"If you spend your life dwelling on the worst possible thing, when it finally happens, you've lived it twice. I don't want to live the worst things twice."

Vanessa is a travel vlogger with a family history of ALS who is steadfastly committed to living her life on her terms. Adrian is a type-A attorney who lives next door with a love of structure and a need to fix everything. These two are the least likely match, but after an epic meet-cute (second only maybe to the meet-cute in Abby's second book, Happy Ever After Playlist) they find themselves forming an unlikely friendship.

I love how Abby Jimenez manages to write rom coms that do such a wonderful job depicting life's highs and lows. Vanessa and Adrian are flawed humans - and we see their flaws on display in this book! - but they spur each other to work through their issues together and we see them grow in this book. We also get to peek in Josh and Kristen and Sloan and Jason from the previous books in a fun scene, but it's just one scene so don't worry if you haven't read those books yet (although go read them while you wait for LTS to release!) In signature Abby style, this book is laugh out loud funny but make sure you have your tissues handy because you'll need them.

CW: serious illness, anxiety disorder, substance use disorder, hoarding

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own!

Life's Too Short is difficult to fully review because all I want to do is talk about what happens, but I do not want to give away any spoilers. Every reader should read this and enjoy all that this book offers. This book discusses many important heavy topics including: living with a chronic fatal disease, drug addiction, OCD and hoarding disorder. Some themes in this book include living life to the fullest, forgiveness, accepting grief, the importance of therapy, and asking others for help.

Tip for readers: Always read Abby's author notes at the end. This gives a great insight into why each topic matter is chosen for each book and you get a connection to real life women.

I fell in love with Adrian as soon as he knocked on Vanessa's door and offered to help watch her baby while she showered. One of my favorite quotes from this book was "I'd never seen a baby that small. I had bricks of cheese in my fridge bigger than this kid." Abby is so descriptive while also being hilarious! I can picture the brick of cheese currently in my fridge and being held up in comparison to a small baby! Her description of Harry is also AMAZING!! I won't say too much, but this dog might be my favorite in this series (sorry Stuntman Mike)!! Seriously though this is truly equally rom and com!

Abby has this superpower of writing a fun, comedic, heartfelt and gut wrenching book all in one. She is able to transform difficult subject matters into eloquently written stories. She gives the perfect amount of detail and sadness to pierce through your heart and has the reader understanding the women in these books. I think she touches on these difficult topics so tastefully, and you can tell she has done her research in order to fully represent these issues.

I loved having the opportunity to not only read this ARC, but also reading Abby's edits in her Facebook group for her final copy. As a reader I usually only read a book once, but I will definitely read this one multiple times. I read this the first time for the content and was not paying attention to the small continuity details. From my first read I didn't notice any major glaring issues that I thought needed to be changed. Seeing Abby's thoughts for why certain words or phrases should be changed was something I really enjoyed! I love getting a look into the behind the scenes of books. I get to see how much Abby cares about this book and wants it to be perfect. She thinks of her readers and doesn't want something to be triggering or hurtful. Also I love this title (better than Clickbait), love everything about the cover, I agree with the chapter headers. Sometimes I get sucked into the title header and forget which perspective the chapter is being told from!

Abby is truly an amazing author, and I look forward to reading her next books! She is an auto-buy author, and seeing her posts and memes on social media makes me jealous I am not her IRL friend!!

**Also since there was a Nebraska shoutout I think that means she should come visit an Omaha bookstore when book tours start up again! I will be first in line!!


(I will update this post with links to my Instagram, Goodreads and Amazon once I publish my reviews!)

Phew. Took me a minute to write this because,,,holy cow. I think the crazy thing about Abby's books is that the topics covered are serious, real life issues. Topics that you'll expect to sob over during a long, pretentious, and drawn out sob tale.

(Tiktok sound)
✨PSYCH ✨

While the subject matter is serious the characters and storyline are a DELIGHT! I laughed and I cried and I hugged my phone (thanks, Netgalley, for the arc,) and may have done a little dance at the end.

I'm just saying... If there were to be a small novella featuring all three couples while something ridiculous takes place I would most definitely buy it.

