Will be reading this at a later date but I thank Netgalley for my advance copy! I just already know it will be fantastic!

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez is a heartwarming and entertaining contemporary romance novel that is sure to make readers smile. The book tells the story of Dr. Briana Ortiz, whose life is falling apart. Her divorce is almost final, her brother needs a kidney donor, and her new colleague is getting on her nerves. But when Dr. Jacob Maddox sends her a letter, Briana's world is turned upside down.

The characters in this book are likable and relatable, and their interactions are both hilarious and heartwarming. Briana and Jacob's romance is slow-burning and sweet, and the obstacles they face along the way make their eventual happy ending all the more satisfying.

Abby Jimenez's writing style is engaging, and the book is a quick and enjoyable read. The story is filled with humor, heart, and just the right amount of drama to keep readers invested.

Overall, Yours Truly is a delightful contemporary romance novel that will leave readers with a smile on their face. Abby Jimenez has crafted a charming and engaging story that is sure to appeal to fans of the genre. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a light and entertaining read.

2.5/5 ⭐️ I read Part of Your World last month and immediately fell in love with how swoony and romantic the book was. When I heard that we were getting Briana’s story I had preordered it right away. I was so excited for this one. I honestly thought I would love it as much as that one but that was not the case and I am so disappointed.

The ONLY thing I liked about this book was Jacob. He was such a sweetheart!!! I just wanted to give him a big hug 🥺. He suffers from social anxiety so Briana interprets their encounters as him being rude but that’s not the case at all. He is just really shy and an introvert. I related to him more than I thought I would. I felt really connected to his character. I liked Jacob way more than I liked Briana. I get that she was dealing with a lot in her personal life but she was just too quick to judge in my opinion.

My main issue with this book is that I felt like there was no chemistry between the characters. I was honestly kind of bored with the way the faking dating was handled in this book and the reason for it. I also think that there were too many tropes going on at the same time and it was just a bit too much for my liking. If there’s going to be so many tropes in one book then make it more interesting 🤨. I was loving this book up until like the 50% mark. Briana’s personality just got on my nerves tbh 🙄. I was fuming when she pushed him away towards the end!! Saying that she will never marry him or live with him because of her past. My sweet Jacob didn’t deserve that at all 🥺❤️.

I’m someone that enjoys miscommunication in my books because it creates some angst but it needs to be resolved quickly. The miscommunication here dragged on for too long in my opinion.

Also the romance here took a backseat to the personal issues of the main characters. This is labeled as a romance book but it honestly didn’t feel like it to me. It felt like they were just friends and I didn’t feel the romance between them 🤷🏻‍♀️. Maybe it was just my mood but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.

I will still read more books by this author because I love her writing style but this was just not for me 😭.

I've never read an Abby book that I didn't love. What a treat it is everytime there is one that publishes. Yours Truly is no exception. I loved every minute that I read this book and will forever be a Jimenez fan and a huge fan of the characters she writes. Can't wait for the next one!! Thanks for letting me read an early copy!

Jacob & Briana
💌🩺🤍💍🐾🧁

Yours truly by Abby Jimenez
♾️/5

I don’t even know how to articulate my words to describe my love for this book. I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again, Abby Jimenez is one of my all time favourite authors! I’ve read every book and this and life’s too short are my favourites (also the little Easter egg for Vanessa😭)

This book has some of the best anxiety rep I have ever seen. Jacob is a doctor who suffers clinical anxiety and overthinking and I have related to him so much. And that fact was a little overwhelming and triggering. Seeing yourself so clearly and raw in a book is one of the best things that can come out of reading for me.
Overall the anxiety and health representation was amazing! And Jacob and Bri and literally soulmates. This book made me SOB!!!! They truly are eternal soulmates and deserve the world.

Enough said. I love them and I love this book.

Wow!
Once again, Abby Jimenez has delivered an exemplary work in a face of Yours Truly that will surely make everyone fall in love and will definitely set the bars higher for the boyfriend criteria. This time it is gonna be “Jacob-high”!

All tropes that fit a good rom-com was put into place. Please read if you enjoy fake dating, friends to lovers, workplace romance, one-bed night stand, and so much more quirks that made this book extra appealing in a very romantic way. Trigger warning for depression, anxiety and terminal diagnosis were delicately represented that it comes out very educational even for the readers who have first hand experiences which I am sure is a pure talent for a writer to have.

