A Lazy Reader's Review of "Just For the Summer" by Abby Jimenez

 Synopsis

    Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other's out, and they'll both go on to find the love of their lives. It's a bonkers idea . . . and it just might work.

    Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

    It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected – including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Review

    Finally. A good fucking romance book. Finally!

    I genuinely do not know where to start. I am so glad that I read this book. I was at Target with my mom and, as per usual, I left her to go to the book section. It was there that I found this book. It hadn't been on my TBR for too long and when I saw it on the shelf I thought "It's fate." And so, I bought it. I started it as soon as I got home and I read a little over 100 pages in one sitting. My god, it was so good. Now, I feel like I have to mention this, but this book as quite a few trigger warnings. The most prominent one being parental neglect/abuse and mental illness. So be warned and proceed accordingly.

    Justing is the biggest green flag I have ever encounter. I think this book made me realize that I no longer enjoy reading romance books where the male love interest is an asshole. Justin is nothing if not a golden retriever personified. From his pre-date surveys to his post-date interviews, this man has raised my standards in men, how dare he. He is at the top of my list of Book Boyfriends and he will remain there for the foreseeable future. I also loved seeing his character development throughout the progression of the story. He starts how as a genuinely kind man but with flaws. He is, at times, unforgiving and still holds on to his grudges which mainly revolve around his mother. And it's understandable. His mother, who, riddled with grief after her husband passed away after getting crashed into my a drunk driver, launders money from her job and is convicted to six years in prison. This leaves Justin with the large responsibility of taking custody of his three younger siblings. It's not an easy thing to come to terms with. But, as the story progresses, he learns from Emma how to choose empathy over anger and bitterness and he learns to forgive his mother for what she did out of grief and postpartum depression. We love to see it.

    Emma is such a complicated character and I am genuinely impressed with how tactfully Jimenez was able to tackle this touching subject. Emma is deeply traumatized by the neglect and abuse she endured by her mother. Her mother, who most likely suffers from Bipolar Disorder, would leave her alone in their house for days even weeks at a time. This would result in Emma being put into the foster system and moved from family to family before being placed in the household of two mothers and where she would meet her best friend, Maddie. Because of this, Emma is unable to stay in one place for too long, unable to plant roots. And despite the fact that her put her through hell and back, she still loves her. She still makes excuses for her. She can't help it, and I totally understand that feeling. But seeing her come to the realization that what her mother did to her was inexcusable, Emma is able to confront her and set herself free from her unstableness that is her mother. She, perhaps, had the biggest character arc and I loved reading it. I love that Jimenez did not shy away from showing her at her lowest time, when she would get small, something that many, myself included, have experienced before. And it's something that is very hard to come out of. But reading about her progress through therapy was so nice and healing. I will think about Emma for a really long time.

    The romance. Oh my god, the romance! The premise that these two have a so-called "curse" that causes all of their exes to find their true love immediately after breaking up with each other is hilarious. This unique premise is really what drew me into the story when I first read the synopsis. Now, normally I am not a fan of insta-love. But my god does it really work in this book. It didn't feel forced. In other books that have insta-love in it make the two love interests instantly obsessed with each other. But in this book, they're both hesitant to fully accept their feelings. They both acknowledge to themselves that they have some unexplainable feelings towards each other while also reminding themselves that they didn't know each other too well. But this fact caused them to make a real effort in getting to know each other. Now, the two of them got together as an experiment to see that, if they dated each other and broke up, they would eventually find their soulmates. They agreed to go on four dates, kiss each other at least once, and then break up. But since the first date, where Justin bought Emma her favorite coffee drink *swoon*, they both begin to slowly fall for each other. And it just felt so natural. 

    I've mentioned before that I generally dislike third-act break up but, here, it made sense. They had known that they would break up eventually, but they both caught feelings and decided to try out a full relationship. But, as mentioned previously, Emma struggles with planting roots so she ends up breaking it off between the two of them. And it was absolutely gut-wrenching. But it made sense. This is what I have been waiting for. For every "trope" to make sense. I'm tired of reading romance books that are only interested in marketing itself based off its tropes and making sure it checks off a list of things that need to happen in order for it to be considered a "true" romance book. I'm tired of their being a formula to these things. Thank you, Abby Jimenez, for not subjecting me to another disappointing romance story.

Sept. 8, 2024 – Sept. 12, 2024

★★★★★

Favorite Quote: "In a world where you can choose anger or empathy, always choose empathy."