This book is just what I needed. While it had many serious elements to it, it felt light enough to still bring me out of the funk I’ve been in. Seriously guys, with the greatest best friend ever (Maddy), an irresistible romantic prospect of a man, a not-so-great mother, and loads of love, learning, and forgiveness, this book will give you everything you need—just for the summer 😉. 

So, Emma as a main character was very hypocritical in my opinion. She talked a lot about empathy and forgiveness, but you could tell that she was holding a lot back against her mom. Which, I mean, we wouldn’t have a book without that conflict, so I get the hypocrisy. Justin, as the secondary main character, was truly everything you could ever want in a book boyfriend. Dude is cute, a little nerdy, super hilarious, and willing to do anything for his family. What more could a girl ask for?? Maddy, as the best friend/sidekick to our main heroine is literally THE BEST. Like, Emma hit the jackpot with her because, wow, that girl is loyal and amazing. Obviously we all hate Emma’s mom’s guts, so we’re not gonna talk too much about her (expect for the fact that she’s an exceptionally horrible human being). 

So, we start off this book with our characters starting center-stage. Emma starts messaging Justin, who posted an “Am I the Asshole?” thread on Reddit. They seriously hit it off, finding out that they both share the same “curse” of everyone they break up with ends up finding their soulmate next. As a travel nurse, Emma asks her best friend Maddy if they can go to where Justin lives to see if Emma can break her curse and find her own soulmate.

Let’s stop here because this is something that kind of bothers me. Emma does not seem like the type of character who seems to be looking for a soulmate. She doesn’t even seem like the kind of character who would be looking for a casual fling either, so this particular plot point felt very forced to me even if it was a cute idea that brings our main couple together. Not to mention, too, that as much as this curse was talked about in the blurb and in the beginning, it was hardly mentioned at all after that until the end. I thought it would honestly take up a little more of the story, but it didn’t (no big deal in my opinion, just stop using it as a marketing point for the book). 

The thing that I think I liked most with this novel is the realism it delivers when it comes to romance. A lot of times, we can’t be ready for love until we’ve dealt with our own problems, and Abby Jimenez delivers a perfect story depicting that. I truly appreciated that, while a rom-com, this romance still had quite a lot that readers could look to when looking at their own romance stories. It never felt like an over the top story that was unattainable in real life. It felt, well… real. 

Overall, the chemistry, humor, heart, and love in this book are all just top tier. I loved the characters, loved the plot, and loved the conflict that all had to go through. This novel is perfect for fans of Emily Henry (think People We Meet on Vacation but with our romantic leads not being best friends before this). Just for the Summer is a great summer read that will have your heart melting in your hands with tears pouring out of your eyes. Five out of five amazing stars. 

Source: Personal Copy from Book of the Month

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)