“Love shows up.” ❤️❤️⁣
⁣
I can’t believe she’s making me say it again, but this is now my favorite Abby Jimenez book! Definitely a top 5 book for me this year!⁣
⁣
I love these characters! Bri and Jacob were everything! I think I loved them so much because they reminded me of me and my husband (minus the being doctors thing). I lived for their letters, much like I lived for the letters I used to get from Dan when we started dating. I understood Bri’s anticipation of waiting for another letter because I was the same way! And the phone calls! 🥹 Staying on the phone for hours because you just wanted to hear their voice. 😍😍⁣
⁣
When I checked my highlights for this one, every single one was about Jacob’s anxiety. That’s because I’ve never seen my own anxiety so accurately represented in a book before this. Down to looking up an unfamiliar restaurant so I know what to expect and leaning into a favorite playlist when anxiety is high, I felt like I was reading about myself. I felt seen. ❤️⁣
⁣
Other things I loved include:⁣
✍🏻 Fake dating⁣
📝 Slow burn (and I wasn’t even mad about it)⁣
✍🏻 An adorable dog named Lieutenant Dan who (though it was never said) sensed Jacob’s anxiety and supported him through it.⁣
📝 Excellent side characters ⁣
✍🏻 A little of that Wakan Magic we saw in PoYW⁣
📝 🔥🔥🔥/5 on my steam scale⁣
⁣
Trigger warnings: anxiety, panic attacks, miscarriage (past), cheating (past).

4 Stars!

"You sat in the rain just to talk to me?"
I looked at my lap for a long moment before looking back up at her. "I'd do a lot more than that for you."

This was such a fun and heartwarming read. I read it start to finish in less than 24 hours.

Briana and Jacob are ER physicians at the same hospital. Due to some misconceived notions and a crash first meeting, their relationship starts out with an enemies to lovers dynamic.

Jacob is taken by Briana upon first sight but suffers from clinical anxiety so he decides to begin writing her letters.

These were so stinkin' sweet and sometimes laugh out loud funny.

Their relationship evolves from there and I was so here for it!!

I have to say, this book would've been complete perfection for me had it not been for one thing.

Slight spoiler alert ahead...

There are two conflicts that this couple endures. The first one was completely unnecessary and was the much dreaded, misunderstanding/miscommunication trope that I have zero tolerance for. It literally took a page and a half (on my phone mind you so less than three paragraphs) for them to finally clear this up when it was finally addressed.

It was so annoying and made me hate our heroine a little bit for being so immature. I don't read YA for a reason. It also went on for A WHILE.

What's even worse is that this conflict was not even needed. The second conflict was completely genuine, completely understandable, given the heroine's history, and came on the heels of the first one. It was super frustrating, so had to take off a full star as a result.

This was still a solid four star read for me. I loved Jacob's character so much. If nice guy heroes are your thing then this is definitely a read for vou.

Thank you to Read Forever Pub and NetGalley for my e-ARC which I reviewed in exchange for an honest review.

AHHH MY HEART 😭. I’m telling you guys this book was EVERYTHING!!! So much heart and soul went into these characters. They were written with such depth and description, they fully came alive off the pages. I was so enamored from chapter 1. The mental health rep was something I really appreciated. It was handled with such care and realism, it felt relatable on so many levels.

Jacob has to be one of the best book boyfriends of all time 😍! He’s not one I typically would be drawn to. Not exactly the most swoony male character but his heart is what made me fall in love with him. He was so sweet, tender, selfless, genuine and intentional. I related to him to so much with his anxiety and over thinking. I typically relate more to female characters but Jacob really stole my heart. 🫶🏻

I also loved Briana! She was so funny, witty and I loved her protectiveness over Jacob. Their connection and chemistry was flawless, so organic and felt so natural. It’s books like these that really remind me why I love reading so much. Honestly one of the best love stories I’ve read in awhile and it will definitely go down as one of my favorite reads of the year! ❤️

A big thank you to Abby Jimenez, @readforeverpub and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What to expect:
✨ Workplace romance
✨ Fake dating
✨ Love after heartache
✨ Slow burn
✨ Hand written letters
✨ Mental health rep

While not my fav Abby Jimenez, I still really loved this book. The characters are what drives it forward, while the storyline is pretty predictable. But still worth a read, especially if you read the other books by this author.

