Summer Romance #2: Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez
In which I get analytical
Welcome back to my summer romance series! This summer, I’ll be writing about the buzzy romances of the summer, including a review, read-alikes for the author, and where they fit in the landscape of romance today. Last week I wrote about Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry and this week we’re tackling the latest from Abby Jimenez.
The author: After Emily Henry, Jimenez is probably the most widely read contemporary romance author of the moment. (Well, I think it’s either her or Ali Hazelwood but they write very different strains of romance, so I’m curious how much overlap they have in terms of readership.) Her books tend to blend serious issues with humor and feature Midwestern settings, sweet and supportive cinnamon roll heroes, a general wholesome atmosphere, and very good dogs. Her novels have been consistently successful but Part of Your World, an opposites attract romance about a big-city doctor and a small-town carpenter, feels like the one that launched her into a new level of success and last year’s Just for the Summer was, along with Funny Story, one of the summer reads I saw everywhere.
The premise: Xavier and Samantha meet when she brings a kitten in to his vet clinic and after initially clashing, go on one perfect, unforgettable date. Only Samantha is about to move across the country to help take care of her mom, who’s suffering from early onset dementia, and a relationship between them is impossible. But as hard as they try to forget each other, they can’t let whatever’s between them go.
My thoughts: I’ve thoroughly enjoyed most of Jimenez’s previous novels but this one wasn’t my favorite and about 300 pages in, I finally realized why. One of the main reasons that I read romance is for the pleasure of seeing a relationship develop: that delicious push-pull between the main characters, the way they slowly unfold themselves to each other, how they have to change to let love into their lives. I love a will-they-won’t-they and I love a messy central couple. But aside from that epic first date, we don’t get a lot of that here. Xavier and Samantha fall for each other instantly, communicate well throughout the novel, and have an unshakable conviction that they’re the right people for each other. (If you like a stable, sensible couple, you might love this!) The only thing standing in their way is that Samantha has to be in California to help with her mom and the real conflict is within Samantha’s family, not between or within them. It’s quite a wrenching portrayal of having to care for a loved one with dementia and the toll that can take on a family and at times it overwhelmed the romance for me.
I don’t mind a romance with a strong secondary plot. Some of my favorites from the last few years, like Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller or Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell, have a juicy mystery running alongside the romance. Like I talked about last week, Great Big Beautiful Life weaves two timelines together beautifully. But the balance felt off here. Jimenez is obviously interested in memories: the ones we keep, the ones we let go, and the importance of making them while we still can. However, for me, those themes didn’t tie the family drama and the romance together strongly enough for me to be equally invested in both plot threads. I think I would have savored the happy ending more if we’d gotten to see more of Samantha and Xavier falling for each other and working through the internal conflicts that are keeping them from choosing each other and their love.
From what I’ve seen, reactions to this one have been mixed. Some of that likely has to do with how much these characters go through, in a time when a lot of romance readers are craving escapism in the form of romantasy. I also wonder if readers who started out with romance that leans towards contemporary or women’s fiction back in 2020 have gravitated towards weirder, spicier, and more emphatically romance-y romances. But I do think there’s a space for a big, dramatic, emotional contemporary romance that tackles hard themes, if it delivers equally on the swoon. And I wanted a little more swoon.
To be clear, I did really like Samantha and Xavier together. Jimenez is very good at writing caretaker heroes and at showing how her characters fall for each other in the little moments that make up everyday life. Their first date and banter are a lot of fun and it’s lovely to see how steadfastly Xavier loves her. I think you might enjoy this if you’re looking for a romance about the difficulties of a long-distance relationship or a love that endures a lot of hard things but I wouldn’t recommend starting here if you’re curious about Jimenez’s novels. For that, I’d recommend Part of Your World or Yours Truly, which is my very favorite of hers.
Read-alikes:
If you like a deeply caring hero and a thoughtful portrayal of mental health: At First Spite by Olivia Dade, a sincere and funny love story about a woman who winds up living in a spite house across from her former fiance’s brother…who also happened to be the one to convince her fiance to call it off.
If you like strong female friendships, a wonderfully capable heroine, and a hero willing to put in the work to win her over: The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon, about former high school arch-nemeses whose casual hookup leads to big feelings and that features one of my favorite fictional friend groups.
If you like a couple thoughtfully working through conflict: Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young, about a one night stand that leads to an unexpected pregnancy and two people who decide to build a family and life together.
If you want a grounded celebrity-normal person romance and a caretaker hero: Just Playing House by Farah Heron, about a stylist going through an elective double mastectomy and the newly minted Hollywood star—who also was her high school prom date—who steps up to help her.
Let me know if you’ve read Say You’ll Remember Me or if you’re a fan of Jimenez’s writing!
Currently reading: Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin, which is part cookbook, part essay collection, and all delightful.
Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:
The first two episodes of Murderbot on Apple TV and Alexander Skarsgard’s amazing physicality as the titular Murderbot. I love the books and so far the adaptation is living up to my anticipation.
All the Broadway Tiny Desk concerts, in the run-up to the Tonys.
We were upstate last weekend and went to Innisfree, a stunning botanical garden modeled after traditional Chinese cup gardens that was at its most green and lush.
Interestingly, we're flipped on the Henry & Jimenez releases this season! I listened to both on audio, and I wonder how much that affected my experience with both books. I also wonder what my somewhat-more-normal brain would think compared to the wild postpartum ride I'm on right now--as in, I loved the comfort of a couple's inevitability from Jimenez, but I was bored by the dual plots in Henry.
I agree with you! It wasn’t her strongest work. I think there was not enough character development of Samantha especially. What do we really know about her except that she is funny and good at her job? I can tell you all about her family and their dynamic and all about Xavier and his trauma and who he is, but Samantha was not as fleshed out. Abby really thrived in writing the family story and the real heartbreak of dementia, to the point that the romance was secondary.