Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite authors and I recommend her books to everyone. Her books get better and better so every new book of hers replaces the previous book as my favorite. I can't wait to start recommending this book.

Alexis Montgomery is driving home from a funeral when she puts her car in a ditch, and is rescued by a handsome man from the small town. After what she thinks is a one-night stand, she can’t stay away from Daniel and the charming town of Wakan, even though he’s 10 years younger and 2 hours away. But Alexis and Daniel’s lives are way too different, and they can’t fit in each other’s long term.

I really enjoyed this. Loosely a Little Mermaid retelling, the story was creative and lovely and explored tons of important topics. I find Abby Jimenez’s writing unpredictable (in a good way) and love that it doesn’t follow a basic trope every time. There were storylines of abuse, both emotional and physical, and I think they were written with care and respect. I was so glad Alexis and the other characters in the story learned their worth and how to stand up for themselves. I also can’t wait for Bri’s story!

The only thing I think could’ve been improved is the development of Daniel as a character. He was adorable and an amazing partner, but I wanted more of his perspective.

Would definitely recommend this adorable rom com, and all of Abby Jimenez’s books.

Good news, everyone! This Jimenez might be the first one that doesn't make you cry your eyes out. I mean, it's still possible, but the odds are actually in your favour this time. Because if I, a person who cries at a strong breeze, didn't shed tears, you will also likely emerge unscathed.

In fact, in general, this felt like a very different offering from this author. It's a little less overflowing with the emotions, yes, and it's actually well pitched; in many ways this does feel like a modern fairytale. It is still infused with some heavy topics to navigate -- this time abuse, both verbal/emotional and physical and the very many forms this both takes, and in various kinds of dynamics -- but still.. it's got a magical kind of feel to it all. Like fairytales do.

Strangely, while I definitely enjoyed this change in pace, it may be a little less memorable as a result.

This story really felt like two in one. One was a delightful romance, with charming personalities, the most perfect love interest, and a small town dynamic. The other contained an unwanted and toxic ex, some unrelentingly demanding parents, and personalities very far from charming. It was no wonder Alexis felt so drawn to the former; but because of her upbringing, her responsibilities, she was constantly pulled back to the latter. She was constantly pushing away the best things in her life. She was constantly bowing to expectation. Worst of all, she was convinced that something good, something necessary, couldn't be in her life, accepted by her people, because of who he wasn't, what he looked like, and because he was a few years younger. And while I understood this.. it was painful to constantly, constantly, cycle through it. And, don't get me wrong, I'm all for a good guy, but Daniel was made to be almost a little too perfect. Maybe it was to present two very stark things -- good and bad -- against one another for the full contrast but.. I don't know. It feels a little nitpicky, I'll admit, because Daniel really was the best. But was he too much the best?

Having said that, both characters had their flaws. Alexis had plenty. Daniel's flaw was maybe that he didn't have one. But. I enjoyed them together, I enjoyed their ridiculous happily ever after (truly a fairytale), and it definitely gave me that bit of magic that I always feel when watching <i>Sweet Home Alabama</i>. I think this is almost a genderbent <i>Cinderella</i>-ish <i>Little Mermaid</i>-ish mashup with that movie? Maybe? I'm trying to think of a better comparison and drawing a blank. But it gives those kind of vibes! At least for me.

I definitely wouldn't dissuade anyone from picking this up. I really did enjoy my time with this group. And I'm happy to see that Bri, one of the true stars of this book, is getting her own next. I will likely never stop picking this author up and I'm so glad she continues to come up with stories that have yet to disappoint.

3.5 stars

"Part of Your World" by Abby Jimenez
Release Date: 4.19.2022

Dr. Alexis Montgomery has her life all figured out. She works as an ER doctor, lives with her fiance, and is a workaholic. After meeting, Daniel Grant has turned her life upside down. He is ten years younger than her and works as a carpenter. Their chemistry is undeniable, despite their differences.

Her parents want her to carry on the family name. She wants to make a difference in her work. Alexis decides to see Daniel, traveling to his town. She keeps him separate from her life, not wanting to expose him to the emotional, verbal, and physical abuse from her ex and own family.

This takes the opposites attract trope and mixes in witty banter and romance. They were such a sweet couple. Daniel was so sweet and patient, and Alexis finally realizes what she needs to make her happy with her life. I do not always like an age difference, but it was not thrown in the reader's face.

