THIS BOOK! The only thing negative about it is that I’m done and now have no more new Abby books to read. She’s done it again, with a beautiful, raw, emotional and honest book. As someone that deals with anxiety daily, I really appreciated that the main male character navigated life with anxiety. Jimenez did a great job portraying what it’s like, and how the people around us often react or think. I enjoyed Brianna’s story and her emotional growth. 5/5 stars and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

How is it possible that Abby Jimenez continues to write unbelievably amazing book after amazing book? This is her fifth book and every single one of them has been five stars for me. ⁣
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Not only that - her male characters just top each other every single time. I called Daniel from Part of Your World my ULTIMATE ULTIMATE book boyfriend and Abby said “Just wait until you meet Jacob”…..and everyone JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU MEET JACOB. ⁣
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Jacob is tender, vulnerable, open and just so damn loveable. He struggles with social anxiety and I related to so many parts of his inner monologue related to anxiety. He FALLS first, he writes letters, keeps a journal, is just an all around complete package and total dreamboat - top book boyfriend material for sure. ⁣
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I loved Brianna in POYW and she truly deserves her HEA. I felt for her so much over and over in this book. Both main characters are going through so many heavy things and in the author’s true style - she brings you on some majorly emotional journeys along with them. ⁣
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I loved revisiting Alex and DANIEL, getting to know Jacob and Brianna’s families, a glimpse into the life of an ER doctor, the chronic illness and organ donation representation and of course the LOVE story. ⁣
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I could seriously go on and on…but I think you get by now how much I loved it. 😅⁣
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5 massive stars…of course! ⁣thank you @readforeverpub for the ARC! This is out APRIL 11th.

This is one heck of a book! First five star read of the year! Yours Truly is the perfect amount of everything - the perfect amount of emotion, the perfect amount the laughs, the perfect amount of tears, the perfect amount of medical information, angst, frustration, connection, Lieutenant Dan and Cooter. I completely adored it and was mesmerized by it. Did I want to shake Bri towards the end? Yes, but her behaviors was PERFECTLY explained. It also had the perfect amount of Easter Eggs, Alexis and Daniel, and Wakan. The letters, the representation of a variety of medical and mental health issues, a divorced heroine, Jacob..... swoon sigh for all of it. And the author's note brought me to tears, my heart just exploded in so many different directions reading Abby's life experience and the lens in which she explored that in Briana and Jacob's fictional story. While I received an advanced e-copy of this book from the publisher and net galley, I will also be buying a copy for my bookcase for many re-reads.

I've been a fan of Abby Jimenez for a while now and am always wowed by her books. Once again, she's outdone herself. Ms. Jimenez has the amazing ability to take real life events and make them entertaining and relatable. Much more than contemporary romance, her books make you more empathetic. As a single straight woman I dream of meeting a man similar to Jacob—flaws and all—and would love to be friends with Briana. Yours Truly is my new favorite Abby Jimenez book. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and have hope for humankind.

I received a ARC of Yours Truly through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and are not reflective of receiving an ARC.

Quick Synopsis - Briana and Jacob are both ER doctors at a hospital and they start out as enemies but soon morph into friends in a fake relationship. Jacob struggles with anxiety and Briana is going through a divorce and has sworn men off forever. In tricking both of their families for various reasons they discover that they aren't very different from each other and may be the perfect match. They write letters to each other, buy sofas, eat tacos and are great at this fake relationship. Will they act on their feelings and learn to overcome their fears?

My thoughts - I absolutely loved this one. I laughed out loud so many times while reading and even my husband found some of the parts funny. The supporting characters were top notch too...especially Jafar the parrot. Briana and Jacob's witty banter was hilarious and the character development shown in Abby's writing is phenomenal. I loved seeing a man with anxiety portrayed in this novel. Men’s mental health is so important and often times is not shown in books of this type. It's important for women readers to also see that men struggle with anxiety too. Briana is such a great support to Jacob with his anxiety and many lessons could be learned about how best to support loved ones struggling with mental health. The letters made me swoon and I've found a new favorite book couple in Briana and Jacob. I can't wait to read Abby's backlist books!