Omg this book was amazing! I wish I could give it more than five stars! Brianna and Jacob’s meet cute was not a good one. Brianna thinks that Jacob is after her job and is mean, while Jacob has anxiety, and when he meets Brianna for the first time, he is struck by how beautiful she is, and blows their first conversation. I loved how he wrote her a letter explaining his mistakes. It evolves to the two of them writing each other letters back-and-forth. I loved how excited Jacob would get whatever he received. Brianna‘s brother needs a kidney transplant and when Jacob finds out he decides to donate his for her. It was supposed to be anonymously, but Brianna finds out and wants to repay Jacob somehow. When Jacob says that his ex girlfriend is marrying his brother, they propose for the two of them to fake a relationship for those events. I loved every moment the two of them were together. Because they’re faking their relationship Brianna also moves into Jacob’s house. Brianna starts to see and know Jacob especially his anxiety and is always there for him. I loved how caring the two of them were for each other! I cannot get enough of Jacob. He is so sweet and so loving that I just wanted to give him a hug! This is slow burn romance for sure, and I loved every moment building up to it. There was a little bit of drama towards the end, but I loved how Abby Jimenez wrote those scenes. There is a moment in the end with Jacob’s journal that had me sobbing. So freaking beautiful!!!

Read if you like:
Dual POVs
Workplace romance
Slow burn
Fake dating
Open door romance
Swoony hero
Hero with anxiety
All the feels
Forced proximity

I really enjoyed Yours Truly! Abby’s books all have a very compelling readability to them and Yours Truly was no different. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about the kidney donor aspect, but it added a unique quality to the fake dating trope. I did feel the pacing was a little off and occasionally it felt like the story was telling more than showing. Solid 3.75-4 star read!

Dr. Briana Ortiz is having the worst luck— her brother is in kidney failure, her divorce is about to be finalized, and the promotion she wanted? It’s been delayed to give her new male coworker a shot. Lovely. On top of this, he’s a total jerk. Or so she thought… When Dr. Jacob Maddox writes her the most lovely letter she’s ever received, Briana’s perceptions begin to change.

This may be my favorite book of hers! I love the anxiety rep we get with Jacob— I relate to him on so many levels. On top of this he is the sweetest human being imaginable.

These two made me want to rip my hair out on so many occasions, while also making me smile so much.

read if you like:
• the fake dating trope
• strong women
• cinnamon roll men
• the one bed trope
• Minnesota
• family oriented men

ⓣⓡⓞⓟⓔⓢ
Enemies to Friends to Lovers
Fake Dating
Slow Burn
Anxiety Rep
One Bed
Workplace Romance

🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦
This was my first Abby Jimenez book that I’ve read and it DEFINITELY won’t be my last. I think I might have just found one of my new favorite romance authors! I devoured Yours Truly in a matter of days. This book is definitely character-based and a sloooow burn, but was so worth it in the end and I just loved Briana and Jacob SO MUCH. There were quite a few tropes in this book that I really enjoy, and thought were done really well!

I loved Briana. This woman has been through so much and is so strong. She’s reeling from a divorce and having her ex cheat on her with a friend and taking care of her brother with end stage renal disease and honestly the girl needs a hug (and would probably benefit from some therapy too. Like actually, that was my thought during a lot of this book. Please go get some therapy.) She is funny and cares so much about her people, and I loved how caring and understanding she was with Jacob.

Jacob is everything. I love this man so much. He has severe anxiety and it affects so much of his life, but he has the biggest heart and I would protect this man at all costs. He is a true golden retriever MMC and deserves all the love. The anxiety rep for his character was fantastic, and I love how it was presented as not something wrong with him, but just something that made him different. Jacob and Briana together were so cute and their attraction and tension while they were fake dating was PALPABLE.

There is quite a bit of miscommunication in this book BUT I think it works well with the plot. Both characters have trauma they are going through from past relationships and this reflects how they behave with each other and how they respond to different things. While the miscommunication is frustrating, it is also understandable and we can see they are both doing it to protect themselves from further harm. I spent so much of the book just wanting to give them both a hug and tell them it would be okay. It did go on a lliiiittle bit longer than I would have liked, which is why I deducted a half star (along with something else that is a spoiler alert, but IYKYK).

Overall, I LOVED this one. It was such a quick read and had a great amount of character development and depth. I cannot wait to read more of her books!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I will post a review to the linked Instagram on 4/15/2023

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒚
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: workplace romance, rivals to friends to lovers, fake dating, dual POV, one bed trope, medical romance, social anxiety rep
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: April 11, 2023 (TODAY!)

"𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘂𝗽. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹."

You know how sometimes it takes you forever to read a book because you just can’t seem to finish it? Well, it took me forever to read this because I keep rereading almost every line from this book because they’re golden. Seriously, I almost annotated every page. 😂

I know it’s still early but I already know that nothing will top this book as my favorite romance read of the year. I loved it so much!

Briana’s emotional state and view on dating is 💯 relatable to me and reading this book almost felt like therapy. Jacob is also the perfect cinnamon roll book boyfriend and these two leads just have perfect chemistry!

It only took me one chapter to predict that I’ll give it 5⭐️ (well all of Abby Jimenez books are for me😂) I read 60% of this on the plane and the guy sitting next to me probably thought that I was crazy, I was smiling by myself, laughing, then crying, then smiling again but I didn’t care! That’s how great Abby Jimenez is in writing these books! She just knows how to create the perfect scenes that will elicit the most emotional impact from you and you just can’t help but react!

One thing I love about this book also is that it tackled some emotional depth but balanced it out with lightheaded humor. I loved the introducing to the family scenes! I also loved the whole fake dating aspect and when they visited Wakan - that just did it for me because hello, small town! 😂

This is the best use of dual POV and I know that miscommunication here is huge but I feel like the author gave enough insight about the leads that how they react to certain things is consistent with their characters so it really didn’t bother me much

I didn’t include a synopsis because I’d rather spend the limited word count on telling you how much I loved this book and you have to go buy it now if you want a love story that will give you all the feels!

Thank you @readforeverpub for sending me a copy of this book!!

💭 What’s your favorite medical themed show?
☕️ Mine’s House MD. Reading this book though made me want to start on Grey’s Anatomy but there’s just too many seasons 😂

This book really had everything I love in a romance book. I don't usually love miscommunication tropes but it wasn't too bad here. The fake dating trope is so fun & was done perfectly in this book. I adored all of the characters & I was so invested in this story. Her writing is SO good. This is so much more than just a typical romance book. Jacob really is one of the best book boyfriends. I love love love seeing two characters bringing the best out of each other & overcoming difficult situations. Also, I absolutely loved them writing letters to each other. I'm obsessed! Adding this one to one of my favourites of the year!

I'm so thankful to have received an ARC of this book from Forever Publishing & Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars (rounded up)

Thank you Forever Publishing and Netgalley for my advanced copy.

Oh this author doesn’t miss. Yours Truly had me charmed and swooning and laughing the entire time. And it had me tearing up. Jacob was the cinnamon roll of my romance dreams and Briana was just my kind of woman. The chemistry and banter between the two was pitch-perfect. This one is CUTE. I love that I had to stop a few times to just smile and sigh. Again, I was charmed.

I will say that this book was headed towards being a full 5 stars (despite the miscommunication, which to me was valid for the trauma the characters had), but then something happened that was just too cheesy and shifted my swoons a bit.

But the HEA was just too sweet.

Quick Hitters
🫶🏼 Fake dating
❤️‍🩹Healing after heartbreak and cheating
🫢😮 Unexpected 🤰🏻 (discussion of miscarriage as well)
☀️ Enemies to Friends to Lovers

Jacob’s first day at his new hospital is NOT going well. He lost every single patient he treated which to be fair is an awful statistic but such is life in emergency medicine. Then when he finally gets to leave work, he has to meet his brother and ex-girlfriend at a loud bar for them to tell him that they are engaged. Just peachy. And then on top of everything, he feels like everyone at work hates him.

Briana wants to be the head of emergency medicine, and here comes Jacob Madox who she is told is vying for the job. She clearly doesn't like that. Her brother's kidneys are failing, and they cannot find a donor that matches him, OH and her divorce is almost finalized.

So when Briana finds a letter written by Jacob on her charting computer apologizing for how their first interaction went, she is shocked. They become close through continuously exchanging letters and eventually talking and when Briana finds out that Jacob is a perfect match for kidney donation for her brother AND that he is selflessly giving him his kidney, she is FLOORED. She wants to repay him, but how can she do that?! He asks her to be his fake girlfriend, but when the line between fake and real begins to blur neither one knows what to do...

Honestly this book is an absolute GEM. Abby Jimenez just keeps cranking out amazing romcoms and I AM HERE FOR IT! Her characters are just CHEFS KISS, and her writing is amazing. I was teary-eyed and I actually chuckled (okay cackled) a few times. HIGLY recommend!

