Need I even try to introduce Abby Jimenez anymore? For better or worse, this BookTok-famous author (the only one that I’ve actually liked so far) has slid right into my list of reliable writers. Although I did not enjoy Say You’ll Remember Me at all, I was still willing to give her next books a chance, because darn it if I don’t find emotionally-intelligent-man-meets-emotionally-damaged-woman a comforting and compelling story.
Emma has spent her adult life running away from relationships. After spending a childhood in foster care thanks to her mother’s undiagnosed manic-depression, she is scared that she’ll turn out the very same. But a funny viral Reddit post leads her to Justin, and they decide to break their mutual dating curses by dating for a bit and then breaking up. This arrangement should work since Emma’s duties as a travel nurse will take her all over the country, and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings. But a summer fling can lead to a lot of places, and for Emma and Justin, a breakup might not be one of them…
I’ll say off the bat that this is an improvement over Say You’ll Remember Me. With Just for the Summer, we return to Abby Jimenez’s brand of two emotionally vulnerable people getting into impossibly quirky situations and building a slow, easy chemistry together. There is lots of family drama again, with Justin learning how to be a good guardian for his three young siblings and Emma dealing with a toxic mother, but these struggles feel less forced than a family trying hopelessly to care for a dementia patient.
As usual, Abby presents us with a male main character who is soft, emotionally available, and ready for a rescue. I like Justin, though he’s not the most emotionally compelling of Abby’s heroes. He does have depth in that he’s trying to find balance in his life with his own life and his siblings, but his personality is very Hallmark. He’s the kind of guy who will make a full breakfast for everyone each morning, and will run out to get medicine and household supplies unprompted, caring for everyone with kid gloves. I realize that’s supposed to be part of the fantasy, but for some reason, it kind of bothers me. Justin may be Hallmark, but at least he is not Hallmark with viral abs (if you know, you know).
Emma is certainly the most emotionally damaged Abby Jimenez heroine so far. She’s spent her whole life chasing her erratic transient mother, who abandoned her when she was younger, and she is always ready to run at the first sign of trouble. She doesn’t believe in herself very well and keeps everyone at arm’s length to protect herself, which is understandable. But it does come to a point where you want to shake her and be like, “Honey, gosh darn it, stop self-sabotaging!”
I was surprised at how fast Emma and Justin’s attraction started. I’m glad it wasn’t the goo-goo eyes insta-love from the previous book, but it was pretty close. We probably could have spent another couple of chapters at the start seeing them feel out the waters a little before the attraction starts.
Unfortunately, though, the chemistry between them didn’t really build to anything spectacular. I think it’s because Emma is too avoidant and too scared to build anything truly deep with Justin or his siblings. The seeds are there, but because the plot hinges on Emma being terrified of turning out like her mother, and pushing away everyone she connects with, you don’t feel her truly fall in love, even after their grand love declaration.
I get that they both have had bad dating experiences, and Justin believes he is cursed to keep dating without ever finding The One. But I’m not sure that’s enough to motivate him and Emma enough to want to date in person. Especially when Emma is set to work in Hawaii, but decides last-minute to go to Minnesota instead to date Justin. This inciting incident asks you to suspend your disbelief a little too much.
If you come to this book expecting summer vibes, per the title, you’ve come to the wrong place. The only summery things they do are hanging around on a yacht at a fancy house and staying at a janky old cottage on an island. And that cute little picture of the two main leads frolicking on a beach in their swimsuits? Didn’t happen as far as I remember.
I kind of agree that the book is misleading because the pastel cover and the fluffy title give no indication of what the book is truly about. Justin and Emma’s romance doesn’t unfold over a summer and there is barely any joy and excitement throughout, as you would expect. Rather than showing Justin and Emma connecting over time, the story kept hitting me over the head with their respective traumas, especially Emma’s. It felt less like a romance story on the whole, and more about two people’s soul-draining walk through emotional turmoil. I didn’t come out the other side rejoicing in their union, but glad to not have to experience any more of their suffering.
I do think that you can introduce mental health problems into your romance story, but it should not take center stage. The character should not be totally defined by their condition. Give them strengths and triumphs that show their resilience, but also show that they do not always have it together. And for goodness’ sakes, give them solace! I feel like Emma didn’t get much solace from her trauma, where she could fold completely into safety and glimpse a better life.
She did get a little bit of solace with her best friend, Maddy, though. Maddy was patient, caring, and protective, and she did a great job taking care of Emma in her worst moments. Her mama bear energy was great and quite relatable too.
I was also disappointed in the ending. Spoilers ahead, obviously.
Emma decides that she cannot be the stable girlfriend that Justin and his siblings need, so she breaks things off with him to go work on herself. All well and good, she definitely needed some therapy. Like, desperately! But all it takes is six months for Emma to decide she is better and goes to give it another try with Justin, which actually proves successful enough to make a happily-ever-after.
Let me repeat that again. It took Emma only six months of therapy to undo almost thirty years of conditioning, enough for her to decide she was ready to be a stable girlfriend.
That was what took me out of this story the most. Not the insta-love, not Justin’s hallmark personality, but the fact that a very emotionally broken woman took only six months of therapy to work through everything perfectly.
Is that wish fulfillment or bad plotting? I’m not really sure, though I guess that’s the fantasy of this story: that finding the right person can force you to face your flaws and work on bettering yourself.
This is a marginal improvement over Say You’ll Remember Me, but there still isn’t much going for this one. It’ll probably provide some validation for all you folks out there with toxic parents, but don’t come to this book expecting a truly sweeping romance.
The Library Key 