Read if you like: talking and profane parrots, large and loud families, glitter bombs, great friends

This may be my new favorite of Abby's. I loved the tropes in this book! Fake dating, forced proximity, workplace romance to name a few. But what took me by surprise was how Abby created a relatable character with anxiety. Jacob is a soft hero that writes his feelings since he has social anxiety, and man, he was a sweetheart. And Briana is this big personality, so funny, but you see her struggles in coping with a recent divorce. Loved it so much!

Briana’s life is not going to plan. Her brother is in kidney failure, she is getting divorced after her husband cheated on her, and her in the bag promotion is now being pushed off to give the new guy a fighting chance. When Briana gets a letter from the new Doctor however, she is shocked and weirdly pleasantly surprised. The two continue with their pen pal situation until Briana finds out that Jacob is giving her the best gift anyone could give…

Is anyone in any way surprised that this book by @authorabbyjimenez was freaking fantastic? I sure wasn’t! Did I want to scream at Jacob and Briana several times? Yes, I absolutely did. Each of them being in their own heads thinking nonsense kept them apart for so much longer than needed. I suppose it would have been a fairly short book without that though! Abby is the queen of side characters. The ones we know, the ones we meet, the friends, family, coworkers, they all just add so much to the story and this book was no exception! I seriously can’t wait for what Abby does next!

Welp, that’s another book boyfriend added to my list.

ER docs Briana and Jacob do not have the easiest of first encounters. He’s having a difficult time transitioning to a new hospital; with several patients dead the first day, Jacob is not ingratiating himself with the staff. And Briana? She’s on the brink of finalizing her divorce, is overwhelmed caring for her brother who needs a kidney transplant, and is eagerly awaiting news about a promotion. And, as it turns out, Jacob may also be a candidate for that position.

But then Jacob writes her a letter. And she writes him back. And things begin to grow from there.

Abby Jimenez’s books just keep getting better and better. In Yours Truly, she takes some of my favorite romance tropes and devices—fake dating, a bit opposites attract, and epistolary elements—and weaves them into a layered, emotional, and uplifting story. But, being Abby Jimenez, she is not afraid to broach heavy topics and themes. Be prepared to run through the gamut of emotions. Her books never fail to give me a lesson in empathy.

I smiled, laughed, felt that chest constriction, and cried.

I adored Jacob and Briana. Both have been through so much, but they continue to care and do things for others. I found myself wanting to wrap my arms around them and to hold them tight. Thankfully, in the midst of it all, they connect with each other.

As an introvert with social anxiety I especially appreciated the portrayal of Jacob, his feelings, and his coping mechanisms. And as a child of a mother with lupus, I identified with the experience of watching a loved one’s body attack itself and feeling unable to help enough. These topics are handled with such care in this story.

Lest you be worried that this is all too heavy, be prepared for grins and laughs and maybe even some guffaws as well. Briana is witty; Jacob’s family is colorful and very involved. There is a cast of spirited animals to lighten the mood—we even get a Kevin Bacon cameo. AND there is a trip to Wakan for a touch of humor—think Doug—and maybe even a bit of magic.

Ultimately, your heart will be warmed by this story about so many things—but at its core—about finding a connection with the right person and trusting that person with your heart.

I received an advance copy of the book from Forever and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

Perfection. Absolute perfection.

Abby has a true gift in seamlessly blending heavy subjects with the humor of life and steam filled romance. She does this balancing act to *perfection*.

I have a brother with T1 diabetes who has been on a transplant list for a kidney for over a year. Abby’s portrayal of someone on a donor list and the toll that takes was somewhat hard to read simply because it was so accurately represented. Thank you to the author for shining a light on this.

Not surprising this was another winner for me from Abby Jimenez! She's an autobuy author for me and this book was top tier content like all the rest of her books have been for me.

I love how Abby can infuse humor, emotionality, deeper issues, and an intense romantic connection in her books. She effortlessly goes from making me laugh to making me tear up from page to page.