And if you haven't picked up these books yet you really need to get on that!

Abby Jimenez is one of the few (very few) authors I've read more than once this year! After loving the intense realities of her previous books, I was thrilled when this third story held up!

Vanessa is unexpectedly the guardian of her infant niece, which throws her into the path of her gorgeous neighbor/landlord lawyer, Adrian. While Adrian's calm acceptance of the total upending of his life felt a little strange and slightly unrealistic, I fell in love with the care he showed to these strangers. He jumped in with both feet, inconveniencing himself to ensure they had the care and stability they needed. I was glad to see the tie-in to the previous stories with Sloan and Kate showing up as ancillary friends. This is a great story about the unpredictable nature of chronic illness like ALS.

Abby Jimenez hits it out of the park again! She has a talent for creating memorable characters going through rough patches with strength and humor.

Wow! I do not have enough words to express how much I LOVE this series! This book specifically was just too good. Something I have noticed after reading Abby's two other books is that she grabs your attention right away, which I love. Each book has the perfect amount of humor, love, and serious topics that are often heavy. However, I do believe this is what makes me/ the rest of us, fall in love with the characters and story.

Vanessa is the most adorable main character who is filled with life, despite her circumstances of having a 50/50 chance of living past 30. Adrian on the other hand is more routined and structured. When they meet they are neighbors who have only seen each other around. It was so fun watching these opposites attract (literally). I loved how quick their relationship as friends was built. Their slow flame but mutual attraction/love was just the cutest. The ending of this book was simply perfect. I HIGHLY recommend that everyone reads this!

Abby has done it again! This book had everything I was looking for... humor, romance, a dog. I will recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez had everything I love about a romance. It was adorable, fun and enjoyable. Especially the first three quarters of the book were wonderfully romantic, passionate, and heartwarming. The last quarter struck deep and was much more emotional than I was prepared for.

All the things I loved:

Vanessa was without a doubt an amazing character, strong, brave, and full of life and joy.

Adrian was a dreamboat of a hero. Supportive, attentive, and utterly in love with Vanessa – his feelings were palpable.

Single parent trope – it’s one of my favorite tropes and seeing Adrian handle an itty bitty baby made my heart all gooey. He was perfection!!!

Chemistry – they had bucketloads of chemistry, and it was fun seeing them go from friends to more.

Friendship – Vanessa and Adrian had an amazing friendship, and I loved how well they were matched and how easy they made it look. They were a true match – soulmates if you like.


So, if you are a fan of friends to lovers romances, this is your book. The novel is well written, has wonderful characters, a great story, and an amazing couple to root for.


POSSIBLE SPOILER

The topic of ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is at the center of this book, and although it was very well handled, it’s not without emotional and heartbreaking moments.

Also, the topic of hoarding and drug abuse is being mentioned in this novel.

Vanessa and Adrian are next-door neighbors, but they meet in the middle of one night, when he knocks on her door and offers to help with the wailing newborn inside. He's the ridiculously good-looking lawyer who is the subject of much gossip in the building, and she's a travel YouTuber who is temporarily stuck inside with a baby--a baby who is instantly charmed by Adrian. The two (three) begin to spend more time together, and although neither is looking for a relationship, they can't deny their spark. But Vanessa is keeping a big secret, and Adrian has problems of his own.

Overall I enjoyed this, although I kept yelling "just TALK to each other!" at my screen. Jimenez is clearly a fan of the last-second twist, and there's one here that I won't spoil. I had been wondering how she was going to write her way out of a corner. She (mostly) pulls it off. Vanessa and Adrian have great chemistry.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I stayed up way too late reading this book because I could not put it down.

Abby Jimenez did not let me down with this book at all. I love the way she handles the serious subject matter with humor, sparky banter, and romance.

Also.......Aiden❤

i tried to read this book for the first 15% and this was not for me. I reviewed the CW and books that deal with addiction are a tough read for me. I look forward checking out her future books.