Jacob and Briana’s conflicts were mostly miscommunication which is realistically the case in most relationships but holy guacamole! Is this kind of guy even alive somewhere? Because, man oh man I wanna snag one, or ten and I will definitely feel like the queen of all queens! Here’s why:

💕Jacob writes letters!
💕Jacob writes journals.
💕Jacob is an ER doctor
💕Jacob wears animal print socks to please the kids
💕Jacob brings cupcakes to work
💕Jacob decides to buy a couch so you two can netflix and chill!
💕Jacob can grown plants!
💕 Jacob changes the phone passcode same as yours so you will have access to it every time!
💕 Jacob donates organs
💕 Jacob takes your last name when Jacob marries you.
💕Jacob shows up every time, because love does.

The list goes on.

Enough said. But, special thanks to Grand Central Publishing for giving me e-ARC in exchange of my honest review. Now, I feel lucky to be married and found my “the one” because the singles out there who will read Yours Truly will have a hard time finding their “Jacob” , thanks a lot Abby Jimenez! Kidding aside, I highly recommend this book, I love it so much!

THIS BOOK. I love Abby's writing and I loved the relationship between Briana and Jacob. I loved the way that Briana was able to allow herself to be open to a new love. I love the way Jacob was able to overcome challenges with Briana. I loved their families. I loved this so much. This made me cry and smile. Jacob is perfect and Briana is a star.

Abby’s done it again. Truly relatable characters and a plot that pulls you in from the start. Couldn’t put it down, absolutely loved this book!

I am completely blown away. “Yours Truly” has just rocketed to my absolute favorite Abby Jimenez book so far. Briana and Jacob both rang so true to me and felt so relatable. While managed, I cope with anxiety. Though I try to remain optimistic, I feel broken. Both of these feelings and more were intimately explored throughout the story, and I actually felt a little personally exposed.

Abby has a talent for easily letting us into her characters’ minds and hearts, even when the two conflict with each other. This half-Pennsylvania Dutch, half-Puerto Rican girl really wants to try Rosa’s cooking and hang with Jacob’s lovably chaotic family.

I wish I had better words to describe all the feels this book made me feel, but alas, I am not Abby.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) Publishing for the privilege of allowing me to read and review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

•review• Yours Truly
Abby Jimenez
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹(4.5)
Steam Rating: 🌶️🌶️
Goodreads Rating: 4.61

Publishing Date: April 11th, 2023

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) the author, and NetGalley for the free gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

I mean Abby Jimenez, as you guys know, might be my all-time favorite author because she has never written a flop. I mean that’s impressive - just check the good reads reviews on all her books.

I don’t even know how I can rank them, but Yours Truly was a swoony emotional romance per her usual books and I was obsessed.

I am always so taken aback but how amazing she writes serious topics in her books without being absolutely cringeworthy because a lot of books these days try to be serious in the middle of a romantic comedy and it just makes you CRINGE.

This was one of those romances where I put the book down and was sad it was over, I needed a few days to think about it.

I recommend if you like:

Fake Dating
Office Romance
Tension and SLOWWWW burn
Hilarious bits

This was also a BOTM if you have a subscription!

I want to start by saying that this isn’t typically a book I would go for. It’s not dark, not fantasy, and Abby J isn’t known for her spice but somehow she manages to draw me into her stories. Part Of Your World was one of my favorite reads of last year and I couldn’t wait to read Dr. Brianna Ortiz’s story.

I was instantly drawn to the medical aspect of this book being a former ER nurse myself and current ICU nurse. What Bri goes through with her brother having a chronic illness was so moving to read. But what Abby J does so extremely well is the romance. Dear god the way these two SLOWLY ( and I do mean slow) fell for each other was so sweet. Our MMC, Dr. Jacob Maddox was anxious perfection. I mean they wrote fucking letters to each other!!!! I found myself smiling several times reading this book and just wanting these two to realize what they meant to each other. Again I will say this is a Marianna Zapata level slow burn but I stayed up until four to finish it.

Tropes:
- enemies/ friends/ lovers
- fake dating
- chronic illness
- mental health rep
- slow as molasses burn
- cheating ( not by our MCs)
- MC reference

Briana is an ER doctor who is going through a divorce. She wishes she needed her mothers advice when she was younger when her father left. Then, her ex was having an affair with her friend. On top of all of this her younger brother is in renal failure. Jacob just transferred to the hospital Briana works at so he can have a new start. On his first day on the ER floor, he loses multiple patients so he becomes dubbed as Dr. Death. Jacob is an introvert and he and Briana end up fake dating since he needs someone to be his date to his brothers wedding to show that he is okay since his brother is marrying Jacob's ex girlfriend. Plus, Jacob lied that he has a girlfriend and one of his sisters believe it is Briana since they were found to be eating lunch together alone in a supply closet.

