Absolutely adored this book! The characters, the drama, the romance! Everything about this book exceeded my expectations. This book has already been added to my Favorites and Would-read-again shelves on Goodreads which are coveted positions for only my favorite books. I stayed up well past a reasonable hour to finish this book and I was probably keeping my neighbors awake laughing, crying and cheering the characters along. Abby Jimenez has just been added to my auto buy author list!

Neighbours who become friends and possibly more, in this romance where a crying baby in the middle of the night changes two strangers lives. A novel about life, living and finding joy.

I absolutely love Abby Jimenez books and I was beating myself up over not reading this one on time because this is probably one of my favorite books and my friend ended up getting me a signed copy for my birthday one year. I thought this one was going to make me cry but I was able to hold it together.

For years I have been SLEEPING on Abby Jimenez and I have no idea what the heck I was thinking 😭 you guys this book is SO GOOD!! (Life’s Too Short is book three so I had been putting it off to read the other two first but never got around to it - they can definitely be read out of order!)

I knew I was done for and was going to find Adrian to be a swoon worthy book boyfriend as soon as he started helping with the baby (that wasn’t his) entirely unprompted.

I love that even though this book has some heavy content (the main character is a potential gene carrier for ALS and this is a prominent topic in the story), main character Vanessa RADIATES joy and lives her life like everyday is her last (shouldn’t we all).

I promise I am done neglecting Jimenez’s books and I will be going back and reading her entire backlist ASAP!

Abby Jimenez does it, yet again, to no one’s surprise. This book was beautiful, incredible perfection. Abby’s book boyfriends are totally unmatched and Adrian was no exception. He is raw, real, and so deliciously swoony. Vanessa was on a whole different playing field with her personality, her attitude and her selflessness - they were the perfect match. I’d love to be able to have Vanessa’s passion and outlook on life!

While Abby’s books always make me swoon, they also really dig deep into her characters issues/pasts/etc to give depth to not only the characters but to the story. The writing and execution was flawless. I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t love.

I flew through this. I really enjoyed Abby’s previous books but this has been my favorite of the 3. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. The perfect recipe for the perfect romance.

Oh my gosh I just love Abby Jimenez’s writing. I went back and read the first 2 books in the series after researching and felt I’d better enjoy Life is too short. I’m so glad i did. Although this can be read as a stand alone, knowing the history of some of the involved characters really helped the emotional factor hit hard. The friend zone series is such a heartwarming series with characters you just want to be friends with.

So we're three books into this series (though this one I think is more like a companion where books one and two were definitely more connected) and I think we all know the drill by now : pack the damn tissues. Though, out of all three books, this was probably the one I cried the least over. And yes we're all ignoring the fact that a strong wind can make me cry, so, why even bother mentioning the cry factor. Like it means anything. Moving on.

"<i>Don't get a cat. It'll walk around pushing your drinks off the coffee table. You're not emotionally strong enough for that.</i>"

I think LIFE'S TOO SHORT did right all the things (all? there were only a few, really) that I didn't love from THE FRIEND ZONE. Not that there's any crossover here (though there might be cameos!). The topics are very different, with very different realities for both characters, but both deal with issues surrounding health -- the latter reproductive and this one focusing on the possibility of a terminal illness. Having neither of these conditions I, of course, can't speak on any of it, not in my review for book one and not this one now, but it surely seemed like the author did her research.

"<i>I've never seen [The Office].</i>?
"<b>You've never -- are you <i>serious</i>? Where have you been? How do you understand memes?</b>"

That said, I don't think I was fully living this book, only visiting. I enjoyed what was going on, I was moved, entertained, but even though I think this was the better paced of all three stories, I don't think it will have the same kind of lasting impression books one and two have had.

"<i>I can't do what you do. I can't pretend none of this is happening. I can't pretend to be happy.</i>"
"<b>I don't pretend to be happy. I just refuse to be sad.</b>"

This has all the beats, all the emotes, again the pacing (!), but it just didn't crawl inside me. As much as I liked these characters, I never loved them. I just got swept up in their adventures. But that's a ridiculous and silly complaint, really, and probably means nothing to anyone but me. And I still think you're going to enjoy this.

"<i>Um, where's the dog? You <b>do</b> remember you have one, right?</i>"
"<b>With all the shitting it does? How could I forget.</b>"
"<i>You just left him at home? He can't be in the apartment all day by himself, he'll be lonely.</i>"
"<b>He's got the demon he's possessed with to keep him company.</b>"

Neighbours, friends-become-more, a baby, a very elderly dog, and a sorta-grumpy meets sunshine trope? This'll hit so many notes for so many readers (worth noting is that I think this toed the line more towards women's fiction than pure romace only because the heat level was way lower than I remember the other books being). But it's also chockful of many other topics I haven't even mentioned and don't want to for fear of spoilers (if you think you need content warnings please do seek them out). And I so hope it hits all the right notes for those who are impacted by the subject matter. If you can, if there are any out there, please try and hunt down some feedback on the ALS content. I'm too early to see anything yet but I'll be keeping my eyes out for it.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book! The title and this beautiful cover drew me in and i was excited to read this book! I will be recommending this book to others for readers advisory.

