I love the way Abby Jimenez writes, I truly do. There is humor and witty banter sprinkled among really tender and deeply emotional moments. She is able to be funny and serious simultaneously and she just makes everything …work and flow. There’s an Author’s Note at the beginning of the story about a character who deals with a very crippling type of anxiety (possible TW ⚠️ here) and the ways this character is written and understood is really something. I laughed and cried throughout this entire book, like I keep saying, the way she finds the balance in her writing is remarkable.

And I loved Daniel as top tier book boyfriend material in PART OF YOUR WORLD, but ohhhhh my did I love Jacob Maddox!!!!

Abby Jimenez blew me away with Part of Your World. I thought she couldn’t do any better but she may just have proven me wrong with Yours Truly. This book was so special. These characters and their love is going to stay with me, in my mind, heart, and soul, for the rest of my life.

These characters are everything. So vivid and honest and real. Briana is strong and compassionate and badass and fun. Jacob is kind and selfless and loyal (not to mention sexy, and funny, and so so sweet - I would literally die to protect him at all costs). They were different is so many ways but fit so well together. They understood each other in ways that no one else did, like they were speaking their own language. It was absolutely breath-taking to watch their love blossom and heal their old wounds. I was constantly rooting for them to find happiness, both as individuals and as a couple.

My only complaint would be that the book relies HEAVILY on the miscommunication trope for significant part of it and it drove me slightly crazy. I wanted to shake both of them and tell them to get it together and just talk!!!! Also, I wanted more spice… Jacob was so hot with the little bits we did get, I needed more.

As a side note - as someone who struggles with pretty bad general and social anxiety, reading about Jacob’s journey was difficult because of how REAL it all was, but there was also something healing about it. Especially seeing the way Briana loved him and treated his struggles with such care. It's hard for people who don’t experience it to understand just how difficult it is to do certain things with clinical anxiety but Briana really took the time and care to listen to his needs and meet him where he was, with zero judgement or annoyance. There is one part where Jacob is putting himself way out of his comfort zone by going to a brand new place with new people he’s never met for an extended period of time so Briana sends him detailed messages about exactly what he can expect when he arrives; the town, the set up of the house and the room he will be staying in, pictures of where to park when he gets there, what they’re planning on doing while they’re there, detailed descriptions of her best friend and her husband and their work/interests, etc. It literally moved me to tears. The fact that she understood him and his needs and had taken the time to make sure he felt safe meant so much to me.

5/5 ⭐️ when I read The Friend Zone I thought ‘this is the greatest of all time’. When I read Part of Your World I thought ‘11/10 Abby can truly do no better’. And now I’ve read ‘Yours Truly’ and it is somehow honestly even better. Arguably the BEST book I have ever read. I could not put it down!!! Bri and Jacob’s story is perfect. And Jacob is the best anxiety representation I have ever seen in a romance novel. Every detail of Yours Truly, from the letters to the family dynamics to the chronic illness rep, is so beautiful. An all-time favourite for sure. Thank you forever publishing for the ARC ❤️

Abby Jimenez is top tier for me — her books are so engaging and I can’t get enough.

Dr. Briana Ortiz is next in line to be the head of the ER — she’s recently gone through a traumatizing divorce and is ready to forget about love. Then a new, quiet Dr. Jacob Maddox is hired and writes her a letter. Navigating all the tropes, these two doctors quickly become best friends. But we all know that life isn’t that easy.

This book is a beautiful, heart stopping book that is strengthened with the dual POV. Each character is so broken, but reading from both perspectives makes this book shine. I laughed, I cried, I felt all the feels.

Thank you, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for this ARC. I will definitely be re-reading this one!!

"Jacob made me feel safe. He was like a living lullaby. A soft spoken word. The smell of coffee and toast in the morning or a cozy fleece blanket. The rain pattering on the roof on a day where you don't have to go anywhere or do anything."


Briana Ortiz's life is falling apart. She had her heart absolutely destroyed by her (soon to be officially ex) husband, she's caring for her brother who desperately needs a kidney donor, and the promotion she's been after might end up going to the new guy, Dr. Death.

Jacob Maddox, aka Dr. Death, can't seem to get anything right his first day. 6 people have died, the nurses don't like him, he's pretty sure Briana hates him, and his anxiety is skyrocketing. The only thing he can think to do after accidentally barging in on Briana's brothers hospital room is to apologize.. via letter.

Briana really didn't expect Jacob to write her a letter, and she really didn't expect that she had just misunderstood him and that she'd want to write back. The back and forth letters open up a door of friendship they hadn't expected, but even more unexpecting than anything else? Jacob is a perfect match to be a kidney donor for Briana's brother.

