3.5 rounding to a 4

Spice level, according to me: 🫑 (closed door/fade-to-black; one open door scene with no explicit language)

I’m a little conflicted on this one. The first part of the book was so funny and witty and had that classic Abby Jimenez feel. The last 25-30% took a very heavy turn, several actually. It was like the main characters could not catch a break, and it made me emotional but in an unexpected way. It almost felt like 2 different vibes from the first half to the second half. I would say this is probably one of Abby’s most emotional and heavy books.

That said, there were definitely things I loved:
- Xavier and Samantha’s chemistry is amazing. I’m usually not a fan of insta-love but it had to be insta-love for the whole story to work. It made sense for them.
- There were many laugh out loud, classic Abby J humor moments.
- The found family aspect was incredible.
- There was something beautiful and poetic about how Abby wrote about memory, memories, and things that can be forgotten.

Overall, I liked it. I feel like this is one that you have to be in the right mindset for and not be caught off-guard by the last 30%. I wouldn’t recommend someone going into this expecting a classic romcom.

Abby Jimenez has done it yet again. Every time I think I have discovered her greatest book, it changes the next time I read another one of her books. Say You'll Remember Me is an emotional roller coaster in the best way. I found myself not able to think about anything else. How can two people meet, fall in love and then make their new relationship work while living 2,000 miles away from one another? This book was both hilarious and heartbreaking. I laughed, I giggled and kicked my feet, I wanted to throw my book across the room and I cried. A lot. Both happy tears and sad. Abby Jimenez is masterful at making her characters relatable and she makes it impossible to not become emotionally invested in their fictional lives. I oscillated between rooting for Samantha and Xavier hoping they could find a way to make their relationship work long distance and wanting them to break up and put an end to their misery and suffering. This love story just goes to show us that love can conquer all, no matter how far the distance or how hard the obstacles. My favorite quote from the book was "Love is the brightest color in a gray world."

Knocked it out of the park. Anytime I think I have a favorite Abby book, she releases a new one and proves me wrong. WOW.

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez is a delightful romantic comedy filled with heart and substance. I truly enjoyed the main characters—Xavier, a compassionate veterinarian, and Samantha, whose quirky job writing hilarious PR for a mustard company adds a fun twist. Their meet-cute is genuinely funny and sets the tone for their charming romance. Abby Jimenez masterfully blends humor with emotional depth, making the characters feel real and relatable. I appreciate how she balances lighthearted moments with genuine challenges, giving the story a satisfying complexity. The chemistry between Xavier and Samantha is electric and their journey is both heartfelt and entertaining. Say You’ll Remember Me is a beautifully written love story that leaves you smiling long after the last page.

In "Say You’ll Remember Me," Samantha meets veterinarian Xavier in Minnesota and they go on one date right before she moves back to California to be with her family. The two are smitten with each other from the start, however, and try to make it work.

This novel was so much more than a rom-com in that it dealt with some harder topics, but then that’s typical of Jimenez’s works, which I love. This one gave me all the feels!

I just loved this story! It’s quite possibly my favorite of all Abby Jimenez’s novels. This is an absolutely can’t miss!

Oh, Abby. Abby, Abby, Abby. With each new book of yours that I read, I fear my reviews will get me placed on a watchlist for their creepy/stalker vibes. I should probably tone it down a little so I don’t get thrown in jail. But I just can’t help gushing and raving because I always love them SO MUCH! Gah! I ask myself this question every single year: “HOW DOES SHE DO IT?” Seriously!? She’s now 7/7! All seven of her novels have been five star reads for me. That’s unheard of. Definitely not common. Almost impossible. Yet, here we are once again.

After I finished reading SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME, I hugged my kindle and whispered to myself, “That was pure perfection.” To be quite honest, I think this new one just might be my very favorite of hers yet! She has a knack for blending very serious—and often heavy—subject matter with romance, and it just works so incredibly well. She puts her heart and soul into her characters, and you can’t help but form strong connections with them. Even when the characters are going through some tough situations, she manages to throw in some witty banter and hilarious jokes to make you laugh and ease the tension. She excels at this. Early-onset dementia plays a major part in this story, as well as some past childhood trauma and neglect. Both main characters are in the thick of it, and you just can’t help but feel for them and want to erase their pain.

