Just for the Summer was a beautiful story.
It has many of my favorite things: humor, banter, a great supportive cast, heart-wrenching moments, complex characters, and in this particulr story: Justin (Yes, Justin is a category unto himself).
In the age of fake-dating and marriage of convenience, Emma and Justin going on actual dates was extremely refreshing. Even though there was an expiry date to their dates, seeing them fall for each other, going through the angst of crushing on each other, and making the effort to work towards something in spite of the circumstances, was really fun.
I loved it. I love when authors show us who the characters are outside of their love story: Justin becoming the legal guardian to his siblings, while he's busy falling in love, and Emma having to face her trauma when her absent mother shows up. Abby gave great character arcs to both of them.
Emma and Justin thought it would be Just for the Summer, but it turns out they want to be together for a lifetime.

This is the second book I’ve read by Abby Jimenez and this one was just as good as the first. Her writing style is superb and really draws you in. The characters were fantastic and the story had a few twists and turns I didn’t see coming. A great rom com with well rounded, real world characters.

Wow, wow, wow!
My favourite book of 2024 so far.

This was quiet yet poignant. The love I have for these two characters is immense. I haven't had a romance move me in the way this one has in a very long time.

The care Abby took with these characters is admirable. I'm in tears writing this but I would read this again in a heartbeat because it was just so beautiful.

My first five star read of the year and it couldn’t have been more deserved. This book, as all of Abby’s, was heartbreaking, uplifting, beautifully written and had a host of complex characters.

She has never let me down in any of her books. Ever. And meeting Emma and Justin was the cherry on the cake for my 2024. Two beautifully written characters who owned my heart. From the premise of being the ones to end their curses, to dealing with a whole load of family drama/past traumas and still coming out of it in love. I loved them together so much.

I really wish I had re read "Yours Truly" before picking up this one because I love it when authors bring past characters into the world where the new characters are, but, I still LOVED this.
I love a rom com in general and I don't care if the romance is unrealistic or over the top it's always the balm I need to the world. Some of the things Justin did for Emma made me pout and cry!

Abby has such a wonderful gift for making delicious relationships between characters, weaving in humour and bringing in current pop culture references into the story without it feeling like it would become outdated quickly. In "Just for the summer" she had an incredible way of bringing up some incredibly serious topics while still maintaining rom com vibes.

I am still waiting for the day a Abby Jimenez book disappoints me but that day still has not arrived.

I loved this book! An absolutely beautiful story about love, family, friendship and resilience. I really enjoyed the growth and communication between the characters and that they actually worked on their own shit rather than just ignored it. I laughed, I cried and I absolutely rooted for the characters.

The mental health and trauma aspect in this book was beautifully handled in my opinion, but I definitely recommend checking out the trigger warnings for this book as there are some heavy and emotional topics covered.


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


4.5 stars rounded up ✨ if you’re considering picking this one up, do it!

5 STARS!!!

This was my first book by Abby Jimenez and it shall not be the last - wow wow wow!! Her writing style? ugh blew me away. I was hooked - I read this in less than 24hrs, I found it difficult to put down. The story was bloody amazing, every character apart from Emma's mum I was in love with.

The story itself covers a range of different triggering subjects such as PTSD, panic attacks, childhood neglect, mental health and death. Yet somehow Abby manages to capture all it's realness in such a delicate and caring manor and still writes flawlessly in these parts.

Justin - a literal golden retriever of a man, he is why the expectations for men are so high? New favourite book boyfriend?! Hello. He is so SO well put together, his banter is top tier - he had me kicking and screaming, laughing out loud and smiling like a cheshire cat. The way he dealt with Emma when she would 'go small' he is a literal angel sent from heaven itself. I just loved him so much and think more men need to be this way. He starts the book with a straight of the bat laugh out loud Reddit post ' Am I The Asshole' from that very first page, I knew I would like him.

Emma - I loved Emma and had high hopes for her, I could feel how the trauma she had faced was such a heavy weight for her to carry and I was waiting for that moment when she knew she could take a deep breath and everything would be ok. Her banter with Justin was remarkable and the way she is constantly putting other peoples needs before her own, a super woman if I ever did see one. She had my heart wrapped in a warm hug and I just constantly wanted to jump into my kindle and tell her everything will be ok! I loved her relationship with Maddy and the dynamic between the pair, I just wished she knew how special she was.