Things you get in this book:
- Fake dating
- Enemies to friends to lovers
- Epistolary
- Magic of Wakan happening again
- Anxiety rep
- Kidney illness rep
- Divorce rep
- Families involved on both sides
- Lots of humorous moments including a cursing parrot
- A sweet dog

This book follows the story after Part of Your World. It is a standalone but it is nice to read it after POYW to know all the characters. Brianna Ortiz is an ER doctor going through a messy divorce. Her life in her 30s is nothing like she pictured it. She's living back in the home she grew up in and helping to take care of her sick brother who has a kidney disease.

Jacob is trying to move away from his past and the hold it has on him while also managing his crippling anxiety. He decides to start a new job at the same hospital Brianna works at. What starts off as a bad first encounter, ends up with them becoming fast friends through beautiful letters. Jacob needs a fake girlfriend and with donating a kidney to Brianna's brother there is nothing she won't do for him.

This has amazing rep for anxiety, ptsd and chronic illness. I love that Abby writes about real people and real issues that they have to overcome to bring more awareness to them.

Jacob is a national treasure and should be protected at all costs! He is the ultimate book boyfriend and one of the most giving and kind male leads I've ever read. He heart is just so pure and the struggles he has with anxiety are relatable. I loved how Brianna was able to understand Jacob so well and anticipate his needs in relation to his anxiety. It was so sweet!

As always with Abby's books there were tons of jokes in the book that had me completely laughing out loud. Jacob and Brianna's families were a trip. I was sad to finish this because I never want Abby's books to end. I highly recommend putting this on your TBR and pre-ordering stat!

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holy shit, I am still processing this book. I am still processing Jacob and Briana and how this will be a part of my life for years.

I'll start by saying THIS IS HOW YOU DO A SLOW BURN. MY GOD. It wasn't even the sexual tension, it was the yearning. Its the way these two people loved each other and didn't know how the other one felt.

I wanted to cry so much during this book and it too me so long to finish it because I didn't want to bad things to happen to these two people I've grown to love. Jacob, a man living with anxiety and just going through the motion until he meets Briana. Briana a super strong woman, who has been through so much. Always having to put a brave face and putting everyone else before herself for so long.

I loved every second of this book. Loved every word. Every moment. It will probably be the best book of the year for me. Thank you so much Abby Jimenez for writing this and sharing this characters with us. Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc of this book.

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Small warning if you're a person who doesn't like when books are dated or mentions of Tiktok. Do no read this book. Just a small warning.

This was an incredible book! Abby jimenez does it again!!! I am a HUGE fan of her books and this one does not disappoint! the z Happy Ever After Playlist was my first read from her and it holds a special place in my heart. It will forever be my favorite! But oh boy! Yours Truly is sweet, dramatic, and heartfelt! Another incredible incredible book!

I’m having a hard time putting into words how awesome this book is. In this book, the main character Briana is going through a rough time (recent divorce and her brother has a pretty life altering medical condition). She’s a doctor and is smart and funny, and so loyal and understanding. Our other main character, Jacob, is also going through some rough times (his brother and his ex are getting married and he’s recently changed employers, also he has social anxiety). Jacob is also a doctor, he is also smart and funny, and he is sooooo relatable to me. I’ve been wondering for some time if I have social anxiety, never quite sure how much is just related to introversion or if there is more to it than that. Getting inside Jacob’s head and seeing so much I can relate to there, made me realize that it is more than introversion. And watching how Briana interacts with Jacob, how she respects who he is and anticipates his needs (and just straight up asks him what he needs) was so validating and amazing. Everyone deserves to be treated this way. The way these two characters took care of each other was so touching.

The plot should have felt unrealistic, fake dating and a long-shot donor match… but these characters felt so honest and so real that I totally bought into the story line as if it was common place. My only wish is that it could go on longer, I want to see the future of this relationship and I want to see them build relationships with each other’s families and friends. One of the biggest issues I have with romances is that often don’t understand why two people are in love. Why, of all the people, has character A chosen character B and why should I want them to be together? I never question this with a Abby Jimenez book. In fact, I felt like I knew these characters so well, that I’m shocked to realize that I’ve only read about them in one book. Well that’s not entirely true, Bri was in Abby’s previous book Part of Your World, but Jacob is a new character and I feel like I’ve know them both for an Outlander-sized-book-series amount of time.

