Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice: 🌶️

by Abby Jiminez – Prepare for a rollercoaster of emotions in this captivating new book that had me hooked from the first page. With a unique blend of laughter and tears, it’s a story you won’t be able to put down.

When Justin goes viral for an AITA Reddit post about being cursed to be the guy girls date before they find their true love, Emma responds because she is the girl guys date before they find their husband. After fun back-and-forth messages and some light cyberstalking to confirm he’s not unhinged, they begin an unlikely long-distance friendship. But when Justin challenges Emma to make Minneapolis her next traveling nurse stop, he has a theory – if they date each other, the next person they each date will be their true love. It takes a lot of work to convince Emma and her best friend to skip Hawaii as their next stop and land in the Twin Cities. But what started as four dates, one kiss, and a breakup becomes a deeply emotional connection neither could have anticipated. But these feelings are coming at terrible times in both of their lives – with family chaos deeply testing them.

This book left me speechless. I loved it. Jaminez manages to write a laugh-out-loud story that wraps around two characters enduring unimaginable change brought about by their parents. There is a significant story about mental health and the traumas put upon us by those who raise us and the work we have to do to create new neural pathways that allow us to choose happiness rather than run from it. Some rapid-fire things I loved: hilarious banter, an adorably ugly dog, a love letter to Minneapolis, pre and post-date surveys, friends that show up when things get hard, baby raccoons, a suspicious cabin on a lake, and siblings that evolve with you. If you are a fan of Abby’s books, you’ll love that although this can 100% be read stand-alone, it is the puzzle piece you didn’t know you were missing from the Part of Your World/Yours Truly universe. Because I read those ages ago, I was thrilled to see some of those characters make appearances.

The audiobook dual narration is fantastic, with two narrators narrating the chapters of their character’s POV.