This book had me laughing and crying. I really try not to read sad books, I did enough of that in highschool with the dying teen novels by Laurene McDaniel. This was like an updated version for adults. The irony is that I just said on Friday how I couldn’t read books like The Fault in Our Stars and this was inspired by a real life person just like that was. Vanessa is a highly successful YouTuber with a very messed up family history. ALS a runs in her maternal side, so she has a fifty percent chance that she will also have it. When symptoms start, she is convinced she only has a year left. Life gets more complicated when her sister leaves her with her newborn and never returns. Her neighbor Adrien jumps in to help out on one particular night of 4am nonstop crying. Both their lives begin to change. Vanessa begins to let love into her life and Adrien learns to be a little less regimented. Mental health plays a big part in this book. There is addiction, hoarding, dementia, anxiety, but also lots of positivity. Vanessa’s view is to live each day to its fullest. The book was a little triggering for me as I know what it is like to grow up with a parent who has very similar mental and physical health issues. The Office jokes feature prominently and pretty sure Vanessa’s brother Brent was modeled after David Rose from Schitt’s Creek. There is also a dog named Harry Puppins because there should always be a dog! Yes, I recommend, but have tissues ready.

Another wonderful read from Abby Jimenez! I have read all three in the series and loved them all. Another favorite author to add to my very long list of authors whose books I will always read. This one was sweet, and I loved the 2 main characters. Funny too, which just adds to the story for me. I love a happy ever after ending too!

Life's Too Short was a delightful rom-com that was a joy to read. Abby Jimenez put together a beautiful story.

A fun quick read. I enjoyed the characters, however I didn’t find the idea of them both falling in love with each other while convinced that neither liked the other to be totally reasonable. However the emotional processing that leads to the “bumps in the road” did feel a bit more realistic. I enjoyed the first two books in this series a bit more.

This was my first Abby Jimenez, but it definitely won’t be my last! Absolutely fabulous read! I was hooked in a matter of pages. The characters were real and flawed, and instantly relatable. The story was sweet and tumultuous. The ending was perfect. Highly recommend.

Vanessa is a successful Youtuber who has now been saddled with caring for her infant niece after her druggie sister leaves to go to the store and never comes back. She lives every day to the fullest and has gotten to see the world immortalizing her trips on her Youtube channel. Adrian is a workaholic lawyer who didn't realize that his once a month girlfriend was actually married. They meet and develop a friendship that leads to love. My problem with the book was Vanessa who was just a little too obsessed with her own future death and there is an irony of living life to the fullest but being unwilling to fall in love. Adrian was the perfect book boyfriend, wonderful and loving to the baby and head over heels for Vanessa. I recommend this book, it was a great emotional read and while Vanessa got on my nerves a bit, Adrian more than makes up for her.

At first glance, a YouTuber and influencer’s globe-trotting dreams don’t fit in with the sudden custody of her sister’s child, but when the hot and kind lawyer next door steps in to help, on more than one occasion, and an unlikely friendship and shared custody is launched.

The theme of the fleeting nature of time is represented in Vanessa’s living her life to the fullest, as her mother and sister died young from ALS, and Vanessa has a 50/50 chance of contracting the debilitating and deadly disease. Adrian, meanwhile, is a workaholic who doesn’t take time to stop and smell the roses.

The writing is touching, the story progresses at a perfect pace, and this is an excellent modern romance.

With Life's Too Short, Abby Jimenez has become one of my auto-read authors. In this follow up to Friend Zone and Happy Ever After Playlist, Vanessa is a famous YouTuber who has put her life on hold to care for her sister's newborn daughter. She meets her neighbor, Adrian, one night when she can't get baby Grace to stop crying and he comes to her apartment to help. This friends to lovers romance was almost perfect. I loved how Vanessa lived life to the fullest (although she is adamantly refusing to see a doctor for symptoms which annoyed me). The banter and sweetness between Vanessa and Adrian is like catnip to me- I love when I can root for characters and their problems make sense!

