This book had me smiling from ear to ear as I was reading! Jacob is the most precious human being & Bri is so patient, kind, and understanding. I adore them together - truly made for each other. But the miscommunication 😩😩 got to be a little too much for me. Keep in mind this is a slowwww burn & I did find that it could’ve been probably about 50 pages shorter.

I thoroughly enjoyed the vast majority of this book. It was well written and very apparent that the author took great care to represent the various communities with respect. There were a few rather cheesy parts, particularly when Jacob described Briana's ghosting him, and I didn't much care for a very small portion of the book (the climax), but it recovered nicely and the banter between the two main characters was fun to read. It was a laugh out loud, rom commy type of read.

Give me everything Abby Jimenez, right this very minute. I don't know why I'm surprised this one made me tear up considering everything else she's written, but lord bless the SWEETNESS in this. I can't handle it. As someone who doesn't always have great first impressions, I could 100% relate to Jacob. There was just the perfect balance of sweet and funny and drama in this, I couldn't put it down. Maybe my favorite of hers yet?

This was the perfect rom com. Heartfelt, sweet, a little angsty. I loved it from the first page!! I’m normally not a big fan of dual POV but I really loved it in this book. I really cared about each of the characters and felt like I knew them. This is my first book of Abby Jimenez’s and I will definitely be reading her others. The male MC struggles with anxiety and as someone with anxiety, I felt like it was a very accurate portrayal. I also especially appreciated the authors note about how her battle with kidney disease influenced a big part of the story.

This book is fake dating and pretty heavy on the miscommunication, but I think miscommunication and fake dating are not mutually exclusive. If every fake dating couple had great communication about their feelings, there would be no fake dating LOL.

I just did not want to put this book down. It is the quintessential rom com and I highly recommend!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Abby Jimenez for the ARC!

I'm a huge fan of all of Abby's work but I will say that this one took me a bit to get through. I loved the concept with the letters especially because it is a very personal topic for me but I think that everything took a little long. I was anxious for the moment where both characters just figure it all out. The ending moved me. I really enjoyed this book but it wasn't my fave of the ones she's written.

I absolutely loved Abby Jimenez's last book, Part of Your World, so I was so so SO excited to receive an ARC for Yours Truly and get into Briana's story! She was such a funny bff in Part of Your World and absolutely deserved her own book! This was a solid 4.5 star read for me, at this point Abby Jimenez can do no wrong and is an instant read for me.

Synopsis: Dr. Briana Ortiz is on the brink of a breakdown. Her divorce with her cheating husband is about to be finalized, her brother is in need of a new kidney, and to top it off a new doctor, Jacob, has started working in the the same ER as her and could be going up against her for the same promotion. She immediately doesn't like him and in a stressful moment, his anxiety gets the better of him and Jacob makes the situation worse. Jacob isn't having a great time of things either - his ex-girlfriend is getting married to his brother soon, and his family is worried about how he is coping so he lies and says he has a new girlfriend.

To try to fix things with Briana, Jacob leaves her a letter apologizing and explaining the incident. Briana is so excited about the letter and forgives Jacob immediately, and they start leaving each other letters around work and get to know one another. Soon they are close friends, eating lunch together in a supply closet, and hanging out on their days off. Jacob, who despite his first appearances is a super caring and selfless person, decides to donate one of his kidneys to Briana's brother, and she offers to do any favor he ever needs. Soon he ends up decided to cash in, asking Briana to be his fake girlfriend up until his ex-girlfriend's wedding, and of course Briana agrees.

As they start fake dating and spending even more time together, both with Jacob's family and Briana's, they both realize that they are starting to develop deeper feelings for one another, but neither says anything - Briana thinks that Jacob is still in love with his ex, and Jacob thinks that Briana isn't looking for anything more than friendship after her divorce and that she is only there pretending to be his girlfriend because of the kidney he's donating. Things start to heat up, but they both have anxieties and issues from their past that they'll need to work through if they can possibly end up together.

