I usually love Abby Jimenez's books, but this one just felt a bit rushed to me. I never felt got a chance to feel invested in Xavier and Samantha as people, let alone as a couple. While I understand instant attraction as a trope, and as a real idea, it just didn't work in this scenario. It felt obsessive and co-dependent in a red-flag kind of way. I also just wan't a fan of the writing for this particular novel. I look forward to reading any future books by Abby Jimenez, but I did ultimately DNF this book about 3/4 of the way through.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book. I really appreciate Jimenez’s style of writing. I like the romantic trope but that it is shored up by bigger life trials, in this case long distance, finances, dementia, and family.
I like that this book gave my world weary brain a break but didn’t let it completely off the hook as it addresses how we balance family expectations and guilt. Although, the financial discussion between the main characters gave me some anxiety as it felt like a real life house of cards. If you want a bit of romance without completely disengaging with real life, Jimenez has you covered.

This was a delightful little rom-com with a side of depressing. Xavier and Samantha have a sweet meet-cute when a butthole-less kitten (I didn't know that was a thing either), Pooter, needs some vet attention, and wouldn't you know it, Xavier is just the sexy, brooding, Rhysand-coded, grumpy vet for the job. He sees Samantha and it is love at first sight. They have the most mind blowing, perfect, fun, and epic first date. But, uh-oh, before they can grow their insta-love, Samantha is moving to California to take care of her mom, dealing with the dramatic onset of early-dementia. And Xavier can't follow, because he just opened his own Vet clinic in Minesota and is in mountains of debt. What will they do?

The banter and comedy in this are top-tier. Xavier and Samantha are adorable. It is predictable and repetitive, yes, but it is also a very sweet story about having the privilege of being a witness to another person's life.

I enjoyed my time with these characters, and you probably will too.
3.5 stars (happy to round up).

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Xavier and Samantha find out they have massive sparks....just before Samantha has to move to CA to take care of her mom who has dementia. Grumpy vet Xavier has never met anyone like Samantha, but is tied to his new vet practice and knows he can't give it up because it'll prove his parents right about him being "nothing." Samantha knows she needs to be there for her mom (and the rest of the family), but she and Xavier pine for each other when they're apart. Are all things as immovable as they believe? Jimenez does it again with a emotional story that's more about all kinds of love than simply the romantic kind, and what it means to share a life.

5 STARS. 5 STARS. 5 STARS.

OMG. This book truly was everything. From page 1, I was hooked and genuinely could not put the book down. I love everything Abby writes and this one is no exception. The chemistry from the two main characters, Xavier and Samantha. First of all, we have a hot veterinarian with a guarded exterior but Samantha breaks through his walls almost immediately and comes waltzing into his life unexpectedly. From the very first moment they saw each other, it was kismet. Sparks flying. Instant connection.

I was extremely drawn to Samantha's character and her compassion for others. It was extremely moving and relatable. I loved how deeply she cared for her family and animals as well as her willingness to speak her mind and fight. She made the perfect pair for Xavier and really brought him out of his shell.

This book made me laugh out loud but also sob my eyes out. Do with that what you will.

I wish I could read this one again for the first time. I will be recommending this to anyone who will listen.

Content Warnings:
- In depth descriptions of someone with dementia
- Mentions of abuse (both physical & emotional)
- Mentions of animal abuse (such as neglect, cruelty, etc.)

Thank you so much Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Netgalley for this e-ARC.

🩵 What’s it about?
Imagine meeting your soulmate and having the most epic date ever, only to find out that she is moving across the country the next day to take care of their mother who has dementia. And you can’t follow her because you’ve opened up a vet clinic and sunk tons of money into it. Thus, the epic love story is born.

🩷 My thoughts:
I am a huge Abby Jimenez fan and read everything she writes, so I feel it’s important to say up front that this book is not like other Abby books. It veers more into women’s fiction than romcom.

It was still a great book that covers many difficult life topics. I won’t list them all here because it will spoil the story, but any romance built over a 2,000 mile physical separation is going to hurt.

I loved that this one had some key, humorous Abby scenes–the kind that made me laugh out loud. And I adored our MMC and all the animals that appeared in this story. But mostly this one is full of heartache and yearning. It was a tough read from that standpoint. There was a lot of sadness (seriously, the list is a mile long), so be prepared to have your heart ripped out. But there is also redemption.

