Thank you @readforeverpub for the gifted ARC!


🩷 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🩷
This was my first Abby Jimenez read! And it didn’t let me down, I binged it over the weekend! There was a lot of thought put into this story and I think it has a little something for everyone!

First off, there’s a dementia rep, and while I don’t have first hand knowledge of it, I thought Abby incorporated it into the story very beautifully. This storyline might have been my favorite because there are so many intricate things going on with Samantha’s family in this story, all centered around her mother’s care. Some were sad, and some were funny, which is life together because you need funny moments to get through really sad ones.

I loved Xavier! His background was so sad, yet he is such a sweet guy to Samantha, and determined to overcome any obstacle. I think the differences between how Xavier was raised, with his parents, and how Samantha was raised in a very loving home were interesting.

I think there were so many heartfelt moments and descriptions in this story it’s hard to narrow down! I think the parallel between Samantha trying to make Xavier forget about her, and her going to take care of her mom who doesn’t remember her, was well done. It was all just well thought out!

So I need to go back and read all of Abby’s books now!

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🩷 Long Distance Relationship
🩵 Dementia Rep
💛 Complicated Family Dynamics
🧡 Adorable Animals

Like all Abby Jimenez books, I devoured this one in less than 2 days! I really loved "Say You'll Remember Me" -- Xavier, while reserved and somewhat grumpy at times, is so much deeper and filled with kindness and love. Samantha is hilarious--her witty personality and banter is the perfect match for Xavier! What I loved most about this book was that it didn't have the typical 'they like each other, they break up, they second a chance chance' etc. It's a story of soulmates and how they manage to come together when the world has other plans. Abby Jimenez has done it again!

Thank you so much for this gifted copy! Due to the very tight approval window (approved a week before pub day) I haven’t been able to read this yet but CANNOT wait to dive into this one!

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez is a heartfelt, emotional romance that explores love, second chances, and personal growth. It’s a touching read that tugs at your heartstrings. I do have some concerns about a few of the themes presented, which is why it's only three stars, mainly the use of "motherland," and the lack of development in the relationship between the characters. I also feel like Jimenez's books have started to verge on the trauma-porn department, with their heavy themes of grief that often times are more central to the plot than romance. But I'll still purchase it for library copy.

The way Abby Jimenez addresses trauma, romance, family drama, and life in general is truly unmatched. I go into every Abby book knowing all too well that she is going to break my heart, address heavy topics, and glue me back together by the end. I have giggled out loud multiple times and any book that makes me do that is an immediate 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review!!

Thank you so much for this arc!!

This is by far my favorite Abby Jimenez book. I did not expect to cry so much. I love it

4.5 out of 5 stars | I have been obsessed with [author:Abby Jimenez|18446724]'s writing since I read [book:Part of Your World|58684524] last year. When I started Say You'll Remember Me I expected the same romcom heartwarming writing. This book delivered that and WAY more. The emotional impact of Samantha & Xavier's story had me hooked from the very beginning. Personally, I think this story had the perfect balance between romance (and the heartache that can happen when in love) and the individual journey that both Samantha & Xavier were going through in their own lives.

This book hit very close to home for me so the tears were for sure flowing, but I do believe it would be a balance of heartbreaking and hopeful for any reader.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Forever Publishing for the ARC.

⭐ Rating: 5/5
🔥 Spice: 2/5 – Minimal explicit scenes

This book completely wrecked me—in the best way. Abby Jimenez never misses, and her ability to blend emotional family dynamics, mental health representation, and swoon-worthy romance is unmatched. This story had me hooked from the start.

What I Loved:
- Raw & Real Family Dynamics: Samantha’s family’s journey through her mom’s illness was heartbreaking and beautifully portrayed. The emotional toll, the difficult decisions, and the love that held them together were so impactful.
- Xavier’s Growth & Trauma: His backstory was devastating, and seeing how his past shaped his present made me love him even more. His journey from surviving his abusive childhood to becoming a compassionate vet was inspiring.
- Fate & Right Person, Wrong Time: Samantha and Xavier’s connection felt inevitable, but life kept pulling them apart. The tension, longing, and eventual reconnection made their love story feel so real.
- Xavier’s Unwavering Devotion: His willingness to show up, not only for Samantha but for her family, was heart-melting. Seeing him fit into their lives and be there through the toughest moments made me love him even more.
- Complex, Multifaceted Characters: Every character felt fully realized, with their own struggles, fears, and motivations. The emotional weight of their stories added so much depth to the book.

Abby Jimenez's newest release Say You’ll Remember Me is another amazing book that I’ll be shouting about for years to come!

