I am oddly angry at Heinz after this book! Haha!!
But seriously, what an amazing and REAL story. I laughed, cried and craved a hot dog! Xavier is the man of my dreams!

I found this just okay and a little formulaic. The two main characters seemed like caricatures. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

This is not a bad book by any means but it was still a letdown from Abby Jimenez following her previous four knock-out novels (Life's Too Short, Part of Your World, Yours Truly, and Just For The Summer).

Samantha and Xavier have an instant connection that is immediately put to the test due to circumstances they have little control over. I did like the inside look into caring for a family member with dementia, the struggles of being a small business owner and overcoming abusive parents. However, these two barely had time to just BE in this book. They took hit after hit making for a non-enjoyable read at times, especially during the 60-98% mark. I am hesitant to call it trauma porn but that is the closest thing to it. I wish we had had more happy moments between Xavier and Samantha to balance out the story. For instance, there were times when the characters would spend time together and it would be recapped just to get to the next traumatic thing they had to endure. We were told that they would spend hours on the phone and texting one another which helped grow their relationship but then we never actually saw those conversations play out. They were still a good couple and had some amazing moments (mainly in the front half) but they deserved so much more. They both made decisions and sacrifices for one another that were supposed to come off as romantic but I just felt bad for them both. I also wish we got to see more of Xavier's friends instead of being told over and over again that they were some of the most important people in his life.

There was also an unnecessary infidelity plotline involving a side character that left me with such a sour taste and added nothing to the story. If the plot line was discussed more I could at least see the reasoning but we barely received confirmation that the cheating was happening. Just a very odd side plot that was once again another traumatic thing the main characters had to process.

If Abby plans to continue down this path of writing trauma-driven stories then they will need to stop marketing her books as rom-coms. I hope she finds the balance between humor, romance, and exploring traumatic situations that she had in her previous novels. She laid it on too thick in the wrong direction with this one.

Abby Jimenez can do no wrong. Her writing is engaging and lyrical. It is impossible not to get sucked right into her writing.

Now take the perfect author writing about a grumpy vet with a shitty childhood, a spunky social media marketer, a bra kitten, saving several dogs and lots of real life situations and you have this masterpiece.

Get yourself a copy and do not expect to do anything else until you finish it!

Thank you to Edelweiss, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for the DRC. All opinions are my own.

This book had a very wholesome and swoony romance set against a backdrop of incredibly heartbreaking circumstances and obstacles.

I LOVED Xavier SO MUCH; he is airport dad and a penguin rolling pebbles towards his mate and all of the other adorable things you could think of to describe a generous caretaker of a man. He had such a big heart and was a MAN OBSESSED and I loved reading that.

Samantha goes through so much in this book. She has to move from MN to CA to help take care of her mom who has early onset dementia, and this weighs heavily on her and her whole family. At times, it was hard to read these elements of the story because it’s such a heartbreaking situation.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and it absolutely lives up to the high bar Abby Jimenez has set for herself!

This book was absolutely incredible as is all of Abby Jimenez’s books!!! I swear when I start reading one of them I am unable to put it down. I read this in basically two sittings (I inhaled it you could say lol) and I will be thinking about it for a very long time.

The romance was just so beautiful and the way these characters would do anything for each other had me 🤧🤧🤧 It is gut wrenching to read at times — this is definitely not a fun romcom. But Abby writes it in such a caring way.

Truly Abby starts her books and you’re having such a good time laughing and whatnot and then she hits you in the chest and you’re 😭 every single time

My stomach hurts thinking about this book it was SO GOOD I love them I love them I need to reread immediately

Thank you thank you thank you to Forever, Abby Jimenez, her fb group, and NetGalley for this arc !!!!

Surprisingly, I connected with this one just slightly less than Abby's others. This book is SAD, you guys. It is beautiful, don't get me wrong, and it has that classic 'Abby' style that I can't get enough of. But it's got a lot of layers, and many of those are emotional. Samantha's mother suffering from dementia at such a young age? Sad. Finding love is...happy, but Xavier lives across the country, and the struggles they face are very real. Trying to fund a long-distance relationship is hard. You have to really want it. And seeing each other only once a month, twice if you're lucky? Well, that's sad too.

There were a lot of beautiful and very realistic moments in this book that I will cherish. Abby has proven time and time again to be one of my most favorite authors ever, and while I'm THRILLED that I got to read this early (AHHHHHHH!!!!!) ....if I have to wait **gasp** TWO YEARS?!!?? for the next one.... Well, I may cry.

I will also say that I had pre-ordered this book months ago, and I seriously doubt that Forever handing these copies out reduces their sales even by a fraction (I have two copies on order--SHAAAAAMEFUL AND I'M SO PROUD!).

Thank you to Abby, Estelle and Dana for allowing me to read and review this. I have so loved being an advanced reader for Abby.

4.5/5.0

♾️⭐️

I just knew going into this book I would love it because Abby’s books tend to be my favorite. But what I wasn’t expecting is to love it as much (and dare I say if not more than) Yours Truly. I love Jacob with my whole entire soul.. and when I tell you Xavier is that man. He is THAT MAN! Honestly they are just that couple.

