A review by maggiestraveledbookshelf
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“In a world where you can choose anger or empathy, always choose empathy.”

“Sometimes the best way to show love or be kind to someone is to meet them where they are."

Rating: 5 stars ⭐️ 

Spice: 🌶️

My heart. I loved this so much!! Full body goosebumps by the end. 

Let me first say this: You should definitely read Part Of Your World and Yours Truly before JFTS. Even though they are interconnected standalones, the Easter eggs in this book are SO much more impactful if you’ve read the first two. 

Overview:

❤️Romantic Comedy

✨Unique Meet-Cute

🙌🏼Top Tier Book Boyfriend 

🗣️Alternating Dual POV

🫶🏼Dating Pact

✨Complex Family Situations

🧠Mental Health Rep

😷 He Takes Care of Her

‼️Kickass Best Friends

Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite romance authors. She wrote an incredible story that pushed past the normal romance benchmarks, and I love romance books that reach a little deeper. 

Let’s start with the main characters: Emma and Justin. These poor humans were put through the wringer!! They both have complex relationships with their moms (for vastly different reasons) which have dramatically shaped their lives and perspectives. I loved both of their POVs, and I was rooting for them with my whole heart. 

Special shout-out to Maddy, Emma’s best friend. Every single person deserves a spitfire like Maddy in their corner, someone who sees them and validates them and pushes them and gives them a safe space to land. MVP. 

The mental health representation in this story is incredible. There are so many themes touched on, but one of my favorites: You are worthy of love. I appreciated Abby’s note at the end of the book, which further expanded on intentional choices she made at how people were depicted.

There are laugh out loud funny moments, swoon-worthy scenes, and emotionally devastating chapters. I felt all of the emotions while reading this.

Again, I highly recommend reading the books in order!! I loved how former AJ characters made major appearances in this story, and it made reading this even more fun.

Obviously I highly recommend this book to everyone! 

𝙃𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙠. "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."

💫 Read via Purchased Physical Copy 💫