“The love stories sold us the wrong thing. The best kind of love doesn’t happen on moonlit walks and romantic vacations. It happens in between the folds of everyday life.”
I know I sound like a broken record, but Abby Jimenez is a bit special. Surface level, one would be tempted to say it’s formulaic romance – she does know her tropes and she hits them hard. But she has some pretty special ingredients that are unique to Jimenez. It’s the humor. The dogs. The hint of magic. But most of all, it’s the heart; every page has a beat. Just for the Summer (Forever 2024) is certainly no exception.
Just for the Summer is in the Part of Your World and Yours Truly sphere, so of course I loved seeing some old friends (and not so much friends) cross the pages, but Emma and Justin’s story is very much a standalone. Emma is traveling nurse who comes across a thread on Reddit about a guy who is cursed – every woman he dates finds her forever after directly after they break up. This is intriguing to Emma because she suffers from the same curse. They decide to date each other in the hopes that the curses will cancel each other out when they inevitably part ways.
You know where this is going. They’re going to fall in love. That’s a given.
What’s not a given is a woman with some pretty serious baggage, the best friend/sister who is devoted to keeping her rooted, the man who is thrust into becoming guardian over his younger siblings, the mother who broke when her husband died, the mother who was always broken.
Justin is pretty much perfect – he will move mountains for those he loves. Quite the white knight on a trusty steed (or unicorn floaty!). Emma is lovely; she’ll do anything for you, but she puts up walls. She is not my favorite of Jimenez’s women, but I respect that she puts in the work needed to confront her own demons. Jimenez doesn’t shy away from mental health, and she never has sex or love the answer. I love her for that.
Read this book.
A Girl Named Tommi 