Maddy was the best friend every girl needs, she really cared so much about Emma and even though she would say she isn't going to be picking up the pieces, you bet she is the first one there no matter what. I would love to see more of Maddy's life with Doug too.

the end reddit post made me cry so much, it was so funny and sweet and just amazing.

thank you so much to net galley and little brown books for sending me the e-arc for an honest review!

Just for the Summer is my first Abby Jimenez book and I’m really glad I took the plunge to finally try her books! It felt a bit more literary fiction than straight-forward romance but I really enjoyed how much this was a character driven romance, filled with raw and flawed characters, some traumatic backstory and a gut-wrenching romance at its heart.

The premise was unique and I expected a more lighthearted read but came out of this book deeply moved— I cried. I swooned. I cursed a little too. Jimenez has earned herself a new fan with this breathtaking book!

This was a beautiful read, although it featured some difficult issues it was sprinkled with enough Abby Jimenez magic to make it really uplifting. Featuring two characters who are both lovely people dealing with difficult situations - Emma had a difficult childhood yet is an incredibly kind and empathetic woman whereas Justin is about to assume custody of his three younger siblings as he knows it will provide the most stable home life possible during the period his mum (a good person who made mistakes during a troubled time in her life) has to go to prison.

I loved how these two met due to a post Justin put on Reddit which Emma related to prompting her to message him. There’s a great chemistry between them and the issues the are both facing provide a strong backbone to their story, Emma’s best friend was brilliant whereas Emma’s mum was a very challenging character but well written enough to have some understanding of why. I love the references to characters from previous books although I can’t always remember them in detail but a glimpse of where they’re at now is always good. Overall this book for me was a warm positive read despite the challenges of the characters and it brightened up my life for a short while at a time I really needed it.

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book!! This book puts you through the wringer in the best way possible, it broke my heart completely and then put it back together again. I feel like the only way to describe this book is just that there’s so much heart in this book; from the main characters, side characters and all that was happening just made made my heart swell.

Emma and Justin are fantastic characters, they’re not perfect they have their struggles but they are able to work through those struggles and talk to one another in such a healthy way.

Justin and Emma meet through a viral r/AITA reddit thread and come up with a plan to date and break up in hope of canceling each other’s curses (everyone they date seems to find “the one” afterwards). The premise might sound like your average rom-com, but if you’ve read Abby Jimenez before, you’ll know that her books are much more than that - and in many ways I feel this might be her best one yet.

The curse turns out to be a MacGuffin and it’s absolutely inconsequential to the story that is much more about the two main characters overcoming their own traumas. This was much darker than Abby’s previous books as it deals with a lot of heavy subjects, but it ultimately felt well executed and rounded up (one of the few instances where 3rd act break-up didn’t feel forced and actually made sense). Emma was an interesting character to follow, although I sometimes found her both annoyingly optimistic and annoying fatalistic at the same time (the sheer amount of time the words “she made herself small” are used made me eye roll). But Justin was just the perfect love interest, and I loved the chemistry and banter between the two of them. Ultimately this was one of those feel-good books that threads a great balance between sadness and humor.

Many thanks to publishers and NetGalley UK for this ARC.

Just for the Summer is a new romance book by Abby Jimenez. It follows Justin as he makes a post on Reddit about his exes going on to find their soulmate once they break up with him. Emma sees the Reddit thread and slides into Justin’s DM’s as she has the same problem. They decide to date each other and then break up in the hopes they’ll both find their soulmate afterwards. It’s supposed to be a quick fling but Justin and Emma have a strong connection and with some very real problems facing them both they have to decide of fate has brought them together.

