I finished this in a day. Cried five times. My only complaint is the cat’s name! This was a beautiful story and I’m sad it’s over, just like every other book I’ve read by her

Title: Say You’ll Remember Me
Author: Abby Jimenez
Genre: Romance
Tropes: Meet cute, Cinnamon bun roll MMC, Complicated family dynamics
Format: eARC
Rating: 5 Stars

“Love is the brightest color in a gray world”

Summary:
Xavier is a veterinarian. He is great with animals, but tends to keep people at arm’s length. Due to a traumatic past, Xavier is closed off, driven, and determined to prove his parents wrong. He owns his own practice and fills his days with working long hours and volunteering in his free time for “fun”.

Samantha is determined, witty, loves animals and mustard, believes in the goodness of people, and isn’t afraid to call Xavier out for his rudeness during their first encounter. Samantha finds an abandoned kitten who needs her help to survive. When Xavier recommends that the cat be euthanized, Samantha is determined to prove him wrong and save her kitten.

Samantha loves being underestimated and proving people wrong. She returns to the vet clinic to get her kitten cleared for travel. There is an instant, undeniable connection between her and Xavier. They agree on a date, that neither of them wants to end. It is a perfect first date. However, Samantha's family is in crisis, and she is leaving in the morning. Samantha asks Xavier to forget her. But is distance and time enough to make them forget all they felt in that one night?

Thoughts:
This book was an instant 5 star read. I was hooked from page one. Abby Jimenez writes such relatable characters who face real-life hardships. This is a story about life, the bond of family, making sacrifices, and fighting for what and who you love. It is funny and beautifully emotional. The chemistry between the main characters and the dynamic of the family unit was carefully crafted to make you fall in love with each one. Over a week later and I am still thinking about this book! I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book! Highly recommend!

Favorite Quotes:
“They say that you won’t remember what someone said, but you’ll always remember how they made you feel”

“That there is nothing more beautiful than being a witness to someone’s life. To know them inside and out and be with them through everything, share the memories. Memories are everything”

Thank you to the Abby Jimenez and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC in exchange for my honest review. Reviews posted to NetGalley, Amazon, Instagram, and GoodReads.

Only Abby Jimenez could have me crying over worms and proper worm care.

I pretty much go into every Abby Jimenez book with the same expectation - I'm going to giggle and swoon throughout, and about halfway through mourn the fact that men like this don't exist in real life and sob hysterically over the intentional and sometimes small moments and conversations she crafts between the main characters. Say You'll Remember Me was no different.

Heavier than the rest of her books, Say You'll Remember Me packed an emotional punch from multiple angles - the romance, the family situation, childhood trauma and the way that life sometimes just never gives you a break. This one ripped my heart out multiple times and left me staring at the ceiling and ugly crying at 3am after reading it in one sitting.

🎡Meet-cute
🎡He's a hot vet
🎡She's a social media managaer
🎡Animal Sidekicks
🎡Found Family
🎡Complicated family dynamics (x2)
🎡Forced proximity
🎡Long distance relationship
🎡Cinnamon roll MMC
🎡Rom-Com/more-Dram

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮."

I was in a major reading slump so I DNFed my first book of 2025 and moved on to 𝗦𝗔𝗬 𝗬𝗢𝗨'𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗘 which was exactly what I needed - I devoured it in a day!

Abby Jimenez delivers another emotional and heartwarming romance that had me laughing on one page and tearing up the next. With cute animals, a fabulously sarcastic younger brother (can Tristan please get his own book?) and sassy social media posts, I was all in. Bonus points for the Taylor lyric in the title and no third act break up. I have no doubt you'll see this in a lot of beach bags this summer!

Thanks to Forever Publishing for the copy to review.

3.5/5
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 & am so thankful to have received this as an e-arc from the publisher. I love all of Abby's books because of the ability to balance happiness, romance and harder life issues. Unfortunately, Say You'll Remember Me was heavier on the harder issues than expected. Definitely read the authors note before getting into this one.

4.25
"That there is nothing more beautiful than being a witness to someone's life.
To know them inside and out and be with them through everything, share the same memories.
The way Samantha and Rhysand, I mean Xavier meet is so
funny. You have to experience it. Although I felt like it was a bit too insta lovey, it worked and I fell in love with their characters. Unfortunately, they had a situation of right person wrong time.
This book felt a bit more heavier on the emotional trauma and current dementia situation of Samantha's mom rather than on the romance. Don't get me wrong, it emotionally pulled on my heartstrings and I felt for her family. Xavier could do no wrong, he was perfect, the way he stepped up the plate when things went south! He also makes her playlists which is the best gift
The end it really got me and I even shed some tears. The emotional rollercoaster at the end I never saw coming. If you love Abby Jimenez books you'll love this book.
Thank you net galley and readforeverpub for gifting me this e-ARC. I can't wait to read more of this series.

