Book Review: Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

Official Synopsis: There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong…

. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.

Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.

Samantha has a lot going on in her life, and when she decides to keep a kitten she found in a dumpster, that happens to not have a butthole. When she meets Dr. Rush, a vet who insists it would be better to put the cat down, Samantha is determined to prove the very attractive vet wrong. When she raises the money online to get the cat it's surgery, she brings it back to Dr. Rush for one more visit that ends up with them agreeing to go on a date. (Also, at no point in this book do animals die, which is a fair warning, but there are some mentions of abuse both to animals and humans told in memories.)

The issue is Samantha is leaving Minnesota, forever, the next day. so when she decides to make the best of the date, going on adventures and sending as much time as possible before she leaves. They seem to so seamless fit together, get along in a way that feels easy and having a wonderful time on their 'only' date. To the point where she even meets his friends. She plans to never see Xavier Rush again and insists he forget her, but he can't seem to shake the feeling they are perfect for each other.

Samantha is headed to California, to help her family with her mother who has been diagnosed and living with dementia that is getting worse, to the point she doesn't remember Samantha's name. As she gets settled into her new normal in California, she find she misses Xavier and reaches out to him. When he comes to visit and she shows him everything California has to offer they chose to see how wonderful they can make one weekend. Which ends in Xavier helping when her mom has a meltdown.

Xavier is still determined to make this relationship work, even though they are both in impossible situations. As both their situations become dire, they aren't sure how they can keep each other close.

This book wrecked me to the core at times, with the mentions of dementia, the family impact to it, and just longing for someone who isn't close. The distance is something they have to worth through, but even with technology it seems like they are constantly missing each other. Xavier takes on extra shifts almost to his detriment to see her, and she is just trying to keep her family together.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even with the emotional turmoil it put me through at times. The end of the story is sweet and warm, and once you get there the whole journey feels so worth it. There are definitely deeper parts to a lot of Abby Jimenez's books and this one definitely got me hard at times. The story was well written, I loved the friends that surround these characters, and there is a lot of trying times for both characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who struggles with long distance, or even just someone who wants a romance that will put your through it.

I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars.

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