Abby Jimenez did it again. Following in the steps of The Friend Zone and The Happily Ever After Playlist, Abby has once again concocted the recipe for the perfect romcom. Every one of Abby's books have tugged at my heartstrings, made me shed a tear or two and had me smiling and hopeful.

Life's Too Short was very reminiscent of the Friend Zone when it came to the protagonists not wanting to take the leap of faith by expressing their feelings for each other. The book follows Vanessa, a big deal travel YouTuber that is living life to the fullest with the belief that ALS was going to end her life early on just like the disease took some of her family members. Adrian is a lawyer that spends his days focused on work and never leaving time for fun. The two, separated by a paper-thin apartment wall, meet when Vanessa's niece Grace keeps them both up late one night with her crying. If the perfect romcom isn't enough, we also get to see what Josh, Kristen, Jason and Sloane are up to when they make a brief cameo!

Life's Too Short will have you feeling like you shouldn't take life for granted and will have you swooning for the kind of love that Adrian and Vanessa share.

Life's Too Short by Abby Jimenez
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pub date: April 6

Abby Jimenez has done it again! I didn't doubt for a minute that she'd have me smiling and sobbing in equal measure, but this book was even more than I could've imagined. I connected so much with both Vanessa and Adrian, and just wanted to adopt Vanessa's outlook on life. I want to enjoy each day, not put the joys of life off to get to later. I want to travel the world, burn the expensive candle, and enjoy the fancy wine.

I enjoyed how Adrian and Vanessa's relationship started out with a solid friendship, but you could feel the chemistry on every page. I was seriously swooning every time Adrian took care of baby Grace. Is there anything sexier than a man with a baby?

Of course, there are some heavier topics in this book. You'll most likely cry more than once. (I was a puddle for most of the second half.) But as in her first two books, Abby Jimenez manages to deliver a heart-wrenching story that leaves you feeling whole and so satisfied. I cannot recommend this book enough, and it will easily make my top books of 2021 list!

"If you spend your life dwelling on the worst possible thing, when it finally happens, you've lived it twice. I don't want to live the worst thing twice."

First and foremost, thank you Abby for the advanced copy of this book to read and review.

One thing that Abby Jimenez has proven over the course of three novels is her ability to write heartbreaking, heartwarming, believable and hilarious romances. She is also incredible at grounding her stories in real, life-altering issues that people face on a daily basis. Whether it's infertility like in "The Friend Zone" or grief after losing a loved one in "The Happy Ever After Playlist," Jimenez takes these very real and very heartwrenching issues and creates believable and lovable characters to navigate them.

"Life's Too Short" follows Adrian--whom we briefly met in HEAP--and Vanessa. Vanessa, a famous YouTube blogger, is battling what may be ALS, a hereditary and deadly disease that’s already taken her sister.

Through their meet-cute and subsequent friendship that slowly and then ferociously erupts into romance, we see these characters navigate love, life and loss in sometimes hilarious and other times heartbreaking ways.

Abby writes love really, really well and Life’s Too Short just proves how masterful she is in the genre.

What I Loved?
- Adrian. He was so sweet and I loved that he stepped up with Grace. I feel like there are few things more attractive than a man stepping in and taking care of a baby that is not theirs.
- The little visit from Sloane, Jason, Kristen, and Josh. It was hard saying goodbye to them when their books were over so I liked our little glimpse!
- Vanessa bringing Adrian out of his shell. She broke his workaholic nature and helped him see more of what life was really about!
- The awareness that Abby brings to ALS. This is such a horrific and scary disease. So many people don’t know much about it at all so I like that this book will encourage people to learn more about it!

What I Didn’t Love?
This is hard to actually explain but I was really anxious the entire time I was reading the book. Vanessa was preparing for what would happen after her battle with ALS ended and it just made it hard to read for me.

This was good! It was also one of my most anticipated books of the year.

A huge thank you to Forever Pub and NetGalley for my advanced copy of Life's Too Short.

What I Loved-

* The Characters- Both Vanessa and Adrian were very likeable. I enjoyed seeing past characters from previous books pop up ( briefly ) and the side characters were unique.

