Say You’ll Remember Me – Abby Jimenez

Let’s get one thing straight: I am not a romance reader. I don’t like how the genre often asks readers to suspend disbelief in exchange for emotional payoff, and I don’t have the patience for that trade.

So why did I pick up “Say You’ll Remember Me?” Honestly, because Abby Jimenez is a big deal, she’s coming to my city, and I had a free audiobook from Libro.fm. All-in-all, very low risk for genre-jumping.

What I didn’t expect was to actually enjoy myself. Jimenez leans into the genre’s indulgences with full awareness, and for the most part, makes them work.

The book opens with a meet-cute that nearly lost me. Xavier Rush is a sculpted, emotionally unavailable veterinarian who delivers bad news about a kitten with the sensitivity of a DMV clerk. Samantha Diaz, on the receiving end, is a savvy, self-possessed marketing professional who — of course — refuses to take no for an answer. By chapter two, we’ve hit grumpy/sunshine, girlboss grit and a handful of social media and reality TV references. Trope bingo, achieved.

Then I got invested.

Jimenez knows her way around a story. The plot moves briskly, thanks to alternating points of view that give each protagonist a distinct and mostly charming voice. The dialogue is fast, occasionally sharp and buoyed by Christine Lakin and Matt Lanter’s audiobook narration, which plays up the banter without tipping into parody. Lakin, in particular, brings real emotional nuance to a character who could have easily become a collection of quirks.

There’s emotional weight here, too. Samantha and her family are caring for a mother with early-onset dementia, while Xavier is building a veterinary practice and carrying scars from a violent childhood. These aren’t just character backstories – they shape decisions, drive tension and give the novel its emotional spine. It felt like Jimenez was writing for readers who want escape, but not at the expense of substance.

The middle section, however, starts to sag under the weight of too much plot. Every time the couple clears a hurdle, another appears. The real-world stakes are enough, and the added drama eventually starts to feel like noise. Still, this seems to be part and parcel of the genre contract — readers come for the feelings and the spice, not necessarily the realism.

As the story moves into its final third, the pace remains unsustainably intense. Some developments feel earned; others seem obligatory. Yet through it all, Jimenez never loses sight of the central relationship, and her faith in her characters’ goodness — though occasionally saccharine — is ultimately convincing.

By the time an elderly vet shows up at Xavier’s clinic looking for work — and I correctly guessed the twist — I was unexpectedly emotional. Not because the reveal was surprising, but because it was kind. A moment of generosity, quietly offered and unadorned. More of that, please.

This is a romance novel, so it plays by the rules. However, it also gives its readers credit. The emotional beats are well timed, the humor mostly lands and the intimacy feels earned rather than engineered. Jimenez has a gift for writing about connection without losing sight of the complexities that shape it.

I’m still not a romance convert, though I might be a Jimenez one. A friend who’s a longtime fan confirmed that her books follow a familiar pattern — over-the-top dates, high-stakes emotions and just enough grounding to keep the story from floating away. That may be exactly the literary palate cleanser I need from time-to-time.

“Say You’ll Remember Me” didn’t reinvent the genre, yet it respected it. In doing so, it chipped away at my resistance. I still have reservations about the formula, but I understand the appeal. And yes, I’ll read the next one in this series. 

Thank you to Libro.fm, Hachette Audio and the author for a free copy of the audiobook. This exchange of goods did not influence my review.

Rating (story): 4/5 stars

Rating (narration): 4/5 stars

Format: Audiobook (personal library)

Dates read: May 7 – May 10, 2025

Multi-tasking: Good to go, but this is best experienced doing things that let your mind wander to this alternate universe of perfectly ridiculous dates, beautiful people and a menagerie of rescue animals.