Review: Jacob was such a great cinnamon roll character - I mean, giving your new friend's sibling a kidney because it's the decent thing to do?!!! AMAZING. He and Brianna had such good chemistry and were both so funny, I absolutely loved their friendship. This was definitely a bit of a slow burn, but you get to see both of their POVs and how much pining they are doing for one another.

I really liked the way that this book approached anxiety and past trauma. Jacob has pretty severe anxiety, and when Briana finds out she immediately adjusts how she does things with Jacob so that he's more comfortable, never complaining or making him feel like he's different. She is so understanding and caring and that's what we all need in a best friend!!! Briana has some unrealized/unresolved trauma that affects her later in the book, and with encouragement from Jacob goes to therapy to address it, which I LOVED. It always makes me so happy when books demonstrate positive ways to deal with trauma, stress, etc. including using therapy as a tool.

My only little gripe about this book and why it wasn't 5 stars for me is that the book relied heavily on the miscommunication trope - even though they were absolutely head over heels for each other, both Briana and Jacob were making assumptions about what the other one wanted/felt and because of that just didn't address their feelings. This went on for quite a while and wasn't my favorite, but I was so happy once they confessed and we could move on to them being together (and then of course, more drama, but that's how it is in romance!).

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever publishing for this ARC! Yours Truly comes out on April 11, 2023!

It's amazing how the author confronts serious medical issues, anxiety disorders and renal failure, with such compassion and humor. Her characterizations were spot-on and the descriptions so believable. Will look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for approving this ARC in return of an honest review!

High impressed and highly depressed.

Did I relate a little teeny-tiny bit too much to Briana? Daughter of an immigrant woman with commitment issues. Mhm... yes. Did the end of this book make me feel alone and happy? Also, yes.

In all seriousness this book took me by surprise. Last year I read Part of Your World and loved it. Second books in companion series don't always have the best reputation, but this one sure does.

The only issue I saw present in the story is the will-they-won't-they of it all. Like many, I love a good slow burn. In this case, the romance was near melting point and neither has resolved their tension - and there was A. LOT. I know it might sound frivolous, but Briana and Jacob were so gone for each other, I just wanted for them to be happy.

As a person with anxiety, I was thrilled by the depiction of it in Jacob. I liked seeing that while there are many difficult aspects to his everyday life, he has healthy ways of comping for it. He's not helpless. His heartbeat will skyrocket and his thoughts will be moving at a thousand miles per hour, but he would endure it to not let his loved ones down.

There are no words for the way they took care of each other, the way they learned one another, the way they loved each other.

Outstanding way to start the year!

Abby is so good, y’all! She has a way of pulling you in, ripping your heart out, and then putting it back together where it’s better than before.

JACOB MADDOX >>>>
that’s it. That’s the review.

I don’t know that a better book boyfriend could have been written, if we are being honest.

Jacob + Bri start “fake dating” after Jacobs ex gets engaged to his brother 🫣 and Bri finds out that Jacob is the anonymous donor giving her brother a kidney.

Bri, with all intentions of keeping things casual falls madly, deeply and quickly in love with Jacob (bc DUH they always do with fake dating!!!!) + Jacob feels the same.

After like a LOT of miscommunication- they finally find their happily ever after ❤️

TRIGGER WARNINGS - miscarriage, cheating, anxiety, chronic kidney disease. Mention of suicide.

A really sweet story! Jimenez did a good job depicting Jacob’s anxiety and the slow start of their relationship, getting to know one another through passing notes, made for a great pay off.
Highly recommended!

Yours Truly was, surprisingly, the first book I read by Abby Jimenez, and I was blown away by her writing. Diverse representation sometimes feels forced and fake, but it was a breath of fresh air to read actual everyday conditions represented with amazing honesty in an equally endearing romance.