Abby always write books with the perfect amount of humor and heart! Life’s Too Short was no exception, I was rooting for these two from the get go. Great representation for families struggling with a family member who is battling addiction. I also loved catching up with the characters from the first two books. What a treat!

Having read, and adored, Abby Jimenez's previous works, I was beyond excited to dive into her next work. I felt that it definitely live up to the hype, and dished with many rom-com worthy scenes. The characters were fully realized and fleshed out, the romance was on pare (I mean their connection! come on!), and the supporting characters were a nice added bonus to truly bring this story to life. While there were some heavier topics in the novel, Jimenez managed to bring them into the discussion as she navigates the main characters through life with the vibe to live life to the fullest and making every moment count. It truly was an amazing read and one I definitely recommend you pick up and check out. (Seriously, it's that good!)

Catching up on reviews on NetGalley- as I seem to have not cross-published,

This is the Abby book that hit me on the feels in a very different way than the other books. With the Friend Zone, I wanted to be friends with Kristen just so I could slap her sound a bit. TFZ was the first book where I got so mad at the author I posted on social media and tagged her (and no, it wasn’t at the “event” you think. That damn ex boyfriend. Wow he still makes me so mad.) I felt prepared for the Playlist. It felt like visiting a friend and seeing that she was OK. I was *not* prepared for Life’s Too Short.

Vanessa living with a potential dark cloud of doom over her head hit me in a way I didn’t expect. My grandmother didn’t make it to 65 (brain tumor) nor did my mom (leukemia). I’ll be 50 next year. What will the thing be for me? I’ll there be a thing? Vanessa is stubborn, but practical. Im stubborn and not so practical, and I wish I could take life by the horns and just do what makes me happy. As much as I love the character and her snark and her outlook on the world, I could have done without the overly-dramatic end of chapter “foreshadow” statements. We didn’t need them.

Vanessa’s family, especially her dad, also gave me pause. The hoarding tendency, comfort care for self- but a heightened sense of “fairness.” All things that come out within my own family. Ok, I’ll be honest- I saw my own dad in Vanessa’s dad, and that scared me. A lot.

Adrian and my husband have a similar family dynamic. Again with the parallels. Let’s just say I am very glad that it all worked out for all involved. It gives me hope that my brothers won’t always struggle with careers, my dad won’t die under an avalanche of rescued “junk” and weird family dynamics can just be weird and not only estranged.

Ok- pack all that serious up, and wrap it in humor. And grand romantic gestures. And the little things that make love and life worth it. Buy the latte, eat the dessert, get a new sponge, buy a tube of Carmex and some fancy cookies from the local bakery. Now go read Life’s Too Short.

Honestly this book was everything I hoped for and more. I cried, I laughed, and was on the edge of my bed as I rushed to finish this around one in the morning. Do I need sleep to function? Yes, but I would happily trudge my way through another sleep-deprived day all over again so that I could read another Abby Jimenez book. I will always read what she writes and I will continue to give her books as gifts for every birthday party I attend.

Another amazing book by Abby Jimenez. She somehow finds a way to make her characters so relatable in real life, that you often think of them outside the book.

I really enjoyed Jimenez’s other novel, The Friend Zone, and absolutely loved The Happy Ever After Playlist, so I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, I felt as if this novel fell a bit flat for me. While I appreciated the personal and family complexities that were incorporated into this novel, it felt as if things were tied up a bit too nicely in the end which didn’t feel realistic (I know that this genre usually requires a happy ending so this may just be my issue with the genre rather than the book itself).

The romantic interest has the same name as a very close friend of mine which was funny. The overall miscommunication and presumptions made by both characters throughout the story frustrated me.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this novel as much as I had hoped and felt as if there was too much going on all at once. But it was also a nice audiobook to listen to during my morning and evening commutes in the Manila traffic.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the gifted e-book in exchange for an honest opinion!

I wanted to enjoy this one more than I did, but I found myself having to power through it. That said, I thought the story itself was an interesting one and there were a lot of topics that it covered, I just felt as though certain moments felt super rushed.

Love love love this book! Everything about it. I loved the friendship and how that developed a beautiful relationship, Thank you for the arc!

I ADORED this book! It had a few problems, hence the four stars, but it will definitely be on my comfort reread list for the future. I find I am falling in love with Abby Jimenez as an author and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

If Life's Too Short is the final book of the Friend Zone series, then it ended on a high note. I felt like these characters were my neighbors as they figured out how to navigate life with a baby. Vanessa is in over her head taking care of her sister's baby, but she manages thanks to Adrian. Adrian plays the brooding next door neighbor with a dog you want to love. I was rooting for these characters all the way!