Abby Jimenez has done it again. The highs and lows she can create always have me laughing and crying as I read her work. She isn’t scared of complicated, and that’s especially true here. This book delves into mental health in a way that really rang true for me. I related to both MCs at different times. Depression and anxiety are things I have struggled with too, and they are handled well here in my opinion. Yours Truly, like other books in the Abby-verse, is full of “Easter eggs” for Abby’s universe of stories, and as a fan, I delight when I recognize them. I love the dual POV so we can peek inside each character's head. We've got fake dating, hurt/comfort, only one bed (ha!), a story that deals with chronic illness, mental health issues, and somehow falling ass over teakettle in love, and it all works for me. And that Author’s Note…😭🥰❤️.

I enjoyed this one though I can't say it was my favorite of Abby's books. Overall I liked that Briana and Jacob understood each other's weaknesses and where the other needed support. As usual, communication is key, people! The name check of Nadia Cakes always takes me out of the story so I wasn't a huge fan of that. Otherwise, it was a fun read.

Thank you @readforeverpub for a copy of this book.

After reading Part of Your World, I needed Bri's story. There's so much to love about this story, from Bri learning to trust and love again to Jacob with his anxieties. There not so cute meet cute was everything and I love seeing how their hate turned to a friendship.

The letters were so special, I was waiting impatiently for their communication. Abby always does a great job adding humor even with heavier topics and she does a phenomenal job in this story.

Be sure to read the author's note on this one.

My foray into summer romance reading has commenced with this sweet charmer. YOURS TRULY follows Jacob and Briana, two ER doctors healing from failed relationships who strike a deal; a kidney donation for a stand-in fake girlfriend.

This was my first read by Abby Jimenez and I see why her books are universally adored. Her characters were nuanced and there was more to the story than standard romance tropes (don’t fret, they were plentiful too!). As someone who works in healthcare, I enjoyed the ER setting and the medical aspects woven throughout the story. I also appreciated the focus on mental health and the importance of healing through therapy.

I felt more deeply invested in the characters than I typically do because Jacob has an uncanny resemblance to my husband! If Scott’s personality doppelganger was embodied in a fictional character, Jacob would be it! Like Jacob, Scott is understated, hates to be the center of attention, and is also an ER doctor. Naturally, I couldn’t help but root for Jacob as he navigated life and love.

This sweet story has wit, charm and tried & true tropes (fake dating, only one bed, etc). Pick up YOURS TRULY if you enjoy Grey’s Anatomy, would give a kidney for someone you love, or appreciate the timeless joys that a handwritten note can bring.

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: April 11, 2023

Many thanks to Forever pub and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review will be published to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks in advance of publication date.

CONTENT WARNING: infidelity, reference to parental abandonment, reference to a prior miscarriage, depictions of anxiety/depression/panic attacks, chronic illness

Abby Jimenez first came onto my radar when I found a hilariously funny interaction involving cakes that looked suspiciously like female genitalia. I shared it with my friend, who informed me that in addition to being a fabulously talented baker with a successful shop and a great sense of humor, she’s also a romance author. At that point, I knew I just had to get my hands on one of her books. And I was in luck—one was available for request on NetGalley, and I was fortunate enough to get approved.

This actually turned out to be one of the funniest rom-coms that I’ve ever read in my entire life. The humor started early in the book, and I was surprised to see that it only got funnier over the course of the story. One of my favorite parts was the fact that Jacob has a rescue dog named Lieutenant Dan, after the amputee in Forrest Gump, because the dog only has three legs. The two MCs get themselves into hilarious situations, both with each other and with their families, all of whom are hilarious.

Perspective shifts between Briana and Jacob, which I enjoy in a story, because it allows us to get to know both sides of the story, especially in a fake dating scenario like this one. While Briana is dealing with her own issues of abandonment, mourning the dissolution of her complicated marriage, and taking care of her brother, who has end-stage renal disease as a result of autoimmune disease, and is struggling with depression, Jacob has his own problems. He has severe social anxiety, and has some problems on the home front that he needs some assistance with, but he’s seriously the sweetest and most pure cinnamon roll that I have ever seen. Jacob is basically the textbook definition of a character who must be protected at all costs.

I’m a huge fan of the fake dating trope, and I loved watching the two characters interact with each other, especially since I got to see how each of their feelings developed. I found myself getting so invested in these two characters, and loved the colorful cast of side characters. By the end of the book, I had already laughed more times than I could count, and cried twice, which just goes to show how truly invested I got in this story.