To start with the positives the romance was sweet, Justin was a nice hero and I appreciate both characters in the novel were dealing with issues. However, the vibes of this book were just off to me. I just struggled to care and I do think the issues the characters were facing such as Emma’s mum brought the book down a bit. Plus this has a lot of Easter eggs from this authors Part of Your World books and whilst I have read those I just didn’t remember the characters from them and that impacted my enjoyment of this book. There was a character in this that was pretty important to this book from that series and I didn’t remember him so it got a bit confusing over who was who. The Easter eggs/character connections just felt a little forced to me. I’m not sure i would read from this author again but I would still recommend this book if you are interested in it. That said, I am giving this 3 stars.

Justin and Emma seem to have a similar problem, each person they date goes on to find their one true love with the next person they date. When Justin's predicament is publicised on Reddit Emma contacts him to commiserate and they cook up a plan to fake date (at least four dates; text, call or snap every day; ne open mouthed kiss initiated by Justin) over the course of one month which will hopefully break their 'curses' and allow each of them to find their soulmates.

This sounded like a run-of-the-mill sweet romantic comedy, however both Justin and Emma come with a trunk load of angst. Justin's father is dead and his mother is about to be sent to prison for six years for embezzlement, leaving him to bring up his three younger siblings. Emma never knew her father and her mother Amber has some mental health issues which often manifested in her abandoning Emma when she was a child, consequently Emma has spent a lot of time in and out of foster homes. At her final foster home she met her BFF Maddy and the two of them have been living and working together ever since, they are traveling nurses, picking assignments based on location and were due to spend three months working in Hawaii until Emma persuades Maddy to spend six weeks in Minnesota instead.

Justin can't forgive his mother for the terrible thing she did which is going to have massive repercussions for all her children. But Emma is the opposite, she loves her mother and worries about her desperately when she hasn't heard from her for months at a time, she forgives her mother for leaving her alone so often as a child and all of the selfish thoughtless things she continues to do.

This book features some of the characters from Yours Truly, like that book this doesn't hesitate to tackle some difficult issues. However, while I felt Yours Truly went lightly over the angst this books just seems to drip it on every page and boy did it feel like every one of those 432 pages. I kept thinking we must be coming to a conclusion and discovering I was only 35%/ 42%/ 58% into the book.

Overall, this was okay but too long and angsty for my tastes. Also Justin was a bit of a cardboard cut-out figure, he was all-in almost right from the start and therefore all the focus was on Emma.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Abby Jimenez has done it again. This is another wonderful story, that made me laugh, it made me cry (understatement, I sobbed) and it made me feel so hopeful.

Honestly when I received this book, I dived head first into it. It honestly made me feel so many things. The characters where so interesting.
Justin has my heart!

Please read the trigger warnings if you think it may affect you. From the front cover I didn't expect it to be so emotional.

Unfortunately, a bit of a letdown for me. I couldn’t connect to the main characters, the romance felt like a side character and had no depth, and the plot felt all over the place at times and wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be. While reading it, I felt literally nothing, as if someone had taken away all my emotions. I don't like to admit it because I don't like doing it in books, but the number of pages I skipped because I was so bored is pretty embarrassing. Our main characters had their first kiss and I was close to falling asleep.

Also, is it possible to feel overwhelmed by the amount of things happening in a book to the point that you forget that it is even a romance? Because that's exactly how I felt for most of the story. I recently read a short novella by Abby Jimenez "The Worst Wingman Ever" and I felt exactly the same, as if the romance was a side plot and the problems and difficulties of the main characters the main. Don't get me wrong, I even liked how the author handled them here, but for the romance book it was supposed to be, the romance was actually my least favorite thing here.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

4.5/5 rounded up to 5 stars

Another really enjoyable book by Abby!
Great characters, interesting dynamics, fun dialogue, but also with serious topics and themes throughout. The story deals with the effects of neglect, trauma, and PTSD.

I liked that this wasn't pure romance and had a good, engaging plot to go with it. The romance between Emma and Justin was sickly sweet but was welcome amongst the more serious plot points. The trusty third act breakup didn't feel as forced too and was realistic which I prefer.
I have read a couple of Abby's books so far and I think this is my new favourite of hers!

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for allowing me to read the ARC.

