Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez is the fifth book by this exceptional author. She always creates amazing characters in interesting and heart touching situations. Her books have it all, love, laughter, drama, sass and tears of both sadness and joy. Oh, and dogs! If you haven’t read her books start now. This one doesn’t come out until 2023 so you have time to catch up on the first four. Happy reading!

While I did enjoy Brianna and Jacob’s story and how the author portrayed anxiety, I found the book to be repetitive. I wish the author had also developed side characters as it became boring hearing Jacob and Bri worrying and miscommunications the entire book. I also felt that Jacob’s insecurity was a huge turn off.

One of my favorite things about Abby is how her real life comes into her books. I am a huge fan or her writing style and will continue to follow her. There is parts of this book when Jacob is the narrator that I had to screen shot because as someone who struggles with anxiety, that I can directly relate to those feelings. This book is just as amazing as all of Abby’s others. The connection I feel in this one is so real, This book is an advocate for so many things people forget to talk about, such as organ donation, mental health and chronic illness. Thank you Abby for another beautiful book!

Is anyone going to even believe me when I say this was the authors best book yet? Because I’ve said that basically every single time I review one of her books. I swear it’s true though, she gets better with each book somehow. Maybe it’s because Jacob is her best hero yet. This man is so pure and vulnerable, imagine the softest, squishiest person on the planet and that’s him 🫠 But Briana is amazing in her own right and when I found out she was getting her own book after meeting her in POYW I was thrilled. Getting to know her more was a treat, she cracks me up and checking in with Alexis and Daniel was fun too. This book was full of Easter eggs per usual so longtime fans will be delighted when they spot them. It always feels like such a cute reward when I notice one and there’s some real gems here. This one isn’t all fun, there is a lot of emotional heaviness and if this isn’t your first Abby book you get it. IYKYK Her characters path to getting a HEA is never easy, they really have to work for it but man is it worth it in the end. For them and the reader because my overall feeling when I finished this was an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction. The anxiety and chronic health rep was 🤌🏻💋 too, parts of this made me feel seen in such a powerful way. Read this if you like hilarious banter, emotional depth, authentic characters and a hero and heroine who treat each other with so much care.

Letters✅
🔥🔥✅
Fake dating ✅
Misunderstanding ✅

Abby has done it again. Easy five stars for this book. Jason is peak book boyfriend. He might surpass Elliot from Love and Other words #iykyk.

You would not have had to read her other books to love this one, but the Easter eggs are always so fun.

As a fairly die-hard Abby Jimenez reader, I have been eager to read Bri’s story since meeting her in POYW. Not only is Briana a fantastic character, but Jacob? Whew…. Abby’s men just keep evolving and leveling up. Below is my review, but warning SPOILERS AHEAD!

I really loved this book for:

✍🏻 Hand Letter writing - SWOON
❤️‍🩹 Healthy mental wellness habits
🧠 An accurate depiction of anxiety
🎢 A roller coaster but not the same level or length of crash and burn as some of her earlier plots (ahem, TFZ, HEAP)
🤐 the quiets
🥰 The Maddox family
👩🏻‍🦰🧔🏻‍♂️Alexis & Daniel (& Wakan!) cameos
🫓 El Salvadoran food (mmm pupusas)
🦜 Jafar the cursing parrot
👩🏽‍❤️‍👨🏻 Fake dating -> real feelings
🏥 Living organ donation & autoimmune representation
❤️‍🔥Combustion level steam
❤️ Being harmless to one another
🥚 Abby-verse Easter eggs make the reading extra fun

That all being said I had a couple things that didn’t land for me:

📝 Journaling can be super private - sometimes the journaling is to get out of your head but isn’t meant for anyone else to ever read because what is in your head isn’t always true or fair or helpful. Anxiety and depression lies. So I loved that he shared his journal to share his soul with her as a sign of his devotion - it was sweet and it worked for them. Yet I also cringed because NOT sharing a therapeutic journal doesn’t mean you are keeping secrets from a partner - it can mean you have a right to that private space to work out feelings and thoughts without worrying about how the lies your brain tells you could hurt or harm someone else. In this case I don’t think it’s a model of intimacy that should be put on a pedestal, but I still loved the beauty of the gesture.

👗The love scene was hot and while it was a bummer they didn’t both know they had such feelings for one another at the time, I still could enjoy the passion. BUT, it felt like there was a glaring issue for me. Where was the consent? That was described as a quick and fast thing & while we knew in her head that she was ok with it, how did he know? He didn’t ask. He never made sure it was ok with her to do that without a condom. Even if her body is saying yes…. Consent - overwhelmingly enthusiastic & verbal consent - is SEXY. Of course it all ends up happily ever after but this one piece was a bummer to me. Consent is SEXY as hell and I wish it were always modeled because even though this scene was hot, they can’t read each other’s mind and this one element was a disappointment for me.

Overall I still give it high marks - 4.5 ⭐️ rounding up for rating purposes! I can’t wait for everyone to read this one!

Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. And thank you to Abby for writing another amazing book and for sharing it so enthusiastically with your fans! I can’t wait to re-read it & re-read it & re-read it… Bri and Jacob’s love is one I will definitely return to.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book! As a therapist, this book spoke to me both professionally and personally. I could not only see my clients throughout this story but also myself as someone who struggles with anxiety. This book was the real deal - a mixture of funny, sweet and serious. It gave mental health awareness and understanding, exactly what is needed to end the stigma. Abby does it again with the fantastic banter between characters and witty one liners. You won’t want to miss this book on its release date in April 2023! Do yourself a favor and pre-order it right now!

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. Abby Jimenez's books are full of heart, multi-dimensional characters, compassionate handling of sensitive subject matter, and the most fun you'll have laughing when you're not crying. Choosing a favorite of her books feels like choosing a favorite child... but this one is a definite contender.

Briana and Jacob are heat and honey that combine to make the most luscious snack. There are hand-written letters, a sob closet, a plant room, a three-legged dog named Lieutenant Dan, cupcakes, copious references to characters from previous books, a sex therapist, a profane bird, a feisty grandpa, a journal... and it is all just SO. GOOD.

Read this book because love means showing up.

HUGE thank you to the author, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for providing an advance reader copy for me to review. It was pure joy.

I am speechless.
This book was just beautiful. Everything about it was perfect.
“I agree to be harmless to you.”
Just perfect.
The way anxiety is described in detail, to dealing with past trauma, there is nothing I would change about this book. I laughed, I cried, and cheered. When Abby made her debut with her first novel I was a quick fan, and each book just solidifies that more and more. Yours truly is no exception.

Where do I even start with this masterpiece?
All of the books by Abby Jimenez are incredible but this one hands down is my favorite.
The love story between Brianna and Jacob is just beautiful to watch unfold. As a person who has anxiety, and also a person who has been hurt in the past I find myself smack dab between two characters who are so real and relatable.
Kudos and well done on another incredible read. I can’t wait to read it again and again.

It’s not often that you find an author who ticks all your boxes and who manages to make you cry every single time she writes a book.

Abby Jimenez is it for me.

I finished Yours Truly early this morning and I kid you not, I spent 30 minutes just staring blankly into the void, trying to process what I’d actually read.

Yours Truly is a tale about two ER doctors - one who selflessly decides to donate his kidney to the other’s brother. There’s some fake dating, a three legged dog, a talking parrot, and the one bed trope makes an appearance somewhere in there too. The storyline was great, but it was the deeper, darker undertones of the novel that made it excellent. Anxiety, depression, miscommunication, unresolved past traumas involving a cheating ex and the mentions of a miscarriage - Abby tackles it all and doesn’t shy away from the nitty gritty.

Every experience that Jacob and Briana felt - I felt it too. Every emotion, every touch. It felt like my soul itself had been ingrained into that text and I had to physically pull myself out of it.

I can’t even begin to describe the complex emotions that went through me while I was reading this story. Abby’s detailed descriptions about Jacob’s thought process as he tackles his anxiety, Briana’s past traumas and her depressive mental state as she tries to overcome it - it was all so real and raw that it took my breath away.

If perfection was a novel it’d be this one.

Abby Jimenez has done it again (of course)! This book is laugh out loud funny while tackling real life complexities such as organ donation, anxiety, and trust issues. Having the main character come from a Salvadoran background is so refreshing as well. What starts as a bad first impression turns into a sweet relationship as the main characters discover more about themselves and each other. Jacob’s anxiety is so relatable on so many levels to so many people. It is such a realistic representation of how those with anxiety think and process to get through every day life. Bri is so protective of him and goes out of her way to make him feel comfortable while he helps her learn to trust again. Jacob is so selfless it’s hard not to fall In love with him and so easy to see why Bri does. Abby’s books just keep getting better and better and this one delivers all the feel good emotions while making you laugh and cry at the same time.

Abby has done it again! I could NOT put this book down and devoured it within hours. The characters are real and so well-developed that I felt like they were my friends. I laughed. I cried. An emotional roller-coaster that I will read over and over again.

Abby knows how to really make you have all the feels. I related to both the main characters in so many ways. Thank you for writing anxiety as it really is vs what movies make it to be. Can’t wait to read future books as well.

I love this book! Abby Jimenez is my favorite author and when she said on social media that this book would have a kidney donation/transplant storyline i knew I had to read it as soon as possible. I donated one of my kidneys almost 4 years ago so I related to parts of the book just because of that and I also related to Jacob because I also deal with social anxiety. Honestly, I don’t know how I donated a kidney because everything makes me anxious, but it was the best thing I’ve ever done!