The representation in this story was fabulous, and none of it ever felt forced. Briana is Salvadorian, and her culture comes through in her family structure and values, language, and foods. There are queer characters and people of other backgrounds married into the family, but the chronic illness aspects are where the story really shines. Depression, anxiety, and autoimmune disease and the devastating impact that each of these illnesses have on the individual, the people around them, and their abilities to function in everyday life are depicted sensitively and accurately, without ever feeling uncomfortable or forced.

I fell in love with this story, and found myself flying through it. Putting it down was almost painful, and I kept counting down until I could return to it. Jimenez has an incredible talent for creating a story that I could completely lose myself in, and a romance that feels like it was pulled right out of my dreams. Although I only rate up to 5 stars, this is one of those books that I wish I could rate higher than 5, because this book, this romance, and these characters deserve all the stars. Especially Lieutenant Dan, who is absolutely the goodest boy.

Abby Jimenez does it again! This is easily on of my favorite books that I've ever read. I can't think of any other book that sent me on the emotional rollercoaster as this one did.

Jacob and Briana are perfect for each other, literally a match made in heaven. They way that they love each other without even knowing that the love is being reciprocated tore me apart. Jacob has become on of my favorite MMC's next to Daniel Grant. I'm feeling emotional thinking about the way that he whole heartedly love Bri.

I know that this is a book that I will being rereading again and again. I can't wait to get me hands on a physical copy in April!

LOVED this book! Every time I’ve picked up a Jimenez book I have laughed, cried, fallen in love and felt like it has become a part of my soul. He writing just transforms you into their fictional lives and leaves you feeling like both only did she put her soul into it, she put your soul into it. Such a great talent to be able to put this into writing and share it with the world. I also highly recommend reading the authors note at the end. It makes it all that much more special.

Favorite quotes:
“The truest sacrifices are the ones no one knows anything about.”

“Love shows up”

When I read the synopsis for YOURS TRULY by Abby Jimenez, I knew I needed to read the book immediately. So thank you @readforeverpub for approving my @netgalley request. This book releases in April 2023.

What was in the synopsis? "Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game... by sending Briana a letter." I immediately need to read a book or put it on my TBR if there's an epistolary element. (I'll drop the whole synopsis in the comments)

This is currently my favorite Abby Jimenez book, and it might be hard to top in the future.

Briana, who we met in PART OF YOUR WORLD, is great and it's nice to see her character developed more. But it's really about Jacob. Is there some way we can envelope him in blankets and clouds to keep him protected from the world at large? Because HE NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED.

Jacob comes off as a grump, but it's just his social anxiety. His well meaning family doesn't quite understand. This also causes him to make a bad first impression on his first day on the new job. Along with some other unfortunate circumstances, it just keeps getting worse.

As a way to apologize for one of those situations, Jacob sends Briana a letter, and a friendship blossoms from there.

Content Notes: auto-immune disease which causes need for dialysis (secondary character), previous partner cheated (off-page, past), divorce process, miscarriage, clinical anxiety.

I just can’t decide which is my favorite Abby Jimenez book. I keep thinking how on earth she will do it again, and then she does. Yours Truly is absolutely beautiful. Brianna is a strong, caring, and hardworking ER doctor. But she has family drama, a brother with severe medical difficulties, and a recent divorce. In other words, she’s human just like the rest of us.
Jacob is also a strong, caring, and hardworking ER doctor. But he’s also the new guy. He’s has some troubles on his first few shifts and he doesn’t know how to right the course. He has severe social anxiety which makes him appear off putting to his new coworkers.
As Brianna and Jacob start to interact and get to know each other - with the sweetest notes - they really truly see each other. And that is the perfection of this book. She sees Jacob as he is and doesn’t try to change him. He sees Brianna as she is and doesn’t try to change her. Of course they have all kinds of hurdles to overcome like fake dating, family dinners, and an ex’s wedding. They also have to decide if what they are feeling is a lasting love and if it’s worth fighting for.
Abby Jimenez wrote an incredibly authentic portrayal of social anxiety and how to support and advocate for a loved one who lives with it. I saw parts of myself in Jacob, although not to his severity, and I have never felt more seen and grateful when reading a book. Yours Truly will be on all my top reads lists this year. It’s just brilliant.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

book review: Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
rating: 5/5

a must-read book (but especially if you like):
- fake dating
- letter writing and miscommunication
- cinnamon roll MCs
- adorable dogs (and Forrest Gump)
- laugh-out-loud banter
- well-developed characters and their families
- larger themes

i’ve never read a book by Abby Jimenez finished it and thought, “well, that was good,” and then gone on with my day. no. it is simply impossible. after every single book by abby, i must sit and marinate in the sheer perfection that she writes. after her first book i thought: she can’t get any better than this. and guess what? i have been proven wrong. every. single. time. this woman just keeps getting better and better.

