anywhere else.
☀️ How it spoke about complicated family relationships in an earnest way.
☀️ It didn’t shy away from anything. It speaks a lot about things people might be afraid to voice out loud in an extremely compelling way.
☀️ A best friend who isn’t afraid to say it how it is. Maddy might be one of my fave bookish friends ever.
☀️ The mix of texts and speech.
☀️ You got to know both the main characters really well thanks both to their fleshed out backstories and the dual POV.
☀️ Just the right amount of side characters.
☀️ Emma’s big speech at the end.
☀️ The little surprise that I don’t wanna spoil for anyone who’s read her previous books. I was dumb enough not to realise it until I’d finished the book 😅

This book follows Justin and Emma who both seem to be unlucky in love but good luck charms to whoever they date since those people end up meeting ‘The One’ right after. They decide to date each other over the summer in hopes of breaking their curse. They both have some unresolved trauma and messy family lives but it’s just an experiment, right? It’s not like they’re actually going to fall for each other….

This book had me smiling at myself like an idiot. It was cute and funny and the banter was top notch. The romance was so sweet and the trauma… wow…. So real…

Was I frustrated by how much Emma thought she had her shit together… absolutely. It was so sad how she couldn’t see that her behaviour was literally the same behaviour that had hurt her. It also felt like we didn’t really get to experience Justin’s trauma because he had to constantly put on a brave face. I wish his trauma and adjustment was explored a bit more.

This was such a fun read!

4 stars

I didn't connect with Emma much at the start, but the second half really redeemed this book for me. Maddy was an amazing best friend to Emma, and I love that even though she was aware of Emma's tendencies, she knew she couldn't help her until she was ready to deal with it. The way that Abby Jimenez handled the trauma and mental health issues in this book felt sensitive and thoughtful, and the connection between Emma and Justin (as well as his siblings!) was very sweet to read about.

The epilogue was a real full circle moment, and a sweet callback to the way that Emma and Justin first met. I love the inclusion of the author's Q&A at the end of the book - it added a lot of context and explained why some things were written the way they were, as well as the author's intentions with some of the symbolism. I haven't read any of her other books yet, but there were references to these throughout.

Not 5 stars because the romance between Emma and Justin was a bit too insta-love for me, and some of the characters were a bit too perfect & didn't feel human. The timeline for the whole book was a bit too short for me, especially for the growth taking place towards the end, but this was a minor issue.

Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the arc - it's left me wanting to read her other books too!

"If you can choose anger or empathy, always choose empathy."

I first read Abby Jimenez around Valentine's Day when the Improbable Meet-Cute Series was downloadable on Amazon. From the six short stories, hers, "Worst Wingman Ever", was the only one I really rated.

So when this came up I knew I had to put in a request for an ARC. Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for being kind enough to provide one. I read this in one sitting, until deep into the night.

"I didn’t know how to stay, and I didn’t know how to leave."

This book comes under false pretences. It promises a light-hearted romantic comedy with an impossibly cute meet-cute - two people both claim that after breaking up with someone said person will meet The One within six months. We all know they are going to meet up to test the charm on each other and we all think we know how it's going to end. But we get a so much more intense story which is full of emotion, mental health issues, heartbreak and sadness.

Emma is a travel nurse on 3 months assignments together with her best friend who is also her foster sister. She has been abandoned by her mother all her life. Justin is a software engineer about to take guardianship for his three younger siblings. Both characters are very mature in outlook as they had to grow up fast and, interestingly, they have great friends - even Justin's guy friends are really there for him.

"Sometimes the best way to show love or be kind to someone is to meet them where they are.”

The story is told in alternating dual POV, so both Emma and Justin get their say. Both have baggage due to their parents, and in Emma's case her mother's abandonment leaves her so severely damaged that it's not clear until the very end whether she can heal. Sometimes not even the love of a good man seems enough. And Justin is a seriously fantastic character, with his own problems, but he never stops caring.

"Not everything that comes out of crisis is bad. Sometimes your traumas are the reason you know how to help."

This is the most romantic book I have read in ages - it's a romance I can totally believe in and not the insta-love for someone because they are hot. A romance where someone is there for the other person because they don't know how not to. When you're on the island of someone's soul. I have never been so frightened in a story that it wouldn't work out for the main characters.

