This book left me in tears. Definitely different from Jimenez's other books, but ultimately still had her fantastic touch. Xavier and Samantha's instant connection -- through a kitten meet cute -- was electric and was a chord throughout the struggles they faced in the book, and boy struggle they did. I'm a sucker for a grumpy x sunshine and Xavier did not disappoint whatsoever. An absolutely beautiful read that I would recommend to anyone in the mood for a heartwarming read.

✔️long distance relationship
✔️emotional
✔️family issues
✔️dual pov
✔️animal lovers

4.5

This will definitely be one of the top romance books of 2025. It was such a beautiful story! Abby Jimenez truly marvels at making you feel all kinds of emotions through her words and characters. If you're like me and connect with the story you'll be laughing, smiling like a fool, wanting to cry, and many more things.

There's no question that Xavier and Samantha are meant to be together. I loved reading about them, how perfectly they fit together, and how fiercely they loved each other even when everything seemed to be against them.

It was so heartwrenching to read about their families, and what they've been or were going through. I literally just wanted to give them both a hug. But I love how they unconditionally supported each other, it was perfection. There were so many funny, lighthearted and cute moments so the book was perfectly balanced.

I think the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I felt it was a bit repetitive after a bit. Even though the reasons why the couldn't be together physically were absolutely logical after a while they didn't feel as important as the need they had to be together.

Still, this story was an absolute delight! I'm so excited about the upcoming books by Abby, I'm sure they'll be just as good, if not better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I've read Abby's Just For The Summer and Part of Your World (JFTS was first, I now realise I read them super out of order + completely missed the second book but here we are LMAO) , and I did really enjoy Just For The Summer! Part of Your World, I did enjoy but not quite as much. I was quite excited for this, as the title, cover and synopsis all worked together to sound like it'd be a cute lil romance. Unfortunately, as I continued reading I felt CHEATED😭

Below will contain spoilers! Please don't read ahead if you don't want to be spoiled.


This book embodies insta-love, I swear they were dating within like 4 chapters or so?? The entire synopsis happens in the first 15% of the book??? To me, this doesn't read like a romance. The characters get together and fall in love within the first 15% of the book, the rest of the book is how they're going to make it work, but it felt so lackluster that it didn't even feel like the main plot of the story to me. I did not like Samantha as a fmc, I thought it was insane of her to accept a date with Xavier in the very beginning of the book knowing that she was moving across the country??? Like, is this not a thing you'd casually mention at SOME POINT during your 12-hour date??????

I'm a little biased in that my real life love's name is Xavier, but I liked Say You'll Remember Me's Xavier well enough (who wouldn't??) - he was sweet and caring despite his traumatic upbringing. I liked the depth to his character, but was actually in disbelief at the lengths he went through in this book just to see Samantha or make her happy at the detriment of his own physical, emotional and financial wellbeing - like some of the things were actually insane and no actual person would've done all this MUCH LESS have let a loved one go through with all of it (COUGH, SAMANTHA, COUGH). He flew back and forth, dropping all of his past hard work and putting himself through literal sickness to be with Samantha AND was willing to put himself through BANKRUPTCY JUST BC HE COULDN'T BEAR BEING AWAY FROM HER???? and this was all after one single date I ACTUALLY CAN'T 💀💀

I also need to bring up the insane amount of pop culture references in here!! I also love Rhysand from ACOTAR, but my GOD using him as a descriptor for Xavier (MULTIPLE TIMES) feels so incredibly lazy to me, I was absolutely not a fan. The amount of TikTok references in here too was actually insane, and really took me out of the book. I also think it's INSANE that a book mostly about dementia is called 'Say You'll Remember Me', it feels like it was strategically picked to also capitalise on Taylor Swift's fans if you get me, since I too associate it heavily with Wildest Dreams by Taylor even though it doesn't even give the vibe of the song AT ALLLLL.

The main focus was on Samantha's family, her mother's dementia and how they were all dealing with it. This part was fine, it was interesting meeting her family even if they all felt a bit more like caricatures rather than people, but the only reasonable character here was Tristan in my opinion. Tell me why, when the father's cheating comes to light, Tristan was the ONLY person in that household to be angry at him for it???????? The rest allow him to JUSTIFY it and even support him, wtf??? What happened to 'in sickness and in health'????????? The grandmother's death also didn't really phase me - it came completely out of nowhere and felt like it happened just to make things even more traumatic and emotional. I was expecting to feel so much more emotion whilst reading this book, but I lowkey didn't really have any emotions other than anger towards the end LMAOOO

After reading this one, I just don't think Abby's books are for me anymore unfortunately! Thank you so much to Hachette Australia for the e-ARC via NetGalley!