Most of the time I read Jimenez’s books and I feel so much! Joy and sadness and all the chemistry/banter of the romance. This doesn’t have much chemistry or banter. I rarely laughed and my overall feeling was that life just isn’t fair. Xavier is wonderful. Samantha is kind of fun but doesn’t seem that special. The mustard jokes weren’t really that funny and I’m never excited about a MC that has an influencer career—I know it’s technically marketing but I’m just not a fan. There’s also a paragraph early in the book where Samantha thinks Xavier is grumpy and has no reason to be because he’s a white man and has privilege. Straight white men are the most hated thing in America right now and we learn that Xavier has plenty to be grumpy about and is not privileged. I’m disappointed in Jimenez for feeling the need to add woke commentary that has nothing to do with the book. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

This is angsty AF, covers heavy topics, and features two people who are way more decent than me. I loved it.

Fair warning: There’s a quick misdirect on the first page that will send you into Zone 2 cardio with panic. And page two will keep you tachycardic because, whoops, now you’re in love with the MMC.

Xander owns and operates a vet clinic to spite his abusive parents. He doesn’t smile much because he is too busy being the most altruistic person in Minnesota. It is mentioned several times that he resembles Rhysand. Except he’s white and Rhysand is not, I think? Doesn’t matter, Xander is tall and hot, but doesn’t know it (about the hotness; he is height-aware).

Samantha has been recently imprinted upon by a stray kitten (meet-cute check). She is planning to move back to California in order to help take care of her mother, who has early-onset dementia. She is a social media manager for an indie mustard brand. We’re told she’s good at her job.

Xander asks Samantha on a date without preamble. Because he is the best. Samantha agrees because she does not realize they are soulmates (not literally). They have a very cute, very eventful first date and she proceeds to move to California the following morning.

They are both, needless to say, very bummed.

Geographic distance and limited funds is the only thing keeping them apart. They both have very good reasons for staying in their respective locations. Well, Samantha’s reasons would not be as concrete if she was just a little less loyal and dependable and family-oriented. But leaving her mother and family never crosses her mind, which may or may not be relatable to readers.

The lack of interpersonal conflict is refreshing in a sea of “I can’t love because I’ve never been loved”s and “I can’t have nice things”s. Instead of wasting time trying to convince himself his childhood rendered him incapable of love, Xander works himself to the bone so he can afford plane tickets to LAX. His exhaustion fairly lists off the page by the end, as does his utter devotion to Samantha.

Sam’s mom, her dementia, and the associated caretaking by her family features heavily and it is…tough. Emotionally and heartbreakingly tough. Her family’s commitment to caring for her at home while maintaining her quality of life and dignity is beyond commendable. And, if you’re like me, will get you wondering if you, too, could spend your youth living with your entire family while watching the mother you knew disappear. (No comment.)

Also, I’m a dummy. Cause at 61% I was like “huh, they sure talk about making memories and keeping memories a lot”. Then I remembered what the premise of the book was. And looked at the title. So, um, there’s a strong running theme that may or may not be subtle. And it may or may not have been 10pm when I started reading this.

The main reason I couldn’t put this down was because I couldn’t foresee a resolution (besides the obvious) that would have our main characters living in the same city by the end.

But, I am happy to report, our author got us there. With a smidgen of deus ex M̶i̶n̶n̶e̶s̶o̶t̶a̶ machina, sure. But I think y’all will be satisfied. I sure was.

thank you to forever (grand central publishing) and netgalley for this eARC!

holy shit. this book was so good. i now, unfortunately for my bank account, have to read all of abby jimenez’s book i think. she is an excellent writer.

this book is exactly the kind of romance novel i like. less of a “here’s this conflict and we have to figure out how to solve it” and more of a slice of life, where the characters are dealing with hard situations in realistic ways.

i can’t even explain how wonderful jimenez captured the emotions of this novel. i fell in love with the characters. their reactions were real, sometimes irrational because that’s how people are, they cared so deeply about each other and all chose each other over and over despite the unimaginably difficult circumstances they found themselves in. i laughed, i smiled, and i sobbed harder than i think i’ve ever cried because of a book before. the “big reveal” moment absolutely got me; i didn’t see it coming and it literally broke me. it was perfect.

