Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez took me completely by surprise with a tender and sweet long-distance romance that explores how sometimes, when you find your person, you have to risk everything to secure them in your life.
What’s It About?
Xavier is a top-notch Veterinarian who is passionate about animals but not so enthusiastic about humans. Between the combination of his traumatic childhood and disappointing encounters with people, he’s become a bit pessimistic and grumpy. Enter Samantha Diaz and her little kitten Pooter, who visit Xavier to get help regarding his current health. Due to a disagreement regarding the proper care for the kitten, the two leave on not-so-good terms.
When Xavier later discovers that Samantha set up a GoFundMe for the kitten to raise money for his medical care, he donates and apologizes for his earlier behavior and misjudgment. This kind gesture leads to the two resolving their disagreement, leading to a date. It’s on this date that they both develop an attraction and instantly like each other. However, at the end of their date, Xavier asks for a second date only to find out Samantha is moving from Minnesota to California to be with her family and help them care for her mother, who has dementia.
She tells Xavier to forget her, but he can’t, as he feels that there is something worth pursuing between them. He takes a risk and flies to California for a second date with Samantha, convincing her to take a chance on a long-distance relationship with him.
Book Details 📖
Publish Date: April 1, 2025
Pages: 368, Hardcover
Publisher: Forever
Where to Buy: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million
Add to TBR: Goodreads | StoryGraph
Main Characters 👩❤️👨
Samantha Diaz– a witty social media manager for a condiment brand who decides to move back home to Los Angeles, California, to be with her family and spend time with her mother, who’s battling dementia despite an epic first date with the man of her dreams.
Xavier Rush– an introverted and grumpy veterinarian who gets off on the wrong foot with Samantha, but quickly seeks to smooth things over and manages to win a date with her, leading to him being transfixed by her and crushed when she has to move away.
Pooter– the stray kitten that Samantha brings to Xavier to help save, and leads to a major disagreement between the two.
Samantha’s Family: Mother, Father, Grandmother, Sister Jeneva, and brother Tristan are bound together to care for her mother as her dementia progresses.
Xavier’s Veterinary Team: Maggie and Tina, and mentor Hank, are the found family that grounds Xavier.
Tropes & Representation 🫂
Fling that becomes something more
We see how Samantha is open to a date with Xavier, seeing it as something fun to do on her last night in Minnesota. She wasn’t expecting anything serious, yet the two hit it off instantly and just meshed so well together.
Long-distance relationship
This is perhaps one of the first contemporary romance novels that I’ve read that features a long-distance romance in such a realistic way.
Grumpy/Sunshine
Xavier was a grumpy, people-hating pessimist, with Samantha being the witty and happy love interest.
Mental health and caregiving
This novel also explores the mental, emotional, physical, and financial cost of caretaking on the caregivers of those battling long-term illnesses.
Found Family & Community
We see the beauty of people we choose to become our family and how the community can come together to support others.
Abuse survivors
Xavier’s backstory includes a history of abuse and neglect by his parents, and we see how this trauma impacts his self-esteem, decision-making, self-perception, and mental health.
Let’s Talk About It 🗣️
I’ll admit that I was quite skeptical when picking up this book, considering how my first introduction to Abby Jimenez’s work ended in disaster. However, I’m a big believer in giving authors a second sample, and I’m glad that I did because this was the summer romance I didn’t know I needed.
I appreciated how this wasn’t a smut show but rather a delightful, heartfelt, and multi-layered romance novel. Something about it scratched an itch I didn’t know I had. I found the characters endearing, the romance charming, and Xavier the perfect book boyfriend.
Content
This romance novel is interesting in the fact that we follow a long-distance romance and receive few moments with the couple on-page. However, that doesn’t mean this story lacks chemistry and emotional connection. Through Xavier’s and Samantha’s correspondence, behaviors, thoughts, and actions, we see this sweet romance blossom and unfold.
In addition to the romance, there are also contemporary storylines focused on themes and topics regarding memory, identity, connection, caregiving, sacrifice, healing from childhood trauma, and the beauty of community.
Writing Style
Jimenez maintains her approachable writing style as this novel gives the feel of a rom-com. You get the witty banter between Xavier and Samantha as well as the typical romance tropes common in the genre.
Yet this doesn’t stop Jimenez from including more depth into this novel with more challenging themes and topics. Which I feel she handled well, where it didn’t overtake the novel, making it feel too heavy. It maintained a hopeful tone despite the many circumstances the characters faced.
Plot Development
Since this was a long-distance romance, it would be easy for you to check out and become disinterested since there’s little page time for our couple. However, Jimenez does a terrific job with subplots and storylines for both Xavier and Samantha that maintain your interest and further expand the story.
Additionally, many of these events played a role in the concluding sequences of the story, making everything feel full circle.
Characterization
The characters were well-developed and thought out. You get to see them grow and evolve on the page. Not only about their relationship, as you see their bond and inclusion into each other’s lives deepen. But also, as they grew individually faced truths and realities about themselves that helped them become better partners to each other.
Key Takeaways
1. Action Supersedes Intention
When it comes to Xavier’s pursuit of Samantha, he didn’t just use words to express his intentions and feelings; he took action. This highlights how, in relationships, whether romantic or platonic, we shouldn’t just give lip service. However, we should strive to put in the work to earn that person’s trust, respect, and love.
2. How Precious Time Is
Samantha feels she’s in a race against time because of her mother’s dementia and the reality that she’s losing a lifetime with her. And this felt like a current idea Jimenez continually cycled back to. As if she’s trying to direct your attention to how short and fleeting life is. And, when it comes to our family and loved ones, we only have so much time to enjoy them and live a life of joy and happiness.
3. The Beauty of Found Family
Although Xavier comes from a dysfunctional family, he’s not at a loss for love and care as he’s surrounded by friends and colleagues who pour into him.
Final Thoughts
I’m still surprised that I had as good a time with this as I did. I believe it’s because there was no miscommunication or cheesy third-act breakup. Thus, it made it feel more realistic, and I was able to become more invested in the characters and their romance.
Recommendation
I highly recommend this novel for those who enjoy a low-spice romance that has contemporary themes and topics. However, I do recommend checking your trigger warnings if you’re easily triggered by depictions of dementia.