“in this economy?” - the line that had me ROLLING

i read this in one-sitting, which i really wish i hadn’t because it went by too fast, but on the other hand, I could not NOT because it was *that* good. Bri and Jacob are so well drawn. they’re complete human beings that you could lift right out of the page and into your real life. you feel their emotions pour through the story. and they are both so, so sweet. jacob is perhaps the biggest cinnamon roll of any cinnamon roll i have ever read. i wanted to just grab him and eat him.

bri & jacob together… electric. WOW to the chemistry in this book, made all the more by the phenomenal banter. i don’t usually show much emotion when reading but i was cackling, out loud and to no one, pretty much every other page. it was joy from start to finish.

but as with all of abby’s books, there are larger, important themes at play here. you leave this book really feeling something (yes, you feel all the cute rom-com things, but it’s more than that), you leave feeling like you can serve a larger purpose. the story was made all the more beautiful by the author’s note at the end.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ !!

this is my new favourite abby jimenez book, i feel like her stories just keep getting better and better every book i read. i loved part of your world and because of its setting i was interested to see how it would play out in this book. there was such a great mix of the hospital, the MMC's comfort zone, and the setting we see in the first book.

the romance, the build up, the tropes. it was all such a great combination and this is definitely a top read for me . i am pre medicine, so getting to read about anything in the medical field is so nice since that is what i enjoy. but the way that it was integrated so easily in this book amazed me. the side characters, the animals, the family dynamics ... i cannot preach about this book enough. the writing, the story, the characters, this felt like the most perfect mix.

Thank you so much Forever, Netgalley & Abby Jimenez for an early e-copy of Yours Truly. In short, I LOVED this book! Abby can really do no wrong in my eyes. I just adore all of her books so much! I loved that Abby chose to spotlight anxiety in a male character, which we do not see often. I loved that despite his sometimes crippling anxiety, he pushed through just for Briana. I also love that Briana was a divorced woman. We do not see a lot of romances involved divorced characters either! This book was a win for me from start to finish!

Abby Jimenez writes real romance with real people. Such heartfelt and deeply moving stories about characters who feel like friends or family to me. This particular story touches on anxiety, family illness, and finding yourself standing in the middle of a life you didn't sign up for and don't know how to escape or find joy in. I swooned. This might have been my favorite of hers so far.

I wanted to love this one more than I did.

What I liked: I actually really enjoyed the first half. The not-so-cute meet cute between the two characters is great and I really loved the letter writing portion of the book. I'm a sucker for epistolary formats generally but I thought it was such a cute way of explaining backstories and bringing the two MCs together. And I love a good fake dating moment -- especially when it's to get back at an ex.

What I didn't like: the book fell apart for me when they finally got together. SO much of the conflict in the back half of the book relies HEAVILY on the miscommunication trope to the point where it really becomes the "most of this conflict would be solved if people went to therapy" trope and that is exhausting to me.

The writing is still beautiful and I think people who don't mind miscommunication will still really like this book. It just wasn't my fave of hers!

This book had me feeling all the emotions, I love the crossover with part of your world, I love how much of a real world feel abby writes her characters. She talks so much in this book about mental health and anxiety, it is so blatantly obvious she used personal experience as well as consulting with professionals to make sure these characters were written extremely well! I feel like me and Brianna would be friends because of how well I genuinely know her, and same with lieutenant dan.
The hardship Brianna is going through at the beginning and that rock bottom feeling hits home so well and I truly believe a ton of people will relate to her in this novel.

The ending was beautiful and everything you could have wanted. She brings the story full circle similar to what she did with part of your world, but the new main characters make it feel completely new. I adore these characters and their lives together and SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE THESE INTO MOVIES!

4.5 stars!

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book!

Love love love this fake dating turned real dating trope from Jimenez! Two ER docs who are very different and with their own traumas come together in this delightful story filled with a cast of zany side characters and charm. I would read more about this family all day!

I haven't met an Abby Jimenez book that I didn't love. Yours Truly has amazing anxiety representation and a sweet slow-burn, fake-dating relationship where the main characters support each other and overcome the baggage their exes left them with. As always, Jimenez writes about serious issues and relationships while still including plenty of dialogue and personality to make you laugh!