I am a sucker for any book by Abby Jimenez. I found her first two released books in 2021 and I have followed each release ever since starting with the release of Life’s Too Short. When I saw that Yours Truly was up on NetGalley for request I got super excited and hit the request button so fast. I really doubted I would get approved for the arc since I got declined on NetGalley for Part of Your World. I only ended up getting to read the arc of Part of Your World from the traveling arcs that Abby does on her Facebook group, which is when a group arcs go to each state.

Anyway, Yours Truly starts off beyond amazing to the point I thought it would be a 5 star read.

Briana and Jacob writing letters to one another was my favorite and reminded me of You Got Mail. It was amazing to see how they start as enemies due to the misunderstandings of one another to develop a friendship because of these letters. With that friendship and Briana finding out Jacob is going to help Benny and he decided it when Briana was being a jerk to him, Briana sees Jacob in a new light. Plus, these letters show each other one another and they find themselves craving to talk to another. With all of that I loved how they went from being good friends to them secretly having crushes one another.

There were so many hilarious scenes that I had to laugh quietly in the middle of night so I would not wake up my husband-hello, to the first family dinner scene and rhe parrot, Jafar.

Briana being around Jacob helps him know that she really understands him and he ends up becoming a better man because of her as well as breaking out of his shell a bit. He learns from her that he can be appreciated and the compromise of doing things for Briana, but to what he wants too.

Jacob helps Briana become better too, but she is so jaded from the trauma of her dad leaving her mother when she was younger. Then, she has the trauma of her ex-husband having an affair during their marriage, but the biggest kicker is her husband hooking up with Briana's good friend. With those two events, the caused traumas trust issues since she associates that she is not good enough, so men leave and this equates to all men cannot be trusted and will leave. Briana cannot see how genuine Jacob is and this creates a huge miscommunication for the last 30% of the book. I literally wanted to scream at Briana and hated a good chunk of the last 30% due to the miscommunication trope.

Jacob is my favorite due how selfless he is and how he will do anything to help others and most of the time he wants to be anonymous or if it comes to light, he wants it to not be a big deal. Plus, he has a tripod dog named Lieutenant Dan!

Abby does an amazing job of highlighting mental health with the main focus on anxiety.

Overall, this was still a great read.

<i>“I’m never ready for a party. I just come to terms with the fact that IO have to go inside.”</i>

Same, Jacob, same.

<b>“I was tired of making excuses for why it was okay to accept less than I deserved.”</b>

Whew. This was unexpected, in a good way for sure. I knew coming in that this would have a health and mental health aspect, as nearly all of Jimenez’ previous books have included, however I was not ready for a severe kidney diagnosis and organ donation storyline. This hit especially close to home, not just in theme, but in timing, so while my first instinct was to set this down until I was a bit further removed from this, I’m actually quite glad I did. And I couldn’t stop, I felt glued to the pages and very much invested in each of the lead characters, reading wayyyy into the night to finish this in one sitting.

“It’s like I wanted to see if he still wanted me around after he knew me. The unscripted me. The real me. The messy me.”

Briana is one of my favorite heroines, certainly among Jimenez’ heroines but also across the romances I’ve read this year. She’s strong, competent, vulnerable, but still trying to pick up the pieces of her own life in the wake of personal losses while <i>also</i> trying desperately to be strong enough for her family and ailing brother. She’s funny and witty, she makes mistakes, she’s quick to temper and fiercely protective of those she cares about, especially Jacob, and she also terribly vulnerable and messy. Her character is refreshing in its messiness, in how she can make jokes at her own expense and circumstances, yet also fall deeply into her own spirals and pain. In many ways she feels like a great foil to Jacob, but in a way that makes the two make sense once put together. Given her trauma and mental health, the third act break up that inevitably occurs actually made a lot of sense for her and was hard to get through at certain times. Please check the TWs.

“We’re all a little broken, Briana. We are a mosaic. We’re made up of all those we’ve met and all the things we’ve been through. There are parts of us that are colorful and dark and jagged and beautiful. And I love every piece of you. Even the ones you wish didn’t exist.”

When it comes to Jacob, he was also equally incredibly refreshing, not just as a main character, but especially for a love interest. Jimenez does not hold back giving us Jacob’s social anxiety and all the many many decisions and thoughts he goes through that others would never think about. He’s open and communicates about therapy, medication, journaling, and overall trying to maintain a healthy balance and lifestyle. While other characters in the book struggle to understand or perhaps even accept Jacob, it was a joy to see Jacob know completely who he is, what he needs, and live his own life going after what he wants. His strength and positivity was heartwarming. Definitely a dreamboat.