"You can love someone and still not be willing to give up your way of life for them. And then there are those you love who you’d take a bullet for. It’s all the same emotion, just different levels."

The cover is utterly utterly beautiful.

Now excuse me while I wipe my eyes and get Abby Jimenez' entire back catalogue. Apparently characters from previous books are wandering through this but I can honestly say it works well as a standalone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐

This was such a beautiful, heartbreaking love story.

Both Emma and Justin suffer from the same curse. Every one of their ex’s goes on to meet their soulmate in the next person they date. They initially connect over this, and decide to date each other so they can go on to find the one. They have an incredible connection from the beginning, both feeling blown over from the moment they meet in real life. Justin is the most thoughtful, caring person, being the cutest with sending surveys to gather info on how to plan dates to make sure Emma will enjoy them, and follow up feedback requests.

Emma is struggling with her feelings for Justin due to a lifetime of abandonment issues, and Justin is going through an extremely hard time with his family having to take on a lot of extra responsibilities. I cried so many times, watching them try to make it work between them, and just reading the inner monologue of their thoughts and feelings - the writing is truly beautiful.

Abby broke my heart, but the ending was worth it, and the epilogue was special.

This was the first book I’ve read by Abby, and I understand that there are some overlapping characters from her previous books, so it would be best to read Yours Truly and Part of Your World to get the full effect. I’m now going to play catch up and read the rest!

Thank you Abby, Little Brown Book group and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful book, even though it was very different from what I expected going in! The characters were anything but shallow and the story had a lot of depth and layers.

I enjoyed Justin and Emma’s online “meet cute” and the clever situation they found themselves in. I liked how it all started light hearted, but then the waters got choppy and things start to fall apart. It turns out Emma has childhood trauma she hasn’t processed and Justin has to deal with his own complicated home situation. You realize quickly these two are gonna have to go to war for themselves and their relationship if they want to make it work.

I found Emma’s past quite jarring and very sad. But the story is told beautifully.

This is not a lighthearted romance book, but it is a good book. I feel like that needs to be said off the bat..! Because I definitely went in thinking it was going to be a romcom, but it is mostly about dysfunctional moms and the trauma they cause in their kids’ lives. And about the brave (grown up) kids battling their way through the trauma.

Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this advanced reader copy. Even though I received an ARC, this review contains my truthful opinion.

This story did start off lighthearted: A “Am I the a-hole” post on Reddit connects Justin and Emma, who both seem to have this thing where the people they date find “the one” right after breaking up with them. They bond over this and come up with a plan to break the curse: dating each other and then breaking up. Which in theory would mean both of them would find “the one” after that.

It’s all fun and games for a while, but unfortunately both of them have mothers with crazy issues and the book is mostly about how they navigate the fallout of their moms’ behavior. For Emma especially, the trauma has permeated her entire life. She goes to live on an island and that is the perfect metaphor for her life. Her mom abandoned her as a child and now she keeps everyone at arm’s length, isolating herself. Because “if you don’t play, you can’t lose”. But now that her heart is slowly opening to Justin, how is that going to work?

There is a lot of sadness in this book and because Emma’s childhood had some similarities to my own, I did not enjoy reading about all that. It was a bummer, because Justin and Emma’s story is incredibly sweet and there is a lot of resilience in both of them. The way the story is wrapped up was also really well done, though. Even though I didn’t enjoy reading about characters with this particular trauma, I do think Abby Jimenez did a great job at describing everything really truthfully and respectfully.

Just beware going in, it’s an emotional ride!
The book made me cry a few times. I got pulled into the story and I loved Emma and Justin and just really wanted the best for them.

One quote that stuck with me:
“Not everything that comes out of crisis is bad. Sometimes your traumas are the reason you know how to help.”

Thank you Little Brown Book Group/Piatkus and NetGalley for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review – I actually screamed when I saw the email.