________________________

You know when you find a story and you're so immersed in it that time doesn't feel like it's passing, you're right there with the characters, feeling everything as if it were happening to you? That's what this book is. Abby Jimenez captured my heart with these characters.

I loved Jacob so much :') He is kind, compassionate, and so f*cking selfless. This man wanted to donate a KIDNEY because he wanted to pay it forward as his mom had a transplant when he was younger. His communication style being LETTERS AND NOTES?! BE STILL MY DAMN HEART. And Briana instantly understanding his struggles with anxiety? I loved her so much. I was SOBBING along with her as she was hurting. They're just two people learning how to love and be there for each other despite their trauma. Their journeys to get there broke my heart and completely put it back together again.
"I want to be brave enough to love him with my eyes closed."

Abby Jimenez gives us a fan favorite trope, fake dating, but brings so much more to the table. Yours Truly is a beautiful epistolary romance book with characters that have endless layers to them. If you're looking for a read with characters that feel real and that you can connect with, then this is perfect. There's chaotic family dinners, the cutest 3 legged dog, a cursing parrot, loving family members and friends, and a plot that will bring tears to your eyes.


***Please check for TW/CW before reading this book as Abby Jimenez does cover some more difficult subjects. Additionally, her author's note at the end is not something to skip and puts so much of this story's impact into perspective.


Thank you Netgalley, Abby Jimenez, and Forever Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

↠ 5 stars

Thank you Forever Pub for a gifted copy of this ARC!

Abby Jimenez is the queen of crafting stories that take you on a rollercoaster of emotions in the best way possible. I laughed out loud. I cried more than once, and there were several times where I dramatically closed the cover of my Kindle and took a deep breath because I just couldn’t handle the angst anymore!
All of the characters in this book were fantastic but I especially loved Jacob and felt connected to his struggles with anxiety and his need for stability. You’ve got to love a man who plans out the parking situation days before a social event and doesn’t shame you for having an affinity for Taco Bell (don’t knock the Breakfast Crunchwrap until you try it).

Abby Jimenez just keeps getting better with every book she writes and she has truly become an insta-buy author!

Book friends, only you will understand this. When I NetGallyed Yours Truly it felt like I had won the lottery. I spent a few days in shock. I refreshed my screen. And then when it was still there, I sent the book to my Kindle.

I read it one night and it consumed me. Abby Jimenez makes me feel all the feels. And then I froze again. I think I have destroyed my NetGalley score because I waited so long to write this review. You know why? Because after I hit submit, it's over - my time with Briana and Jacob is over... and I am, I lie, tearing up as I write this.

THE BOOK IS THAT GOOD. So good I decimated my NetGalley score because I didn't want it to end.

Briana is a lovable stressball / ER doctor, and it's really not her fault. She has A LOT on her plate. Jacob tis a seemingly uptight, adorable, perfect, swoon book boyfriend. I love him. I adore her. Together, they are perfect.

In summary, if you read this Abby, please send condolences for my NetGalley score. I will accept ARC in lieu of flowers.

BUY YOURS TRULY

Well first of all I'm not going to say how many times I cried during this book (5+ times) just from the description of Jacob's anxiety. Everything in his head hit home with me because it felt like I was reading my own brain. It made me feel seen and understood, if even by a book. Jacob's coping is a great example of someone with anxiety should do during to help cope with their anxiety & panic. I love how this book addresses this topic from a mans POV. Jacob also donates his kidney to save Bri's brother.

Oh and the best part -- letters.

FREAKING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS.

*SWOOOOON*

Now Bri is great too, but she does show us what going through relationship trauma / abandonment can do to trust and just the overall outlook on relationships without dealing with the trauma. She is a strong, smart FMC who just wants to be able to trust the people she cares about most.

We also get a little bit of Alexis and Daniel too :)

Here are some of the tropes we have -- I'm not listing them all since this is an early review:

*Workplace Romance
*Fake Dating
*MMC - Social Anxiety
*FMC - Relationship / Abandonment Trauma
*Miscommunication

4.5 stars / 5

When a new Abby Jimenez book hits shelves (or NetGalley in this case), I'm always dying to get my hands on it. Jimenez is the one author that I know who is going to give me a mix of humor and emotions with a dash of food for thought within her novels. With "Yours Truly" readers are gifted a male character with social and generalized anxiety, a hospital setting that gives me "Grey's" vibes, correspondence in the form of pen to paper, friends to lovers that starts with fake dating, and a middle of the road spice level that somehow works flawlessly for those of who love the steam.

