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A review by the_shelfrighteous_writer
Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
One of the things I loved best about PART OF YOUR WORLD was the supporting cast of animal characters. In YOURS TRULY, Briana takes a spontaneous trip to Wakan to visit her best friend Alexis and her new husband Daniel. While she's there, we get a brief appearance by the town's mascot, a large pig named Kevin Bacon!
The best part about YOURS TRULY was Jacob. He's an ER doctor who suffers from social anxiety and he's honestly one of the best protagonists I've read about in a long time. This book starts out with Briana knocking into Jacob and breaking his phone. Because of his anxiety, the confrontation between the two of them doesn't go the greatest. In order to properly apologize to Briana for calling her out while she's panicking over her brother in the ER, Jacob writes her a letter.
The back and forth between Briana and Jacob in their letters was so sweet. I've always enjoyed books where you get a little glimpse into the characters by their texting or emails. But letters were more romantic and thoughtful. I loved the way they wrote to each other, where they left them, and how the entire world seemed to revolve around these letters for a short time.
While I loved the banter and build-up to Briana and Jacob's relationship, the miscommunication trope is always a hard one for me. I understood why Jacob assumed that Briana was only pretending to be attracted to him when everyone else was around. Between anxiety and him donating a kidney to her brother ... it could be hard to tell what's real and what's not.
Many times throughout YOURS TRULY, I felt bad for Briana because her ex-husband really did a number on her. She's sworn off falling in love and getting married because all men are like him. They're all going to break her heart and she's not willing to let that happen. But as she and Jacob get closer (even under the disguise of pretending for his family), my heart broke for her because she didn't want to let herself fall in love with him.
While this book has plenty of serious moments, the banter between Jacob and Briana - how unfiltered and random it was - had me laughing out loud plenty of times. No, not just quiet titters or laughing in my head ... full-blown cackling and laughing so hard I started hiccupping. Abby Jimenez is the master of hilariously original dialogue and I never knew what was going to come out of either of these characters' mouths.
The best part about YOURS TRULY was Jacob. He's an ER doctor who suffers from social anxiety and he's honestly one of the best protagonists I've read about in a long time. This book starts out with Briana knocking into Jacob and breaking his phone. Because of his anxiety, the confrontation between the two of them doesn't go the greatest. In order to properly apologize to Briana for calling her out while she's panicking over her brother in the ER, Jacob writes her a letter.
The back and forth between Briana and Jacob in their letters was so sweet. I've always enjoyed books where you get a little glimpse into the characters by their texting or emails. But letters were more romantic and thoughtful. I loved the way they wrote to each other, where they left them, and how the entire world seemed to revolve around these letters for a short time.
While I loved the banter and build-up to Briana and Jacob's relationship, the miscommunication trope is always a hard one for me. I understood why Jacob assumed that Briana was only pretending to be attracted to him when everyone else was around. Between anxiety and him donating a kidney to her brother ... it could be hard to tell what's real and what's not.
Many times throughout YOURS TRULY, I felt bad for Briana because her ex-husband really did a number on her. She's sworn off falling in love and getting married because all men are like him. They're all going to break her heart and she's not willing to let that happen. But as she and Jacob get closer (even under the disguise of pretending for his family), my heart broke for her because she didn't want to let herself fall in love with him.
While this book has plenty of serious moments, the banter between Jacob and Briana - how unfiltered and random it was - had me laughing out loud plenty of times. No, not just quiet titters or laughing in my head ... full-blown cackling and laughing so hard I started hiccupping. Abby Jimenez is the master of hilariously original dialogue and I never knew what was going to come out of either of these characters' mouths.