THINGS I LOVED:

- The Minnesota references
- Grumpy/sunshine trope
- Intense chemistry
- The animals!
- The laughter! (I snorted so much!)
- The family drama and dynamics
- Solid friendships
- Long distance relationship

I’ll scream from the rooftops all day long. Abby Jimenez is the queen of romance. She has an incredible gift, and will forever be one of my very favorites. Don’t ever stop writing, Abby. SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME releases on April 1st! I HIGHLY recommend it. 5/5 perfect stars.

The amount of times I had to put the book down to swoon and stare at the ceiling to compose myself was too high to admit.

Say You'll Remember Me has it all - the yearning, the internal struggles of a long distance relationship and family issues. This being said, please check the triggers before reading, because the family part is quite heavy and deals with abusive parents, memory care and loss. (All separate instances)

Samantha and Xavier complement each other so well. The whole book is a case of "right person, wrong time" and it hurts as much. The way they fit into each others lives is how I genuinely want my own relationship to look like. They are not afraid to love each other even if it's from a distance.

The writing really transported me back to times I was doing a long-distance relationship and that hurt even more. I sobbed during the last couple chapters and I wish every love story had the same exact impact on me. I felt joy, I was scared for their future, scared for Lisa, rooting for Pooter and angry at the guy who didn't deserve Pugsly.

Even though the main storyline happens inside one or two locations, I found it very fitting for a story about a woman, who uprooted her life in another state and went back home to take care of her mother. Xavier worked himself almost to the grave, just to be with Sam. Just to spend a couple days together and then go back to their own lives. Live parallel lives from miles away.

I've seen people say the time jumps were confusing, but I found it pretty realistic. In a long distance relationship you live a phone call to phone call, one weekend every couple weeks, or sometimes even longer without seeing your partner. (And if you ask me if we're reading a romance novel, I'd like to read about the main characters interacting, and not about their lives without each other)

Overall, 100000/10. Running to read more books by Abby Jimenez.

Thank you to NetGalley and Read Forever for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review!!

Let me start by saying I am an Abby Jimenez lover. Her books are known for quickly developing a strong romantic connection between MCs, dealing with family trauma, multifaceted MCs that you root for, and funny pop culture references.

Insta-love is not my favorite trope, but as someone who has been on a first date with someone who was moving across the country very shortly after (lol) I actually liked it here and thought it made the most sense. I didn’t, however, love its execution, mainly from our FMC, because I didn’t see her showing how she loved our MMC, as much as he showed it for her by his multiple trips to CA.

The strongest parts of this book for me were actually when our MCs weren’t together, and we got to see them in their natural environments. I loved the parts of Samantha interacting with her family and I loved the parts of Xavier working in his veterinarian practice with his sweet coworkers. I didn’t hate the pop culture references as much as others did because I go into an Abby book expecting them!

Overall, I would say this book is a solid 3 star romance! It was just fine for me, not incredible but definitely not awful.

Yours Truly & Just for the Summer remain my favs <3

This is my favorite Abby Jimenez book! Xavier and Samantha were meant to be but they meet at the wrong time. They both have so much going on but they can’t deny the attraction. This love story is filled with family drama, grief and loss, and overcoming obstacles. I found it to be very relatable in a lot of aspects. I will think about these two for quite some time.

Please make sure to check triggers warnings!

A love story that starts with a kitten without a butthole...

Abby Jimenez is now one of my favorite authors I will recommend over and over again. This book was emotional, hilarious, and romantic.

Abby always writes great characters with many layers, although I don’t love insta love I thought I’d give this one a try! I’m obsessed with people who deserve love finding it!!! A multi dimensional story with palpable struggles and tension.

Oh this was so good! Emotional, sentimental., and delivers on everything I would expect from an Abby Jimenez novel.

Say You’ll Remember Me
Abby Jimenez
5☆

There is truly not much else that excites me like the anticipation of a new Abby Jimenez novel. And once again, she did not disappoint!

All the freaking stars for this one. Abby truly is the queen of writing rom-coms that pack an emotional wallop. Never one to sugarcoat the heavier topics, however she handles them with a tender and genuine hand. This one… oh my lord, this one tugged on each and every heartstrings and I was here for ALL of it. This might just be my new favorite.