the plot was wonderfully executed. there were never any moments i was frustrated with the characters; they were doing their best to live through a tough time and i was simply reading it. jimenez brought these characters to life so beautifully and i am genuinely happy for their ending because i feel like i went through the trenches with them.

if you need a solvable conflict in the books you read, this one might not be for you, but i’d urge you to try anyway because this book is so wonderfully written and portrays an incredibly emotional, compelling story. i think everyone should read this book. i can’t wait to recommend this to literally everyone i see when it comes out. READ IT!!

Wow, this has the signature Jimenez emotional gut punch (-es) we've all come to expect but this one hit a little different for me. Whether it was the reality of also being of an age where my parents are getting older and the health struggles -- physical and mental -- that come with that reality staring me right in the face or the heavy dose of sweet, and also heartbreaking, animal content.. or both.

Suffice it to say, you've been warned. But I mean most people who will be picking this up should also know what to prepare for by now.

Mixed in with complicated family dynamics as a result of the pressures, stress, and heartbreak of an ailing parent that a family is trying to manage, is also a somewhat heartbreaking, stressful, and pressure-inducing long-distance relationship. Samantha and Xavier go out for a date the night before she's to move across the country, the former never expecting she would meet her person at such an inconvenient juncture. As a social media manager she can work anywhere but her mother's health necessitates her to be in California. Whereas Xavier, as a vet with a new practice, has to stay in Minnesota. Much longing and financial shenanigans ensue in order to keep the connection going but props to the author she never takes the easy way out when it comes to conflict. Maintaining the relationship is enough of one; as is Samantha's family's struggles and Xavier's own family dynamic which.. man, prepare yourself for some righteous rage and vindictive feelings to be channeled in that direction. Grr.

So often I find myself enjoying one half of a couple more than the other, or liking them only in the build-up to the relationship, but in this case both of these characters felt grounded and accessible and their connection is immediate and fun and touching. They both wanted time together; in the literal sense but also for the purpose of building something out of the memories. Something that was important to both of them for different reasons. They were such opposites in mannerism and behaviour but their core values aligned and it was beautiful to read about.

I will say that around the.. 55-70% mark I was losing a bit of steam. The nature of their circumstances meant that the events within the plot were somewhat repetitive and cyclical but, despite this weaker part of the story, it didn't really impact my feelings overall -- just my attention span.

There were so many beautifully introspective moments in this story, both in writing and dialogue and feeling, and yet there was still that signature wit and hilarity to keep things lively when the heartbreak or crushing reality these characters were struggling with got too real.

For all that realness, though, there was also a sense of close-ness in this story; as in, for all that a lot was happening within the characters, I didn't really get a sense of things outside of these moments they were together. Because the moments they were apart were, again, a little same-y, and always just time passing until they were together again. So things do feel a little.. tunnel vision-y. It's hard to describe. But maybe that was intentional? Again, it certainly didn't change my feelings as I read, but just something I kind of sat with after the fact.

Overall, I think this will absolutely hit with fans of this author and if this is your first go with her, I think it's a great one to start with, too. SAY YOU'LL REMEMBER ME is an emotional, fun, sweet, heartbreaking, and all synonyms along those spectrums, journey and I don't think you'll regret your time with this book one bit.

Thank you to NetGalley for the oppourtunity to read this one. I'm a huge Abby Jimenez fan and this book sucked me in just as quickly as her others. Great characters, especially the MMC. Some key differences from the standard romance beats, but none of it took away from the story. A really lovely, moving story.

I honestly don't know how she does it, but I'm pretty sure every Abby Jimenez book is somehow better than the one before. This was an excellent contemporary romance with great chemistry between the two main characters, and (not uncommon with Abby Jimenez books) I both laughed and cried. Samantha and Xavier meet under less than ideal circumstances - Samantha takes her rescue kitten in to the vet (Xavier), and because of a genetic condition, he recommends putting the kitten down. He's grumpy, she's sunshine, and when they reconnect not long after (for a checkup for a now healthy kitten), Xavier goes out of his comfort zone and asks Samantha out on a date. It's an epic, perfect date, but Samantha tells him they can't pursue a relationship because she needs to focus on providing care for her mother who has early onset but now very advanced dementia. There's a lot of trauma here - off page and on - related to parents and families - but there's an undercurrent of hope the whole time because of how hard Xavier and Samantha work to show up for each other. I think that Samantha and Xavier might be my second favorite Abby Jimenez couple (sorry, but no one can touch Briana and Jacob from Yours Truly), and I was rooting hard for them throughout. Content warnings for references to childhood abuse, care for a parent with advanced dementia, and animals (briefly) in distress.