This book yall is just perfection. Abby writes characters that you can relate too in ways that just make you feel so seen. And these 2 were no different. This was just the most delicious slow burn of a book but done in such an amazing way. It’s a book that makes you realize that when you know.. you just know. That when you have truly found your person you will do whatever it takes to make it work.

I cried my way through the last 20% of this book as per usual. But Abby just knows how to write romance in a way that truly makes you FEEL! And I will read it every single time!

Thank you so much for the arc!

Thank you @readforeverpub for my book

Abby Jimenez has such a way with words and the moment I started reading I didn’t want this book to end. This book in my opinion is one of her heaviest works to date and had me all in my feelings. I used to work in the healthcare field and one summer I was on the dementia floor and it was so depressing.

Xavier and Samantha were everything I love as a couple. Complete opposites and they balanced each other out perfectly. Xavier is guarded and rightfully so but I love the way he didn’t run away when things became messy. I did find this book to be slightly repetitive, but it was still a great read and longtime fans of Abby will definitely enjoy this story!

The queen of romance has struck again!
Another beautiful addition to Abby Jimenez's world and this one fits in right along the rest. The little easter eggs in this one were so fun to find and you can tell that she took to time to include every little detail.

The topics Abby covered were very heavy and you feel attached to the characters right away. Samantha has moved home to take care of her mother who has dementia but she leaves with the memory of a perfect first date with Xavier. Xavier is a veterinarian with a dark past and is now a small business owner in his hometown.

I've never thought about reading a long-distance romance but Abby did it so well and I think she did an amazing job of capturing that helplessness while also knowing you have found your person, they just happen to be 2,000 miles away.

I related to Xavier and his backstory very much, and I do wish we saw more of his journey through navigating those affects on his adult life, but I do think his story was handled with the care it deserved and I loved seeing that you can still grow after those experiences.

I'm tired of the misleading labeling in Abby's books. They're not rom-coms.

Moving from that fact, I loved the characters, their incredible and unforgettable chemistry is one of my favorites written by Abby. Such a shame the romance was 15-20% percent and everything else was just and pure tragedy. I wish this was more labeled as a women's fiction. I left feeling heavier and wish I would known the romance was but a dot in this book.

I'm forever thankful to the publisher for granting me a copy of Say You'll Remember Me since Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite authors.

Unfortunately this just did't work out for me.

Nothing gets me as excited as a new Abby Jimenez book! After her last series was all 5 stars for me, this one had a lot to live up to. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the books from her last series, but it was still a solid read.

As soon as Xavier and Samantha meet, it’s instant attraction. Even though they get off on the wrong foot, both characters find each other insanely attractive and are eager to know more about the other character. I wouldn’t call this insta-love by any means (again, more like insta-attraction), so that didn’t bother me! There’s dates that Xavier and Samantha go on throughout the book that made me smile and giggle so much. These were some of my favorite moments from the story, hands down.

The main issue I have with this story is that these characters took hit after hit after hit after hit. I know in Abby’s books that nothing is ever perfect, life is messy and complicated, and characters experience real life problems. However, with Xavier and Samantha they kept experiencing these horrible things again and again. It felt never ending, and at a certain point I was like okay why are we making these people go through this? At what point does it just become too much? And because this was happening, it was hard to find much joy in the book. I truly don’t know that this could be called a romcom.

That being said, there’s still a lot to like about this. I do like Xavier and Samantha as a couple but just wish we saw more joy. Also, as always, Abby handles tough topics with the utmost care. I do not know what it’s like to care for a parent with dementia, and I thinks the highs and lows this family goes through were displayed so well as they worked through together how to be there for the mother.

Thank you Forever for this ARC!

Personally, this one was just ok for me. I think that the story had a lot of great potential but ultimately fell short in a couple of areas. I really wanted more out of this story than just the struggles that both MCs faced. I actually really don't like when this is the main and virtually only side of a character's personality we get to see and this was the case for both Samantha and Xavier. The story felt like it was on repeat after a while, and I just didn't feel like the romance really had a chance to develop, leaving it a bit one dimensional. There are still elements I did really enjoy, like Samantha's family dynamics and relationships and the sentimentality throughout the book. I will say, it's starting to feel like Abby Jimenez really wants to write a neuro spicy MMC but is too afraid to pull the trigger so they always end up being these introverted, quirky men and I'm kind of over it! Either do the research and give us the neurodivergent rep or come up with another archetype please!!

I hate to be such a tease since this is an April release, but I couldn’t keep my thoughts to myself!

Long distance, grumpy/sunshine with a fabulous meet cute, Xavier and Samantha were one of my favorite couples (I think I say that each time I meet a new Abby couple). As we’ve come to expect from Abby’s books, this story also packs a ton of emotion and addresses some heavier topics.

Truly another 6⭐️ from the Queeeeeen!

4.5⭐️ I read this in two days and felt so hollow but content at the same time after finishing. Did I finish the book or did the book finish me? First off, definitely read the trigger warnings in the beginning!! Even though it’s a romance with a HEA, there are heavy topics throughout the story.