I loved the connection between Samantha and Xavier-- lots of chemistry and adoration. Samantha's job cracked me to, and Xavier seemed like an amazing vet. The romance was secondary to the bigger things happening in Samantha's life, namely the care of her mother with early onset dementia. It was pretty heavy content, not gonna lie. I would have liked it to be spicier-- everything was off-scene, so it really wasn't spicy at all. With that being said, I still gobbled it up because the writing is so consumable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my thoughts!

3.5 star, 1 spice


<I>Say You’ll Remember Me</I> follows Xavier, a veterinarian, and Samantha, a social media manager, who meet in Minnesota thanks to a kitten born without a butthole. (Seriously, it’s funny but also sad!) Their instant connection leads to a hilarious first date, only for them to realize it's also their last, as Samantha is moving to LA the next day to help care for her mom, who has early-onset (advanced) dementia.

This may be the first Long-distance trope I have read? It is also insta-love, which normally isn’t my favorite, but in this case I think it was necessary since the romance needs to still happen while real-life obstacles keep them apart. Samantha is adjusting to a full house with her family while navigating the emotional toll of caregiving. Xavier, struggling financially after opening his own vet practice, can’t just pick up and leave. Their relationship is strained by their distance, but the small and big ways they show up for each other are beautiful.

Their contrasting family dynamics play a huge role. Samantha grew up in a loving household, now bound even tighter by the demands of caregiving. In contrast, Xavier is estranged from his narcissistic, abusive parents. His emotional journey includes learning to differentiate between proving himself to toxic people vs. supporting those who truly care. He’s the king of ‘acts-of-service’ (where can I find one in real life?!?), always stepping up in ways that made me love him even more. That said, the book also highlights the emotional and physical toll of constantly putting others first.

There is a good amount of humor in the beginning which I loved, but missed a bit in the middle and end - the book actually becomes quite heavy. I think the romance does become more of a subplot to the caregiving, family dynamics and individual growth, so don’t go in expecting a romcom.

This book was well written and emotionally rich. The romance was lovely, though somewhat minimal, and the depiction of long-term caregiving was powerful. Just please review the triggers to make sure this is right for you.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the E-arc


The triggers are spoilery, see below
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Triggers:
- Dementia
- Narcissistic/abusive parents
- Child neglect & estrangement
- Animal abuse (mention of past puppy drowning)
- Death of a grandparent
- Parent with early-onset dementia
- Alcoholism (Xavier’s father)
- Cheating (main character’s parent)

For me, Abby Jimenez peaked at Part of Your World, started sliding with Yours Truly, and now, with her latest, SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME, has dropped to her lowest.

There has been something rather… low-effort about Jimenez’s last few books, and SYRM is no different. Little to no energy has been spent on building up the setting: readers are supposed to simply fill in the gaps with their own assumptions about Minnesota and Los Angeles, as if that is knowledge that all readers have.

Secondary characters receive little to no development or fleshing out: even secondary characters that carry the bulk of the emotional weight of the main conflict in SYRM receive little more than passing mention on the pages.

Worst of all, the two main characters themselves are developed very little, or not at all. Jimenez’s male romantic leads all tend to be perfect Book Boyfriends, and Xavier the Hot Vet is no different… except it’s worse, because his greatest characterizations are comparisons with other fictional characters (apparently he looks like some Sarah J Maas faerie dude? I dunno) and inspired by viral social media ideas. Yawn.

The lack of effort with Samantha is even more cringe. She is your generic Gen X/Millennial woman with a quippy social media manager job, and there are only two things I remember about the way in which Jimenez characterizes her: first, that she is Latina (I think???), and second, that she is curvy. Which, ick. I am all for bestselling white romance authors adding more diversity to their romantic leads, but not like this, when there is absolutely nothing that indicates that Samantha is Latina except that her grandmother occasionally makes some tamales for the family. There is a difference between writing a character of color, and writing an essentially white character but giving them a few stereotypical descriptors and calling that “diverse,” and I’m afraid Jimenez has fallen on the wrong side of this.

Okay, I lied. This is the worst thing about SYRM: the fact that there is absolutely no conflict worthy of sustaining a book of this length. The challenges that Xavier and Samantha face in their relationship is entirely external, the result of them living far apart. When they’re together, their lives are apparently perfect; even if some troubles occur, notably with Samantha’s family, Xavier comes to the heroic rescue and everything works out. When they’re apart, they’re just working until the next time they can be together. There are some awkward attempts on Samantha’s behalf to go all “romantic drama TV show” on Xavier, telling him it’s for his own good that he stops contacting her, but these protests are half-hearted and quickly go away.

