ARC REVIEW- JUST FOR THE SUMMER

Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
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🩵Golden Retriever MMC
🩵Online Meet Cute
🩵Summer Fling
🩵Dating Pact
🩵He Falls First
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Thanks to NetGalley for the arc! This is one is coming a bit late but better than never!

I was excited about this one! It follows Justin and Emma, who have a meet cute online and end up “dating” over the summer to break a curse where everyone they date goes on to find their soulmate after breaking with them.

Justin is the epitome of “IF HE WANTED TO, HE WOULD.” I’m pretty sure he has no flaws. Which, tbh, I feel like is a recurring theme with Abby’s MMCs. He was almost too good to be true but I still loved him. He dealt with his issues pretty maturely for the most part and actually communicated. I always love Abby’s heroes.

Emma…*sigh* I wanted to like her so much, and I did in parts! But she was honestly kind of exhausting. To be fair, she had one messed up childhood and has NEVER dealt with the trauma. Girl has needed therapy for YEARS. But I just couldn’t find it in me to empathize with her and she kind of annoyed me.

I liked the immediate friendship between the two of them and did feel like the relationship came about naturally. But Emma needed to deal with her issues before going all in with Justin.

This was an emotional roller coaster, that’s for sure. I did enjoy this one but I can’t say it was my favorite of hers. That being said, we had cameos by all our old friends! *cough* JACOB 😍 *cough* I probably won’t be rereading this one but it was good!

I absolutely love Abbys writing. Her books have a bit of everything and are always very heartfelt and give me all the feels. This one was no exception. Justin and Emma gave me You've Got Mail vibes. It had me laughing from the start and by the end I had a lump in my throat and was getting fidgety wondering how it was going to play out. Every book from Abby gives me something different and I love that about her writing. Loved seeing some previous character appear in this book. Another absolute banger.

Very pleased to say that after just one book, I am officially an Abby Jimenez girlie!

This was so cute and warm and sweet and I just want to DIE thinking about Justin and Emma, I love them so so much! Like I literally feel like I was on drugs while reading this because I am addicted to it, it was so freaking GOOD. It made me laugh, it made me cry, I just felt every emotion, and that is what I WANT from a good romance book, so this delivered perfectly. Justin was THE book boyfriend, and there's this one paragraph in particular towards the end of the book that really sealed the deal for me with him, I can't stop thinking about it. This book is the literal definition of "If he wanted to he would", and my standards are irreparably high now.

This was my first Abby Jimenez book, and I really loved how shocked I was by the events that unfolded in this book, whereas I think that if you're someone who has read some of her books before, you'll have a different experience in terms of just waiting for the characters to find out what you already know, so I really love how the author has managed to create these two vastly different experiences for her readers with this book, both of which are fantastic. I can't wait to go back and read more of her work, I'm so so sooooo excited!!!

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book! I adored how it started off with the promise of being a cute rom-com, with Emma and Justin connecting over their 'curse', but it turned into SO much more. Here are some of the things I loved:
- The realistic depiction of Emma's PTSD from her childhood and how it affects her current relationships and lifestyle.
- THERAPY
- Justin was just the perfect book boyfriend, but also a great human. The way he dealt with not only his family situation, his seemingly unrequited feelings for Emma and the way he made Emma feel so loved. Ugh! He deserves the WORLD.
- The found family aspect and how Justin and his family embraced her and showed her so much love.
- Minneapolis being an important part of Emma and Justin's story.
- The ending was so beautiful. I loved how Emma took the time she needed to go to therapy and get the help she needed.
- How you never knew whether Emma and Justin were going to end up together. You were literally kept guessing until the very end.
- The twist/reveal with Emma's family situation. That was WILD.

This is an instant five star read! Abby Jimenez's best book yet!

Wow such an amazing story like the authors other work I was very sad when it was over. Can't wait for the next book.

5 ⭐️

"4 dates, 1 kiss and a break up"

This book had me hooked from the first chapter! My first Abby Jimenez book and it did not disappoint! I understand that this is an interconnected stand alone and for the best reading experience I should have read Part of Your World & Yours Truly first so I will immediately be running to read those ASAP 🏃🏻‍♂️💨

There was so many elements of this book that I loved. The mental health representation and the way Abby displayed the traumas throughout was executed so well! I love when a book can make me feel all the emotions, I was laughing, crying, swooning and everything else in between!