Seems like a lot to toss into a single book, right? It is and in true AJ fashion, she pulls it off. Bri and Jacob's relationship is sweet and spicy, the perfect combination for rom-com lovers. My favorite scenes in "Yours Truly" are the ones spent in the supply closet. It's behind closed doors that we connect deeply with the characters.

Shoutout to this part of the book that I often think of and find myself laughing out loud about:
"She's mad at me."
"For what?"
"She asked me if I'd eat her if she were a gummy bear. I said yes."

Jimenez has become one of my favorite rom-com authors. Her humor is spot on and it’s totally relatable and relevant. I’m always a fan of duel POV and getting to hear from both sides, so that was a plus for me while reading. I enjoyed both perspectives and their characters/character development. The honest portrayal of anxiety was thoughtfully done.

On the flip side, I did question certain actions given the main characters and their age.. mostly the whole miscommunication thing. I wish the two had just communicated better, as the miscommunication trope doesn’t really work for me. However, I still respectfully enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.

Oh my word, where to begin…I thought that I couldn’t love one of her books more than the last, but boy was I wrong! I cried like a baby pretty much the entire last portion. Even while accounting for personal biases (highly anxious, previously single mother), the main characters in this story are extraordinary and human. (Well, maybe not Jacob bc he’s too nice to be a believably human male haha) I’ve never felt so seen in a description of what it’s like to be riddled with anxiety, even just on a day-to-day. And to have someone finally understand how you need to be helped through it.
*SPOILER*
Despite the miscommunications and sad incidents meant to keep our pair apart, they eventually come together in a beautiful, if not originally rather rocky, union. I do wish the epilogue had been longer or just a longer chapter before the ending, if not solely to see deeper into Briana’s mental healing and Benny’s life changes. Maybe I should just admit that I didn’t want the book to end…anyways, it’s my new favorite of 2023 and it hasn’t even released yet!

TW: chronic illness, infidelity, pregnancy loss, familial abandonment, anxiety

Thank you Forever, Abby, and Netgalley for this opportunity in exchange for my honest review!

Oh my goodness, I just loved this book so much! Do you ever read a book and just love it so much that you want to immediately read it again? That’s how I feel about this one! I swear Abby Jimenez’s books just keep getting better and better!

I loved the characters in this book so much. Jacob is the definition of the perfect book boyfriend! I thought Jacob and Bri were the absolute cutest together. I thought the concept of them passing notes was so sweet. I thought the author did a great job at dealing with the anxiety representation in this book, as well. Overall, it was such a good book, one I would highly recommend reading! This book has it all: humor, serious topics, friends to lovers, fake dating, and slow burn romance. Be sure to check it out!!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Abby Jimenez. I read her books and I feel lighter. I feel seen. I feel like I believe in love and humans again. This book is no exception. I was immediately invested in both Bri and Jacob. This is the second book I have read lately that features a man with anxiety. One of my favorite things about Jimenez is the way she thoughtfully addresses tough issues and deals with them in a sensitive way. Read if you want to believe in love again. Read if you love the fake dating trope. . I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley, thank you to them. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

“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 off 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.”
rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

RECOMMEND IF YOU LIKE: mental health rep, fake dating, shy vs outgoing opposing MC’s, family-involved stories

PRELUDE: after absolutely loving part of your world, i was positively thrilled to get this one on netgalley and dive into bri’s story because i loved her so much in POYW!

LIKES: the supreme balance between briana and jacob’s personality, the social anxiety is approached perfectly, the letters i mean srsly you’re kidding, the phrase of the night game was hilarious, the name lieutenant dan for the three-legged dog, any scene with jacob’s grandpa, alexis and daniel’s scenes, the locked-in-the-room drunk scene, the insights into organ donation and transplant lists, bri’s character arc, and the supply closet.

DISLIKES: the spiraling that was then extremely drawn-out spiraling that then led to intense miscommunication that then led me to extreme frustration, the third act *conflict* if you will, the fact that there weren’t many moments of pure happiness with no miscommunication, the trope dump.

IN CONCLUSION: the first 70% of this book had me in a chokehold - i absolutely LOVED it and was convinced it would be a five-star read, the 70-90% range had me incredibly annoyed, and the 90-100% range had me falling in love all over again. i didn’t love that the end of the book turned into a trope dump, but i really loved majority of this book and would definitely recommend for fans of fake dating with a great balance between banter and emotional.

thank you to netgalley and forever pub for the arc - yours truly is out april 11 2023!!