First, I need to mention that I'm a huge Abby Jimenez fan. She's one of my favourite authors (I own every book she's written so far) and I'll honestly buy everything she writes. Every time I read one of her books, I'm thinking: "This is her best book", but let me tell you THIS IS HER BEST BOOK!
The story captivated me from page one and it's one of those romances that makes you laugh out loud, makes you sob, breaks your heart and puts it back together (the best kind). Justin and Emma's relationship felt extremely real because of what both were going through. Abby Jimenez truly has the talent for writing relatable romances, mixing important and heavy topics with excellent humour and chemistry. I loved how Emma made the best out of what happened to her and that she didn't let her life be controlled by anger but chose empathy. I think that was such an important message of the book. Her trauma response broke my heart, but I'm glad that she took the time to work on herself and get the help she needed. I adored Justin because he really was the definition of "If he would, he could". I mean, he paddled on a floating unicorn to get to Emma! I think my already high standards have now reached Burj Khalifa-level thanks to him 😂
But what I enjoyed most were the Easter eggs. It really was a full circle moment for me when I discovered the connection between this and her previous books, so I highly recommend reading at least Part of Your World and Yours Truly for an even better reading experience.

You wouldn't want to miss this book (coming April 2nd). It's the perfect book for summer and I already know that I'll be rereading it.
Also, if you find a man written by Abby Jimenez existing in the real world, let me know ;)

It's official, I can't pick one favourite book by Abby! I love them all!

God, what a story, what a book!

Justin and Emma share the same curse, whenever they date and break up with someone that person finds their soulmate. It's a curse for goes viral for Justin and has girls coming at him to date him in order to find the one.

Thinking it over they see that if they date each other and break up the next person they meet will be the one.

Emma is a traveling nurse and her next assignment is taking her to Hawaii, but once she and Justin gets to talking she does something she has never done before, change her mind and decides to take a contract with a hospital close to him. After convincing her best friend to go with her they decide to stay just for the summer.

Emma's life hasn't been easy, living with a neglected mother, has shaped her, made her more empathetic and a genuinely good person but also left her scared of intimacy.

Justin is feeling like he belongs with someone from the very first time he meets Emma, being with her is what he was supposed to do but life can't go as one wants, he is about to take a step that he never saw coming, something that will make him put his wants in the back sit for a while.

Even if you don't believe in soulmate it would be difficult to not see that those two are soulmates. I loved their initial meeting over the phone, that fact that they both had to be a bit brave in order to let the other in but most importantly how they were together. Their love was what the other needed in order to help them grow as a person.

I have to say that their banter was only equally to their chemistry which was top notch!

The side characters were just lovely, except from some, but they were meant to be unloved so that's okay.

I especially loved the Easter eggs about the previous characters from Abby books, it was such a treat!

I can honestly say that this is one of favorite books of the year!

* I received an ARC and this is my honest opinion

i adored this book so so much!! this is the most beautiful and heartbreaking romance which had me captivated from page one. this book will make you feel so hard, it hurt my heart just as much as it put the pieces back together. Emma and Justin's relationship is one that felt so natural and while both are dealing with family problems as well as personal mental health issues, the pure positivity, love and strength both give each was so beautiful. Abby Jimenez has a way of writing those heavy topics in such a relatable way. the romance made me all giddy and I legit felt like I was falling in love alongside Emma and Justin, while the second half of the book literally ripped my heart out of my chest and I cried so hard I was shaking. He is the epitome of "If he would he could" and I love and adore him. Both are dealt shitty cards in life either in the past or present and we follow their journey of healing and acceptance.

I can't recommend this book more and I am so excited for everyone to meet Emma and Justin in April. 🥹🥹

I will be posting my review on my instagram: @lotties.booknook on release day.

This book starts with two characters who both believe they're cursed to be broken up with (leading their exes to go on to find "the one") writing to each other because of a Reddit post.

The characters have a really fun dynamic at first, they get on really well from the first message sent, their chemistry is great, and with all the rules for their brief dating trial (in which they hope meeting a lot of rules will then lead them to find "the one" for themselves) this book sets it up to be a fun, enjoyable, charming time. I really enjoyed Justin and Emma's dynamic and as characters themselves.

But after the first quarter(ish) this book gets pretty heavy. Both Emma and Justin are dealing with a lot going on in their families - Justin has become the primary guardian for his three young siblings and Emma's mum has shown up back in her life after having neglected and abandoned her for most of it - and it's... just a lot.

