Her need to protect herself and how she went about doing it was something l think that anyone picking up this book will be able to connect and resonate with. Justin and Emma were such relatable characters and it was exciting and easy to watch their relationship unfold. Abby Jimenez is a Food Network winner, New York Times best selling author, and recipient of the 2022 Minnesota Book Award for her novel Life's Too Short. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up.

The way that this book and story felt so real, yet navigated difficult and heart wrenching topics was so beautifully done.If she hadn't extracted her head from delulu-land, I would've given this one star so brace yourself while reading this. And as genuine attraction begins to grow between Emma and Justin, the end of her assignment in Minnesota looms large. However, I still think it was necessary that she took time to herself, went to therapy, found her healthy boundaries and recovered from the absolute life-shattering information she found out. While her three sons spend the summer holiday with their father, Kate has an opportunity to prove to herself that there is a new life, after her divorce. Another massive highlight of this book was seeing the former Part of Your World/Yours Truly crew, it’s this interconnected stand alone series that’s made me fall head over heels with Abby’s writing and seeing these characters makes my heart 🥹 burst!

Yes, the stress of his family situation was downplayed big time, but at least it was something different than the "my mom died when I was young" backstory that we usually see for MMCs. Justin made us all hold his proverbial beer when he stepped up as the newest book boyfriend in town. I think that it's also important to mention that his is by far her darkest book because it deals with a lot of heavy topics and I would check trigger warnings before diving into this one. I just have a feeling when this book comes out that people are going to HATE on Maddy, but she really was a good friend, despite how harsh she could have been. This, like all of Abby’s books, is hilarious and filled with comedic relief, but it’s also evocative and wrought with emotions and, in some ways, heavier than some of her previous stories.Former childhood sweethearts pretend to be a couple during the summer to get their matchmaking grandmothers off their backs. With Part of Your World being a 5 star read and Yours Truly being infinite stars, I knew this book wouldn’t disappoint. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected - including catching real feelings for each other.