just for the summer by abby jimenez
✨✨✨✨✨
the short version:
this book had me giggling, sobbing, and ready to send an angry email to the universe about how unfair fictional love lives are compared to my own. abby jimenez has done it again.
the vibes:
🏡 small-town charm
😩 emotional rollercoaster
🩵 mutual healing
💬 top-tier banter
🐶 adorable dog content
the plot:
emma and justin have the worst luck in relationships—like, catastrophic, the-curse-is-real kind of bad. so naturally, when emma slides into justin’s dms with a wild theory about how dating each other will break the curse, he’s intrigued. one summer together in a charming lakeside town should do the trick, right? wrong. because this isn’t just a lighthearted fling—it’s feelings, past wounds, deep conversations at sunset, and a whole lot of will-they-won’t-they tension.
my thoughts:
excuse me, ms. jimenez, but who gave you the right to write a book that is both laugh-out-loud funny and devastatingly emotional in the same breath?? emma and justin are the kind of characters you root for with your whole heart, and their chemistry?? chefs kiss. their banter is sharp, their moments of vulnerability hit deep, and the way their relationship unfolds is just so satisfying. also, there’s a dog, which means extra bonus points in my very scientific book-ranking system.
this book balances rom-com charm with genuine emotional depth, tackling grief, past trauma, and the scary reality of opening yourself up to love. and let’s talk about the setting—because i am this close to packing up and moving to a lakeside town where everyone knows everyone and life just seems a little bit sweeter.
final verdict:
✨✨✨✨✨
an absolute must-read for romance lovers.
read this if you:
💙 love rom-coms with emotional depth
🏡 adore small-town settings
😂 appreciate top-tier banter
🐶 think every book should have a dog
skip this if you:
😢 aren’t ready for a book that’ll make you feel all the emotions
🤷♀️ don’t enjoy the fake dating/mutual pining trope (but like…are you sure?)
bottom line: abby jimenez has once again proven she is a rom-com queen, and i am but a loyal subject.