"Yours Truly" is a lovely, emotional, slow burn. Briana and Jacob are easy to root for, relatable, and the build to their romance is swoon worthy. This book had great potential to devolve into an irksome, soapy, will-they-won't-they dynamic, but Abby Jimenez managed to find the sweet spot with this story.

Characters are dynamic, story memorable, and "Yours Truly" ticks all the boxes:
Funny ✅️
Dynamic ✅️
Lovely, enchanting slow burn ✅️
Heartbreaking ✅️
Feel good ✅️

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC; opinion is my own..

Alright, it’s official. Abby Jimenez must have some kind of romance-writer magic in her. There’s no other way to explain how she manages to write this kind of perfection time and again. I’m completely in awe–for the fifth time, mind you. Every single one of her books is filled to the brim with a level of heartfelt substance that you just won’t find anywhere else. Unsurprisingly, Yours Truly completely blew me away.

Let’s start with the fact that the book opens with a note from the author that includes content warnings and directs readers to her book’s webpage where you can learn more. This is huge for me as a sensitive reader. I felt like I was going into the story with my eyes wide open, prepared for the topics covered, rather than blindsided by something that may have negatively affected me. Each and every challenging element was handled with a kind of delicacy and grace that put me at ease.

Abby has never shied away from difficult material. She dives head-first into the stickiest parts of relationships, the grittiest mental health struggles, the struggles faced by those with chronic or terminal illnesses, and so much more. Each time I read one of her novels, I feel like I learn something new about myself and my personal battles–or I learn about matters that others around me have faced. It gives me a fresh perspective and I’m so thankful for that.

Yours Truly was no different. ER doctor Brianna (Bri) Ortiz is about to have her divorce finalized after learning her husband cheated on her with a friend for several years. She’s also trying to take care of her younger brother, Benny, who desperately needs a kidney transplant and can’t find a donor match no matter what they try. She’s fed up with men and life and wants to throw herself into a higher position at the hospital she’s worked at for years. Then along comes Dr. Jacob Maddox, a new doctor who manages to get on her bad side more times than he should in the first few days on the job. When he writes her a letter (an actual paper and pen letter) to apologize and explain how his social anxiety really gets in the way, things begin to shift.

The story goes quickly from heavy frustration to fake dating to lust to… a heck of a lot of confusion. I don’t mean the story itself is confusing, so much as the characters are confused. The internal monologues begin to drive them both a bit mad. It’s intense and emotional and so, so well written. I can honestly say that it made me tear up on more than one occasion. I had trouble putting the book down because I was desperate to know what would happen next. It surprised me with how unpredictable it was at times. Normally, I feel like I know how a romance novel is going to play out, but Yours Truly was a fresh take.

In the acknowledgments, Abby credits the help of so many healthcare professionals who helped her navigate both the physical and mental aspects of the book. You can really tell how much their insight benefitted the story because it was almost painfully relatable at times. I’m really thankful that she also had sensitivity readers. These seemingly small things make for a winning novel.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that this will be a book I read time and again. It was an immediate favorite–you can tell by how often I was highlighting my eARC! This is definitely a book you’ll want to pick up right away. It’s going to blow you away.

[Content Warnings: (major) Injury/injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Sexual content, (moderate) Medical content, Cursing, Vomit, and Miscarriage | Author’s content warnings: Chronic kidney disease, divorced main character whose ex husband cheated, depression, clinical anxiety, and mention of pregnancy loss and suicide.]

Holy macaroni, did I adore this book.

Two doctors that start out on the wrong foot, and freshly out of failed relationships, come together in this delightful second chance romance that highlights the life changing difference of organ donation.

Jimenez is funny. A quality hard to find, I am here to tell you that she'll make you snort. The story offered a full range of emotion. Equal parts serious and fun, it had me laughing and crying. It was such a treat for my Sunday reading. My only disappointment was that it did not go on - I want to experience it again.

As an anxious soul, I wanted to take myself into Jacob's plant room and write all day. His experience with anxiety could have been a journal of my life. Right down to the intimate details of working a high-pressure job (barrister and solicitor, at your service) while simultaneously having anxiety. I am happiest when lost in my focus. When my mental energy has a purpose and I can disappear into a task. It's when I am not busy, that I need to get creative (hello - writing). From medication to a tendency to avoid group anything, I needed a character like Jacob.

Bri and Jacob's connection / love story felt like a blanket for the soul, and corny as it may be, I am still so grateful that I found mine. That person that gives you a sense of calm that you struggle to generate on your own. It's a true gift and Jimenez's ability to translate that feeling onto paper was superb. All the stars for this special rom-com.