Jimenez has done it again! She wrote a jangled jumble that was a joy it read.
I was cheering for Briana and Jacob the entire time. My heart ached when they weren’t communicating and made themselves miserable because of it.
Both had a lot of baggage, but they were each other’s coping mechanisms.
The supporting cast were great, but I still didn’t like Amy.
The heartfelt author’s note at the end will make readers pause, as it should. We just never know what is truly going on is someone’s life.

This is the second book in Abby’s Part of Your World universe. I really enjoyed it, but while this book had many great qualities, it wasn’t my favorite. It started strong, but then it took a bit of a turn into a clichéd rom-com. I also missed Abby’s trademark humor. Her books are hilarious, but I think this was her least funny book. However, this book tackled many heavy topics, and it was done with immense sensitivity. I understand that there were fewer opportunities for humor, but I still missed it. I did love the characters. Abby writes wonderful characters, and these are some of her best. The fact that this wasn’t one of my favorite Abby Jimenez books, and I still gave it four stars, should say a lot. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I will start by saying I am a huge Abby Jimenez fan. I have read all of her books and am a member of her reading group on Facebook. I knew that I needed to read this ARC when it became available.

Yours Truly features Briana and Jacob, both ER physicians. They start off a little rocky but soon become friends through letters. Briana's brother is in renal failure and Jacob tests to see if he is a match. He is a perfect match. To pay him back, Briana offers to be his fake girlfriend for the upcoming wedding activities for his brother.

I loved Jacob so much. He is up there for one of my favorite MMCs of all time. He suffers from social anxiety and as someone who also has bad anxiety, I really felt for him. He was written so real and down to earth. Briana is a wonderful character as well. She is very fiery but is a fierce friend. I loved watching their relationship blossom.

Yours Truly was such a fulfilling read. I loved the letters that they wrote back and forth. It reminded me a bit of The Happily Ever After Playlist with the texts sent between the MCs. I thank Abby for writing about anxiety and autoimmune disease. She was very forthcoming in her author's note about her own battle with an autoimmune disease.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever Publishing, and Abby Jimenez for the e-ARC. This review is my own opinion.

I went into Yours Truly knowing I was going to love it based on her previous books, but I LOVED IT even more than I expected, given Part of Your World was one of my favorite books from last year. I laughed, I cried, and I swooned over Briana and Jacob's love story. Jacob is one of my new favorite cinnamon roll heroes. Abby Jimenez can do no wrong and I eagerly await her next book!

What I Liked: Abby Jimenez has a gift. Her superpower is creating swoon-worthy men that somehow seem realistic while also being completely unrealistic. Jacob is a cinnamon roll hero that you just want to wrap up in your arms and give a hug to. His personal journey in this book was wonderful and I liked that he realized he had to work on himself before he could be a loving partner to Briana. And the patience and understanding that Briana shows him was fantastic. She also has a knack for writing stories that buck most romance trends. Case in point, this book, which is a romance set against the backdrop of organ transplantation and uses old-school letter writing as a plot device. I normally hate when things in a story would be resolved if the characters just spoke to each other but it made sense in this book. The misunderstandings were believable and made sense to the overall story.

What I Didn’t Like: Despite loving this story, I hated the third act “breakup” and felt it was crushed and came out of nowhere. This was my only issue.

Who Should Read It: Romance fans looking for a unique story with likable characters will like this one.

Review Wrap-Up: This is another hit for Jimenez who continues to write fun and thoughtful romances featuring unique storylines and likable characters. I fell in love with Jacob and Briana and think you will too.

Favorite Quote: “This year was going to be my villain origin story, I just knew it.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5

I didn’t think I could love a book as much as I loved PART OF YOUR WORLD, but here we are! YOURS TRULY was just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. (Yes, this book is a sequel!) I am so grateful that I had the chance to read this before publication and I loved every second! Everything Abby Jimenez puts out is a five-star read for me!

Briana and Jacob didn’t have the easiest start, but all is set straight when rather than stick his foot in his mouth all over again, Jacob writes Briana a letter. *SWOON*

With each letter exchanged, these two begin to fall for one another and honestly, I can’t blame them! For one, Jacob is absolutely PERFECT! Then he goes and blows every past book boyfriend out of the water by literally giving Briana the one thing that can save her brother’s life - a kidney. (Not a spoiler!)

I experienced every emotion with this book! I absolutely felt for Briana and her family as they tirelessly tried to encourage her brother to remain hopeful in finding a kidney donor. My heart broke and swelled with emotion at every turn Benny’s journey took. The love that grew between Briana and Jacob was also top-tier! I was truly smitten.

I will buy and read anything that Abby Jimenez writes and I cannot wait for her next five-star novel to come out!