So in summary (sorry for the ramble, I seriously am struggling to do justice to this awesome book), this books is amazing, it’s funny, it’s sweet, the heroine is kick-ass, the hero is the biggest, sweetest cinnamon role. There’s an adorable dog, hilarious extended family, and most importantly, fantastic characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Abby Jimenez for sharing an Advance Reader Copy of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Wow, wow, wow! Abby Jimenez does it again! There was so much to love about this book- my favorite things though had to do with the characters emotions and mental health. First of all, it was so refreshing to see a male character working through mental health struggles- I feel like that is not seen enough. I love how we were able to see Bri's trauma and how she did or did not work through it. All the characters were flawed and they were all multi-dimensional. The plot was so freaking cute and loveable. At first, I was a little nervous because the fake boyfriend trope is kind of overdone, but Briana and Jacob REALLY pulled it off! I say this after every one of Abby's books, but this may be my favorite yet!

I have no words. Well I do, but I also don't. This is incoherent, but the point is that this book caused me so much pain, but I was extremely happy about it. I actually personally want to thank Abby Jimenez for the pain.

I don't know what it is about her last two books (including this one) but they are magic. The characters are so fleshed out and flawed and dynamic and just searching for themselves, and it is just so relatable. I hope Abby knows that I am a fan for life!

This book in particular made me feel. Just that, FEEL. It made me feel their pain, their love, their frustrations, their happiness, their struggles, their warmth. I felt everything and cried like a baby the entire time. Bri or Jacob could just be describing the other person and it's supposed to be romantic and cute, and I would be bawling my eyes out because love is REAL

BRI AND JACOB LITERALLY CAN HAVE MY HEART BECAUSE I LOVE THEM AND THEIR LOVE. Also, can we please have a resurgence of soft main male characters please! I love a grumpy man just as much as the next girlie, but there's just something about a soft boy who just loves you (I may be projecting).

Anyway some tropes for your consideration:
Bad first impression/meeting (so it was kind of dislike to friends to lovers)
Letters (they freaking write to each other like pen to paper write to each other I want to cry)
Fake dating!!!!!!!!!
MUTUAL UNREQUITED PINING
Soulmate vibes (not a trope but it's the truth)
Hurt/comfort
Softest boy alive (i love my baby Jacob)
[redacted trope] bc it's a spoiler but I have grown to love it

This was fantastic. This was outstanding. This is ~potentially~ my favorite romance of the year????!!! And it's only January, that's how amazing this book was.

*Also, this book deals with heavy topics, so please look up content warnings before reading and take care of yourself.*

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishin) and NetGalley for this eARC (electronic advanced reader's copy) in exchange for an honest review.

“We’re all a little broken, Briana. We are a mosaic…There are parts of us that are colorful and dark and jagged and beautiful. And I love every piece of you. Even the ones you wish didn’t exist.”

How does one move on from a masterpiece like this? I honestly don’t think I can really express how this book made me feel, but I’m gonna try.

Yours Truly follows two broken souls as they come together and encourage one another to heal. Briana Ortiz and Jacob Maddox are both ER doctors who’ve experienced their fair share of disappointments—to put it mildly. Aside from dealing with an awful divorce, Briana’s worried her brother won’t find a kidney donor before it’s too late. But Jacob’s a perfect donor match…and he needs a fake girlfriend to get through the next few months.

I don’t think another hero will ever compare to the man that is Jacob Maddox. He is thoughtful, selfless, kind, gentle, patient, loving, and I could go on and on. Jacob struggles with social anxiety, and I’ve never related to another character so much (except I’m not as nice tbh). Reading his inner dialogue allowed me to feel seen like never before. I didn’t think my standards could get any higher, but here we are. His determination to step outside of his comfort zone for Briana endeared him to me like no other MMC has. I honestly think I’ve found my #1 book boyfriend.