There is an eleventh-hour “realization” on Xavier’s part about the way in which his terrible parents have influenced the way in which he operates, but this feels very much shoehorned in at the last minute, and I am not totally convinced it’s authentic, because it doesn’t show up anywhere else in the book.

In short, neither Xavier nor Samantha are forced to undergo much, if any, growth in order to end up together… and it’s boring.

I can’t believe it has gotten to the point where I might be taking Abby Jimenez off my list of romance authors that I love… but if SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME is a sign of where she wants to take her writing career (ie nowhere)... then I think I’ll need to get off the AJ fan train now.

Abby Jimenez just knows how to get to your heart. This book is about 2 characters trying to make a couple of impossible things work. I was giggling, crying, sad, and happy throughout this book. I loved these 2 characters and connected to them and their struggles through.

I really did enjoy the book and cannot wait to get the physical copy to add to my book collection.

The chemistry between Xavier and Sam was so sweet and realistic. The plot felt real and not cheesy at all. The addition of other issues and themes in the book was perfectly balanced with the romance in the book.

Xavier Rush is a charming vet with a heart of gold, seems perfect, that’s until his words reveal he's not quite the flawless guy Samantha imagined. After a wild night together, Samantha pushes him away due to her family’s crisis, only to realize that their connection is too strong to forget, and now she’s determined to make something lasting out of it.

Absolutely swoon worthy! No one writes contemporary romance better than Abby Jimenez!

You will root for the long distance romance between Samantha and Xavier all while falling in love with Samantha’s tight knit family. You’ll laugh one minute and cry the next. I can’t imagine a better beach read! I loved it!

I always love Abby Jimenez books and this one was no different. I’m grateful to the publisher for allowing me an ARC version so I could experience this touching love story a little early. This book isn’t a cheesy romance. It deals with real, challenging subjects with dignity and grace, while also adding in some humor and a lot of heart. For a book about remembering, I will be remembering this one for a long time. Characters are witty and moving. The banter is bantering. The love story not only from the main characters but their families too is beautiful. No notes!

Abby Jimenez always succeeds in creating deeply developed characters. Samantha’s strength and Xavier’s steadfast support build a relationship that’s impossible to not root for. Their love is tested by real-world challenges, but the connection between them feels both authentic and inspiring. The emotional weight of the story is pretty well balanced with lighter, humorous moments, which I think added a much needed reprieve.

I've read everything written by Abby Jimenez and couldn't recommend her work more!!

Abby Jimenez never disappoints. This story was funny and emotional and I continued to think about the characters after finishing the book. It was absolute perfection.

Abby Jimenez can literally do no wrong. This was literal perfection. Xavier and Samantha might be my favorite character yet. I love how the humor was perfectly balanced with the more serious topics. Plus, I feel like those serious topics were handled with such care and that is something that I appreciate so much about her writing.

Was expecting more. Will be going back to thrillers and suspense novels now, thanks. Super annoying characters, sappy story - at least there were dogs.

Another amazing contemporary romance from Abby Jimenez! Her story telling just keeps getting better and better. In an effort to stay spoiler-free, I will say I’ve never read a romance where location plays this kind of factor. And I’ve never read a book with such a strong sub plot of a character with dementia. Both aspects were so thought out and well-written. I laughed, cried, and truly loved the whole thing!

Only a book by Abby Jimenez can have you laughing so hard. One second, you have to put your kindle down to crying a few seconds later from what happens next.
Samantha and Xavier have insta-attraction, but being separated by thousands of miles proves to be problematic for their relationship.
The amount of effort Xavier puts into them is beyond book boyfriend material. He is the definition of perfect, and the number of times I smiled is insane. Samantha moved back home with her family to help care for her mother, who has severe dementia. Personally, having lost a loved one due to dementia, this book representing it touched my heart in the best way.
Samantha's slogans and witty comments for the mustard company had me hysterical. I couldn't wait to read more.
Xavier met the man as an adult who influenced him to become a Veteranarian despite his parents ultimately failing him. The scene that had him ending up in a viral video caused Samantha's grandmother to bust on him, genius, and hilarious!
This book couldn't be any more perfect with the amount of laughter, sweet moments, touching yet sad moments, and real topics being discussed. Love, love, loved it!
A few touchy subjects, so check your triggers, but all in all, 15/5 🌟
Thank you so much for the ARC read!

Abby Jimenez crafts interesting characters that you can’t help but root for. For me, this book felt a bit more serious and the romance more protracted than her other books, but it was still a cute read.