A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match from "a true talent" (Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Dr. Briana Ortiz's life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother's running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that's probably going to the new man-doctor who's already registering eighty-friggin'-seven on Briana's "pain in my ass" scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.
And it's a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn't actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who's terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her "sob closet," and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can't refuse.
Title : Yours Truly
Author : Abby Jimenez
Format : eARC
Page Count : 416
Genre : contemporary romance
Publisher : Forever
Release Date : April 11, 2023
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ .75
Hollis' 3.75 star review
Yes, that's right, I'm being picky with this rating. But lemme explain.
First of all, though we do start off a bit awkwardly -- it felt like I was missing a chapter or had jumped in mid-chapter when this book kicked off -- I was pretty invested by, oh, chapter three. Rocky start or no, Jimenez hooks you and once she's got her claws in you, she doesn't let go. And Yours Truly was no exception.
I'll admit, I do feel like she made Bri go too hard on the dislike button for Jacob with the initial anti-meet-cute but thankfully we don't spend too long in that phase. We get into the good stuff pretty soon. And the good stuff? Letter writing. Be still my heart!
But not because they were ooey gooey emosh word vomits, oh no. They were sweet, observational, anecdotal, and funny. Which should come as no surprise because this author knows how to turn a phrase. There were multiple times, even in the non-epistolary portion of the story, where I found myself laughing. Which wasn't even the best part.
The best part? The yearning. The pining. The slowburn. But oh was it slooOoOoOw. Which leads me into the bit I disliked. It was too long. The misunderstandings which veered into miscommunications (due to lack of communications) definitely started to harsh my buzz. I was worried we were going to have an MZ situation on our hands and we'd get the resolution and kiss at 98%. It wasn't quite that dire but we got close! And honestly it dragged too long. Especially considering what came after. Buzz. Kill.
Truthfully, the last 15%, emotional as it was, took some of the wind out of my sails and I couldn't quite recover. There was some important emotional dialogue, specifically I'm thinking of one scene between Jacob and his mother, but it all crashed together too soon and too quickly amongst other things happening and it made the third act conflict even harder to push through. But of course we get our HEA and everything is great so I'm really complaining for no reason, I guess. Everything up until this point though? Pretty rock solid.
Because these characters? Felt so real. Jacob really came off the page for me with his anxieties and his quiet moments but in contrast Briana really grounded things; not just Jacob, such as in her ability to calm him, in advocating for him, but she also felt like a grounding presence for the story. Jacob was much in his head but Bri had mostly external conflicts. Her struggles with her brother, her divorce, they felt very real-world and tangible. And so the way these two complemented each other was just beautifully done and I know that's mostly the point of this pairing, and the romance, but it's easy to try and convince a reader the sky is blue but for the reader to actually believe it? That's a whole other talent.
So, yes, I'll be rounding up in all the non-blog places that count, and I think I had a better time with these characters than I did with the ones in the book before, but it's definitely got a few bumps that did throw me out of the story a bit. However, it's still a Jimenez, which means it's funny, sweet, emotional, tackling a variety of issues, and giving you a romance you want to root for. Even if the characters are occasionally their own worst enemies and act like a bunch of dumb dumbs. It's all that. Which is why I definitely think you should pick this one up.
** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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