4.5⭐️

Samantha and Xavier were so cute, their first meeting lets face it left something to be desired but, impressions were made on each other just not the best impression. I was rooting for Xavier and Samantha the whole time, I just wanted them to work the whole time. The way the topic of dementia was handled in such a caring and realistic way that showed how significant it was to the story. This made me laugh out loud and cry. This is going to be a book that sticks with me for a while.

Abby Jimenez's writing continues to blow me away and I am so excited to read whatever she writes. Every time I read an Abby Jimenez book I come away more and more excited to read more and makes me feel my emotions that little bit more. I could not recommend this book enough.

Thank you for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Two and a half stars.

Samantha writes social media copy for an organic mustard brand (yep, end of days). When she finds a kitten with a potentially life-endangering birth defect (I can't bring myself to say what it is) she crowd funds surgery. Xavier is the handsome vet who agrees to perform the surgery against his better judgement. The two of them go on a bizarre yet magical first date which ends up with the two of them locked in an escape room overnight.

However, their magical date can only be a one-time thing because Samantha has to leave Minnesota and return to her family home in California. Her mother has dementia and the rest of the family are struggling to cope, as a remote worker Samantha can work just as easily in California and lend a hand.

Then the rest of the book is just Xavier and Samantha getting sadder and sadder because they live on opposite sides of the country, he can't leave Minnesota because he is hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt after setting up his veterinary practice while she (obviously) can't leave her mother. Neither of them can afford to fly cross-country very often, but neither of them wants to give up on their relationship. And then things get worse.

TBH it was all a bit depressing and didn't really go anywhere.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

This has to be one of the most wholesome and heartfelt books I have read in a long time. Sam and Xavier meet just as Sam is leaving the state but eventually decide to try a long distance relationship. Say You’ll Remember Me navigates this relationship, Sam’s mother’s dementia and Xavier’s business struggles with his vet clinics. This book is extremely relatable which made it all the more loveable.

If Abby Jimenez's last book, Just For The Summer, was a five-star read (it was; I rated it that), then this one is a six.

Say You'll Remember Me is one of the most poignant and emotional contemporary romance novels I've read. Yes, it's a love story. Boy (Xavier) meets girl (Samantha) and sparks fly. They share a perfect, 10/10 no notes date, but she's leaving the day after for California to deal with a crisis family situation. They've only just met, so it would be senseless to try keep anything going, right?

This is a "right person, wrong time" tale, but with a devastating back story. Xavier is up to his eyeballs in debt, having opened his very own veterinary practice. Samantha's mother has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and is deteriorating rapidly, and Samantha is moving back home to help take care of her. But their connection is undeniable.

Samamtha and Xavier are incredibly strong and well-drawn characters, and their chemistry is electric. I loved their banter and how considerate they were of each other, and I couldn't get enough of their story. The secondary characters are also fantastic, and I especially loved the dynamics between Samantha's family members, who all end up under the same roof caring for a woman who is clearly the centre of their world.

I found the story so captivating and moving, and it brought me to tears a number of times. I will say this might be a difficult read for anyone who has cared for a sick family member, but it is handled with honesty and great sensitivity.

Say You'll Remember Me is a truly gorgeous and life affirming novel about love, family, and memory, full of depth, heart, and also humour. I can't stop thinking about it.

I consider Abby jimenez's previous work to be some of my absolute favourite Rom Coms. Unfortunately the repetitive references to Sarah J Maas 's Rhysand when describing Xavier's physical description, the kitten butthole jokes and lack of conflict in the first 20% of this book had me sending this book into ' time out' ( aka. The soft DNF shelf). Unfortunately this book left me a little disappointed. I will definitely pick up another book by this author as I loved Part of Your World and I may have just been in the wrong headspace going into this book.

My first book by this author and now I feel the need to read everything she’s ever written - this is pretty much romcom perfection for me! Two absolutely loveable main characters, endless romance, lots of cute animals and an emotional storyline about family?! And some little mustard jokes to keep it light too? Sold!

I also absolutely love the cover and these are two of my favourite audiobook narrators ever, so it’ll definitely be going on my favourites list!

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
Xavier and Samantha were my dream team from start to finish. I LOVED it. Sam was so so witty and Xavier such a sweetheart. As with all of Jimenez books, I was hooked. I devoured this one in a couple of days. The side characters completed it with joy, drama and tears. A quick and easy read, but with heavy topics mixed in. Making it an in credibly wholesome book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Quick read
Character Development
Short Chapters
Witty Characters
Binge Read

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘨𝘶𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦. 𝘈 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴—𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯? 𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨. 𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨…

. . . 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦—𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺—𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦.