<b>“There’s a special peace in sleeping next to someone you love. When you slip into the dark holding them and wake up and they’re still there and you know that everything that matters is just opening your eyes away.” </b>

I felt both the heavier topics, including Jacob’s social anxiety and Briana’s depression, and her brother’s mental and physical health were handled very respectfully and honestly, not painting them overtly negative, but also showing healthy and positives ways of dealing with them.

“I know all of your quiets.”

However, there were a couple things that held this back from being a total 5 star read for me. First is that some of the side characters felt terribly unnecessary, like Jessica. Also, I felt that there could have been more time spent with Briana and her brother, helping to illustrate their family bonds and more fully how his diagnosis affected each of them. I also felt some of motivators for Jacob and Briana were a bit underdeveloped. For example, the promotion that Briana is after in the beginning that first sets her as a rival to Jacob - she notes she actually doesn’t want the job, so why go after it? What does she want professionally? Jacob also states he doesn’t want the job, and with the epilogue, it becomes hard to know what it is he ever wanted professionally, or how Briana is feeling fulfilled professionally. Ultimately not huge issues, but errant details about the main characters that left me feeling like they were just a bit unfinished.

As usual in Jimenez’ books, don’t expect much steam here, which is shame. The one open door scene we do get is quite short and didn’t really feel like it delivered on the emotional intimacy needed. Lastly, there is one trope used here which is one of my least favorite ones. It’s a trope Jimenez’ has used before, but to avoid spoilers, I’ll include spoiler tags.

<spoiler> The pregnancy trope used here felt…off. Briana is very clear early on that she doesn’t want kids, whether only due to her childhood and marital trauma, who knows, but I found the shift disorienting. It’s also mentioned expressly by Briana’s mother that for 2 doctors, it’s stupid they could be so careless with birth control measures. I clocked it during the first time they have sex (and only open door scene), and immediately knew this was coming. It felt much too soon and like it was used to give Briana a HEA quickly given she’s 36 and expresses little hopes of being able to have a family again. The way this trope is also used coupled with the short third act break up also felt like it was hard to let this really settle with the reader before a bunch of other issues get introduced.</spoiler>

“I’m sorry someone made you feel like it’s hard to love you.”

All that said, I really enjoyed this and the author’s note at the end was especially emotional and gutting. Hearing how personal the kidney diagnosis was to Jimenez and how it impacted her life and writing was moving and shows just how much Jimenez seeks to give to her audience, pieces of her and the real world, but always with a sweet HEA.

{Book Review} Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

I mean, how does one review an Abby Jimenez book? You try to find words and do your best because you can’t imprint your heart into a caption yet. Thank you @readforeverpub for this review copy!

Abby Jimenez has written 5 books now and each one is so incredible I keep thinking she can’t outdo herself again and she continues to surprise me in the best way. Briana and Jacob are two ER physicians who find themselves in a fake dating relationship after an unlikely start—err, run in—with each other and it quickly evolves into a deep friendship that then obviously creates sparks.

What I loved about this book was the tension, the moments of empathy and understanding to each other, their desire to be harmless, and their ability to be themselves around each other and feel a sense of quiet with one another. I mean, can you say goals? They had so many moments of fun together and the tension could be cut with a soft breeze it was so taut and so fragile.

The issues and emotional trauma Jimenez features in this book are very real and felt incredibly relatable. The fear of not being enough (especially in a world of easy left and right swipes), the anxiety of being an introvert in what appears to be an extroverted world, health scares that aren’t fair, I could go on but those were the big ones.

I feel like the thing Jimenez does best is she creates situations that as a reader, you can’t help but wonder what you would do in the situation. She creates real, legitimate situations that causes understandable hesitation or conflict for the characters. So many books have me going, ‘get your head out of your behind, this isn’t a barrier and you’re just creating problems that don’t exist.’ Jimenez orchestras real conflict of the heart in her characters and I love this so much.

I feel like I need a deep sigh inserted here because I can’t find words that will give this book its due justice. This book and all her books are just out of this world incredible and if you haven’t read her books yet, you need to get your life right.

Release date: April 11 so pre-order now, lovelies!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing the ARC.

As a follow up to Jimenez's last rom-com, Part of Your World, this book centers on Briana Ortiz, an ER doctor who is still reeling from the upcoming divorce with her cheating ex-husband, and is dealing with a new doctor on the job who is poised to snatch the promotion she deserves. Jacob is a socially anxious man who is also coming off a bad break up and dealing with his former flame now dating and marrying his younger brother. He is not quite prepared for the fiery, passionate Dr. Ortiz who manages to not only get past his fortified guard, but also truly understand him as a person.

