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.

I devoured this. Absolutely loved this one so much. This couple really went through so much but Abby made sure to still make it fun and lighthearted when we needed it. Her books just keep getting better and better and it’s hard for me to have a favorite at this point.

Thank you Forever and Net Galley for the ARC

This book is filled with heart wrenching emotions and relatable family dynamics.

I really loved Xavier’s character. He is so thoughtful and giving and caring. At times I feel like he was taken for granted but overall the storyline was done well.

JFTS is still my favorite book by AJ but I did enjoy this one as well.

You’ll enjoy this book if you like:

A unique meet cute
Long distance
Cinnamon roll hero
Realistic love

another absolute BANGER from abby jimenez!!!!! i adore the relationship between these two so much, it was beautiful to read and i was absolutely sobbing at the end.

3.5 stars.

Thank you so much to the publisher for a gifted copy of this ARC. I started reading this as soon as the ARC hit my kindle. I loved how the story kicked off and I felt very invested in Xavier and Samantha's love story. I kept wondering how they were going to stay together when they lived so far apart from each other. And I guess that's how it will keep you turning the pages. To be honest, it felt repetitive to me. The middle of half of the book felt like it was centered more on Samantha's family issues and Xavier's financial struggles vs their relationship. Loved the last 25% of the book.

Overall a quick read but not my favorite of Abby's.

Finding where to begin in discussing just how special, heartbreaking, and rewarding this book was is incredibly difficult. Abby Jimenez does it again—she somehow manages to rip out your heart and heal it at the same time. With Say You’ll Remember Me we get two adults who seem to be perfect for one another, they communicate well, they are what the other needs, and yet life seems to get in the way. This book very much felt like a representation of life—things sometimes suck and sometimes it just gets worse but you persevere despite it all.

This story is just as much about family and support as it is about the love between Samantha and Xavier.
I do want to make anyone reading this aware that Say You’ll Remember Me, despite it having its light and funny moments, can be a heavy read that discusses dementia frequently. This aspect of the story is at the forefront and is a little more than just a sub-plot. That being said, Say You’ll Remember Me features two incredible protagonists that you root for, both individually and together. The humor and charisma is there and it makes you not want to put the book down even when it gets dark.

Towards the end I did wish we got a little more of Samantha and Xavier as I felt we needed to see more of their happy moments.
Thank you to Forever Pub for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“It's weird knowing what's going to be in your end-of-life montage, as it's happening. But I already knew when my life flashed before my eyes, the best parts of it were going to be about her.”

Listen, Abby Jimenez is the queen of a meet cute. She never lets me down in that department. In fact, in her latest, she even uses the meet cute to have me, a non-believer, believe in insta-love. It's that cute.

And then it isn't.

Samantha brings a tiny kitten into Xavier's veterinary clinic, calls him an asshole, and the rest is history. (Honestly, it's super cute - along the lines of the Stuntman Mike meet cute.) "Immediately yes." -- this line will stay with you.

Upon their next meeting, he asks her out and they spend the next twelve hours having a dreamlike date that ends in escape room hell but make it funny. And then, in the morning, Sam moves from Minnesota to California to help care for her mother, who has early onset dementia.

And so the two first try to deny the chemistry, and then decide to give long distance a go.

I have no issues with any of this. It can absolutely work. It is family drama and romcom, something I love to read.

Except it isn't. Honestly, for me, it verged on trauma porn.

The two characters are kept apart, which makes romance difficult to say the least. Again, I could work with that, but it is traumatic event after traumatic event (on top of Xavier's traumatic history) for them. There is not once where they get a break. In fact, at one point, I saw where the narrative was going and I said out loud, "Please. Don't."

Spoiler alert: She did.

All of that said, I did like the book? I did not love it, but I did like it. That is heavily due to the two main characters being very likable. Xavier is a protector to the nth degree, an all around good guy if somewhat reserved. Sam is his perfect foil, drawing him out of his shell and basking in his care. I think heavy topics are well suited for a book, and I believe a lot of people will see themselves mirrored in either Xavier's childhood or Sam's care for her beloved mother.