Abby Jimenez is one of those authors that I don't even need to think before I buy their book or request it on NetGalley. Like, I don't even read the blurb. I saw this latest book, Yours Truly, and clicked "request" based on nothing more than the title and the author. And when I opened it up on my Kindle to start reading, did I check Goodreads for a description first, like I do with most books? Nope. I went in blind knowing absolutely nothing about the plot but knowing I was in good hands with this author.

And friends, I was not disappointed. I think this is my favorite book by Jimenez so far, and that's really saying something considering my immense love for Part of Your World. And although this book features a character we first met in PoYW, you could totally read this as a standalone.

Here's what you can expect:
• Rivals to lovers
• Fake dating
• Dual POV
• Mental health/social anxiety representation
• The importance of organ donation
• A HBIC heroine
• The sweetest, gooiest cinnamon roll hero ever written.
• Love letters that will make your heart explode all over the place
• A dog named Lieutenant Dan
• A foul-mouthed parrot who likes to blame the cat
• Two people agreeing to be harmless to each other. I loved the way Jimenez described this act of loving kindness.
• Experiencing all the feels
• Giving this book all the stars

So yeah, a million stars for this one. Go buy it. I'm serious. You really need this book in your life. You may think you don't but you do. :)

Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book legit broke my heart and put it back together again. Abby Jimenez had such a way with words that will take you on an emotional roller coaster.

Bri and Jacob are the softest and sweetest pairing that deserve all the happiness in the world. One thing I loved was the slow burn progression of their friendship to falling in love, the way they began communicating, despite their first misunderstanding, they become the unlikely of friends and how she does things to make him feel more at ease. I thought the anxiety rep was well done and did Justice of what it’s like to live with anxiety, as someone that does have anxiety it felt very true and reading about a male main character that is soft, sweet, calm, quiet, that he radiates such comforting and cinnamon roll energy was such a breathe of fresh air. Jacob is just the most kind and selfless man and youll see why when you read but my god I was totally crying every other page. and then there fake dating, both doctors? and there’s Latinx rep with the FMC and seeing how her family share their love with cooking, the Both finding comfort in each other after having bad relationships and becoming each others person. I love them so so much and I can’t wait to re-read this book. You have to go into it blind and trust the process because so much happens but oh my god it’s so worth it.

Yours Truly
By Abby Jimenez

Abby Jimenez returns with another romance that grabs you from the first page and keeps you hooked until the very last bit of dialogue!

Yours truly tells the enemies to lovers, who quickly become friends and conspirators tale!

Full of her classic banter, her characters of Brianna and Jacob are a delight to watch as their relationship develops. Originating in a misunderstanding this relationship soon turns into a fun letter writing correspondence and friendship. These two are absolutely adorable!

Though the characters are cute, and there’s a lot of fun as their relationship progresses into a fake dating relationship in order to save face, add an awkward wedding, in true Jimenez style, these characters are multi faceted, and carry a lot of baggage (family trauma and social anxiety), that they both need to work out on their own and together, in order to create their happily ever after.

This is the fifth book from Abby Jimenez and it’s still sparks the same magic as the first!

I think the only thing that pulled me out of the story, was the excessive mention of Nadia Cakes. With the amount they were included, you would think that Nadia Cake shops where is plentiful as McDonald’s. Where do the wise, don’t do drinking game with yourself every time you read about Nadia Cakes.

Thanks to Forever Publishing for my e-book review copy through NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

#YoursTruly #AbbyJimenez

I wanted to 5* this book, but it has one of my absolute most hated tropes ever. And the fact that Abby does it so well made me want to throw the book across the room lol.
I absolutely love these characters in their perfect imperfectness. I am Jacob through and through, and I know a lot of people who are similar. The way Abby portrays his anxiety, social and otherwise, is so phenomenal that you know she is talking from experience. Briana is her own mess of a human, but SO human it makes your heart hurt for her. The way the entire organ donation process is portrayed, from start through completion, is beautiful. And as per Abby's books, which we all know and love by now, we have extraordinary cameos that made me squeal in delight and fantastic inside jokes that anyone in her reader group will understand and made me cackle.

Thank you so much for an advanced copy of Yours Truly. I enjoyed this book immensely. Just when I think Abby cannot improve upon her last book, she proves me wrong! Yours Truly might just be my favorite of hers!