* The Romance- I wanted Vanessa and Adrian to be together. I loved their friendship and appreciated their slow progression into a relationship.

*The Writing- Like her previous books, it was very easy to get sucked into Life's Too Short. It was a fast read.

The Reason This Book Lost a Star-

HEAP is a very hard book to top. I still rave about it. This book was good, just not as great as the previous one.
I feel like the author was trying to tackle a lot in this book. That is not to say that I did not appreciate the representation.
Vanessa's family drama gave me slight anxiety. I have family members (past and present) that deal with similar issues.
At times this was not the escape I was hoping for.

Overall- I definitely recommend this book to fellow readers. Especially those who are fans of the two previous books. I look forward to reading whatever Abby Jimenez decides to publish next.

Abby Jimenez never dissappoints with her witty characters and steamy hot romance. This book tackles some tough issues such as addiction, terminal illness and the trials of parenting. Both Adrian and Vanessa are truly inspiring characters who demonstrate what it means to truly love even through life's many obstacles. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an uplifting and inspiring read.

Vanessa is spunky, vivacious YouTuber with a very eccentric family. Adrian is a type A lawyer whose life could use a little excitement. They’re interested in each other immediately, but a classic case of crossed signals threatens to tear them apart.

This book has the classic Abby Jimenez mixture of humor and heavy subjects, plus a slow burn romance.🥰 You can always count on her for strong female characters and funny dogs. I’m also a total sucker for a any book with a baby in it, so this one hit the spot!

*TINY POTENTIAL SPOILER*
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One complaint: can we PLEASE get a story where the character has a chronic illness that doesn’t miraculously disappear!? The ending to this book didn't irk me anywhere near as much as the ending to The Friend Zone did, especially since I saw it coming from the beginning, but I would really like for one of her books to end with the character continuing to have whatever chronic illness or issue affects them and them living well despite it!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing & Netgalley for the ARC!

World traveler and YouTube vlogger Vanessa Price has been living her life like it might be her last day, which it just might be. Both her mother and sister died from a hereditary neuromuscular disease and there is no test to determine if she shares the damaging gene. When her half-sister abruptly drops off her newborn daughter with Vanessa, she is housebound and struggling with Mommy duties. Her unlikely savior is the hot lawyer who owns the building. The buttoned up, but strikingly buff and handsome Adrian Copeland turns out to be a baby whisperer and soothes the crying child. Vanessa and Adrian becomes friends - just friends, but sometimes things don't always work out the way you plan. A charmingly sweet novel with endearing characters.

Vanessa is a famous influencer who makes her living by making vlogs and advertising products online. Her life involves a lot of luxurious travel, and not a lot of permanence. Vanessa made a pact with herself (and the internet) after her mother died young, and Vanessa realizes that women in her family have a 50% chance of inheriting the gene to develop ALS early in life. When her sister Annabelle drops her infant Grace off at Vanessa’s apartment and runs out to get something, she doesn’t come back, leaving Vanessa to care for her baby. Vanessa finds unexpected help and partnership in Adrian, her next door neighbor who comes over in the middle of the night to help quiet Grace’s screams. Vanessa and Adrian become fast friends and soon realize that there is more than friendship between them.
This rom-com is as much com as it is rom. It will have readers’ spirits soaring and plunging. I laughed and I cried. For fans of Jasmine Guillory.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

4 a.m. and baby Grace is crying. From the apartment next door "Jesus Abs" comes to save the day. That's all you need to know, for now, book friends.

Superb dialogue! I am continually amazed reading the funny witty back-and-fourth Abby Jimenez delivers each and every time she writes. Absolute Perfection. It's what keeps me coming back for more. She's easily one of my top five auto-purchase writers. From the way, her characters first meet - to the way she flushes out their personalities on the page making them real and tangible- Again - She's writing perfection. The Svengali of Rom-com Abby Jimenez has done it again.