I love that for them.

Unfortunately, this is billed (I kid myself not) as "a playful yet deeply emotional contemporary romance" and I think that is problematic. This is heavy on the trauma and light on the romance.

I know it will resonate with many of you and I am glad about that. It just did not resonate with me.

Thank you Forever for my copy. Abby Jimenez knows how to write a book you can’t put down! I read this in one sitting. She immediately drew me in with her authentic + real characters, the chemistry and the banter. As always I felt she handled the tender topic of grief with care.

I want to thank Netgalley, Forever Pub, and Abby for an early copy of "Say You'll Remember Me".

My rating: 5/5 stars

I recently finished this book and I needed a day to process what I read.
Abby's books have always been so relatable in some way or another. They are always realistic in my opinion as to why she's one of my favorite authors. But this book felt different compared to her other books. This book was more relatable to me.

This book portrayed grief in so many forms. I had to pause from reading in certain parts because I had flashbacks. When Samantha was talking about how her mom will never know her name, will start to slowly disappear and forget who she is as a person, and memories will start to fade until there's no more I bawled out crying. I cried so much because I remember my best friend going through this and he's still going through this with his mom who has Dementia. I could remember him crying to my husband and I saying "She's here, but she's no longer here. She's going to forget her life".
Another part is when Samantha came home to California and she finally saw her mom after a long time, she described her mom as fragile, that she did not look herself at all. I knew how she felt... I knew what she meant just by remembering seeing my best friend's mom after a year of finding out her diagnosis. It all came crashing back to me. Even though my experience is not as close and super personal as Samantha's situation is in the book, I've seen it through my best friend's eyes and it's heartbreaking to witness it from afar.
THEN SAMANTHA'S GRANDMA PASSING AWAY AND HER DAD NOT TELLING HER AND HER SIBLINGS ABOUT HER GRANDMA'S HEART CONDITION BROKE ME TO PIECES. This really hit me hard because I experienced it with my grandpa passing away and finding out that he had a tumor in his head the whole time. No one told me until he was gone.
Samantha and her family went through grief and man it broke them apart from losing the grandma to struggling to find ways to taking care of her mom in the best possible way without putting her in assisted living. They had to work together as FAMILY in order to get through it together without losing themselves in the process. It was heartbreaking to witness what grief can do to people because at times you think you can't find a way to help them, but there's always a way. Eventually they found ways to make things work for the mom and for themselves and all it took was communications.

The book not only portrayed grief, but it also portrayed love. Love is the ultimate key in life. No matter what, love makes the world go round. I love how this book showed every possible type of love not only romantic love, but also family love and self-love. Both MMC and FMC somehow went through so much which led them to each other. Nothing broke them apart, not even distances. They found ways to possibly be with one another no matter what it took.

I loved both the MMC and FMC so much because they are just strong independent people rather they're together or separate from one another. They portrayed what true love looks like when they first met, to being apart from one another, and to finally being together all the time. But even though in the beginning of their relationship it was a struggle they found a way to make it work somehow all because they truly love each other.

In all serious note, this book was beyond its time. This book was amazing. I always feel hungover when I read Abby's books and it's just an amazing feeling because this is what you call a book. She shows me what a book is truly meant to look like and I just love every moment of it.

I will forever recommend this book and Abby Jimenez.
Once again, thank you Netgalley, Forever Pub, and Abby for an early arc of this amazing book.

Abby has done it again! Every single rom com she has written is a can’t stop reading page turner. Xavier and Samantha’s story is no different. Two people split apart and everything to lose to be together. You’ll be hooked from the hilarious and cute of this book right from the start. Samantha is funny and witty and Xavier is levelheaded and a calming presence. They meet in an odd encounter and the rest is history. You will not be disappointed by this book!