Briana’s a strong character who’s been hurt too many times in the past. I couldn’t fault her for wanting to protect herself against more heartbreak. Her relationship with Jacob was exactly what she needed to heal from the trauma of her past. I adored these two and their relationship so so much—the way it felt so natural and grew effortlessly from start to finish. I don’t have a single complaint. Their story had me kicking my legs and grinning from ear to ear, made my heart squeeze and eyes water, and I truly never wanted it to end.

Yours Truly is the definition of a perfect rom com. It’s only January, but I already know this book will be in my top 10 reads of 2023.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

3.5 stars

I had a rough time with this book, which is not usually true when I read Abby Jimenez. She has written some of my favorite romance books, and she always manages to write sweeping love stories that emotionally wreck me before my heart is put back together at the end.

I read several other early reviews, and I seem to be in the minority, but I was very frustrated the majority of the time I was reading this book.

I loved the characters. Briana and Jacob both went on journeys throughout this book, and I loved how they grew and changed. The mental health rep in this book was amazing, and I especially liked Jacob's journey with his anxiety. I loved the development of their relationship from pretending to date to slowly falling for each other. It was sweet, and the letter writing was very very cute.

I also know from the author's note at the end of the book that this was an extremely personal book for Jimenez to write. The whole subplot of Briana's brother dealing with an unexpected autoimmune disease that leads to kidney failure is directly taken from her own life.

There are so many of this parts of this book that I loved. So why am I giving it 3.5 stars? Because of the miscommunication trope that is threaded through a good third (or maybe even half) of the book. There are two huge miscommunications/misunderstandings, one from Briana and one from Jacob where they both make HUGE assumptions about something with only part of the information. And then neither of them talks to the other about it! They spend so much time assuming they know how the other one feels and they're both completely wrong, and they don't talk about it until everything has fallen apart. It's extremely frustrating that characters who are in their 30's (they're both 35 if I remember correctly) spend so much time assuming they know what the other person is thinking instead of taking two minutes to have a conversation about something to clear the air. And the part that's so frustrating is that these misunderstandings are so SILLY. And multiple times Briana flat out refuses to listen to Jacob and let him explain what is actually going on because she is SO SURE that she knows how he actually feels. I know this has to do with past trauma (which she eventually does address and deal with), but the fact that the major conflict in this book revolves around frankly ridiculous miscommunications is incredibly frustrating. There's no real reason these two people can't be together except their sheer stubbornness and refusal to be honest with each other.

It's disappointing that there was so much about this book that I loved but the entire miscommunication thing really ruined my enjoyment of the book. (As you can tell, I'm not a fan of that trope because it's always silly and easily resolved.) I feel like for the heaviness and seriousness of the rest of the plot, that really didn't fit in, and I wasn't a fan of how either character dealt with it.

It might be a little harsh, but I have given the majority of Abby Jimenez's books 5 stars and I know she can write really amazing stories. This one just didn't do it for me, and I'm pretty disappointed that this one plot point kind of sucked all the joy out of the whole book for me.

Abby Jimenez’s latest book follows anxiety riddled, Jacob, and recent divorcée, Briana, as they navigate the always tricky world of fake dating.

I loved this book. I shirked all my duties and finished the book in less than a day. When I realized that Jimenez had written a previous book following the love story of Alexis I went and found that to start reading next. “Yours Truly” had heart and lovable characters. I genuinely cared for both Jacob and Briana and understood their different perspectives and personal traumas so well. Beautifully written.

I feel like every single Abby Jimenez book I read just keeps on getting better and better… Like, I ADORED Part of Your World, but this one just blew me away. I also have a feeling that this might be a top read of 2023 for me already… That’s how much I loved this book.

