Normally, I wait a few hours or even a day or two before I write a review. In this case – I literally wrote this review just 20 minutes after finishing the book. As it takes me forever and a day to post these, I’ll quote my initial comment here: “I finished Just for the Summer about 20 minutes ago and I have finally realized that I have been simply staring at the wall, reliving the story in my mind.” There isn’t a way to write a review without giving away spoilers because the story was great but the moments that made it phenomenal, the “HOLY CRAP!” moments, need to be just as much of a shocker to others as they were to me. I will say I am a glutton for Reddit’s “r/AmItheAsshole,” so that was just the icing on the cake with confetti sprinkles for this one.

You HAVE to read Part of Your World and Yours Truly for this story to have the intended impact it possesses. For those familiar with Abby Jimenez, she has a tendency to group books within the same universe and this is definitely (whether she listed it this way or not) Book #3 of the Part of Your World Series. I did enjoy the Easter Eggs from the prior books and will admit I had to cheat to discover the “deeply hidden one” that she references in her Q&A section at the end of the book.

Emma and Justin’s story was not an easy one to navigate, especially for someone who can empathize with Emma’s triggers and her need to detach and feel small. You wanted so much for these two characters to find a way through and to each other but at the same time, you understood the obstacles each of them were facing and the reality that life has its own agenda and it may not be on the same timeline as yours. You couldn’t help but fall in love with Justin. I swear Abby writes some of the best male protagonists in the contemporary romance genre and she (if memory serves me correctly) ALWAYS has them fall first, which just cinches down your need for things to work out because you can’t even imagine how such a wonderful guy shouldn’t be allowed to be happy and get all the love in the world.

True to form, her female protagonists are always women to admire— independent, strong, successful, and living their own lives but marred with some form of trauma (or life-affirming health issues) that you can’t help but admire. Maddy and Emma were Briana and Alexis and Kristin and Sloan. That pairing gets me every single time and reminds you how important it is to have a good support system, that friend who knows you better than you know yourself and is always in your corner. Same with Daniel and Doug, Josh and Brandon, and Justin and Brad (and Benny – love getting to see how he was doing!).

Speaking of which, this book really was a family affair. As mentioned before, it is important to read Part of Your World and Yours Truly but for the diehards, we got little Easter eggs throughout that reminded us of a few of our favorites. It took me forever to read this book because I knew once I did, some small part of me would be forever changed (the impact Abby always has on me). I can’t believe I have to wait a whole year for another book by Abby but Just for The Summer definitely “brought it” – the love, the laughs, the feels, the drama, the pain, the essence that only Jimenez can deliver.