4.5🌟 this is my second Abby Jimenez book that I’ve read and I ABSOLUTELY love how she can write rom-com type books with real life struggles and issues. DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE MMC Xavier I love you so much🥹🥹🥹 Samantha was also the sweetest most genuine fmc I loved them both so much!! Thank you netgalley and forever books for the arc <3

I think Yours Truly may have been the standout Abby Jimenez book for me. Just for the Summer was good, but wasn’t the vibe I was looking for, and unfortunately Say You’ll Remember me was not the book for me.

Abby does it again! This story made me laugh, made me cry, and made me squeeze my family tight. There is something about her character building that melts my heart each time.

Another book that has me wanting to scream “WE NEED MORE MEN WRITTEN BY WOMEN!”

Okay this was an emotional rollercoaster in the best way possible! Not my favorite Abby Jimenez book but there was something super touching and unique about this book. Somehow Abby can always reach my heart a squeeze it lol It was a lovely story and I had a fun time reading it.

I always love having a dual POV and you can tell the author did her research on veterinary practice as well as memory loss care. It is a well written story and the characters are extremely relatable. I think the author did an amazing job at addressing heavy topics such as grief.

I always love Abby Jimenez books and I'm grateful that I got to read this one through NetGalley!

Although this book has some difficult subject matter, the love between the characters shines through so clearly that you find yourself loving all of them.

As someone who has recently increased my reading of romance novels, Abby Jimenez has a reader for life! It’s not that I dislike love stories, but I often find the tropes too predictable, and the emotional stakes can feel contrived. Yet, this book caught me completely off guard and tugged at my heartstrings in a way I never imagined. The love story between Xavier and Samantha kept me intrigued and wondering what would happen next. If you love romance, animals and family themes, this book is for you!

i had high hopes for say you'll remember me by abby jimenez, but unfortunately, it fell short in several areas. while the premise had potential, the execution left much to be desired.

first, the insta-love was difficult to overlook. the characters’ connection felt rushed and lacked the depth and development necessary to make their romance believable. the commitment to classic romance tropes was inconsistent, often introduced briefly and then abandoned without any meaningful exploration.

furthermore, the frequent use of booktok slang and pop culture references felt excessive and, at times, out of place. terms like "actoar" and other internet jargon disrupted the flow of the story rather than enhancing it. instead of adding a modern touch, these elements made the dialogue feel forced and superficial.

as a reader, i hoped for more emotional depth and genuine character growth. however, the story remained at a surface level, making it difficult to become invested in the characters or their journey. ultimately, while i appreciate the effort to appeal to a younger audience, the reliance on trendy phrases and a lack of meaningful conflict made this a disappointing read.

i would recommend this book only to those who enjoy a light, quick read without a lot of emotional complexity. unfortunately, this one wasn’t for me.

(Slight spoilers to be found here)
I generally enjoyed this book but I dropped my rating for two reasons. If you like Abby’s books in general you will most likely enjoy this. The review is about to be only things I’m complaining about so if you want to read the good things go read someone else’s, there are plenty out there.

1) I don’t think the trauma to moments of joy ratio worked very well. Almost the entire book was the characters in emotional distress either from their lives or from being apart from each other. I signed up to read a romance, not a family drama about dementia with a romance subplot. I think even just a better epilogue would have helped me because even that was more focused on her family than it was on the romance.

2) and the main reason for the rating drop was that at one point in the book Samantha is telling Xavier backstories about her family members and says this (32% in ebook) when talking about her sisters ex-husband, Omar. “She got full custody and he fucked off back to his motherland instead of getting therapy and paying child support.” Why is there just a random racist comment in the book? Wtf