Picture this, you go on the absolute most perfect first date of your life with a grumpy but VERY hot veterinarian (they say multiple times he gives Rhysand vibes ✨) and then move across the United States the very next day to help take care of your mother. What’s a girl to do?

This is exactly what happens to Samantha after she goes on a date with the kitten-cuddling, dog saving vet Xavier. Can thousands of miles really make Sam and Xavier forget that perfect night? Or is it worth remembering? And maybe fighting for?

Read Say You’ll Remember Me if you love
📚a truly well written book
😭crying but in a good way
😂laughing out loud and kicking your feet
🏡complicated families
🐶the cutest animal side characters

No joke I legit read passages to my husband and sobbed while saying “this is how I feel about you.” I’ve only ever done this with Abby Jimenez 💖 she somehow perfectly captures the highs and lows of love and finding your person.

Abby Jimenez is an absolute gem in the world of romance. Her novels which always feature engaging main characters, and loveable side characters. This novel was no exception. It had the magic of other Jimenez books. It was wonderful.

this book was not at all what i expected and i mean that in the best way. the love in this book was deep and wide and heartbreaking and so unique from anything i have ever read. an abby jimenez book will always leave me with a million emotions and this one was no different. it is a masterclass in the indomitable human spirit and deep deep love.
to me this story is a showcase of every type of love and how important it is to let people in to walk beside you. i honestly have no words bc i am too busy crying over how everyone cared for lisa and each other. the last 10 percent of this book was absolute perfection!
xavier is the epitome of if he wanted to he would and samantha is shouldering such an immense weight it was gutting. loved these two and will be thinking of this story forever.

This was a whirlwind. At so many points did I have to put this book down and scream! I just could not believe that these characters faced traumatic event, after tragedy, after life altering thing. Samantha and Xavier were put through the RINGER, but you know what I was SAT! I was living for the drama of it all. I finished this book in less than 72 hours because I was so into it. It gave more romantic drama than anything, and there were a lot of moments that just had me wishing they didn't happen or the plot took a different course. This book has opened my mind to long distance romance reads because they really test a relationship.

This definitely felt a little different than normal Abby for me. Maybe I was turned off by the first chapter bombarding us with talk of euthanizing two animals when that’s kind of triggering but I continued.

I really enjoyed the first date.It was unorthodox and fun and different. But then like everything went downhill. Abby can write hilarious books but this one was soooo heavy. It had some romance, yes. But I don’t feel like it was a “romance”. More contemporary fiction and “chick lit” if you will.

Complaint time: Everyone was so miserable the whole time. It was really depressing. (also finished the second half of this book the DAY after I finished sunrise on the reaping soooo)
I totally understand that all love stories can’t be sunshine and roses and that’s life and that’s one thousand percent relatable but this one was just a lot.
Everyone had trauma or a terrible past (and even the sister’s husband with the sex addiction like, could it have not been a normal break up?? 😅) and then just one terrible thing after another was feeling really exhausting.

Tristan was the best character lol. I love him and his sass. I love the humor and the sibling dynamics. “Google is free” is my new catch phrase lol.

Wasn’t sure how this was going to go for the first third of the book. Can’t put my finger on what exactly, but it didn’t feel like Abby’s usual writing, however it did start to pick up towards the middle and I flew straight through to the end. I laughed, I teared up, I was conflicted, and had me considering the what-ifs. Enjoyed this one and the usual emotions I’ve come to expect with Abby Jimenez’s work.

Nobody does chemistry between two characters like Abby Jimenez. It is so electric that it jumps off the page and straight into your heart before making its way to your brain where it invariably alters the chemistry there, too.

I will say, I was nervous at the start of the book at how automatic the attraction was and, honestly, the meet-cute between them had me raising my eyebrows, but I quickly became a Samantha and Xavier stan.

While I of course loved the banter between Samantha and Xavier, it was the side characters of Tristan and Hank who truly won my heart!

This book felt extremely choppy with no flow between scenes. Just scene 1, cut, scene 2, cut, 3, end of chapter. I did like the MMC but I couldn’t stand basically anyone else. My expectations were fairly high considering how well-loved the author’s other work is, so I was incredibly disappointed with the craft behind this book. I’m still not able to get over the fact that rather than describing the MMC, I just got multiple people saying he looks like Rhysand from ACOTAR… how was this acceptable? A. Not everyone has read that series B. Not everyone likes that series and C. That’s so lazy and cheap I almost DNFed by 10% of the way in. My advice to the publisher, just because an author has a few big hits, doesn’t mean you don’t have to edit their books.

I loved this book, enjoyed both main characters, and appreciated how fast-paced it was.

