Say You’ll Remember Me is out now – but be prepared to both laugh and cry at least once while reading it
Anyone who enjoys reading will have a list of auto-buy authors. In other words, new releases you simply must buy solely because of who wrote it.
While I was late to the Abby Jimenez hype—I only started reading her novels earlier this year—she has quickly become one of my go-to authors. So when I saw she had a new book on the way with a Taylor Swift reference as the title, I knew I had to get my hands on it as soon as possible.
Say You’ll Remember Me follows Xavier and Samantha, a vet and a social media manager, whose first meeting is a disaster. But, luckily for us, they meet again and go on to have one unforgettable date.
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The course of true love never did run smooth in an Abby Jimenez book though, and Samantha moves 2,000 miles away the day after their date, begging Xavier to forget her as she begins a new chapter of her life helping care for her mother with dementia.
If you’ve ever read any of Jimenez’s books, you’ll know they somehow simultaneously manage to be both easy-breezy reads and emotional gut punches. Say You’ll Remember Me is no different, and I both laughed out loud and cried more than once.
There are so many hilarious moments, social media posts you wished you were funny enough to write and side characters you actually feel invested in. The dynamic between Samantha and her brother Tristan was a particular highlight, and anyone with a younger brother will laugh and roll their eyes at least once.
There are also some references to A Court of Thorns of Roses that any romantasy fan will lap up.
But while Jimenez’s writing is light and witty, this book also deals with some more serious topics, and alongside the love story, we also get an in-depth, unflinching look at the realities of loving, living with and caring for someone with dementia.
The evolution of Samantha’s relationships with all of her family members was my favourite aspect of this story. It wasn’t sugar-coated or brushed aside in favour of the central romance and you could tell that Jimenez takes great care in her research.
Romance lovers won’t be disappointed either, and without spoiling anything, Xavier felt like a walking highlights reel of Jimenez’s other beloved book boyfriends.
That said, this book does feature insta-love (a trope where characters fall in love very quickly), which isn’t really my thing, though it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this particular story. It would have been nice to see them spend longer developing their initial connection before jumping straight into the deep end though.
Overall, Say You’ll Remember Me was a four-star read for me. I’m a pretty quick reader normally, but this was so ridiculously addictive I flew through it over a day.
If you’ve enjoyed any of the author’s other books from the Part of Your World or The Friend Zone series, you’re sure to enjoy this one as well. If I had to compare it to Jimenez’s other books, I would say it beat Part of Your World and Just for the Summer, and was on a par with Yours Truly, for me personally.
Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez is set to be released on April 1, 2025.
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group, who provided an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.