I have seen so many people reading and raving about the books by Abby Jimenez and yet I have never read one of her books so I thought it was about time I see what all the fuss is about. From the colourful and summery cover I was expecting a soft fluffy almost forgettable romance and although the start of this book felt like it was going to be exactly as I predicted with a whirlwind romance between Xavier and Samantha but what I didn't expect was this storyline to start exploring real life struggles as they navigate a new long distance romance.

I found myself so invested in this storyline and I really had my eyes opened at the pressures families face when living with those who suffer with dementia, the author has done such a great job of delving into the struggles they face and it was well and truly heartbreaking.

Both Xavier and Samantha have their own struggles to face but although there are hurdles in the way they are both desperate to make their relationship work and this really touched my heart. You could see they were made for each other and I would love to have an Xavier in my life! You are never quite sure how or if their romance will work and this just helps to keep me interested and turning those pages.

Although there is a lot of emotion and struggles it isn't all doom and gloom there is a lovely romance and a few laugh out loud moments especially involving an escape room and also the ear pod situation made me chuckle!

I was so surprised by this book and I loved the ease of this authors writing style so I will definitely be picking up another book by Abby Jimenez.

This is going to be a long review, so get your coffee or snacks ready and bear with me ☕🍿. I first got this ARC in November of 2024, and I got so excited because this was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025 that I wanted to save it as much as I could because otherwise, I read it too early and then I have the worst book-hungover ever 😩📚. Although I regret living without Xavier and Samantha for so long, I am also so glad I waited because here I am, after spending 24 hours reading this book non-stop, and now I don't even know what to do with myself 🤯.

When the blurb says we have a grumpy vet with Greek god vibes, you know you have a great story in the making, and Abby did not disappoint. ✨. Xavier Rush is a gorgeous veterinarian who seems perfect until he opens his mouth and proves that even the most attractive guy can say all the wrong things 😬. Samantha, who loves nothing more than proving an ass**** wrong (unless he can admit he made a mistake), goes on what might be the best date in living history with him 😍. But after that incredible night, Samantha is forced to face the truth that any kind of relationship would be impossible. She begs Xavier to forget her, to remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be 💔. No matter how much distance or time passes, you can never erase a memory that special, and the only thing better than one perfect memory is building a life, and even a love, worth remembering 💖.

I went into this book blindly and stayed up way past my bedtime because I simply couldn't put it down, constantly promising myself "just one more chapter" until my eyes were shutting off 😴📖. I fell in love with this romance because my own marriage is the product of a very hard long-distance relationship, with two different time zones, two different continents, endless missed calls, and long flights ✈️🌍. Those tiny moments of reunion made every sacrifice worth it, and I felt every bit of that longing and bittersweet joy as I read about Xavier and Samantha's relationship ❤️.

I loved this book, but please do check out the Trigger Warnings ⚠️. Although it mentions a character with severe dementia, I never expected to experience the caregiving side of things. I was a caregiver for my mom when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, cooking her meals and making sure she was eating while juggling work. That experience, though filled with love and contentment, also brought a lot of raw memories. If you've experienced similar grief and haven't worked through it, this book might be a bit heavy for you.

Overall, this book is like a rollercoaster of emotions 🎢 that moment when you're on top waiting for a big dip, wondering what you're doing to yourself, and then you fall and feel happier and freer than ever afterward.

Thank you so much to Abby Jimenez, Little, Brown Book Group UK, and NetGalley for sending me the ARC 📚🙏. Now, how do I get out of this book-hungover because I just can't get enough! 😊💕

I can’t believe this is my first Abby Jiménez book! I’m honestly mad at myself for not picking up her work sooner.

I usually despise the insta-love trope, but somehow, it completely worked for me in this one. The characters were adorable—I was rooting for them from the very start.

The chemistry between the main characters was perfection, and I absolutely adored Xavier.

Beyond the romance, I also loved how the book explored family relationships and the interactions the characters had with the people around them.

THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING.

I was so lucky to receive this book as an ARC reader through NetGalley. I absolutely adored this book so much!!! It was honestly amazing. It made me laugh, cry and gasp at times and it was all brilliant. I loved Xavier, he was literally a king and is so special. Samantha’s character has so much depth to her. All the side characters felt like they had fleshed out personalities. It tackles the subject of grief so well as someone who has recently lost someone very close to me, it resonated with me so much!! This book was so close to the 5 stars for me but the beginning felt very insta lovey so it gets a 4.75 from me!! 🩷🩷🩷

I love Abby Jimenez’ writing. She has a very unique humour embedded in her writing and does write banter very well. I was so looking forward to reading this one!