"Maybe home isn't a place. Maybe it's a person."

Justin was DOWN BAD for Emma 🧎🏻‍♂️.. this plus Emma and her traumatic past had me rooting so hard for them 🥹! Bonus points for Emma and her character growth!

“I don’t think you’re a horrible person. I think you went through something horrible and that’s who you needed to become to get through it”

"You’re not asking too much. You were just asking the wrong person. Ask me instead."

"If this isn't magic, then what is?" he asked. "What does it feel like to be under a spell if this isn't it?"

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Excellent plot, a little predictable but well written. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and recommend it for holiday/wet afternoon reading.

"Sometimes I feel like the seasons could come and go and come and go, a hundred years could pass, a thousand, the ground could collapse under us, this house could crumble and go back to the earth, and we would still be standing here frozen in time, because every second I'm with you is eternal. I've never felt anything like it."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25

Book: Just for the Summer
Author: Abby Jimenez

if the bolter by taylor swift was a book, this would be it 🥹

i adore abby jimenez books so, so much. they always make my heart full before breaking it and then fixing it back up again right at the end.

the CHEMISTRY between emma and justin was out of this world. if these two were a real couple, they would 100% stay together until they were old and grey, i adore them so much.

as always with abby’s books, these characters felt so real to me, emma reminded me so much of both myself and a couple of people close to me, and sometimes that made it hard to read, but it was also so refreshing to see those people represented and it just made my heart happy.

there was a big twist at the end that i didn’t see coming at all, and although they can all be read as standalones, i would make sure to read both Part of Your World and Yours Truly before reading this one, because otherwise you won’t appreciate the twist as much!

Read if you enjoy:
🩵 friends to lovers
🩵 found family
🩵 he falls first
🩵 BANTER!!!!
🩵 communication
🩵 dual POV

(thank you so much to @yourswithlovex for sending me a an ARC in exchange for an honest review 🫶🏻)

🫶🏻

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Just for the Summer' by Abby Jimenez.
Having only previously read 'The Friend Zone,' which was okay for me, this book took things to the next level.
The chemistry between the characters was captivating, and I particularly appreciated how the portrayal of trauma and mental disorders was handled with respect and relatability.

The story was not only adorable but also infused with humor, and the characters felt rich and fully developed.

I cannot recommend this nook enough, it’s the read for the year and a contender for book of the year for me. I have found this about hours previous work hit and miss, but this really hit the spot. The story is emotional and humorous and you really never want it to end,

I really enjoyed this book. All of the characters were so likeable and you couldn’t help but root for Justin and Emma. I thought it handled the issues of Emma’s trauma really well. The friendship portrayed in this book was probably even better than the romance. I like that it didn’t suggest the new relationship would fix everything and that she managed to work through things separately from Justin.

4.5 ☆
Abby Jimenez has made another masterpiece!
I loved this story, its characters, the writing, the funny dialogues, but also the deep ones. The important themes covered are developed perfectly and the characters are so real and vivid.
The plot is simple and linear but the execution leaves you speechless, as does the author's fast and immersive writing!
As you know, I love Jimenez's books and this one didn't disappoint me at all!

Justin and Emma are two very cute protagonists and I loved the development of their relationship until the end. Also noteworthy for the beautiful setting that made me dream of living in a cottage by a lake!

Thanks to Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, Piatkus and Abby Jimenez for providing me with this ARC!

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a reddit thread everyone now knows. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soulmate once they break up. Emma also has the same curse. When she slides into his DMs, they decide to meet to see if they can cancel out the curse and find their own soulmates. It's supposed to be a quick summer fling, four dates, a kiss, and a breakup. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to take custody of his three younger siblings their suddenly dealing with so much more together. Including catching real feelings. What if their curse has actually brought them together?

This was amazing. I absolutely loved this. I loved watching Emma and Justin slowly fall for each other and seeing how they navigated everything that was thrown at them. I loved the found family aspect and how Emma managed to deal with her trauma in order to start letting people in who actually loved her. I loved this.

This is definitely going to be a summer hit. I absolutely loved it.

It’s such a unique, fun plot and the writing is fantastic. The story flowed so well and the characters were really well developed. This book had me laughing out loud but also made my heart hurt at times. There is some trigger warnings but the writer wrote the characters trauma so well and my heart really felt for them.

A fantastic read, with heaps of chemistry and one I would definitely recommend!

