Simone and Her Books

I never tire of Abby Jimenez. When you’re down about the world and just want to get a little dose of dopamine in your life, then pick up any of her books. There’s a few hallmarks that you’ll always get with a good Abby Jimenez book. 1) She’ll always mention Nadia Cakes (the cupcake bakery she owned before becoming an author). 2) She will always feature Minnesota. 3) Her characters will always be complicated messes that need to be worked out together. 4) There is always a dog with a funny name.

And in Say You’ll Remember Me, you get everything. The funny dog name, the silly bakery, the landscape of Minnesota, and a complicated set of characters trying to figure out life when they come across each other. I sped through this book so quickly that it surprised me when I found myself with less than 10% of the book left. I don’t think I’ve ever read an Abby Jimenez book this quickly, but this one really got me with its realistic characters, setup, conflict, and little surprises.

The two main characters we follow in her latest romance are Xavier and Samantha. Xavier is a veterinarian who looks a little too much like Rhysand from ACOTAR and he meets Samantha when she brings in a stray cat who is missing a butthole. You heard me. For a meet cute, this is not what you’re expecting, but finding your true love in the cutest way ever is just not realistic. Cats born without buttholes and a character who is only a few short days away from moving across the country doesn’t seem realistic either, but it’s definitely imaginative.

Samantha’s been working as a social media manager for a national mustard brand, but with the deteriorating health of her mother, she’s decided to move back home to California to help with her home care. After a grueling evening spent locked inside an escape room, Xavier and Samantha realize one thing about their relationship: that if Samantha didn’t have to move back home and stayed in Minnesota, this could easily be their happily ever after.

Throughout the story, you see that a lot. You see Samantha asking herself “what if” fairly often. What if her mother wasn’t sick? What if she didn’t live miles from her boyfriend? What if the world was perfect and everything went the way she’s always imagined it? But that’s what I like about Abby Jimenez’s stories; how the fairy tale may make things a lot easier for the couple, but the reality is what brings them closer together. And while Samantha and Xavier go through their ups and downs throughout the story, regardless of their circumstances, they still had each other even if it’s for a few days every four or five months.

And the central theme of this book is whether or not a couple who loves each can make long distance work. With Samantha’s mother needing full-time care and Xavier trying not to go bankrupt with his new vet office, the odds are stacked against them creating a real sense of conflict for the couple that isn’t set on a trope that feels more artificial.

While I felt like Samantha’s story was the backbone of this book, I really wanted to see a resolution for Xavier’s story. There were hints throughout about his upbringing and the sad reality of his childhood as well as his no-contact parents trying to reach him again, I thought that might result in a big moment between them, but it kind of didn’t.

Overall, it’s another feather in Abby’s cap of romances. For the start of a new series for Abby, I can’t wait to continue reading more of her books. Also, this one didn’t end with a baby so that’s growth! Thanks to Libro.fm for the gifted audiobook copy.