Anything the Abby Jimenez writes I am reading. Easy. I love her. I love the emotional walloping I get from reading her books. She makes me feel all the feels in the cold cockles of my cynical heart. This book was not perfect for me, but I still enjoyed the hell out of it. How could you not? Meet your new book boyfriend Xavier Rush. He is described to look like the High Lord of the Night Court, our lover, perfect specimen of a man, Rhysand. Not only is he gorgeous, he saves animals for a living. He’ll take care of you. He’ll take care of your whole family. He will make loving you his only job.
The only thing missing from this book was spice. This was basically closed door, which I did not care for. However this will not stop me from giving this a 5 star. Gorgeous. Tragic. Emotional. I laughed. I cried. I fell more in love with Abby.

Abby does it again! This book made me have alllll of the feelings. The way I laughed and sobbed my way through it is something to be studied. I just love how she is able to incorporate more than just romance in way that just draws you in and toys with you.

This was my first Abby Jimenez and I know I'll be reading some more of her backlist! The first half was such the right about of goofy and whimsical, and then the second half was honestly really heavy and kind of miserable, but so much pining. It definitely made me tear up a bit, everything she was going through with her mom and family. I was rooting for them the whole time.

Not my favorite book by this author given the constant need to include the most depressing scenarios possible in one storyline. The two main characters are likable and their interaction and dialogue are great. I just wish the overall plot didn’t seem so hopeless all the time.

This book is one of the most achingly beautiful stories I’ve ever read. I’ve enjoyed Abby Jimenez’s books in the past, but this one tops them all. Xavier and Samantha’s love for each other is so deeply felt, it completely consumed me. Their relationship does start a bit insta-lovey, which isn’t usually my favorite, but I was swept up in their devotion and emotional connection. I’ve never cried so much while reading—by the last few chapters, I was sobbing.

What makes this book so special is how Abby Jimenez balances heartbreaking moments with humor, giving you space to breathe between all the angst and longing. I also loved Hank—he’s everything, and I need him in my life.

Xavier’s storyline particularly resonated with me. It’s such a powerful exploration of feeling stuck in a career you’ve poured so much of yourself into, even when it comes at the expense of your own happiness. His journey serves as a reminder for anyone who feels like they have to keep striving, sacrificing, and proving themselves: sometimes you have to put yourself first and choose joy.

Even though Xavier and Samantha don’t spend much time together on page, their connection is so strong it feels unshakable, like they’re true soulmates. The book perfectly captures the ache of right person, wrong time while still giving you hope. It’s my new favorite book by Abby Jimenez and one of the most stunning, emotional reads I’ve ever experienced.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC!!

Abby Jimenez outdid herself again, I was really engulfed in this story and felt like I couldn’t put my book down.

This is a story about finding love, having to move away to care for her mother whose dementia is worsening, and making really tough choices all in the name of love. I loved how all the characters worked together to care for one another.

Would absolutely recommend this book!

3.5 stars rounded down
I love Abby Jimenez and all of her books have been five star reads for me except one other one at 3.5 — I still recommend them all and I still recommend this one - I know so many people will love it!! Unfortunately, as much as I liked both MC’s, it was love at first sight and then 85% of their love story was dealing with logistics. That is never going to be a setting for fun witty banter and angst. On top of the continuous countdown loop of “when will we see each other next”, the family is dealing with a very sad health issue (trying to avoid spoilers). Of course it’s heartbreaking. Jimenez weaves heartbreaking into her stories perfectly. So I may in the future round this up to four stars. But for now it’s 3.5 rounded down and that’s mostly because I didn’t binge it. After the same ol same ol I wasn’t dying to get back to the book every second I was away from it. But I still love her and can’t wait for more. Thank you for the eARC!!

Abby Jimenez is so good at handling emotionally charged subject matter without being heavy handed and this book is no different. My only criticism would be that maybe there too many obstacles keeping the characters apart. It was a little exhausting at one point, but the charismatic characters kept me in and I'm glad I stuck with it.

The emotional depth that Abby creates with such strong foundations just wows me every time - I know it's happening, I know we're with the characters to get something specific out of our time with them, and yet it still doesn't feel like we're going up a build of every chapter exists to give the reader some kind of mystery clue. Artfully put together and so respectful of its characters that it should be an example to many others writing characters with similar memory issues. Enjoyable and gutting.