As a mental health advocate, I love how it highlighted how caregivers often have to flip their lives for the ones they love. Such an easy yet heartwarming read. I think this is my favorite of the series.

10/10 would recommend.

4.4

Life Lessons from Samantha and Xavier:

Life isn’t always fair. Sometimes it’s really unfair.
Timing is everything.
It’s much hotter in the car—too hot—even with the windows cracked.
You’ll never get today back.
Social media can sell anything if you’re creative enough.
Some people shouldn’t be parents—human or otherwise.
Veterinarians hide their wings under their scrubs.
Don’t bother arguing with a narcissist.
Avoid escape rooms that also have mini golf, arcade prizes, and a bar.

Samantha and Xavier‘s love story is not the most tragic thing in this book, but sometimes it feels that way. Just when you think you know who will be able to bend in order to bring them together, you see further inside the others’ life and change your mind.

Modern “romance novels”are made by the banter between the two characters and this is another example. Unfortunately, Xavier and Sam are trying not to talk to each other for part of the book and and much of the rest of it, they are too busy to manage more than text messages. But when they do banter…

Those same romances also seem to be really sad, even when they have cute illustrations on the front…often with a dog. This one certainly produced some tears, which is not just because of the long-distance romance, but because of the dementia, a history of abuse, and other real-world struggles that are present in their lives. If those are sensitive areas for you, you may want to skip this one.

There are many great books coming out in April. While this may not be the my top pick, it’s a sweet story that should almost be labeled a mystery because you’ll be racking your brain to figure out how they are going to end up in the same place for more than 48 hours.

Thank you to Abby Jimenez, NetGalley, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with a free advanced copy of this ebook for my unbiased review.

#SayYoullRememberMe #NetGalley #romance #longdistanceromance #veterinarian #escaperoom #dementia

my abby lovers pls read at your own discretion!! because this is my first book by this author, idk if it's the book that just didn't sit right with me or maybe just her writing style isn't a match for what i look for in a romance novel. that being said i know so many people love her and have loved this book!! reading is subjective so i hope if you do read this book that you love it!!

that being said!! this is one of my least favorite romances and quite honestly a reminder of everything i don't love about the genre. if you've read my reviews you know that in order for me to love a romance, it has to be down to earth, and for me this was too over the top (either sooo cheesy OR depressing as shit). the love story and the trauma story both felt so surface level like she was just trying to complete a checklist that turned into a book. there was no character development and honestly it was hard to differentiate between POVs. i felt both main characters very hard to connect to and i dont really think any sort of chemistry was shown to make the insta-love believable to me. also those poor people knew almost no joy this entire book! the absolute trauma spectacle of this book is on another level. she was trying to throw SO MUCH IN that literally none of it worked.

here's what i DID LIKE:
hank
samantha's dad

ty to netgalley and forever for the arcyyyy i wish i had better things to say ILY <3

Hot and broody veterinarian Xavier Rush meets fun and lively Samantha Diaz. After getting off on the wrong foot, they happen to reconnect. One thing leads to another and before we know it, Xavier and Samantha are having the best date of their lives. It's the stuff movies are made about. It just feels right. But they each face their own demons in their personal life. Can they forget the perfect match they make and move on, or are some things worth remembering?

I gave 3 stars to Abby Jimenez's new release "Say You'll Remember Me". My favorite thing about this book was how realistic it felt: Meeting someone who feels like your soulmate when you least except it. And then only to be moving across the country the next day. Two working adults at big points in their careers. Money being tight. And most of all, the way that dementia and memory care can permanently alter your family and every person in your life. The way that Abby wrote this storyline into this book was done in a way that made you really envision yourself in Samantha's shoes and ask yourself what you would do in this situation. It's the hard realities of caring for a loved one who no longer remembers you and the physical and mental toll caring for them takes.

I could relate to the long distance struggle of dating and I felt so seen in Samantha's longing for Xavier to be present for all the little moments in your everyday routine. I loved the appreciation this book gave to all the little moments that we so easily take for granted. The sibling dialogue, especially with Tristian, made me laugh out loud at times.

Although the romance was sweet, I felt that a lot of the dialogue felt very internet brain rot heavy.... many of the phrases felt like they were just popular phrases taken from the comment section of a viral Tiktok. It took away from the heavy themes of the book and made it feel silly to me. I also am not the biggest fan of "insta-love" tropes and although this worked for the storyline, it's personally not my favorite.

I recommend this book for readers looking for a good balance between romance and other themes of a book, fans of "insta-love" and those who can relate to long distance relationships.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an early copy of this book!