As with all of Abby Jimenez's books, I loved this one! I stayed up very late to finish it. I appreciate how flawed and complex and lovely each of the characters are. Adrian and Vanessa had a wonderful chemistry! It was also fun to see how all three books in the series were tied together. A must read!

I absolutely loved The Friend Zone and Happy Every After Playlist, so I have eagerly been anticipating the author’s follow up, Life’s Too Short. I purposely kept this advanced copy to read as my last book of 2020.
The book is about Vanessa, an adventure vlogger, who may have inherited a fatal disease and vows to live her life to the fullest. Then she meets her next door neighbor (who was briefly introduced in HEAP) and all no longer goes according to plan.
SPOILER AHEAD
Unfortunately I was a little disappointed in the book. While I know this book will have plenty of fans, and I will continue to read this author, the main character didn’t do it for me. I am a very practical person, so to read about someone who may have a fatal disease, but refuses to even get a formal medical diagnosis is very irresponsible to me. I felt like Vanessa wanted everything done on her terms because she could be dying.
Also, the story just felt a little rushed. I wish there would have been a little more character development.
Again, this is just my opinion, and as I already said, it isn’t going to keep me from reading more from this author. I am already wondering who the next book will be about!

Once again, I am lacking proper words to describe Abby's latest novel - Life's Too Short. She writes the most real, loveable characters that you badly want to be real life people (that even introverts would want to hang out with). She has this way of effortlessly sucking you in to her stories and makes you fall desperately in love with the characters without it being overwhelmingly farfetched like many romance novels out there. The writing is clever, humorous, and realistic.
In this latest novel, it was everything I could have hoped for - it made me laugh, cry, and even discover new information about a disease I knew little about. Her novels are such a gift that I never want to end. Thank you for letting me read this in advance.

Abby Jimenez has quickly become one of my favorite authors and I was very excited to get an opportunity to read her latest release "Life's Too Short."

I was happy to see Adrian get his own story after meeting him in "The Happy Ever After Playlist" and I really hoped he would get worthy leading lady; Vanessa Price exceeded all of my expectations and was the perfect match for Adrian Copeland.

Vanessa is a young woman who refuses to waste a single moment and lives her life to the fullest, but has to hit the pause button after she unexpectedly become the temporary guardian of her sister's newborn baby. This is how she ends up meeting Adrian, who is what I would call a bit of a control freak. A very handsome and successful man who needs to learn to live a little.

These two instantly clicked and watching their friendship grow and their interactions with baby Grace (all romcoms should include babies IMO) was so much fun. However, they were both a bit stubborn initially, insisting that neither was looking for a relationship, much less love. Vanessa, refusing to fall in love while her future is seemingly uncertain and Adrian believes he needs a break after his last disastrous relationship. Obviously, they fall hard for one another, but it takes them a bit to figure it out and then the real obstacles come into play when Adrian finally grasps the seriousness of Vanessa's possible future health issues and her decision on how to deal with them.

I pretty much cried my way through the final few chapters, but I am so glad I read this story. I loved everything about Adrian - even the stubborn bits - but I absolutely adored Vanessa. Her character was full of light and courage and a true inspiration; I cried even more when I read the author's note at the end.

"Life's Too Short" was another winner from Abby Jimenez and I cannot wait to see what's next. I understand Ms. Jimenez has already written books #4 and #5 so perhaps we will catch glimpses of Adrian and Vanessa like we did of Kristen, Josh, Sloan and Jaxon in this story. One can only hope.

I so appreciate Forever Romance for giving me the chance to read Life’s Too Short early! I adored the first two books from Abby Jimenez. Each one I devoured in less than a day, they made me laugh, cry, and all the things you want to love with a contemporary romance. Unfortunately Life’s Too Short did not work for me as well as I had hoped. I think this was very much a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”, I went in with a little trepidation (due to the heroine having a family history of ALS) and also very high expectations after loving the first two books. I should also mention due to pandemic fatigue I’m really struggling with many contemporary romances right now. My first inkling should have been that I was able to put the book down at 50% read, for almost a week, without feeling like picking it up again.