⭒ Rating: 5
🌶️ rating: 0.5 / 3

My second Abby Jimenez book and another solid 5 star read! How does she do it?! Her stories are just so beautiful, my god.

This book was such a deeply touching and beautiful story! It was so good. My heart was all over the place. I cried so many times throughout this one. These two had my heart. Their backstories were so emotional and the angst of doing a long distance relationship in the midst of such sad circunstantes. Dang, how could I not fall apart when my babies were hurting?!

I loved the connection these two had. Their date was so cute. And the way they felt about each other immediately, the way they talked about each other, just wow. They were perfect for each other and they knew it immediately. They showed up for each other no matter how much it cost them.

Xavier Rush was the definition of “If he wanted to, he would”!! I loved this man SO MUCH! He was a grumpy ahole with the biggest heart, a big romantic side and just overall great guy/friend/boyfriend. He was legit everything.

I loved Samantha, too. She was great. Also had a really big heart and she was so funny. Her whole family situation was so crappy and sad. My heart really hurt for her whole family. But Xavier gosh. He really came through for them all. He had no family of his own but he fit into hers perfectly. When I say this man was everything, I MEANT IT. He was a 10/10, full 360 degrees.

If you have not read Abby Jimenez, Say You’ll Remember Me is a good book to start with. It’s book one in her newest series of interconnected standalones. I’m excited to find out who the other couples will be! In the meantime, watch me go read everything this women has ever written because after two five star reads, I’m in love with her writing style.

𝜗𝜚 Tropes: strangers to lovers, meet cute, grumpy x sunshine, long distance relationship, emotional

This book was about Xavier and Samantha. Their first meeting isn't great when Samantha disgarees with the advice given to her by surly vet, Xavier, however this is then followed up by him asking her out on thir second meeting and they have a date that neither one of them want to end. Only for Xavier to find out that Samantha is sticking around.

I'm not normally a fan of romances where they pretty much fall in love immediately but this was so well written that the connection wasn't hard to imagine. I really enjoyed the way that their struggle with long distance, as well as their personal struggles, were written and explored.

I did actually have a good cry at this book, mostly because of Samantha's mom's diagnosis and how this affected her family, as this is something that I have experienced and worked with for many years. The whole book was heart wrenching and was written with sensitivity as well as not being completely blind to the difficulties of supporting a family member with dementia.

I feel that the ending was a bit rushed and everything seemed to work itself out quite quickly but that almost fit the whole theme of the book and I have never turned down a book by Abby Jiminez before.

There were a few too many mentions of Rhysand though...

Tropes:
- Instant connection
- Long distance
- Vet MMC
- Enemies to lovers (if you really, really, really squint)

Overall a really solid romance book. but i found all the acotar refrences a bit too much. it truly lessend my enjoyment. even as someone who liked acotar, it could have been less.

Ok so as someone who definitely ISN’T a romance girlie - I kinda loved this!

The characters are likeable and relatable, the pacing kept my attention the whole way through. I loved the side characters and the back story of Xavier and his toxic parents (sadly also relatable 👀). And I was SO invested in Xavier and Samantha’s story it was actually breaking my heart!

I also loved the humour in it, there were a few one liners that had me laughing out loud.

Overall this was a bloody lush read and was exactly what I needed after reading some pretty heavy thriller books.

Can’t wait to read more of Abby’s work

I don’t know what Abby Jimenez puts in her books, but this one had me hooked!

Say You’ll Remember Me is a beautiful, heartfelt story about two people who are perfect for each other, but whose life situations prevent them from pursuing a relationship. After a memorable first date that neither of them wanted to end, their best option is to walk away and forget. But the incredible chemistry and connection between them isn’t something they can just let go of or ignore.

This is also a story about navigating life with a family member who has dementia - not just as an individual, but as a family. II really appreciated the way the story explored how Sam’s mom’s dementia affected her, not only as a daughter but also as someone watching the ripple effect it had on her entire family. These moments were handled with care and insight, helping me truly understand Sam’s emotions and what her family was going through. I loved the way Abby wrote this part of the story - it made me feel the heartbreak of watching someone you love, someone you've made so many memories with, forget them and slowly become a shell of who they once were.

The theme of memory - of witnessing someone’s life and creating memories - is woven throughout the whole book, and I think Abby did an excellent job tying that into Xavier and Sam’s relationship.

These two have my whole heart. I was obsessed with them from the very start - just as Xavier was with Sam.
We all deserve to be loved like Xavier loved Sam. This man is my new blueprint. He wasn’t just a man deeply in love and obsessed; he listened, remembered Sam’s favourite things, cared for her and her family when they couldn’t care for themselves, and made huge sacrifices just to be with her. Oh, and he made her playlists. The amount of love and care he showed Sam from the start was endless. He really said, “This is my future wife,” and gave his all.