First, I was so invested in Bri and Jacob. I related to both of them on so many levels. I understand Bri's hardening of her heart towards love and opportunity, her feelings of being stuck, of pursuing opportunities she really doesn't want, and the repressed longing for the thing she thinks she'll never have. I felt all her feels, and I just loved her character so much. And then there's Jacob...be still my heart with this serious, mindful, intentional man. I was so touched by the way Abby wrote about his anxiety, his misgivings, and his insecurities that I found myself close to tears several times. Many of his "quirks" related to his anxiety I recognized in my own behavior, and it just made me feel so seen. Bless you Abby Jimenez!

Second, the slow burn in this book about killed me. I both waited on pins and needles for Jacob and Bri to figure out their miscommunication issues (TBH, their miscommunication was giving me high levels of anxiety towards the end! :) ) As Jacob and Bri's relationship amped up from enemies to friends to more than friends, I was hanging on every interaction. And the letters! Swoon. How romantic. I feel like so many elements of romance are lost in the dating quest of swiping right on an app. I love that Abby wrote a character who was invested in showing up for his partner through actions, and let's just say, I would show up and show out for Jacob too!

I could literally go on and on about this book. It is so good, and of course, Abby gave us some Easter eggs for characters from her previous books...which I'm always on the hunt for! I could not love this book more if I tried. So good. Please read it, BUT I do encourage you to read her books in the publication order (Or to at least Part of Your World before this one). You'll thank me for it later!

Star rating: 5⭐️

If you like cute romances, and/or you remember Briana from Part of Your World, you'll LOVE Yours Truly!
Briana is officially divorced from Nick, and she feels like her life is over. Then the new doctor shows up, and she thinks he is the rudest man she's ever met. but when he begins writing letters to her, she discovers there's more there than meets they eye. And then, when he decides to do something life changing for her family, she knows he's special.

I definitely needed an 'escapist' novel and this was it for me. Completely adorable, realistically unrealistic, and funny, too. You won't regret this one 🩷

When Dr. Jacob Maddox makes a horrible first impression on his first day in Dr. Briana Ortiz' ER, it seems as though Jacob's only recourse is to find a new job (kidding, not kidding). Briana learns that Jacob suffers from anxiety and that all of her friends think very highly of him, so she gives him a tip about buying donuts for the nurses that helps him fit in better. The two doctors embark upon a sweet letter writing correspondence that allows them to get to know each other, and soon the two are eating lunch together and hanging out like old friends. Jacob quietly gets tested to see if he's a match to donate a kidney to Briana's younger brother, and when Jacob is informed that he is a perfect match, he asks to set up the surgery anonymously. Of course, Briana finds out that Jacob is her brother's donor, so to return the favor she agrees to be his pretend love interest at his ex's wedding to his brother. Will the trauma of both of their romantic pasts stand in the way of slowly blossoming love?

There are a few tropes that readers will either love or hate: enemies to lovers, workplace romance, recovering from a breakup, stuck together with one bed, miscommunication, and fake dating. I felt as though many of the tropes were included in a tongue-in-cheek way, though, which made me love the author and this book even more. Jacob and his three-legged dog (Lieutenant Dan) were swoon-worthy, and Briana's fierce loyalty and kindness made them a perfect match. I appreciated the author's trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, and I loved the brief glimpses into the lives of Alexis & Daniel (and even Doug!) from Part of Your World, where we were first introduced to Briana.

Highly recommended for adult readers. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Forever, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Forever Publishing, and Abby Jimenez for this early gifted copy of Your Truly.

Where do I even begin with this book? Is it perfection? Pretty darn close. Did I cry? Yes. Did I want it to end? Nope. Will I have major book hangover? Absolutely.

Something about the world of this book series feels so easy and right, I can't quite put it into words. I feel like I'm at home as I read it; like the characters have been my friends for years and I can just pick right up. There was such an immediate emotional connection to Brianna and Jacob. Their relationship pulled me in so quick--I wanted to hug Brianna with everything she as going to, and I wanted to snuggle with Jacob, feel his quiet.

I felt that this book was just as well written as Part of Your World (book one of the series); funny, charming, a little quirky and emotionally driven.

I immediately went and picked up a physical copy to own of this book as soon as I was finished, because I know I'll want to read it again and recommend it to everyone. I'm also hoping that maybe we'll get another book about Benny and Jane--I'm not sure I can be done with this world yet.

If you liked these, you'll love this book:
-Unlikely Match
-Meet Me At The Lake
-When In Rome