And that’s one thing I love about Abby’s writing— she can write the most heartbreaking and traumatic story but give us the most perfect and down bad obsessed mmc. Xavier quickly moved up the list of my favorite book boyfriends! He’s selfless, loyal, loves animals and gives so much of himself for so little in return which he doesn’t mind. His and Samantha’s story began so seamlessly and felt like they’ve been together already for years. Yes this one is a bit insta-lovey, but I actually enjoyed it because of their long distance relationship.

And as someone who had done 2 years of long distance, I understood how difficult emotionally, mentally and physically it was for the characters to be apart from each other for long period of times. And yet, those moments where you do see each other after weeks or months apart, it can feel so rewarding. I do think it was drawn out a bit too much and could’ve been wrapped up quicker but I still enjoyed it!

Samantha and Xavier never had it easy and I loved their commitment and dedication towards each other and their journey together but also with their families. They both understood each other after a short period of time and I loved their banter and chemistry. Now I’m going to think of them anytime I hear Come on, Eileen and when I laugh to myself, no one around me will understand and I love that I have an inside joke with fictional characters.

Thank you Forever Publishing and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review!!

Veterinarian Xavier Rush seems almost perfect until he says the wrong thing and drives Samantha away. But after one amazing night together, neither of them can forget each other, and they start to wonder if their connection is worth fighting for, even when life gets complicated.

Say You’ll Remember Me was one of my most anticipated 2025 reads and I couldn’t wait to dive in! The story hooked me from the first page and kept my attention until the very end. I absolutely loved Xavier—his character was complex, empathetic, and incredibly sweet. I was initially unsure about the instalove aspect, but it worked surprisingly well. Abby realistically portrayed the strains of long-distance relationships though the unannounced surprise visits felt a bit unrealistic with characters dropping everything in a drop of a hat to spend time together. I wanted to love Samantha’s character and while she was likable, her tendency to expect a lot from others without giving much in return felt off. Unfortunately, there was minimal character growth for her. I appreciated how Abby captured Samantha’s family dynamic and explored Xavier’s strained relationship with his own family. The representation through Lisa (Samantha’s mom) was handled with depth, showing some of life’s harsh realities without sugarcoating. This book turned out to be an emotional, closed-door contemporary romance with heartwarming moments, relatable themes, and a binge-worthy read.

4.5⭐️ I giggled out loud so many times that my husband screamed “what” across the house. The banter between the two MCs was so good. Xavier was so unintentionally funny (the best kind of funny in my personal opinion😌) and he was down so bad for Samantha. They are together for a majority of the book (which normally either bores me or irritates me), but with all the things going on around them, I didn’t hate it. The way they meet, and the FIRST DATE???? I was obsessed.

I am ETERNALLY grateful for the arc of this book!!

After reading Just for the Summer earlier this year, I went back and read every book Abby has written and was blown away each time. This book was no different; I knew I would love it from the very first page. Abby’s depiction of love—from working friendships to family bonds and romantic relationships—is truly SO special. She explores everything from a date that never ends to a long-distance relationship full of challenges, along with family and financial struggles that feel never-ending. This book felt beautifully realistic.

It was heartfelt, touching, and heartwarming, with light humour delicately woven throughout.

If there’s one thing you can count on from Abby, it’s that she will write a DREAM boyfriend. If he wanted to, he would—and Xavier definitely would do anything for her.

I may never emotionally recover from this book, and I have the images of me crying while reading to prove it.

“We were a bonded pair, separated by cages two thousand miles apart”

Abby you have absolutely ripped my heart out of my chest, stomped on it and driven an old beaten up car with no powered steering over it. I seriously cannot even put into proper words how impactful and beautiful this book was. From the beginning I was emotional, throughout the entire book I was emotional and the last line of the epilogue had me emotional. It was the sort of book that makes you feel sick with grief but full of love and I seriously cannot give Abby enough praise for the fantastical writing here.

It’s not often you can feel yourself so deeply within the pages of a book and take on the pain and burdens of fictional characters in impossibly hard situations and while it hurts to read it also is so important to experience and learn about. This book was so well researched and respectful in regard to all the topics touched upon. I can’t see myself feeling this hard for another romance for a while. This could have been 700 pages and it still would have been too short.

Thank you so much NetGalley & Forever publishing for the opportunity to read this early, I can not wait to have the physical copy in hand to annotate and experience all this pain and joy all over again 🧡🩵

Thank you Forever Publishing & NetGalley for this ARC of one of my most anticipated 2025 reads. 🤍

Nothing will top “Just for the Summer” for me but this book was so sweet. I was giggling, swooning, angry, holding back tears… just all of the emotions.

Abby is so so good at making real main characters and real side characters. My heart was breaking for the family but it was also stitched together.

I wish we could’ve gotten a bit more of Xavier’s life though. I wanted more stories with his friends involved! Also, I would’ve like to see some of Samantha’s friends. Friends are usually such a big part of Abby’s stories but maybe this time a supportive family was and I’ll just have to accept that. 😂 (I just love a found family story).

I cannot wait to get my physical copy next year and reread this.