Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Genre: Romance, literary fiction

One POV, Series, Adult

Isabella’s Rating: ★★★★★

Just for the Summer follows Emma who finds a post on Reddit mentioning how a man named Justin has a “curse” where every woman he meets, seems to find their soulmate right after they break up. Emma relates to this, so she private messages him with a plan to date and break up, so they can both ultimately find their soulmates.

This is the third book from a 3 book interconnected stand alone series, including Part of Your World and Yours, Truly. Although you don’t need to read the others to read this book, I would highly recommend reading those before this one, so that you are introduced to the side characters. I have previously reviewed Yours, Truly, so make sure to check that out! This book is also told from both Emma’s perspective and Justin’s. I would recommend checking trigger warnings for this book, as it deals with heavy topics that may be sensitive for some people.

While this book does focus heavily on the romance, there is also a lot that Emma and Justin have to work out on their own time, and the book heavily focuses on these plot lines. Emma has had family problems her whole life, including a mother that abandoned her at a young age, and was adopted by her best friend’s parents. This book is so heavily relatable for so many people, from the dynamic of Emma and Justin, what Emma struggles with, and every other relationship within this book. Maddy, Emma’s best friend who has been with her since she was young, knows the ins and outs of Emma’s abandonment issues. Seeing their relationship was such a treat in the story. Without it I don’t think I would have liked Emma as much as I did. Emma didn’t care about anyone but Maddy, so without her addition, Emma would have seemed cold and standoffish. Adding this perspective makes you feel not only for Maddy, who has to watch Emma go through what she has to, but also lets you feel for Emma who you care so deeply about. When Justin gets to know Emma better, he needs to learn these cues and triggers for Emma. Watching Justin learn how to care for her, and try over and over again to break through Emma’s walls was so refreshing for a romance book.

Reading a romance book that is actually a good influence for young relationships was nice. While this book is very deep for younger audiences, young minds could benefit from seeing different perspectives and scenarios that occur all around them. Books help people be subjected to different feelings and scenarios that otherwise would never be talked about. Watching an author tell their life story, or own inner workings of their brain, is something that should be celebrated, analysed and read. Seeing thoughts that thousands of people think every day, being written on paper, and accessible helps people grow, and it shouldn’t be shamed or pushed to the side. When books become popular that glamorise toxicity and abuse, it’s hard for younger audiences to relate to other circumstances to see how that is not okay. They have no reference for what is right or wrong, so having a go-to author that celebrates different perspectives is needed in the book community. Making books popular that actually inform readers about important ideas, while allowing them to have a good time is crucial for the next generations relationships and emotional maturity.

While the story focuses on Emma’s trauma and healing, you also see Emma heal Justin and his family’s trauma. Being introduced to Justin and his family struggles adds another element of relatability and hurt for these characters. Having Emma deeply care for not only Justin, but his family as well helps create a more realistic story. It doesn’t feel like the relationship is fake anymore, because Emma is now weaved into Justin’s life apart from just their relationship. Every character that Jimenez writes is so well fleshed out, and has different problems that no one would see if you weren’t literally inside of their head.

Apart from the characters, the writing is absolutely beautiful. Abby Jimenez explains thoughts and emotions that I wouldn’t be able to explain myself. It’s healing to read her books and learn more about yourself while reading about characters that you may not directly relate to. Her writing is funny and witty, while also being deep and heavy. She is able to intertwine all of these feelings within a 400 page book perfectly.

Seeing Emma’s mother and how her depression not only affects her but also Emma in so many ways is really eye opening when being surrounded by people with mental health issues . It’s heartbreaking watching Emma go through something with her mother and routinely fixing it because she has been through it so many times. As a reader it may seem shocking, but to Emma it’s her everyday life. And realizing that while reading is so upsetting, but also helps you think about things in a completely different perspective than you may have been thinking about it before. Abby Jimenez says so many things within one action of a character, and without diving deep into the wording of every quote, you wouldn’t truly understand the characters and how they think. She is able to write characters so differently, but make you connect and feel for them so deeply by the end of the book.

Overall I would recommend every one of Abby Jimenez books, but Just for the Summer has to be one of my favorites. The characters, and relatability of her stories, mixed with the humor help create a perfect story for a good cry, and a good laugh.