Abby created the most relatable characters who deal with realistic issues in Yours Truly. Jacob just started working at the same ER as Bri. He had a terrible first day and because of his social anxiety, everyone assumes he’s arrogant and not friendly. After his first unfortunate run-in incident with Bri he writes her an apology letter because he’s better at writing his feelings than speaking then. They begin passing little notes back and forth and eventually form a sweet friendship. Jacob finds out that Bri’s brother needs a kidney and offers to anonymously donate one of his after finding out he’s a rare match. When he accidentally tells his family that he’s dating someone from work, a coworker accidentally tells Bri that Jacob is going to be a donor and she offers to be his fake girlfriend. Eventually they begin to have real feelings for each other but because of their issues don’t believe the other feels the same way.

This book was really cute and funny and I highly recommend it along with Abby’s other books. I also recommend reading her author note at the end that explains her story and why she’s vocal about organ donation.

I’m very thankful to have been able to get an early copy of Yours Truly!

I am a longtime fan of Abby Jimenez, and I have loved watching (reading?) her growth with each new book she publishes. Your Truly is... far and away my favorite of her books thus far. I want to take this book and go be harmless with it (someone, please notify my children of this!) and then just soak in the goodness that is Brianna and Jacob (IYKYK).

Brianna is a strong, independent female, but still possesses a vulnerability that is relatable. Jacob experiences anxiety, but he works to keep it from controlling his life. I love that Abby Jimenez wrote Jacob as this flawed character, but he still held so much quiet strength. Brianna didn't try to change Jacob or minimize his anxiety, she simply walked alongside him. THAT is LOVE.

Love shows up - and this book is filled with people showing up for each other. Family, friends, coworkers - they all continually show up, even when it's hard. Jacob and Brianna were so tender with each other and they were harmless with each other in ways that made the other feel accepted and loved. S-W-O-O-N.

I read this book in one sitting and laughed and cried and rejoiced and even nervous sweated through some of it along with Jacob. (introverts unite!). The icing on the cake? The epilogue. Thank you, Abby Jimenez for writing an epilogue. I would not have been okay without it.

Finally,
the author's note.
That was truly the cherry on top. What a bravely beautiful truth Jimenez chooses to share. I loved every page of Yours Truly, but once I read Abby's note, I had a whole new appreciation for every heartfelt word she poured into this book. This is a book I will read again and again. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Abby's books were already an auto buy for me, Yours Truly cemented that even more. This might be my favorite of her books to date. I absolutely loved it! ❤
I now want and need a chaotic parrot named Jafar in my life. 😄
Love the way Abby writes the humor and the complicated situations that happen to the characters. Jacob's portrayal of anxiety is extremely accurate, Briana's fear and trauma over trusting men as well.
Like with the rest of her books, Yours Truly makes you feel soooo many emotions on the span of a few pages, as well as provides an education on so many difficult subjects, like living with a disease that turns your world and quality of life upside down and the toll it takes on everyone.
It has a well developed plot and character growth, woven seamlessly with the story and the side characters.
Thank you Abby for sharing these characters and their stories with us.

Thank you NetGalley, Abby Jimenez, and Forever for the advance copy of Yours Truly.
I’ll start by saying I LOVED this book. It’s one of my favorites out of the 87 I’ve read so far this year.

Brianna and Jacob are ER docs who start off a little rocky. He’s the new guy at work who she thinks is after the promotion she wants. However, Jacob starts revealing who he really is through letters and she responds. He learns that’l she’s very concerned about her brother’s kidney disease and he secretly gets tested to see if he’s a match. He just wants to help her because that’s the type of person he is.

Things to love about the book: Jacob’s letter writing—could that be any more perfect?!, Brianna’s approach to Jacob’s anxiety (with how common anxiety is, really loved the way it was portrayed and not as a character flaw. She’s great at reading him and helping him try new situations. Jacob is definitely a swoon worthy book boyfriend), and how Brianna has her own past trauma and works to not allow that to negatively impact her future. I must also mention the supporting characters who are fun and add to the story.

I can’t recommend this book enough and look forward to buying a copy when it comes out in April!

Abby knocks it out of the park again! Yours Truly features 2 ER doctors, Bri and Jacob who start as nemesis coworkers, but quickly turn friends through a series of letters passed back and forth. I adore Jacob’s character. Abby’s writing is just so relatable. I feel like she can speak to life all these same thoughts coursing through my brain. It is so funny, and so sweet, and squeezes my heart to mush.

Steam level 5/5

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Abby Jimenez and Forever/Hatchett for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I would’ve spent a fortune to get my hands on it anyway!

4.5⭐️ rounded up

At this point I don't think Abby could write a book that I wouldn't enjoy. Her writing is so easy to get wrapped up so don't start reading at bedtime like I did because you will end up staying up until the book is finished. 🥱 This book will have you feeling all the emotions while simultaneously laughing out loud and her character development is *chef's kiss*. She somehow found a way to get me to like characters I didn't think I would (I'm still trying to figure out what kind of sourcery she used 🤔). Honestly I could give you multiple reasons why you need to get yourself a copy, but I'll just tell you do because I don't want to spoil anything because you'll want experience all of this book for yourself.

Thank you to the publisher and Abby for my ARC, I'm forever grateful.