I didn't really expect to feel otherwise, but I really really loved this book! I was a huge fan of Part of Your World and this was an amazing second story in the series. Briana's divorce is finalized, her brother desperately needs a kidney and it looks like she's about to lose out on a promotion at work to the new doctor who just joined their ER. Briana and Jacob had a disastrous first encounter that leaves her hating him, until he leaves her a note and things go from there. There was note/letter writing, fake dating, adorable pets, slow burn - so many things I love! This story even had a touch of whimsy like in Part of Your World. Every time I got to a new section of the book I was holding my breath, checking the page number and wondering if THIS is when they’d finally share their true feelings. It was all so sweet. And parts were hilarious. I was cackling at times. And I loved the way they paid attention to one another’s needs and cared for one another in the way that helped them most.

𝙒𝙤𝙖𝙝! what a story...

𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 opens with Jacob Maddox, ER physician losing seven patients on his first day at his new job. Coupled with his anxiety and exhausted, he never thought his life would be as fun as when he meets Briana Ortiz on the job. As the two connect and get tangled in a fake dating scheme for his ex's wedding, they decide to be harmless to each other even as their feeling grow stronger and their love grows messy and 𝘯𝘰𝘵 harmless.

- ~ -

I don't know where to start? The letters? The humour? The longing? The Pining? The 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘵? Everything was perfect.

Briana is that one person everyone wants to be friends with who you know are good people and Dr. Maddox? can sweep me off my feet anytime.

One thing I absolutely treasured about the story or the author's books in general is the whimsical, safe feeling you get when you know you can put your heart in someone else's hands and they'd keep it intact and that runs strongly throughout this story.
(On the topic of whimsical, I though the mirror would make a return?)

Now get ready for a session of how perfectly crafted Dr. Maddox truly is...

...𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨...
That man was gone from the starting.

"𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴."
"𝘉𝘶𝘵...𝘸𝘩𝘺?"
"𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶"
The definition of if he wanted to, he would.

𝘐 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘨. 𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘤𝘰 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘭.
*whispers* He knows about the tacos.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦?" 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺. "𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳."
*sighs dreamily*

And him in bed?
My jaw? On the floor.

Honestly there were too many annotations, at one point I quit.

Also I found some of the bits genuinely very funny (which is rare) so yeah good stuff. By the way, I really hope their kid's middle name is 𝘟𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

- ~ -

4.38 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 (𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨) 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

Abby Jimenez has once again tipped my heart out and put it back together with Yours Truly!

There are a handful of writers that can incorporate RomCom elements with heavy real life issues so seamlessly and Abby is one of the best. I laughed and cried. I will be thinking about Jacob and Briana for a long time!

If you like fake dating, workplace romance and one bed trope please pick up Yours Truly out April 11th!

My emotions were all over the place with this one. This was very heavy on the miscommunication trope, but I loved it. It felt so real, especially reading Jacob’s point of view.

As someone who struggles with anxiety and has abandonment issues, I saw a lot of myself in these two characters. Jacob’s struggles with anxiety broke my heart while simultaneously making me feel so incredibly seen. Briana’s struggles with trust and abandonment aggravated me to no end (simply because of when they manifested themselves), but I felt her pain so severely.

I understood both of these characters so deeply that this book was beautiful to me.

Yours Truly made me laugh, cry, and then ugly cry some more. Such a beautiful story of two ER doctors that touches on traumas of past relationships and managing anxiety.

I will say… reading the parts of Jacob’s social anxiety was a lightbulb moment for me because I could really relate, and it’s assuring to know that sometimes it’s the anxiety and not me that’s wrong.

As much as I usually love the fake dating trope, I hate the miscommunication aspects when the main characters put themselves through pain thinking “this will never be real.” Like COME ON, can’t you see how much they love you?! 🥺 And don’t get me started on THE LETTERS. I love letters and notes in books and these were just so perfect. 🫶🏽 Briana’s reveal at the end was truly heartbreaking and I could understand why she reacts the way she does… and I truly feel that Briana and Jacob were meant to be because they know how to manage each other’s emotions in a positive way, and because “love shows up.” 🥹🥹

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was, amazingly my first book by Abby Jimenez, and it certainly will not be my last. Jacob and Briana’s fake dating/enemies to lovers romance was a sweet and tender story. I enjoyed their letters to each other, the mental health rep, and Jacob’s hilarious family. While the story was ultimately an enjoyable one, I believe it relied on (my least favorite) miscommunication as the conflict in the story a bit too much. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

I absolutely fell in love with this book! Abby Jimenez did such an amazing job weaving all the rom-com tropes into this light hearted book but also gave a lot of character development so we felt like we knew both main characters! This was the perfect swoon worthy book for the spring!