Abby Jimenez... you have done it again, and officially raised the bar for all romance books, ever. This was the *best* romance novel I have ever read and that's coming from someone who loves reading a ton of contemporary romance. I loved Part of your World so much, and am obsessed with the fact that this follows Briana's story (Alexis' friend). This story truly had it all - romance, humor, lovable characters, and for the first time in my life as a reader, a male MC with social anxiety. I absolutely LOVED reading from Jacob's experience, and couldn't get enough of his thought process and life. Jacob and Briana officially have a permanent place in my heart. I will never forget them. Their story was simply beautiful - full of sweet, joyous, and really hard moments. They just felt SO real. I will be telling everyone to grab a copy of this as soon as it releases. The world isn't ready for the magic that is Yours Truly!

YOURS TRULY is the next stunning read by Abby Jimenez, and readers should get ready to immediately add this to their TBR list. I read PART OF YOUR WORLD this summer, and could not get over how well developed the side characters were. I was so excited to finally get to read their story, and this book did not disappoint. This book had all the steam, humor, and love that was found in her previous books; I truly could not put this book down. I am so excited t0 see what Abby Jimenez writes next, she is a superstar!

I've been a huge Abby Jimenez fan for a while ago and Part of Your World was my favorite of hers so far! I was so excited to continue in this world with a new main character, Briana Ortiz. What starts as work enemies-to-lovers quickly turns into a sweet story about two colleagues who build a slow, trusting friendship before romance. Their letters were SO cute! It's not as spicy as some of her other books but watching Jacob and Briana fall in love was so, so sweet!

I loved the diversity of characters. Briana is recently divorced, which is not a storyline I see often in a romance. I appreciated her journey of mourning her marriage and deciding when it was time to move on. And Jacob, I loved Jacob! What a wonderful anxiety rep and how his anxiety often made him seem unapproachable to others. I wanted to give him a hug throughout most of the book. This book also felt a lot more personal than her previous stories and Abby Jimenez has a touching author's note explaining her personal connection to the story. Overall, another adorable romance by Abby Jimenez. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Abby can really do no wrong- her writing style is absolutely effortless, beautiful and memorable. Like the rest of the world I was waiting anxiously for Bri’s book and was beyond honored when I received it early via NetGalley!

While I truly enjoyed this one, I did, I must say this wasn’t my favorite Abby book. It had the quintessential Abby moments of love, strife, conflict and big moments to make you go awe. But I must say…I didn’t feel the soul crushing emotions I usually feel. I know in romance we have tropes, but we had EVERY trope here and I don’t know that we needed it.

I truly couldn’t believe so much time was spent on their miscommunication trope. For Abby’s gift of writing and two doctors in the story, this one was hard for me to get past, but I will say that the ending truly was sweet. I felt it a bit rushed, but overall I finished the story really enjoying it and thinking “yep…Abby does it again”!

Fans of rom coms will enjoy this mash up of sub-genres, including enemies to lovers, fake dating, and grumpy-sunshine. The central female character, Dr. Briana Ortiz, is equal parts strong, soft, and aspirational, while her new co-worker, the sometimes-brooding Jacob, is secretly thoughtful and emotional in all the right ways.
The book occasionally crosses the line into pandering territory, where it feels like the author is going out of her way to make sure the characters are woke enough or to play to what she expects will tug the reader's heartstrings, but for the most part, it's a sweet, enjoyable read. My biggest gripes were that it took these incredibly intelligent humans so long to figure out that their counterparts liked them *for real*, and that Briana is so incredibly in tune with and sensitive to Jacob's introversion and social anxiety, but she sort of throws all of that out the window near the end. It felt like there was a decent chunk of the last third of the book that was leading with plot rather than character-- and to the detriment of the characters in that the events were so far outside what had been set up earlier. BUT, all in all, Yours Truly is a solid entry in the space and has some deeper themes that readers will love.

Synopsis:
Between her looming divorce, her brother’s declining health, and her impending promotion, Briana Ortiz’s life is in disarray. Things only get more complicated when Dr. Jacob Maddox joins her team and becomes her competition for the promotion. Once Brianna gets to know Jacob, she realizes that he is much more than a broody competitor, and could be the one person to help her move forward in life.

Read if you like:
- Enemies to lovers
- Fake dating
- Family drama

Overall:
Abby Jimenez is officially one of my favorite authors! After reading Part of Your World this summer, I was excited to read Brianna’s story in Yours Truly. Like Part of Your World, I couldn’t put this book down! I loved the characters, their hilarious dialogue, and representation of individuals with chronic health and mental health challenges. While this is a spin off from Part of Your World, it could be read as a stand alone. Now please excuse me while I read all other Abby Jimenez books

5/5 stars

Thank you Grand Central Pub and NetGalley for the ARC!