Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
2023 Frenzied Bibliophile Challenge Category: Romance
Ratings:4 of 5
Spice: 4; a few descriptive scenes and language
Sexy Times: 4; The tension was so good!
Will you like this book: You might if you like:
Epistolary novels
Fake dating
Awkward, adorable heroes
Strong, determined heroines
Busybody families
Oh my goodness, the tears that came with this book by Abby Jimenez. I wasn’t prepared to shed as many as I did. But I also laughed in so many places. This one just hit right in the heart. It was all Matthew McFadden coming through the fog and telling Kiera she had bewitched him, body and soul. I swooned. I enjoyed Part of Your World, but I adored Yours Truly.
Dr. Briana Ortiz is an ER doctor whose life is not going as well as she had expected. She is getting a divorce and her brother is in kidney failure and needs a kidney transplant. And she has just found out she might not get the promotion she deserves because instead, it might be going to the newly hired ER doctor, Jacob Maddox. When she and Jacob have a disaster of a meeting, it seems like they are destined to hate each other. But then Jacob, who struggles with anxiety, writes Briana a lovely letter of apology. Briana is touched and a tentative friendship begins.
Jacob isn’t having a great time either. His brother has just become engaged to Jacob’s ex-girlfriend and his family is in a tough spot, they want to be happy for their brother but also stand by Jacob. Jacob figures if he appears to be ok with the situation, his family will be too. At the same time, it turns out Jacob is also a match for Briana’s brother, Benny, and has offered to give him a kidney, anonymously. But then, the chief of staff, a good friend of Jacob’s family, unintentionally tells Briana. Feeling tremendous gratitude toward Jacob, she offers to be his girlfriend for the wedding activities so that he can show his family he is ok.
Since this is a romance novel, we know that the fake relationship always ends in a real one.The fun is getting there. There is of course a room with one bed, which comes about in a pretty funny situation. Jacob and Briana continue to write notes to each other and it is through the notes that they come to know each other and really start to fall. The book has dual POV so we can see them both struggle with the feelings they are developing along with the fear that each is the only one falling in love. Jimenez does an excellent job dealing with the issues that Briana and Jacob face: his anxiety disorder and her fear of abandonment. The third act breakup feels authentic and true to the characters. My heart broke for them both as they struggled to see their way forward. But in Jimenez’s hands, the ending is perfect.
Put this one on your TBR.
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