I enjoyed the premise and banter, per usual with Abby’s work, but I really struggled with some aspects of the story. I’m having a hard time with any heavier topics in romance, and I did not love the plot points with Vanessa’s addict sister and hoarder father. I felt like both aspects were a little too heavy for my taste, considering that ALS fears were also the main part of the book. I really think both the addict and hoarding backgrounds could have been removed. It just felt like a lot of heavy, unnecessary tragedy at times.

I enjoyed Adrian, Vanessa, and Grace together. I would have loved more scenes with all three of them. But at times a lot of the book felt like it was in Vanessa’s POV. Her chapters were so emotional, and I found her to be frustrating a lot of the time. As someone also living with a disease that will likely kill me at a young age, I felt frustrated with her through a lot of the last half of the book. I did see how Abby found some inspiration for Vanessa’s zest for life from real life YouTuber (and woman living with CF) Claire Wineland.

I did really love how much discussion and reflection there was on the characters mental health, both Vanessa and Adrian. I wish there had been a little more into Adrian’s anxiety, but I thought his reactions were well written and felt true to life.

I enjoyed the side characters, Becky was a riot, and seeing characters from the first books. But I do feel like the ending moved a bit too fast? It wrapped up very quickly.

Out of the three books, I think this one has the least amount of steam (or at least I remembered the others having more steam). Adrian and Vanessa have almost an insta-lust attraction (my least favorite). Even though they develop a great friendship before becoming romantic, I really wouldn’t consider this to be steamy at all.

I do think my opinions might have been different if I read this pre-pandemic. I was not expecting to find the plot points with Vanessa’s family to be so heavy. Life’s Too Short was a 3.5 star read for me. I still greatly enjoyed the first two books and would read Abby’s books in the future.

Y’all.

Abby Jimenez is an easy auto-buy author for me and her latest novel solidifies that fact even more.

Life’s Too Short is a beautiful story focusing on YouTuber Vanessa and lawyer/neighbor Adrian. As their friendship (with no commitment) heats up, so so the doubts the both have about issues unspoken.

Oh, the characters. All of them were well-developed and unique. I smiled the entire time I read the witty dialogue and fun romps this couple took. BUT there’s a sweetness and a realness to this rom com that sets it apart in this genre. ALS is discussed in such detail that allowed my eyes to open up to the struggles and hardships

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this novel. It was a strong start to my 2021 reading year and I will be recommending this one often.

I mean, wow. I thought Abby was incredible before but she reiterated it with this one.

I cried, I laughed, I was so invested.

This may be my favorite of the three of her books.

I am from Minnesota, so all of the references to Minnesota, all of the fun landmarks were so fun as a reader!

The love story in this one was top notch, I loved the foundation of unlikely friendship and how it blossomed into love.

All the stars for this one.

Abby has done it again! Fans of The Happy Ever After Playbook and The Friend Zone will delight in the story of Vanessa and Adrian. Abby isn't afraid of a tough topic. She's handled grief, depression and infertility, so why not drug addiction, adoption, hoarding and a potential fatal illness? While her characters are funny, and this book flies by in an unputdownable way, she's not making light of the issues at hand. She humanizes the face of these issues , rather than making them singularly defining characteristics. Humans are complicated. No one is just an addict. They are also a daughter, a mother, an artist. At no point did I feel like anyone was the butt of a joke. I rooted for Vanessa and Adrian from night one, and was thrilled to friends from HEAP and TFZ make an appearance, without feeling like the book relied on those stories to carry its weight.

Wow. I don’t even know where to begin. This one is definitely my favorite of all of the books in The Friend Zone series.

Vanessa lives her life like everyone wishes they could. She’s come to terms with the fact that she has a 50% chance of getting hereditary ALS after seeing so many family members go through it and is just an amazing and strong character and story to follow. I wish I could hang out with her in real life.

Adrian is the “hot lawyer” stereotype, but probably only in the workaholic factor. He’s lovely and a genuinely great male lead. He’s so sweet and gets swept up in the loveliness that is his neighbor.

I don’t want to go into any spoilers, since it’s so long until this book comes out. But thank you NetGalley for the ARC 😍