I decided that in order to start the year on the right foot, like I have done many times in the past, I wanted a guaranteed 4-5 star read. Who better than Abby Jimenez to deliver that? I decided to read her upcoming April release right on January 1st to ensure a solid start to 2025 and of course she delivered.

The synopsis is really vague and I genuinely had no idea what to expect from this book. All I knew was that a grumpy vet and headstrong woman would have a magical night together, only to be told "just forget about me." Turns out, she's moving away to the other side of the country to deal with some family issues.

I loved Xavier and Samantha from the very beginning and still managed to laugh in between the crying. The story follows them and their long distance love story. There really is just something about the way Abby Jimenez writes - this was a HEAVY read and at times repetitive, but her characters and their chemistry and emotions just make it all worth it. I really don’t like reading sad books and if this was written by anyone else, it would never make it on my TBR (knowing what I know now at least - as I said, the synopsis is super basic).

Samantha's mom is suffering from dementia and Xavier grew up in an abusive household so there's a LOT of tough things to work through. Because the two characters did a lot of long distance talking and random visits to each other while balancing these family and financial issues, it wasn't a fluffy love story. Yes, it had Abby's signature wit and banter though, hence the laughing between the crying. Xavier was incredible - an "airport dad" who always kept things in line, remembered people's favorite drinks or snacks, and generally set the bar high as hell for any other potential book boyfriend. Samantha was funny and enjoyable to follow; her sibling relationships also felt so real.

I couldn't figure out how the two of them were going to make it work so I spent a lot of the book overthinking how Abby was going to end the story. There were many chapters that got repetitive, as I mentioned before, because they'd end with the same sentiment of "I love them so much, we can never be together, this sucks, etc."

The ending was two seconds away from pissing me off but of course I should have trusted Abby lol. I liked where things ended up overall and found it to be really logical given the rest of the plot points. It was not a super tidy story - it felt real in pretty much every possible way. I don't know if this is my favorite book because the heavier elements are not usually for me, but I ADORED this couple. I think if you loved JUST FOR THE SUMMER as much as I did and were able to handle the tough parent situation in that one, you'll definitely feel similar for this book.

OMG This book now has my heart. Everything about this story was so beautifully written that it just flowed so smoothly from beginning to end, I loved it instantly from the start. This was such an emotional ride too, but in the most heartfelt way, it was magical. Both MCs were so likable and truly believable that I kept imagining myself as them. The family and friends dynamics were nice to have been integrated effortless throughout the story. This book is for everyone, so I recommend everyone to read it.

This book is simply magical. Beautifully written, tragic, heartbreaking, yet hopeful, hilarious and incredibly romantic. Jimenez's signature wit and expert storytelling truly come through. Easily already can tell this is going to be a favorite of the year.

I am glad the triggers were added. This was a very good stor that went deeper than I initially thought. Great writing again. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

This book is much more than a romance I expected. It deals with the real impact that dementia has on people and families. At times it is gut wrenching pulling the reader into the pain it causes. The core of the story is the love of Xavier and Samantha. It is a warm, caring story about how they deal with their individual realities in order to make it work. Be prepared for an emotional read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I always try to pick my first read of the year carefully because I feel it sets a precedent for the reading year ahead…and since I’ve loved each of Abby Jimenez’s books more than the one before (I still don’t understand how that’s even possible because I LOVE each book with my whole heart and can’t imagine loving one more), I figured she was a safe bet. The only problem? This book was so damn good and took up so much space in my heart and mind, I’m almost afraid I’ll be comparing every other book to it for the rest of the year.

God, what a ride this book was. I think Samantha and Xavier are my new favourite fictional couple. Their love was so beautiful. This story made me laugh myself silly, broke my heart in multiple ways, made me swoon so hard (the loud sighs and other sounds I made while reading…I’d be embarrassed for anyone to hear them), made me gasp in shock, and then put my bruised and battered heart back together again. I was hooked from the first page - just so completely invested in Samantha and Xavier’s story, unsure how it could possibly work out, but rooting for them every step of the way. I continue to be blown away by Abby’s talent and how she can have you laughing one minute and sobbing the next. She weaves together humour and romance and complex relationships and heartache and heavy subjects so beautifully, I’m in awe. I can already say with complete confidence this will be a top favourite book of 2025.