This book was adorable! It made me laugh, made me weep, and brought overall joy to my life. Both characters were relatable and flawed and the dialogue was perfect. Truly a great novel, almost in the running for favorite by this author.

Vanessa is a YouTuber who might have ALS and has just taken custody of her baby niece. Adrian is the lawyer who lives next door. This super cute romance is the third in the series of The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez. I hadn't read book two and still didn't feel like I had missed anything (though I'll definitely being going to find a copy to catch up!)

I thought this was a wonderful book, much in the same line with the first two in this series. Abby has a way of writing her characters & their stories that just draws you in & gets you lost - it almost feels like you're living in their world, not just reading a book! I've devoured each of these stories, and this one also brought so much joy. There were some hard parts & some things for the characters to work through, but I loved the relationships and that there is still a happily ever after.

Life’s Too Short (The Friend Zone #3). By Abby Jimenez. 2021. Forever. (ARC eBook).

Life’s Too Short is not an easy book for me to rate. I thought I’d love it as I really enjoyed the second book, Happy Ever After Playlist, (I haven’t read the first in the series), but it just didn’t knock it out of the park for me. I found Adrian to be quite swoon-worthy, but his and Vanessa’s relationship is very one-sided, with Adrian being more genuine and doing more of the heavy lifting all the way through. Vanessa’s execution wasn’t as strong as it could have been; she definitely has some serious struggles but she goes about things very narrow-mindedly. Then her health struggle kinda gets turned into a TSTL moment during the epilogue. The secondary characters intertwined throughout the story meet a checklist more than I would have liked, but that seems inevitable to avoid nowadays with the books being released by many authors right now. I don’t not like book however; it was entertaining, especially in the beginning, and I would recommend it for those who already like the author and like slow burn romances.

I am absolutely in love with this book. The love connection between Adrian and Vanessa is so beautiful. This book takes you on a roller-coaster called life. Yes, we all love to read romance novels that are perfect..but unfortunately, life isnt always that. I love that Abby Jimenez covers how life sometimes isnt so perfect, but that doesnt mean you cant have a great love story. This book had me crying, laughing, jumping for joy..it was such a great book. 10/10 would recommend...go read it now!

This was such a fantastic read. Vanessa is such a strong character and Adrian is wonderful complement to her. Their chemistry is so wonderfully crafted. I loved how they fit with each other and learned from one another. A beautiful, sweet story with a great reminder,

Oh my gosh. I absolutely love this book!! It’s my favorite from Abby Jimenez so far. She is now an auto buy author!!! Slow burn romance with all the feels. Loved this one!

Abby Jimenez has hit it out of the park with her 3rd book in The Friend Zone series. Life’s Too Short follows Vanessa & Adrian who are neighbors who end up as friends and eventually more. Initially, Vanessa tries to keep Adrian firmly in the friend zone because she thinks she has way too much baggage and he wouldn’t be interested anyways. It drove me crazy how much they were drooling over each other and refused to do anything about it. I cheered when “the moment” finally happened! Even though I considered this a palate cleanser after reading so many back to back thrillers.. some parts weren’t all warm & fuzzy. There’s a lot of talk about chronic illness, drug addiction/abuse, and mental health. It definitely put in my feels quite a few times. I think that’s why I love Abby’s books so much. They make me laugh & make me cry 😅. Can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Jimenez is a dependable author, and Life’s Too Short is an excellent addition to her collection! Overall an author you can recommend without fear.

You know those books that just have you sobbing for ten minutes straight when they end? Yeah, this one got me. Abby has done it again with another heartbreakingly beautiful story. This story is about a Vanessa who thinks she has limited time left so she lives every day to her fullest until she’s left with her half-sister’s baby. Adrian is the hot guy next door who ends up being the shoulder she leans on when she’s having a bad day. This is just the perfect comfort read that will tug at your heartstrings.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
At time moving and funny, this isn't your typical rom-com. Grief, addiction, terminal illness, and more are discussed in this heartrending book.

I wasn't expecting this to be so heavy and focus on Vanessa's life so much but ultimately I ended up enjoying this and and am looking forward to reading more Abby Jimenez in the future!