'Just For The Summer' by Abby Jimenez tells the story of travel nurse Emma and IT manager Justin who meet virtually after realising they both live with the same curse - their relationship with every single person they date ends with an amicable break-up followed soon by their ex-beau finding their HEA with their true soulmate. After a joke that they should date each other to each play the part of the-one-before-the-one and break their curses becomes sweet texts, lengthy phone calls and a change in travel plans, our two main characters meet in-person in Minnesota and begin to date. Emma's lifestyle is based on exploration with her best friend Maddy and a lack of permanence, but Justin realises he doesn't want their connection to be "just for the summer".

I adored the people in this book... Emma's flaws, character development, and her big heart even when she is feeling small, make her completely loveable and discovering what she coped with as she was growing up makes her compassion shine even more - the scene where she helped an elderly stranger with memory issues was moving and exemplified her kindness. Justin's hilarious surveys and funny dog name juxtapose with the seriousness of his familial responsibilities to create a well-rounded and desirable book boyfriend, Maddy's fierceness and empathy made her the perfect best friend, Justin's siblings were realistic and interesting... the list could go on. Jimenez has proven again that she has mastered the creation of incredible characters who will stay with the reader long after the last page.

Complex family dynamics are at the very heart of this novel, with both Emma and Justin coping with parental absence, for very different reasons. My heart was broken numerous times as I read about their mothers' choices and I was angry on Emma's behalf at points, but I appreciated the rawness of the plot. I appreciated the book's advocacy for therapy and mental health care which was woven into the pages.

Some other favourite parts of mine:
- The baby raccoons (the scene where they featured had me laughing out loud while reading in bed)
- Justin's odyssey on a unicorn inflatable
- The descriptions of the interesting places Emma and Maddy had stayed over the years
- Brad the dog and his all around ugly-but-cute-ness
- The dates Justin had planned... and all the ways they went wrong but oh-so-right

Fans of Jimenez's previous books will find so much to obsess over here... from Justin wearing a Jaxon Waters T-Shirt to Bri and Jacob's cameo, and beyond, the connections with her other series are wonderful - and it's a joy to return to Minnesota! This is one of the easiest five star ratings I have ever given and I will 100% recommend this novel to anyone who loves books.

I received an advance Digital Review Copy from the published Little Brown Books UK via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Abby Jiminez is always going to be an automatic pick up author and this story proves again why. This story follows Justin and Emma who both have a curse of having their exes find *the one* right after them, so they decide to date for just one summer to cancel eachother out.
Justin, justin, justin. Jiminez’s men never fail me and he’s just another one to add to the boyfriend list. He’s a compassionate and caring character who loves emma even at her worst & Emma deserves every bit of it. We see them both work through their problems in the story and it’s one i couldn’t put down.
Another 5* review for this book! fans of Chloe liese should most definitely consider reading this.

Rating - 4.75/5 stars

AITA for giving Abby Jimenez less than 5 stars

I (28F) recently read this amazing, gut-wrenching romance book by one of my all time favourite authors, Abby Jimenez. The story follows Emma and Justin's whirlwind romance whilst they have to deal with such intense familial issues at the same time. I loved Emma's character SO MUCH. Her hyper-independence really spoke to something in my soul. The description of her being an island is something I still think about on a daily basis. Reading about her tumultuous relationship with her mother was at once heartbreaking and so frustrating that I wanted to throw my kindle against a brick wall. But all of these frustrations on my part lead to the most beautiful character development I have ever seen in a book.

Justin, dealing with his mother's departure and sudden, immense responsibility of his siblings was a journey I didn't expect but I fell in love with him and his family almost immediately. The anxious but soft mess that is Justin immediately charmed me (and Emma ofc) and he made me feel like his love could be a recharging station for me too.

Overall this had everything I love in an Abby Jimenez book. I just found the start a bit slow to get into and the humour didn't always land for me which is why I'm rating this book a 4.75 stars and not the usual 5 stars.

Am I the asshole?

This is the first book I have read by Abby Jimenez and it definitely won't be the last. The romance is masterfully constructed and the book's exploration of found family is heartwarming. I loved Jimenez's writing style and her characterisation - Maddy is one of the best fictional friends I have come across and shines amongst the novel's supporting characters. A beautiful emotive summer novel - perfect for when you are in the mood for a beach read with more depth.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.