Anyone who says they don't enjoy Abby Jimenez is a liar.

As always, this book was beautifully written. It was lovely to see old characters from previous books too.

Justin is an absolute dreamboat and Emma is more well-adjusted than you would expect, considering her last trauma.

Despite the fact that I know these things will turn out OK, I was still sobbing my eyes out when things took a turn for the worst.

Abby Jiminez has a knack for writing, not just amazing MCs, but also in writing the side characters in a way that is so engaging that you fall in love with them too.

I think it would be lovely to see the children get their own HEAs in the future.

After enjoying Yours Truly, the second in this series, so much last year, I was eagerly anticipating the newest book from Abby Jimenez, and unfortunately, I think my expectations were just a bit too high. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy Just for the Summer, because I really did, but it just didn't quite match up to how I felt about Yours Truly. I loved how attentive Justin was from the very beginning to Emma - all of the cute forms and the intentional acts behind their dates. I feel like he was given a bit of a rough hand, not only with his family situation but also in how Emma treated him, as a result of her own family issues. It's understandable and realistic, but I didn't love how completely she left his life before creeping back in when it was right for her - I really liked her as a main character but something just didn't feel quite right.

Just for the Summer is a heartfelt and witty romance about two people who share the same so-called curse; everyone they date ends up finding "the one" immediately after their break up.

The book starts with a post from the Reddit thread "Am I the Asshole?" where we get to hear the funny albeit slightly sad story of how Justin keeps ending up as a wedding guest in his ex's weddings since they keep finding their "happy ever after" after having dated Justin. He sees himself equal parts as a good luck charm for these women and as someone maybe not be meant for the grand love story everyone around him seems to be having.

Emma stumbles across this post via her best friend who knows Emma struggles with the same problem and after some light cyberstalking, Emma decides to DM Justin to share her own experience with the "curse". A friendship builds between the two unlucky-in-love's and an idea to date each other springs to life, surely two negatives will cancel out each other? And that's all this is, a team-up to break a curse, nothing more. Right?

Abby Jimenez writes with both heart and soul, balancing the sweet, clever, and flirty with the heavy, serious, and heartbreaking. The story feels realistic and true as the two protagonists along with the entire cast feel well rounded and true. Through dual points of view, we get to see and understand their actions and reactions, their backgrounds and past traumas, as well as their emotional growth and future healing. Jimenez tackles subjects that can be triggering with care and responsibility, I trust her to take me on a journey full of heart-wrenching, heart-warming, and laugh-out-loud moments.

Thank you NetGalley for sharing this amazing book’s ARC with me.

As with every Abby Jimenez book I've ever read, I finished this book having laughed, cried and swooned (not in that order, sometimes all at the same time).

Abby's writing style is one I adore! The humour and banter is so effortless and it's usually paired with some very serious trauma or health issue. This time the focus was on PTSD and attachment.

In Just for the Summer we meet Emma and Justin who both suffer from a curse. The people they date are destined to meet their soulmate after they break up with them. So Emma and Justin decide to try and cancel the curse out by joining forces and dating each other. Along the way they find out they have more in common than they think - Emma's childhood and her relationship with her mother mirror Justin's situation slightly. Although in Emma's case she was abandoned while in Justin's case he's going everything he can to ensure that doesn't happen his family. Everything clicks so well between Emma and Justin until Emma's mother shows up unwanted leaving a storm cloud over the new relationship and throws Emma's world into chaos.

I loved the setting for this book the lake House vibes. It's starts as an online meet cute and we have dual pov throughout which is amazing! There are a lot of Easter Eggs for Abby's other books and characters too.

This book will be the hot read of the summer!

I love Jimenez's writing and this book absolutely didn't disappoint! I find the way Jimenez is able to weave in and touch upon really quite heavy and difficult topics/themes so amazing as you never feel "bogged down" by them or as if they are just added in for no real purpose. I laughed, I cried and I was desperate to keep reading this book. I would absolutely recommend this story to anyone who fancies a heartwarming, emotional, thought provoking read that leaves you feeling like you're having a big hug.

I’ve read all three of the Part Of Your World series, and they’re all so good and not long enough!

I love funny emotional books and Just For The Summer was my most-anticipated read so far this year. The deepest story so far where the characters do the most work on themselves.. And my heart was warmed with that ending.

Trying to figure out who’ll get the next book!