Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez Series: Part Of Your World #2
Published by Grand Central Publishing on April 11, 2023
Genres: Fiction / City Life, Fiction / Humorous / General, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
Source: Book of the Month
A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match from "a true talent" (Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author).
Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin’-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass” scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.
And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,” and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she can’t refuse.
“Abby Jimenez’s words…sprinkle humor and warmth all over my life.” –Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis
My Review
I am just going to say it from the beginning I really enjoyed this book. I am not sure if I enjoyed it as much as the first book in the series, which is called Part Of Your World, but I really loved it. Reader, I am sure that you have heard of this series because, at the moment, the books are all over the place, from hitting number one on best book lists to TikTok, YouTube, IG, and beyond. Seriously, these books are everywhere, and for good reason because they are wonderful. Has this been enough to tempt you into picking them up yet? I hope so, but if not, let me get into this review, and maybe that will be the driving force to get you to finally pick one of these up this summer.
In this story, we are following Briana, who we met in the first book, Part Of Your World; she is Alexis’s best friend and an ER doctor. Briana is in the process of getting divorced due to her husband cheating on her, but as if that is not bad enough, she is also on edge due to her brother’s deteriorating health. Her brother has a chronic kidney disease and ultimately needs a new kidney. Unfortunately, finding a donor is harder than you think it would be. Along with this disease, he is also suffering from depression because of his limitations from the disease. This sounds all doom and gloom. I realize that, but I promise you there is so much more.
Briana’s life is not turning out the way she thought it would and she just feels so stuck. There is a promotion at work that she desperately wants, but since the new doctor has been hired, she is convinced that the promotion will go to him. Jacob Maddox is the doctor that Briana is set to hate for no other reason than she believes he is going to take her promotion. The two of them get off to a bumpy start due to Briana having her guard up and Jacob’s anxiety rearing its ugly head. The rocky start only continues to get worse when Briana runs into Jacob in the hallway and accidentally breaks his phone screen. Yes, she actually ran into him on her way to her brother’s room in the ER. Poor Jacob can not seem to catch a break since transferring to this new hospital. His anxiety is at an uncomfortable level of high; his patients, on his first day no less, keep dying on him (resulting in a terrible nickname the other staff give him), his phone screen is now cracked, and no one in the department seems to like him. You can see, Reader, how things just seem to keep getting worse for both of these characters, but seriously, hold on because it is just getting good.
Jacob decides to make a move to fix the situation he has found himself in, and he ends up writing Briana a letter, which he leaves for her at work. This letter is Jacob’s way of trying to make the situation better. In the letter, he goes on to tell her that he suffers from social anxiety, and when he is in new situations, it always seems to get worse. This dear Reader goes a long way in fixing the situation between these two doctors. If you are a person who enjoys reading letters or text messages in a book, then you will be happy to know that this story contains a lot of this, which I am not mad about.
Briana is such a great character, in my opinion, because she is strong. She does not give up even when she is staring down at some impossible situations. She is a fierce woman that you do not want to mess with, especially when it comes to the people she cares about. Not only is she fierce, but she is also fun, loyal, kind, and smart. Really, she is the whole package. Yes, she does have some flaws, like most people, but I think that it only adds to the likability of this character. Bri has some trauma that she needs to work through (PTSD) from her previous marriage, miscarriage, and childhood. It should be said that the girl has a temper and believes in getting revenge (seriously, wait until you see what she did to her ex). Bri also has a habit of taking on things and people, even if it is a detriment to her own health and well-being. I am not throwing shade here because I tend to do the same thing. Again it is just another thing that makes her more relatable. I also love that we get to see Bri and Alexis’s friendship, even in this story. I love how the author pulled characters from the previous book into this one because it is always nice to catch up with past characters.
When it comes to Jacob, honestly, I just wanted to hug him. That poor man suffers from such terrible and relatable anxiety for so many that it is just heartbreaking. However, there is so much more to Jacob than just his mental health, even though granted that is a huge part of the book. Jacob is a thoughtful and sensitive man who cares deeply for the people in his life. He even tries to see the good in his ex-girlfriend, who dumped him and is now with his brother. I love that throughout the story, we see how Jacob deals with the stressors in his life through his journaling, his plants, his socks (for the niece and nephew), his dog, and I do not want to forget his fixer-upper in the woods. As Shrek would say, “Ogers have layers,” which I find completely true for Jacob. I loved watching his character development/transformation through the story and the lengths that he was willing to go to for those he cared about.
I truly think that if you are looking for a sweet romance with “soulmate vibes,” fake dating, mental health rep, lgbtq+ themes, fierce friendships, with family and sibling dynamics, then this book is absolutely for you. I also think that if you enjoy books with mixed media (letters and texts) than you will love this as well. Beware, Reader, the mentions of Nadia Cakes may have you online searching for the bakery locations and menu because, DANG, they sound so good. Tell me, Reader, have you read anything by Abby Jimenez, and if so, what did you read? Another thing: Do you follow her on IG? Her dogs are adorable, and Tess cracks me up. Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Oh, and I wanted to leave this quote from the story right here because I thought it was so good.
I’m broken.”
“We’re all a little broken, Briana. We are a mosaic. We’re made up of all those we’ve met and all the things we’ve been through. there are parts of us that are colorful and dark and jagged and beautiful. And I love every piece of you. Even the ones you wish didn’t exist.”
Trigger Warnings:
- Mentions of Pregnancy Loss and Suicide
- Divorce of Main Character (due to spouse cheating)
- Kidney Disease
- Hospital Settings
- Depression
- Clinical Anxiety
- PTSD
- Panic Attacks
- Parental Abandonment