~Tanja

I think this replaces The Friend Zone as my favorite book by Abby Jimenez. I just loved the sweet and funny banter between Adrian and Vanessa. I loved how much of the viewpoint was Adrian's. I loved Vanessa's attitude about life, especially when she said "you should always have an adventure lined up. Having something to look forward to is tantamount to happiness." I thought the click bait style chapter titles were a great touch. I also loved the way ALS was included in the book, along with the fear of possibly getting sick and the ways Vanessa and her family members reacted to having a genetic disposition to the disease. Vanessa was a wonderful strong character and Adrian was the sweetest. I am so thankful I was able to read this book in advance of its publication!

This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2021 and it did not disappoint! Abby Jimenez is such an amazing author!! This is book #3 in The Friend Zone series. They can be read as a standalone, but are better enjoyed as part of the series.

This book was absolutely amazing, right from the beginning I was hooked and did not want to put it down. I loved the dynamic between Vanessa and Adrian, and I loved the whole family. All the characters in this book were amazing. This book was so much fun, but it also touched on serious life matters as well. It teaches you not to focus on worry about the future, and to start living in the present.

I can’t say enough about how much I loved this book. If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly recommend it. I promise you won’t be disappointed. And for those who love a friends to lovers trope, you’re going to love this one!!

This book was incredible. Vanessa and Adrian have an instant connection that will hook you right away. They are neighbors that find themselves connecting with each other despite difficult circumstances. They build a great friendship but there is always that buzz of something bigger lingering in the background. It will definitely leave you tearing up in the end! This book is just too good!

Another hit for Abby. Perhaps my favourite of the three now.
Abby is really great at writing a romcom with a lot of heart and feelings. There are some heavier topics but the story still feels like a light romcom well not taking away from those heavier topics.
I loved both Vanessa and Adrian. She's larger than life and he's down to earth. They really compliment each other with their opposite personalities. It's a great friendship to more romance.
As I said, there's heart and some heavier moments where I'll admit that my eyes became glassy.
Loved this book. Just loved it.

Great read- The first half really pulls you along. The first part of the second half drags a little, but it gets better. Overall a very satisfying story. Fans of Jimenez's other books will enjoy this one, too.

This book is absolutely amazing and adorable!!!! I fell so hard for these characters & didn’t want to let them go in the end. I love how Abby always incorporates difficult real life problems into her romcom stories. I think she did an amazing job with Adrian. She knows how to create this incredible men that make all women swoon. It’ll be a long time before another book tops this one for me.

Wow, I loved this book. It's my favorite the author has written and I was already a fan of the first two. Abby writes with such a great combination of humor and heart, it would be impossible not to fall in love with this book.

It's a beautiful story of two opposites attracting: Adrian's a workaholic lawyer who likes his days filled with order and structure, and Vanessa's a travel blogger who treats each day like it's an adventure. The next door neighbors are strangers until Vanessa's sister abandons her baby with Vanessa, and Adrian swoops in to help. They grow closer as they care for the baby, and while Vanessa knows she's not cut out for a long term relationship, Adrian can't help but want more.

It beautifully deals with the topic of forgiveness, both in others and yourself, and how sometimes you have to lose control to get what you really want out of life. It's full of quirky side characters, an elderly dog, and enough the Office references to make you want to re-watch the whole thing.

I highly recommend this wonderful love story!

Vanessa Price lives every day like it could be her last-- and not out of recklessness. She has a fifty-percent chance of developing ALS, a disease that runs in the women of her family. When her sister relapses into drug use, Vanessa is saddled with taking care of her infant niece, and her renowned traveling vlogs documenting her life come to a halt. In addition to the baby, she also gains an unexpected friendship with her gorgeous neighbor, Adrian, who also appears to be a baby whisperer. Jimenez truly outdoes herself with every book-- I was completely enamored in the natural chemistry between Vanessa and Adrian, and held emotionally captive by the dysfunctional workings of her family that she tries so hard to save. I laughed, cried, and inhaled Life's Too Short in a matter of hours. Sweet, poignant, and wonderfully aching.

A lot of readers will love this story, especially fans of Jiminez's previous books. It explores a lot of the same topics she has in the past--illness, death, familial and romantic relationships--and is populated by interesting characters and peppered with humor and heart.