We met Briana in PART OF YOUR WORLD. She was Alexis’ quippy friend and fellow doctor. Briana is newly divorced and with a sick brother and life looks pretty bleak. Cue - the new ER doctor, Jacob, who is literally changing her brother’s life and may be a way for her to get over her ex-husband.

Oh Jacob.🥹Jimenez truly knows how to write male leads. He is introverted (honestly he is SO me) and anxious and dreamy and just wholly kind. And! I loved Briana here! (Alexis in POYW was way cringe at times). Briana is understanding and empathetic and seemed to really see Jacob and his needs and that really stood out to me during her character arc. It also felt so much heavier on my heart when she knew how to love Jacob because it’s how to love me too.

Honestly, this book is one of my new favorite contemporary romances, standing out far above Part of Your World. A+++ job by Jimenez in creating multilayered characters and writing a love story that makes you hurt and feel happiness right along with them!

Thank you NetGalley and forever for an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Bri and Jacob work together in the ER. Bri’s brother has kidney failure and needs a kidney. Jacob has anxiety which impacts his life in so many ways. Both of their lives come together to get through some tough times but will they stay together?

What I liked: many of you love her books for her humor and deeper dive into complex topics and this book does not disappoint. The author wrote her characters in a caring and empathetic manner that you couldn’t help but love them. Jacobs anxiety is written clearly to help define him as a person and provide insights into his actions. I love this guy so much. Bri is tough but also so caring for those that she loves. She literally will do anything for them and I found myself seeing so many similarities to her. I loved how she would handle a situation but then calmly and lovingly help Jacob in a new situation The author plays with all of the troupes in this book including miscommunication, fake dating, one bed but dies it expertly and with humor that you will be laughing and shipping the characters all along. The one bed had me laughing so hard.
She dives deep into anxiety and kidney disease along with family dynamics deftly in this book. I learned a lot reading this book especially how to make interactions with others better.
Thank you Abby for this lovely book and I look forward to reading more.

4/4.5 ⭐️

Yours Truly was SO cute! Such a great follow up to Part of Your World. Abby Jimenez writes wholesome romances so well, and this was another example of that. I really loved Jacob's character. The anxiety representation was done really well, and I loved seeing him get more comfortable around Briana throughout the book. I really loved Bri's character at first but was a little frustrated with her at the end. I felt like some of the miscommunication got a bit over the top in the very final chapters but was pleased with the resolution.

Fake dating can be SO hit or miss for me because it needs to feel realistic. Abby did it really well here! The letters were so cute, Lieutenant Dan was adorable, and Jacob's plant room was goals. Overall a very good read but could've been shortened just a bit (and some of the miscommunciation reduced) and I think then it would've been 5 stars for me.

Every time I think Abby can't top her previous books, she proves me wrong. I have loved all of her books - all have been 5 stars for me. But "Yours Truly" is by far my favorite! I loved Jacob. As someone wholes with anxiety, I could completely understand his feelings and reactions to certain situations. Briana is amazing as well. She has so much to handle between a stressful job, caring for Benny, and her divorce, but she is so strong. Then there's the letters and the journal and just....sigh....

I love how Abby puts so many little Easter eggs into her books. From Alexis, Daniel, and Doug making appearances, to the Lola Simone music, and, of course, Nadia Cakes.

Five stars!! I already know this will be one of my favorite books of 2023!

This story had me hooked from the first page. Actually, I was hooked from the very first line, I knew I was going to immediately love this one.

I just finished reading Part of Your World, the second book in this series, and while this can be read as a stand-alone I definitely recommend reading that one first. The character make appearances in each others books and I always love that about series.

This one follows two Doctors, Briana and Jacob, both who are coming out a bad relationships, and both end up in line for the same position. In a twist an events they end up in a fake dating, and like any good romance, it’s not fake for long.

Jacob maybe one of the sweetest cinnamon roll hero’s todate. He will definitely leave you swooning, and possibly shedding a tear.

This was another amazing read from Abby and I know fans of her books are going to love it, and going to be happy that Briana, and Jacob, get their HEA.

Melli’s Book Breakdown
🤍Friends to Lovers
🤍Workplace Romance
🤍Fake Dating
🤍Mental Health Rep

Abby Jimenez is back with another tear-jerker romance that's lighter on spice than her previous books. It makes sense in the context of the story, a trauma survivor falling in love with the guy she's fake-dating, but I thought the sexual tension could have been taken a bit further earlier in the book. All in all, though, the writing is solid and I identified with both main characters well enough to buy the story. Not my favorite Abby Jimenez book, but her least-awesome is still leaps and bounds better than most others' best efforts! I look forward to reading more from her!

I loved Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez. I read it in a day. The trope of fake dating was really well done. Abby, once again, was able to create truly lovable characters with relatable flaws. I like that the miscommunication trope was wrapped up quickly as I think that’s everyone’s least favorite trope. Can’t wait for the next book!