Yes, this book deals with heavy topics that had me absolutely emotional and in tears, but it also offers moments of humor that balance the pain, as well as so much love and family solidarity. It all made reading this story a beautiful, beautiful experience.

Thank you Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group and Piatkus for an e-ARC.

Soulmates. That is what Xavier and Samantha were. These characters felt real because their situations were real. From the first date to navigating a long-distance relationship, I loved their honesty and resilience. They were destined to be. However, I thought the ending was quite rushed; I needed more of Xavier and Samantha's story. Romance aside, I thought that Abby Jimenez realistically brought out the harsh realities of living with and caring for someone with dementia.

This book was so much fun to read and that's really saying something since it deals with A LOT of heavy subjects. Abby Jimenez is so friggin funny, I mean from the jump, literally pages in, she had me laughing out loud with the wit and banter she gives her characters. I feel like she successfully writes in a way that is so relevant and relatable in terms of popular phrases and colloquialisms without it being cheesy. And that is no easy feat, especially for a rom com. I loved that this book had no distractions and didn't use obvious late stage plot devices. The relationship is exactly what you're given fairly straight away and what happens in the rest of the book is just...life. I related a lot to this book as well. My partner and I have been long distance for multiple stages of our relationship because we're from different countries, so that side of Xavier and Samantha's story really hit home for me. I have experienced so much of what they do myself and it really endeared them to me. I've seen other reviewers have a hard time with the "falling in love at first date" aspect and all I can say is...when you've experienced that same certainty with someone firsthand it's not difficult to buy into. When ya know ya know. This story covers a lotttt of heavy topics: estrangement from parents, dementia, death, debt/financial struggles, domestic and animal abuse... but Jimenez handles it all really well and tells the story effectively. I was left with mouth agape multiple times at the twists. The comedic relief is so masterfully woven through every chapter as well, so even though it spends a lot of time on difficult subjects this book still felt light and easy to take in. I really, really enjoyed it. I can't wait to read more from Abby.

Whilst I was reading this book I saw several reviews saying how emotional it made them and so part way in I began questioning why I was not affected by the book, but then I got to those parts 🥹

I really enjoyed this book, the dual POV’s and Abby’s writing style.

💖 Instalove
✈️ Long distance relationship
🏡 Family relationships
🥹 Emotional

I would definitely recommend this book and will be reading the Part of Your World Series soon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group | Piatkus for providing me with an advanced copy.

Big fan of Abby Jiimenez here and I was sad to finish this as now I don’t have any more of her books to read! This was my favourite of hers so far, and she sets the bar HIGH. Xavier became my #1 book boyfriend immediately after the first chapter and just got better and better.

Samantha takes her new kitten to the vet and agrees to a date with said vet the day before she moves. Xavier and Samantha fall in love but it’s a case of right person, wrong time. A basic premise but it’s so much more. I really appreciated the more serious elements of the book, how difficult their long distance relationship was and the family elements which made things more complicated. Just the right touches of humour and sensitivity brought the pages to life. I’ve since learned that Abby writes her books on her phone and I’m just in awe of this, I can’t get the notes on my notes app to get anywhere near this level of flow and it’s quite impressive.

One thing I can do without (and this is not a criticism of this book, just something that features) is a follow up on the story in an epilogue. I cannot stress enough how much it takes away from the story for me (although can see why other people might like it).

Firstly I would like to thank Abby Jimenez , The Little Brown Book Group Uk and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of ' Say You'll Remember Me ' to read and provide an unbiased review. I was excited to receive a copy as this is the first book I have read by this author, although I keep hearing amazing positive things about her previous books over social media.

The novel follows the lives of Samantha and Xavier from their comedic initial meeting through the blossoming of their relationship. Samantha is full of humour and her character shines throughout.
Picking up this book was like going back to old friends. I was eager to read more at any given opportunity.
The author certainly knows how to write an engaging contemporary rom com that really pulls at the heartstrings . It is a cosy light-hearted read that also covers many difficult topics. I knew from the start what direction the story was going in and what the outcome would be , but the journey to get there was so worthwhile. Everything was stacked against Samantha and Xavier but they fought for what they knew was right and the life they both deserved.

The writing was witty and relatable and anybody that has been a carer for a loved one would realise how much research had been put into making this story as realistic as possible. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it was a breath of fresh air from what I usually read . I cant recommend it enough .

#SayYoullRememberMe #NetGalley.