Never has a fictional relationship felt more real than Briana and Jacob's.
I adored Jacob's yearning for Briana, his patience for her and his constant demonstration of how much he cared for her, even if miscommunication came in between them. It's important to note how great his anxiety is interwoven and written in the story, very palpable. Amazing.
Briana is balancing taking care of her brother, fighting for a promotion at the hospital while dealing with a divorce. She's clearly going through a really bad time when Jacob joins the hospital and then sends her a letter, prompting her to maybe not hate him so much.
Their development of relationship is so beautiful, Briana being so guarded and Jacob not backing down of her love for her... I CRIED. The ending for sure will have everyone in tears.

📖 BOOK REVIEW 📖

❤️ Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez ❤️

This is my first read by Abby and she did not disappoint! 🤌 I went in completely blind and I honestly loved it that way because the plot kept surprising me!

I loved the representation of someone with anxiety 💗 Having post partum anxiety and depression has been really hard for me so I felt like I could relate. I also loved that it was the MMC - he was the sweetest cinnamon roll hero that I just wanted to give a hug. We need more sweet guys, and I mean that sincerely coming from an enemies to lovers fan.

The themes explored throughout the novel are deep and real, such as mental health, chronic illness, divorce, etc., and I really appreciated that. It punched me in the heart several times and made me cry, which I normally don’t love to cry but for some reason this time was so special. The characters’ growth overcoming fears and trauma was just beautiful.

And of course the adorable romance!! I really couldn’t ask for more from a book. I LOVED IT.

We were pleased to share this title at our live Spring Book Preview event for the Modern Mrs Darcy and What Should I Read Next communities on January 10, 2023, when 1200 readers attended live and twice that many watched the replay in the following week. The PDF from that event is attached. Long story short: WHAT A JOY. My favorite Abby Jimenez!

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy to review. What a range of emotions I felt reading this book. I’ve truly enjoyed every Abby Jimenez book. I love how she covered anxiety, I love how a person with kidney failure and his relationships were addressed, and I love that she dealt with trauma and depression. A lot was in this book but it didn’t feel like too much. I cried, I laughed, I got mad. I really enjoyed Yours Truly.

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5 Stars

As a MASSIVE fan of any and everything Abby. I wish I could give this book more than just 5 stars because 5 just doesn’t seem like enough. This book hits the mark yet again for fans of Abby. I was lucky enough to be able to receive a copy early through NetGalley and I DEVOURED it. It has taken me forever to do a review because I feel like I just keep saying the same things because the books are all so damn good. Get ready for insanely terrible first impressions, and equally funny second chances. Abby manages to give us everything we want but still touches on the very serious issues, and brings awareness to them.

She never fails to make us laugh and cry, but my personal favorite this time was the awkward cringing I got to participate in, due to Jacob’s anxiety matching that of my own LOL It is really great to read books with actual relatable characters! This one hasn’t even been released yet and I am already chomping at the bit for her next one!

GREAT job Abby, keep them coming!!

This book gives the reader "all the feels". You will go from laughing to sad to happy to anxious. I really enjoy books that tackle issues such as people living with anxiety and organ donation. I feel that bringing this to light in books might help someone. It was even more personal knowing that the author has dealt with what is going on in her book.

There is so much humor, love, acceptance, personal growth, and quirkiness in this book that time just flew by as I was reading it. I love love loved Jacob and Bri's back and forth letters and banter. Despite everything, they put each other first. Bri was amazing with how she handled Jacob's anxieties ❤️

As I was reading, I realized that there were a ton of tropes in this one book. Fake dating, enemies to lovers, coworkers to lovers, and more that I won't share that could be spoiler-ish. All of them combined so well in this story and made the book one of the best that I read all year!

This was my FAVORITE Abby book! Read in less than a day. Spoiler alert- but my favorite character trait in this book was that a male character had anxiety. It showed that this can be debilitating for both males and females.