There are so many things I ADORED about this book…. It was filled with so many parts that made me laugh but also so much emotions. This is something which I love most about Jimenez’s book; I know I can always count on a laugh, but also tears…

Some of my highlights about this book:
• JACOB! He just won my heart from the very start, and he climbed all the way to being one of my top book boyfriends. He is honestly the purest soul and I love him so much. I loved being able to read in his POV, and it really made me feel some of his anxiety as well as better understand the reason behind why he does some things. He’s also the type of shy guy that has a plant room and writes in his journal every day, which to me is my type of guy...
• BRIANA! I absolutely loved Briana as the FMC. She was so optimist despite everything going on in her life, and I loved her witty comebacks and how she always makes sure she gets revenge on people who have done her wrong. I loved the love she had for her little brother, something I was easily able to connect to. She was such a fun character that I couldn’t help but love.
• THE LETTERS!! I am such a sucker for letters in books, and this was perfection!
• EVERY SINGLE THING JACOB DOES FOR BRI! All the little things that Jacob did for Bri, whether she knew about it or not, just made me feel all the love he had for her. I died when he got a new sofa just for her…
• FAKE DATING! I love fake dating in a book, and this one was done so well. It didn’t feel completely out of left field like in some books, and I loved the whole concept behind it.
• I loved the authors note at the end, and it really helped tie the whole book together for me.

Overall, I don’t think there was a single thing I didn’t like about the book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, as it brought me so much joy to read. Honestly, a perfect rom com.

Thank you so much to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Abby Jimenez for this ARC! It is out on April 11th, and I can’t wait to get myself a physical copy to add to my collection.

<b><i>Yours Truly</I> is an emotional, heartwarming, and hilarious novel from one of the most dependable authors out there: Abby Jimenez!</b> Go pre-order your copy if you haven’t already done so.

<b>Tropes:</b>
-Meet-Fail
-Workplace romance
-Friends-to-Lovers
-Fake relationship
-Cinnamon roll hero

<b>Content Warnings:</b>
-Miscarriage (off-page) <spoiler>-Briana suffered a miscarriage in her first marriage. Her husband was cheating on her at the time, so she had to go through it by herself. This experience weighs on Brianna and makes her surprise pregnancy with Jacob that much scarier because she doesn’t want to lose another child.</spoiler>
-Divorce (cheating spouse)
-Sibling with chronic kidney disease
-Depression
-Clinical anxiety

<b>Plot at a glance:</b> To say Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life has hit a rough patch would be an understatement. 1) She’s <i>this</i> close to finalizing her divorce from her cheating ex – the divorce was necessary but she’s dreading wading back into the godawful dating pool – 2) time is almost up for her brother to find a kidney donor, and 3) it looks like her boss is going to give the promotion she desperately wants to the new male doctor whose already earned the nickname “Dr. Death” from the nurses and seriously pissed her off for invading a private moment with her brother. Briana was ready to write Jacob off for good, but then he sends her an incredible letter that kicks off an unexpected friendship that could turn into something more.

<b>Review:</b> Briana completely stole my heart in <i>Part of Your World</i>, so I was thrilled when Abby Jimenez announced she was getting her own book. She hasn’t had an easy life, but she’s incredibly resilient and an absolute firecracker. She’s also exactly what cinnamon roll Jacob needs because she’s just as nurturing as she is bold. The way Briana and Jacob take care of each other is inspiring.

I loved getting to see Alexis and Daniel again! The time Briana and Jacob spend with them is absolutely precious. I also enjoyed getting to know Jacob's wildly entertaining family.

As with all Abby Jimenez books, tough subjects are expertly handled. Careful plotting and moments of levity help balance the darkness, so readers never feel overwhelmed. My only tip is to make sure you have a full box of tissues before you read Jacob’s last letter to Briana!

<b>Overall, <i>Yours Truly</I> is a must-read for fans of Abby Jimenez, Emily Henry and Christina Lauren.</b>

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the chance to read this digital ARC.</i>

<b>Series side note:</b> <i>Yours Truly</I> is a standalone romance, but Briana is first introduced in <i>Part of Your World</I>. I highly recommend reading <i>Part of Your World</I> because 1) it’s incredible and 2) Briana is a spotlight stealer and absolute joy to read in that novel.