I did find myself kind of missing the fun side of the book, and while there was moments of reprieve and charm and warmth, so much of it was just dealing with trauma and broken family relationships, which wasn't necessarily bad but I just wasn't expecting so much of the book to be about that topic, especially when the cover has fun summer by the water vibes.

I was also shocked that this book is way more connected to Part of Your World and Yours Truly than I thought, I kind of went into it expecting it to be a completely new disconnected set of characters - honestly the biggest plot twist of the book 😂

I think if you like Next of Kin by Hannah Bonan-Young as well as Funny Story by Emily Henry (also heavier than I expected it to be) I think you might like this!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an arc!


note: I'm rating this three stars because I'm not certain of my final rating, and I think I feel strange giving it a four, but my rating could change and overall I'm glad to have read this, I think.

4.5 STARS

Is it even an Abby Jimenez book if you don't absolutely bawl your eyes out?

I have so much respect for how Abby writes her characters. They are so complex and flawed, intricate and detailed. As a writer, she always deals with sensitive and tough topics, and this book was no different. I was so wrapped up in these characters and their lives. Emma and Justin were such a charming couple, full of humour and wit, but also deeply human. Their relationship felt so much more real than we often read about in romance novels. There is something great about escapism in novels, but it is also wonderful to see love portrayed in a more realistic way.

** Thank you to the publisher for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own. **

Review will be posted to Storygraph/ Goodreads/ Waterstones & Amazon on release day 2/4/24

I received this arc in exchange for an honest review. 🤍

this is easily my best book of 2024 so far. easily. it had everything that makes abby jimenez novels so addicting, humorous and heart-wrenching. abby’s books often include sensitive topics and this novel is no different. the way she approaches and incorporates these topics into her stories is so flawless and sensitive.

when stepping into this novel you’re not only experiencing a romance but a story about friendship, found family and sticking up for yourself. the characters were absolutely perfectly written and i loved the snippets and mentions of characters from abby’s previous books.

overall, just such a perfect novel. i am so lucky i got to read this as an arc and i can’t wait to force all of my friends to read it too. 💜

publishing april 2nd — you don’t wanna miss out on this one!!

Abby has done it again with this incredible book! This book had its ups and downs and made me feel all the emotions the characters felt. This book had the best meet cute and amazing banter throughout!

What an utterly adorable, charming book this was! It was sweet, tender and funny and dealt really well with heavier themes of child neglect, PTSD and anxiety along with others (please check TW before reading). I’ve fallen in love with this story and I’m definitely going to read more of this authors backlist!

So much fun! Definitely 5stars

The comedy of the AITA “meet cute “ if you can call it that but I really enjoyed how this was a story about how these two got to know each other and it wasn’t instalove but they truly got to know each other and their lives and it wasn’t all immediately fixed because they fell in love.
This might be my favourite from this author the humour and story had it all!

I received this as an ARC. This is my honest review

Five stars!! This is my favourite Abby Jimenez book i have ever read. I loved the complexity of Emma and Justin's lives apart and how it affects them together. Sometimes when there are harder topics discussed, they are brushed over but this was written perfectly.

i will be buying it when it is out and recommeding it to everyone

As usual from Abby Jimenez, my heart felt warmer after reading this book. It is a wonderful, tender romance novel that has two likeable main characters and a wise side character.

The connection (beyond just romance!) between Emma and Justin is lovely to read. Loved the way it grew between them slowly but surely, how they deeply understand each other and grew from this connection. While the banter isn’t the best/funniest I’ve read this year, there are many dialogue that spoke to me.

But for me personally, Maddy (Emma’s bestie) stole the show! She is so funny, loyal, supportive and really wise. The best support character of the year so far!

If you loved other Jimenez books, you won’t be disappointed. I can also recommend this book to anyone who loves heartwarming romance books!

I'm a huge Abby Jimenez fan, and something I always seem to do is forget just how much her books make me giddy. Emma and Justin are an absolute dream. The online meeting really resonated with me as someone who met her partner online, the cute texts, the long phone calls. It was just so pure and you could really feel the love developing. I loved the "side story" regarding both of their families, as well as Maddy (loove!). Overall the most beautiful love story, and I adored every page.