Thank you to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleybooks #abbyjimenez #partofyourworld #romcom #romanticreads

Oh Abby, how is it you rip my heart out of my chest with every single book you write. This one hit home real hard. The last 20% of the book was physically difficult for me to read. Maybe it’s fresh off my current life situation or who knows but oh my gosh wow. Abby’s writing style is amazing. Part of Your World is set in Minnesota which I love. Any excuse to read about our awesome state.

This is definitely an opposites attract romance where the characters come from completely different backgrounds. I loved that Alexis was this awesome strong willed female protagonist who had her life together and was forging a path in the direction she thought she wanted. Daniel honestly was more of a side character at many times even though he was the male lead. I loved Alexis’s character development and how she changed and grew into herself throughout the story - really coming into her own.

As always I will forever rec all of Abby’s books. While this does not top The Happy Ever After Playlist as my fave it is definitely deserving of a highlight read of the year! Go check out all of Abby Jimenez’s books - right now!

Thank you so much @readforeverpub and @netgalley for my early copy to review - This was by far my most anticipated read odd this year!!

Abby Jimenez brings another novel sure to be a hit. Part of Your World has all the romance while also covering the very serious topic of domestic abuse.

Alexis Montgomery stumbles into a small town in the middle of the woods when her car ends up in a ditch on the side of the road. But fate brings a friendly, handsome local to help. Daniel Grant’s family goes back many generations in this town. As the kind hearted carpenter and mayor, he is the complete opposite of Alexis’s sophisticated, city type. There’s no denying the connection these two have and the townspeople quickly endear themselves to Alexis. What began as an escape from her stressful life at home, becomes the home she never wants to leave. But how can two so very different types of living come together and who we be let down in the end.

Abby Jimenez’s descriptions of this magical, safe and close knit town made me want to book a trip immediately! Thanks to Netgalley and Forever/Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to review this novel in return for an honest review.

This is a wonderful story with well-drawn characters and a fabulous story. I love the alternating narrators and I adore the voices of the storytellers. I love the characters in the town, and I adore the way they all interact with each other. I think this story would appeal both to younger readers, as well as "old married women" like me, if that makes sense. It would appeal to a broad range of ages and personalities. It is a fabulous book! I have adored all of this author's books, and I am a fan of this one most of all.

This was my first book my this author and it won’t be my last! I loved that it wasn’t always a lighthearted romcom. I loved Daniel so much and the small town that he was from and all the side characters there. I also really liked Alexis….but I did not like the side characters from her world. Haha! Well, except for Bri, she was great! The setting, plot and pace were all well done and I loved it from beginning to end.

There's no doubt Abby Jiminez can write a love story! Her story telling is brilliant and truly makes for easy and relaxing reading.

The meet cute in this story was absolutely adorable!

I appreciated so much about this book but ultimately ended up skimming parts because the innuendos were not my taste after a while. I think a lot of people will really enjoy this one though.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for the EARC of this book. It is out on April 19th.

Thank you @readforeverpub and @netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

I have been so excited to read this romance, and boy did I enjoy it!

Thoughts:

What I loved:
- Age gap romance (older heroine, young hero)
- Epitome of an opposites attract romance with UNDENIABLE chemistry
- The banter was SO GOOD, I was literally laughing out loud at times
- I loved the love interest as a couple but also as individual characters
- A book boyfriend YOU WILL LOVE, swoon
- A hero within a small town atmosphere with core values, and the community of friendships and side characters
- Character growth, despite barriers at play, the characters were able to realize what was truly important in this world, LOVE
- Discussion of familial expectations/pressures and how this affects one's relationships and mental health

As a girl from small town Iowa, who traveled to the city for a career in healthcare, I felt I could resonate with many aspects of this novel, and I really loved feeling that connection to the characters. Definitely recommend. 🤍

Trigger warnings for psychological and emotional abuse, assault and toxic relationships.

PART OF YOUR WORLD by Abby Jimenez has one of the best seduction scenes ever. Who needs candlelight and rose petals when you can have a baby goat in pajamas and a luscious grilled cheese sandwich served by a hot younger man?!

This is a fast-paced, want to devour it one sitting, make an all-nighter of it, contemporary romance. It deals with some heavy issues like class, privilege, emotional abuse with a light and deft touch. And you cannot help but root for the main characters.