I adored Xavier and Samantha with my whole heart. He’s grumpy on the outside, but inside he’s a gooey cinnamon roll and the epitome of a book boyfriend. She’s smart, loyal to a fault, and has a sense of humor I instantly connected to. Their story hit on every single one of my feels and as with every Abby book I’ve read, I was fully invested and rooting so hard for these two every single step of the way. And the “way” was rocky, complicated by family dynamics, and distance. But in the end, so worth it.

The way in which my jaw dropped and my heart full on melted at the full circle moment of this story. Well done Abby. Well done! This story and these unforgettable characters will stick with me for the long haul.

What I loved;
🎡 Insta Love (Surprisingly)
🎡 Grumpy x Sunshine
🎡 That Meet Cute
🎡 Pooter/Jake From State Farm
🎡 Dual POV
🎡 Family Dynamics
🎡 Long Distance Relationship
🎡 ALL the feels

A huge thank you to my friends @forever for allowing me be an early reader. I will be gushing about this one non-stop. I’m already counting down the days not only until all of my gorgeous pre-orders arrive, but also for the audio release so I can dive in for a reread with Christine Lakin and Matt Lanter!

Abby Jimenez has done it again. This book is raw and emotional and takes yearning to the nth level.
As someone who has had a love one who had dementia, the realness of that plotline really stands out to me in this book. Then adding in the strain of a long distance dating relationship, and this book was fairly heavy to read. Luckily there was some levity and humor as well. Overall Abby does a great job in creating relatable characters and bringing the reader along for their journey.

Tropes
* Insta-love
* Family dynamics
* Long first date
* Long distance relationship

5 stars

As someone who lost a parent to dementia, this book really hit hard for me.

Say You'll Remember Me finds Sam and Xavier having the worlds most perfect date on the day before she leaves Minnesota for good. She's moving back to California to help care for her mother with dementia who does not remember her. She tells Xavier to forget her, but neither of them can - their pull is so strong. Their relationship grows through weekend trips across the country (mostly by Xavier running himself into the ground working overtime) and of course the other traditional long distance ways. I loved watching their romance unfurl and I kept rooting for them to figure out a way to be together.

I felt like Abby Jimenez really handled the aspects of caretaking well. It's hard and it's a full time job.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

A classic Abby Jimenez book where you get the cute moments with the hard parts of life mixed in. Not my favorite Abby book—“Just for the Summer” is going to be hard to beat—but still worth reading!!

Xavier and Samantha are just so perfect for each other and you knew they were meant to be together after their first date. They are obsessed with each other, would do anything for the other person, and support each other in every part of life. He’s a grumpy vet with a heart of a gold and she’s the sunshine in every room she walks into. Sparks fly on their first date and their love story from then on is beautiful.

While I only cried once reading this book, I would still have to agree that it’s Abby’s most emotional work so far. There is a LOT of trauma woven throughout “Say You’ll Remember Me,” but she handles it with such care and sensitivity. I had to take multiple breaks from reading after reading some of the hard parts to get through. The part that made me sob wasn’t even part of the romance plot line, but I want to cry again just thinking about it.

This is one of those books that will stick with you.

This book destroyed and devastated me—I loved it.

Xavier is the biggest green flag, and I couldn’t get enough of him. Samantha was such a fun character, and I loved both their complexities and quirks. Their story is beautiful, and there’s no doubt that these two are made for each other.

In typical Abby Jimenez fashion, the side characters and family plots are done so well that I could read an entire book on just that.

This was a devastatingly beautiful story, and I hope everyone finds the color in the gray.

I know everyone and their mother is going to hate me for rating this 3 stars.

Was it a good story? Yes.
Was it emotional? Yes.
Did I binge read this and was excited to pick it up? Yes.
This for me felt exhausting. It was really exciting in the beginning and I loved the premise, the connection, the characters. But by the middle of the story it was repeatative and everyone of the characters was miserable.

Spoilers ahead:

I just don’t understand a few things from this book.

