Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

5*

Another heart-warming winner from Abby Jimenez! Although Just for the Summer isn’t officially a book in the Part of Your World series, it might as well be given how many characters from those books are featured in this one.

It all starts with an online meet-cute when Justin (29), a software engineer from Minnesota who builds websites, posts on Reddit about how he’s cursed to be the guy women break up with and then go on to meet their soulmate. His friend Brad describes it as “ferrying women to their happily ever afters.” Emma (28), a traveling nurse whose next adventure will be in Hawaii, messages him to let him know that he’s not alone. From that initial exchange, they slowly start building a relationship through texts, emails, and video chats until Brad suggests they date each other to break the curse. That’s when Justin starts his campaign to get Emma to do her next assignment in Minneapolis rather than Hawaii. The fact that they find each other attractive and have an instant connection makes it easy for Emma to convince her best friend and fellow nurse, Maddy, to postpone Hawaii and spend the summer in Minneapolis at the Royaume Hospital (where the protagonists from the Part of Your World series all work).

Justin is really the perfect book boyfriend. Not only is he handsome and genuinely charming, but he’s also responsible, kind, and protective. One of my favorite parts of the story are his dating plans, surveys, catchy invitations, and post-date exit interviews. From the moment they meet, their conversations are witty, honest, and open, and, despite Emma’s commitment to leaving at the end of 6 weeks (following the plan they put together to break the curse: 4 dates, 1 kiss, and the breakup), there’s no way either of them can avoid catching feelings.

Unfortunately, as with all of Jimenez’s books, her characters are dealing with some serious issues. In this case, neither of their moms is going to win any parenting awards. Justin is the oldest son, and his mom is going to prison for embezzlement, leaving him to be guardian to his siblings for several years since their father died in an accident 4 years prior. Emma’s mother is an impulsive, irresponsible, and selfish drifter who had her at age 18 and essentially abandoned her when she was a child, with her ending up in the foster care system. Her final placement at age 14 resulted in her meeting Maddy, whose two moms took her in. She thinks she’s resolved her childhood trauma, but it's obvious that she has created a life where she can move around the world with just two suitcases of possessions so she’s prepared to leave wherever she lives at a moment’s notice. She also deals with periods of depression which she calls “getting small,” often triggered by her mother’s sudden reappearance. It isn’t until the truth of her mother’s betrayal is discovered that she finally recognizes she needs help if she’s ever going to be whole and able to accept love in her life.

I appreciated that Jimenez chose a dual POV so that we could really get to know Justin and Emma through the other’s eyes. One of the most poignant scenes, that made Justin realize the depth of Emma’s kindness and caring, is when she helps a woman with dementia (or a TBI) while on their first date. After explaining how she knew the woman needed help, she said that her motto is “In a world where you can choose anger or empathy, always choose empathy.” It’s that way of thinking that allows her to keep a tenuous hold on her fractured relationship with her mother, a philosophy that’s put to the test more than once after her mother reappears.

Abby Jimenez is one of the reigning queens of the romance genre, and her newest offering confirms that she deserves all the accolades. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Forever Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own. 

 

For You and No One Else by Roni Loren

 

5*

Loren really knocked it out of the park with the 3rd (and presumably final) book in her Say Everything series.  Eliza is a marriage therapist and YouTube wellness guru at WorkAround, the shared office space where we first met her in Book 1. She’s best friends with Hollyn and Andi from the first two books, but it’s her budding relationship with Beckham, the hot, nerdy computer wizard in the office next door, that is the focus of For You and No One Else.

On the surface, they’re an odd pairing. She created her life plan at age 10 (including a husband and 2.5 kids) and is still mourning the loss of her parents who died in a car accident 2 years prior. Beckham, 7 years her junior, dresses in vintage t-shirts, is covered in tattoos, and is a hacker (usually on the legal side). However, after running into each other in the office on Christmas Day and him recognizing that she needs company more than he needs to work, they begin to see in each other a kindred spirit. Since he’s anti-marriage and kids, they both know their relationship will never go anywhere, but they agree to a friends with benefits arrangement after she has one last disastrous date arranged through an app. Of course, this trope plays out as you’d expect, but the emotional gut punch sets it apart from other similar scenarios. 

In addition to her grief and unwavering commitment to stick to her plan, they’re also (mis)handling his baggage which includes childhood trauma that he thought he’d escaped. Ultimately, the question comes down how well you can know a person when they’re hiding a big part of themselves. 

Loren writes romance laced with some heavy real-life challenges, but her characters are so warm and open that you can’t help but root for a happy ending. Although the themes in this book are heavy, there’s plenty of humor, a couple of really adorable pets, and the female friendship between the heroines of all three books that keep it from sinking into despair. I highly recommend the entire series.