Alexis is a wealthy doctor with cold and distant parents who have crushing expectations for her. And a cheating, emotionally abusive ex-fiance who won’t move out of their house.

Daniel lives in a small town, running his family’s B&B, trying to stay afloat long enough to buy the business from his unpredictable, emotionally unavailable mother.

So it’s the height of comfort-care when the two get together. What starts out as just sex because Alexis doesn’t think Daniel could fit into her socialite privileged world comes to mean so much more to both.

Part of Your World gives you:
Opposites attract
Older woman/younger man
Advance degreed doctor with a blue-collar woodworker/innkeeper
Both MCs are incredibly likable
Cinnamon roll hero
Delicious food descriptions
All of the cute animals you could possibly want - baby goat, rescue dog, runaway pig
Magical small-town charm
Competence porn
Swoony spiciness

The best way to describe the feeling this book gave me is joy, pure, unadulterated joy. This was such a pleasant surprise and I loved that it was the woman who was ten years older this time around. I was happy to read this opposites attract romance with her being rich and from a hoity toity family and him being from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak. The romance side of things (sprinkled with some sexy time) were awesome and the chemistry between these characters leapt off the page.

This book also deals with some heavy issues as well, such as domestic abuse, but I felt it harmonized the book nicely...so the story wasn't excessively sweet or sentimental and there were also funny parts that had me laughing, a lot. This is a solid, funny romance that nicely balances the hearts in your eyes feeling with real world, real life situations.

This was such a fun book to read! I loved the main characters and their swoon worthy romance. The two characters are from different places in the world , she’s a doctor in Minneapolis, he’s the honorary mayor of a very small town. Economic, geographic, and age differences ( she’s 9 years older than him) aside, they have an enviable romance that they make work in the end. Add adorable animals along with secondary characters to love and some to dislike (strongly), you have an enjoyable novel to read. This was my first Abby Jimenez novel, but it won’t be my last.

Aaaaand I’m obsessed with Abby Jimenez. Every single thing about this book was perfection - Daniel was a literal dream, and I could not get enough of Alexis’ journey away from Neil and her parents towards re-finding herself and finding love. I honestly and truly cannot believe I’d never read any of her novels before and this will absolutely not be the last. The banter, the romance, the super hot and emotionally intelligent male love interests - sign! me! up!

This may be my new favorite Abby Jimenez book. I absolutely loved and adored this book and the whole town of Wakan.

Jimenez handled the subject of emotional abuse and to a certain extent physical abuse really gracefully. It wasn't over taxed and wasn't used how I was expecting, how many authors maybe would have used it. It wasn't used as a prop her as something to drive the story. It was used in a way of healing and a way that might help survivors.

Daniel and Alexis are a very sweet and endearing couple and while she dances around the age gap, it isn't used as a tactic to drive the couple apart which I liked. Instead it was Alexis' guilt and her manipulated to state to live up to her family's expectations. She is able to see the light as she spends more time away from them and finding herself and her true happiness. While she is tempted to tamp all that down and just "do her duty" her realization that her happiness deserves its time in the light is a big cheer moment for me. I literally stood up and cheered for her. This book may be more Woman's Fiction than Romance, but the book itself sang. Abby Jimenez is only getting stronger with each book she writes and I can't wait to see what else she publishes in the future. I am a forever reader of her books.

Friends, I am a happily married woman with a family I am proud of, and yet here I sit all the way in love with Daniel Grant.

And, honestly, the town of Wakan altogether. I am such a sucker for these small town stories, and this one felt particularly charming to me. Likely due to the fairytale nods and whispers of magic threaded throughout, but also because the residents of Wakan were special. They were salt of the earth, witty, and genuinely cared for each other. They embraced Alexis without hesitation or question and in doing so, taught her a little something about what love looks like.

Daniel was...ungh. Truly, he was romance hero perfection. He was quick witted and protective and fun. I loved how strong & steady he was, and I adored the safe space he offered Alexis ass he slowly but surely became her home.