First. The beginning felt so childish. We literally are talking about a cats butthole for the first few chapters. Like. It was crass? Then we’re comparing the male main character, Xavier, to the fictional character Rhysand several times in the first few chapters. It was too much and unless you’re a fan of fantasy books or read SJM, you won’t know who that is at all. It felt like it was a mom trying to be young and hip, using pop culture references to be cool. The language felt young and out of place. The humor felt forced. We mention instagram and TikTok a few times throughout the story and it just felt like it’s trying to be with the times while not giving a story of this magnitude its due justice.

I think it’s amazing to write a story about Alzheimer’s and its affect on a family unit. The caregiving aspect of this story was so relatable to me because I am currently on that journey myself with my own mother and her battle with Multiple Sclerosis and in due time will be taking on the tasks Samantha’s family were doing in this story. I also think that with every single member of this family being so miserable with their lives while doing it but continuing to because they promised their mother when she was healthier that they would made no sense. She would not have wanted them to sacrifice so much of their lives and happiness when she was so far gone. It bothered me that even when discussing it multiple times in the book that they decided to stick it out to care for her at home despite their crumbling mental health and her quality of life.

Poor Xavier who spent the entire story sacrificing his health, his practice, and endless amounts of money he didn’t have just to travel back and forth to Samantha. He literally was going to fold his business and destroy his reputation, his financial stability, his credit and all of his hard work to overcome his past for Samantha. Just didn’t seem completely healthy. He was perfect and literally killing himself to make the relationship work. I’m all for exploring the long distance romance idea and putting in the work for a relationship with someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, but this felt so one sided and unfair. They both know the relationship was too painful and wouldn’t give each other up. It felt like suffering was the main theme of this one for everyone involved.

The romance was beautiful don’t get me wrong. But Samantha literally says on their one year anniversary that she got to see him 12 days a year. And the subplot of the dad, who has been married to his wife for over 30 years, just has a secret hook up or relationship he sneaks off to because he cannot handle the stress of his sick wife. Vile. No thank you. That was not necessary and his kids were right to be mad about that. The brother Tristan offered a lot of comedic relief and I love that. Her sister Jeneva and her two sons felt like an after thought. And the comment about her ex-husband fucking off to his “motherland” and not paying child support. What are we doing? In the year of 2025? Stop it. The grandmother was phenomenal. Xavier sacrificed his entire life and his friends didn’t exist except for the beginning and mentioning them in the middle and end. It just felt jumbled. The viral TikTok moment was not as uplifting as they thought it was and felt out of place. Idk. Just a lot of it didn’t feel like the classic hard hitting romance of Abby from previous works.

Relationships are hard. Long distance is hard. Caretaking for a sick parent is hard. While I love Abby and her books, this was not her best work and coming off A Part of Your World and Yours Truly, you just don’t get that same feeling. Those two books literally changed my life. This one isn’t the one I’m going to hold on to for years to come.

Thank you forever for this highly anticipated ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a 5 star plus read for me. Abby Jimenez has quickly become one of my favourite authors and I was absolutely delighted when I got the chance to read an early copy of Say You'll Remember Me. This book was emotional, romantic, charming, and funny. Xavier and Samantha were wonderful characters and their relationship was so beautiful. You could really feel the love they had for each other and I was cheering for them the whole time. This book had some moments that had me laughing out loud and in true Abby Jimenez fashion it handled difficult topics like childhood abuse, death, and being a caregiver for a loved one with a terminal illness in a sensitive, real way. Definitely my favourite read of hers so far and one I will be recommending to everyone I know.

I know I’m not the first to say this but Abby’s writing is really special 🩷 it’s pure magic ✨ I was completely sucked in and heavily invested in these characters and their story. That was an adorable meet cute and the perfect first date! Xavier and Samantha’s love story was so real and raw. The hurdles they had to go through to be together were rough. But when they were together it was just so sweet 🥹 there were so many things I loved: navigating complex/toxic family dynamics, sibling relationships, navigating a long distance relationship, the early dementia representation (written with care), the ROMANCE. Truly an amazing story. I cried, I laughed and I swooned. I’ve been going through some tough things personally. Without getting too emotional, this story helped me put things into perspective and I couldn’t ask for more from a book. It helped me escape my own problems for a while and the ending was beautiful I cried so much 🥹 I’m happy I preordered a physical copy because I am definitely re-reading this one 🩷