Note: please read the author’s note at the beginning for content warnings if you have any triggers surrounding grief, memory care, or related subjects. There were parts of this book that triggered the sh*t out of me and were extremely difficult to read, but I kept going because the story was so beautiful and compelling, and I loved it too much to stop.

🎧Song Pairing: Come on Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners (before I even started I wanted to choose Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams but you’ll get the song choice once you watch)

💭What I thought would happen:

It’s Abby, always my most anticipated! I mean the cover is bubble gum adorable. I cannot wait!

📖What actually happens:

🐱Reconstructed kitty bootyhole (you read that right)
🥵Sexy vet (said to look like Rhys)
🩷Witty banter
🪦Insta love
😢Long distance relationship
🧠Early onset dementia in a parent

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

Well now I’m depressed. Abby definitely has the art of inducing tears. While full water droplets did not leave my sockets, I definitely had some blurred vision 😢

This book starts with an asshole. Literally. A kitten’s asshole if you’re looking for more info. Abby never ceases to shock my own butthole with her wit and cleverness

I never thought mustard would be such a focal point in a romance novel…or any novel really. The only time I’d think it was relevant was if the founder of French’s mustard felt like the world needed to know the mustard origin story….but seriously already failed my 2025 bingo card predictions and this is the first read of the year

Xavier Rush….hello p⭐️rn character name much. That is some big 🍆 energy. He was excessively compared to Rhysand in the first 3 chapters I thought oh bloody hell is this going to be as repeated as the word mate but it cooled its jets quick quick.

Not my favourite Abby but I don’t think it will disappoint her loyal fans!

Seriously over the moon grateful to Forever Publishing for an advanced reader copy of one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and it did not disappoint!

The goods:
- The concept feels so unique yet relatable at the same time. I think there's always one moment people look back on thinking it went different, their lives would be different and this book perfectly encapsulates it.
- The viewpoint of being a home caregiver for a family member was done with care and highlights the complexity of being in that position.
- I absolutely loved Samantha's humor, and her relationship with each one of her family members.
- Xavier was definitely the definition of a black cat working as a vet and I was here for every single minute of it, along with him relationship with Samantha.

The loss of a star:
- The pacing was not it for me in this one sadly. I felt suddenly shocked when I was at 93% of the book and felt like the ending was rushed. I could've taken at least 50 more pages.

Overall, if you're down for a more serious romance, this is for you, but if you need something a bit more lighthearted, come back to this later.

I used to love Abby Jimenez books but lately her books have been missing the mark for me. This felt rushed and it was simply unrealistic the entire whole time. It felt very trauma focused and it made me a bit uncomfortable. I wanted a cute romance but it just wasn't for me.

Abby Jimenez has become a must-read for me and I recommend her books often. Say You'll Remember Me deals with some heavy topics, as her books usually do, but in such a way that they never totally drag the story down. I loved Xavier and Samantha, loved Samantha's family, loved the resolution of their story. Loved this book!

I am so honoured to be able to have received an early copy of this book by one of my all time favourite romance authors. So grateful I had the opportunity to make this my first read of 2025 . Thank you SO MUCH HGB Canada for sending me this , you guys really made my year already 💝

I adored this book so much. Abby just knows how to write about difficult topics of conversation while incorporating humour, love and a sense of understanding. This makes her books so relatable and personal and just gives them that extra heart warming touch. I just loved how she shed light on the topic of caregiver burnout and exhaustion and it was so spot on! Abby also wrote about the struggles and challenges with long distance relationships and wow did that ever HURT ! I was rooting for these characters from page 1 till the very end!

I am sad I couldn’t give this one a glowing 5 stars cause I just struggled a bit with how things progressed and when I finished I just didn’t get that overwhelming ‘this is the most incredible book ever’ like I did with some of her other books . But don’t get me wrong , this book will for sure be a 2025 spotlight for many many people!

Grab your copy in stores on April 1st - no jokes or tricks here!!