Alexis was a little bit harder to wrap my heart around. I loved her at first, but struggled with the way she had one foot outside of the romance for almost the entire book. I loved who she was with Daniel, but wanted to see more fire from her earlier on in the story as almost every single person outside of Wakan treated her like trash. I actually had to skim past some of the harder parts because while I understood that the abuse she suffered was a major part of her character arc, and it was supposed to make me feel uncomfortable (and holy hannah, did it ever), that wasn't what my heart showed up for, and...I just wanted more Daniel. More of them together, learning each other from a place of hope, rather than with the black cloud over their head all the time. I adored them together and so for me, getting a deeper dive into them would have been absolute perfection.

All that said, I still really enjoyed the way everything played out. Some of the plot points were resolved very quickly without much explanation, but as far as Daniel and Alexis's story goes - it felt absolutely right. It was worth the journey, the low key anxiety, and every bruise left on my heart.

In all, Part of Your World was a laugh-out-loud funny, flirtatious, heartfelt romance (with a little pixie dust sprinkled in along the way). The writing is top-notch. Even now, having turned the last page, I'm thinking about scenes and phrases that made me smile, caused my heart to flutter, or made me pause to think. That's the magic of really amazing writing and my heart and brain are full of it right now. I'm happy to have met these characters and - especially - to have met and experienced the magic of Wakan. I really enjoyed this story and am absolutely in for the next one!

Swerving to avoid a raccoon, Alexis Montgomery finds herself in a ditch on a country road, in the middle of nowhere. When her knight in shining armor arrives in a beat up truck it is game over. Daniel Grant, her tattooed, bearded savior is the hottest guy she has ever laid eyes on. The meet cute quickly turns into more than a grilled cheese sandwich and up all night kind of sleepover. Completely out of character for this conservative ER doctor from Minneapolis, Alexis cannot stop thinking about this sweet, kind, sexy guy. Her über wealthy successful parents would be appalled, her shallow friends and chief of surgery ex-boyfriend would laugh out loud. But Alexis has been unhappy for a long time. After months in therapy since ending an emotionally abusive relationship she tortures herself while negotiating with her mind and heart. Finding herself making the long trek back and forth to this tiny quiet town Alexis gets to know Daniel, his friends, relatives and neighbors never revealing much about herself. It’s undeniably another world, one where she can finally breathe. There is no resisting the explosive chemistry between Daniel and herself. Forced to accept this is more than a a one night stand, Alexis must choose between her career, familial expectations and true happiness. Put on lots of lotion for this steamy hot beach read because once you start it, you will not be getting out of your seat any time soon.

Not my favourite one from Abby Jimenez, but she always creates great characters with chemistry and depth!

Alexis Montgomery has her life mapped out in front of her. Coming from a family of physicians she is the last one left to carry on the Legacy. Daniel Grant runs his family's bed & breakfast which has been passed down from generations. He loves the memories attached to the old home and will do anything to keep the house in the family. What happens when a chance encounter between these two turns their lives upside down?

Part of Your World was such an angsty/swoony romance. I loved both Alexis and Daniel and their chemistry was undeniable from the very first time they met. I will admit that while I'm not a usual fan of age gap, the age gap between Daniel and Alexis (he's younger) was addressed and woven throughout the book well. It definitely did not make me love Alexis and Daniel any less. This couple was pulling on my heart strings hard and definitely had me crying on more than one occasion.

Abby always does a wonderful job with serious and tough topics. Not only does Abby tackle the topic of an age gap, but also the very difficult topics of abusive relationships, depression and childhood trauma. The secondary characters in Part of Your World were so important to the story and I loved that I felt like by the end of the book I knew each and every one of them.

I highly highly recommend Part of Your World!

Abby Jimenez was an author that took me by surprise and in the best way! Her writing is hilarious and while her Friend Zone series wasn't my favorite, she really knew how to pack her punches. I will have to say that Part of Your World is her best work yet, or at least tied with my favorite book of hers, which is Life's Too Short. Her writing has so obviously improved and it shows. Jimenez writes the best characters and her romance made me swoon, cry and blush, and everything in between! The fairytale references were subtle and hinted at Disney movies and the like but weren't overwhelming to the point that it made me cringe. I loved the reverse age gap, making Alexis older than Daniel by ten years (ten years!). It was a refreshing take on opposites attract and I loved it dearly. A TW I recommend for this is themes of both emotional and physical abuse. Abby Jimenez delves into quite a few of those deeper topics in her rom-com, so I would say to know that and research trigger warnings before picking up this book. So worth it and I can't wait to see what Abby Jimenez brings to the table next.