Unfortunately it fell a little flat with me. I kept waiting to be won over by Sam and Xavier and just never was. They just felt a little flat and stilted, despite all the detail in their backstories. The issue of their long-distance felt so dragged out and painful that they just seemed kinda dumb to not either resolve it or break up.

I also wasn’t expecting this book to be so sad! The second half especially - while written beautifully just felt quite hopeless and depressing, which I probably wouldn’t have minded if I didn’t assume that this would be a feel-good read!

I’m still going to go back and read Jimenez’ backlist, because Just for the Summer was one of my favourite books I read last year. I love her writing and I think I just didn’t connect with this one :)

I think people leaving the five-star reviews must have read a different book to me.

Okay, so firstly I don't leave poor reviews lightly, especially because this is my first experience with this author, I'd been wanting to read Abby Jimenez for a long time and was excited to get this ARC. However, I found Say You'll Remember Me to be tedious, kind of depressing and having little that recommends it as a romance, not to mention the apparently racist remark about Omar going back to his "motherland" which made me want to switch off right then and there.

** Possible spoilers below **

Say You'll Remember Me, feels more like a trauma dump, and a book about dementia, than a romance novel; nothing good happens to the main characters apart from their first meeting, they spend almost no time together, and when they do it's full of worry about how the time is almost used up already and how they can't afford to visit each other. A key secondary character dies, another one cheats, Samantha loses her job, Xavier gets sick and ends up in the hospital, he is also dealing with the fallout of an abusive childhood while his parents are still hassling him AND he has hundreds of thousands of pounds of debt after paying for university and setting up his veterinary surgery. The list goes on. The ending is so outrageously terrible, expecting retired people to save your business for zero pay - I have no words and I just don't know how is this even an idea that stuck past the first edit.

So, two stars for their initial meeting, the animal characters and, oddly, I liked the old car of her grandmother's that Samantha ends up driving.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Group for the Ark, this is my honest opinion.

Love the mix of humour with such a seriously heartbreaking plot - I couldn’t put it down, but it hurt to continue! Well worth it!

5 ☆

não sabia que ia chorar tanto, aliás nem sabia que este livro ia ser triste.
não se enganem pela capa, este livro é fofo, mas vai destruir-vos.
foi lindo. foi perfeito. adorei. well amei.
não estou a saber lidar wtf
estou chorar só de pensar no livro.

My first Abby Jiminez book and it did not disappoint! This was a really sweet, funny and beautiful read.

I never knew I needed a VILF in my life but I so do! I was immediately captivated by the two MCs and I could not get enough of their dynamic as they tried to navigate the difficulty of a long distance relationship. The humour as well in this book had me giggling throughout and I am now firmly an AJ fan!

I have to say it - this is my least favorite Abby Jimenez book. This feels so different from her previous works. I couldn't go through the pages quick enough - and not because it was so good. I just wanted to be done with it. This story deals with so much, that the majority of it is a downer. The romantic bits were so few and far in between, and also insta-lovey, that the rest of it felt.. meh.
Regarding the writing (I don't remember feeling this way about the author's previous books) this one had two glaring problems for me: the choppy writing, and the amount of telling is so much more that showing.
I wanted to dnf so many times, but I felt a kind of loyalty to my love of Jimenez's other books that I just couldn't.
Also, my brain went "oh, this is questionable" when I read: "Omar fucked off back to his motherland".
I hate to say it, but all of this put together did not amount to a good reading experience. If you haven't read a Jimenez book and want to try one of her books, do not start with this one.

I wasn’t 100% sold on the synopsis of this one initially as it sounded like it could have been a bit too emotionally draining but once I started reading I immediately remembered how great Abby Jimenez is.

She really does it again with this one and I couldn’t set it down!

Abby Jimenez the woman you are !!! Phenomenal as usual

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to review

My favourite thing about Abby Jiminez is the pureness of the love she writes. It's so raw and feels realistic. No insta-love, no lust being mistaken for love, it's just full on, beautiful and real feeling love unfolding infront of you. Samantha and Xavier are the most amazingly written characters, and I was hooked from the second they met. So so good, one of my faves this year so far

Unfortunately this was not for me

I am beyond flabbergasted how any sane editor allowed the part with “ he fucked off to his motherland” while talking about the the ex husband of the fmc’s sister. Him being named omar also. Im honestly sick to my stomach, this is blatant racism. How are we excusing this with the hatred that is currently in the world

What follows it the review i wrote immediately after finishing the book, im sorry if things are repetitive:

The beginning of the book got me so excited i thought i met my 5 star of the month. But, it went downhill very fast.
I don’t like insta love in books, i tried to like them, but i always end up disappointed or annoyed. Samantha was quite infuriating, both the main characters had issues and you tell me they resolved their issues without therapy??? Yeah i dont believe this for a second.
Also the family dynamic was quite toxic, again you’re going to tell me this resolved just like that.
I don’t remember what half of the siblings do for work or maybe i missed it.
As someone who witnessed 24/7 care for a family member you’re telling me they still have a life outside her mother diagnoses even if they are more than two people?? Spare me
Now, the sam’s sister is divorced and her ex husband stopped paying child support and he “took off to his mother land” his name is omar btw, this is quite offensive im sorry, they usual stereotype, so unnecessary. Like “motherland and a name that is specific to a certain region?? I didn’t like this and im white as a cup of milk
Also i know this is fictional, but for the love of god authors need to stop referencing anything pop culture related
IF I SEE ONE MORE TIME THAT HE LOOKS LIKE RHYSAND FROM ACOTAR. we got it from the first time you said it, and the second, and the third. And not everyone like that series, they don’t need to be reminded of it. The same with tik tok, im reading to escape tik tok not be reminded of it.
The book is more focused on the heavier part than the romance
I find it hard to believe he sold his practice, his lifelong work and dream to move in with her family and her mother. It s heavy burden to cary.
Though i have to say i loved sam’s grandma
EVen if xavier had issues he and the grandmother were the best characters

Thank u to the publisher for the arc

Many thanks to NetGalley and Little brown book for the e-arc.

“Say you’ll remember me” reminded me a lot of my relationship. Before moving in together in another country, we had a long-distance relationship for almost two years. I do know how it feels to not be there with the person you love.

I read this book in a few hours, and I would’ve binged it if I hadn’t had work the next day. But nonetheless, it was a very nice surprise!
“Say you’ll remember me” it’s a love story about long-distance relationships, about family and love and pain and heartbreak and life. It’s about humans and how much we can endure.
Samantha and Xander are great for each other, I loved them so so much and my heart broke for them with every passing page. I loved their first meet and how fast they entered into each other’s life. The attraction and the chemistry between them was really well done.

What I learned from this book (and I am grateful to Abby Jimenez for showing us), is how much the small moments matters.

“The best moments don’t have to be big to be forever”.

The book shows us how much we need someone next to us. We all said that we’re fine on our own, we don’t need a man or a woman next to us and being single is the best. Until you start feeling that you need someone to yap with, to tell how your day was and what made you laugh or cry. Someone that just listens and doesn’t judge and you can cook with and do laundry and fight about small things.

What I love about her books is that the problems are real. There’s no miscommunication, these are adults with real problems, with traumas and anxieties. There’s no third act breakup and no one lies, because when you’re with the right person, you don’t want to lie. It shows us how hard it is to fight for what you need, a person, a job or just some peace.
I’m grateful to her, because she reminded me how I was in the beginning of my relationship and how hard I fought for what I have now.

The reason for not giving it 5 stars is that, in the beginning, she kept reminding us about a certain character from a certain series, and it was kinda a turn off. Especially when it’s said 5 times in 2 chapters.

Before reading this book, check the trigger warnings!!

“You think that it’s the big memories you should be chasing - and it is in a way. Birthdays and vacations and special occasions. But the small memories are the fabric of your life, the ones so inconsequential that you don’t even remember them. You just remember how you felt when you were making them.”

Wow what does Abby put in her books? A wonderful emotional read. Full of real life, romance and hope. I fell in love with Samantha and Xavier.

An easy 5 stars!!! I will read anything Abby writes!

I really enjoyed this! Always a joy to read Abby Jiminez. Did not disappoint! Lovely feel good romance thank you Abby

as always with abby jimenez, this is a work of art. dementia is such a difficult thing to experience in a family member. it is heartbreaking and jimenez writes this story with such care and beauty. the romance delivers and i just fell so deeply for these characters. everything about their romance was a boost of serotonin and faith in true love. abby jimenez is a true talent and i am so lucky to live in the time where she is writing books. 10/10 infinity stars.

‘Say You’ll Remember Me’ by Abby Jiminez was an amazing romance. I was giggling, I was crying, I was kicking my feet. Yes that combo in that order. The novel follows a night to remember in vet Xavier and marketing manager/cat lover Samantha’s life.

The characters were complicated and real. The setting was atmospheric. There is not a single point to this book that I didn’t enjoy.

I have never read a novel that has such good representation of dementia, it was heart wrenching at times and beautiful at others. The complicated family dynamics in this novel was just another way of Jiminez showing us how good she is at writing love.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance whether that’s reading, watching or being in it. This book was so good.

An easy 5 star. Thank you #netgalley for this pre-release.