Briana and Jacob were wonderful to read about, and truly came out as each other's person. Briana recognized right away Jacob's anxiety and was always careful and understanding when pushing him to do things that may have been too much for him. Jimenez's depiction of Jacob's anxiety was so accurate and honest, something that I don't get to see much in fiction. And the way that he was just absolutely steadfast for Briana during all of her scary moments just proves that this man really is the one for her.

Some things that I didn't necessarily like or that they felt out of place:
- The faux competition that the Head of ER set up between Briana and Jacob at the beginning that was almost immediately brushed off when Jacob vocalized that he didn't want the job. It felt kind of out of place and some of the language that the character used was a bit misogynistic, indicating that if Briana ran unchallenged for the head position then it would delegitimize her receiving the promotion, even though she had been an attending at the hospital for ten years and had demonstrated that she was more than capable of doing the job.
- The side story with Briana's brother Benny and his renal failure. It only felt like this was included to demonstrate that Briana had *been through it* and didn't really serve a purpose in the story to except to maybe make Jacob out to be this perfect, unattainable love interest. The side arc could have been left out and the rest of the story could have played out in the same way, and none of the poignancy would have been lost.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I will likely continue to read Jimenez's writing. She brings such an authenticity to her stories that make them impossible to put down.

I was fortunate to receive an Advanced Reader Copy on NetGalley. I could not put the book down. This book really hit home as someone who has struggled with marriages and relationships. Abby Jimenez always captures my attention with every book she writes, and Yours Truly was no exception. You will love the dynamic between Jacob and Briana and will be cheering for them throughout the entire book.

4.5 rounded up to 5

Another great read by Abby! I love how she always touches on such serious topics but there is enough humor woven in that it doesn't become a depressing read. I truly loved all of these characters. I think other than the dog (duh) Jacob's family won the best characters title for this one. I already can't wait to read more by this author! Definitely an auto buy author for me now!

Impeccible follow up to Part of Your World!!

There are a few things I really loved about this book. First off, the representation!!! We get neurodivergence rep with an MC that has anxiety and then we also have physical disability rep. Loved both of these and I really hope the next book centers around the brother because he is a main character!!

I thought the metonymy trope (writing letters to each other) was so cute and the fact that they off the bat call this man dr. death had me cackling. I love the layers in this book and the connection between the main love interests. In some ways I feel like I loved this book more than the first.

I really enjoy Abby Jimenez's writing and truly cannot wait to get to the next book in this series. Thank you to netgalley for this ARC. Keep them coming!!

xx
-Christine

Dearest Abby,

I loved it!!

Here are my thoughts:
- The third-act breakup was unnecessary. I get that we needed to shed light on therapy for her to heal, but they did not have to break up for that.
- I hate the miscommunication trope, but I loved the angst it added to this!
- I hated how they were so forgiving of Amy and the brother. Like, that's some messed up ish! You can forgive, but don't be friendly. It's weird.
- I loved Jacob, and I loved how protective Briana was of him.
- The anxiety was relatable af. Like, I do some of those things, and I didn't realize I did them until I read him doing them.

Sincerely,
Me

Should you read it? Yes, I believe you should.
If you love:
- Fake Dating
- They both fall hard
- Love Letters
- Forced Proximity
- Workplace romance

And even if you don’t.

Thank you, Netgalley and Forever for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

I am a huge Abby Jimenez fan - and I was so excited to get the chance to read this ARC!

The idea of Brianna and Jacob falling for each other via letters was absolutely adorable, and I'm here for it. I loved that Abby was able to give a character - a male main character, at that - anxiety, and make it feel realistic and not overdone or that she was doing it for show. It warmed my heart how Jacob was totally into Abby from the get, and never floundered in his adoration. On the other hand, Brianna kind of got on my nerves. She has some issues that could be benefitted by going to therapy, but otherwise, she was just a lot. Some of it she brought on herself, and some of it was pushed on her. I get it - especially as someone who has lost a younger sibling. But girl...we gotta get you some help.

Other reasons I didn't give this book 4 stars was the amount of overall angst. Brianna really made me mad when simply seeing her trash ex and his new wife was enough to make her decide that she and Jacob would never work, and she was just ready to push him away. That part felt very overdone and that we were grasping at straws. The overall amount of angst between the two of them made me feel like I was listening to some of my middle schoolers talking about their "love lifes". And I'm sorry - I simply cannot get behind the sudden change in personality that Amy seemed to have undergone. I think she is a not nice human (because I can't type what I really want), and I'm over her.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for giving me the chance to read an ARC of this book!