From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Say You’ll Remember Me  comes a beautiful, compelling novel that revels in laughter, friendship, and the messy choices life can throw our way.

In everyone’s life, there’s a split-second decision that can change everything…

For Larissa, it came when choosing who to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she’d met the perfect man. She and Chris are great friends, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favorite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!). For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.

But she didn’t choose Chris to drive her home all those months ago—she went with his best friend, and he became her boyfriend. All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else. How can something that feels so right be absolutely impossible? 

I “discovered” Abby Jimenez last year at the prodding of several friends, and she quickly became a favorite author. Normally, I don’t really enjoy romances. I just feel like I keep reading the same storyline over and over, just with different characters. But Abby’s books feel different. She creates characters that feel very real to the point that I can see my friends and myself in them. She also gives them real life problems. Not just “Oh look, I’m a cute little influencer who spilled my coffee on a grumpy ad exec. My life sucks because I only have 3 million followers and I’ll probably never find love because I’m so cute and quirky.”

I digress. This book deals with some heavy topics and that’s what grounds her books. I also really loved these two characters.
Larissa is dating Mike. Chris is Mike’s best friend. Chris does a favor for Mike and helps Larissa and her mom out, and this sparks a friendship between the two. They start co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie. They share their favorite books. They judge bread together. For the first time in her life, amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy for Larissa.

Their friendship grows and grows until both of them develop feelings for each other. Except there’s that whole “she’s dating his best friend” issue. And if she broke up with Mike and started dating Chris, the entire friend group would implode. It’s a dilemma that felt real. Not manufactured. Not forced. Just a genuinely complicated situation where there’s no easy answer.

Yes, the book is angsty, but not in an annoying way. It handles things in a very logical, adult way. These aren’t teenagers making impulsive decisions. These are grown people trying to navigate impossible feelings while also not wanting to destroy the people they care about. And that felt refreshing. Also, there’s zero spice. The book didn’t need it. The writing and the character work held the book up without falling back on repetitive sex scenes.

And can we just talk about Chris for a minute? I’m gonna need a gay version of him delivered to my door STAT. I loved him so much. He’s the kind of person who shows up for the people he cares about without making a big deal out of it. He and Larissa were perfect for each other. The chemistry between them was undeniable. And watching them try to stay in the friend zone while clearly wanting more was both painful and incredibly compelling. Larissa is also a great character. She’s scrappy and working multiple jobs to get by. She’s not some perfect manic pixie dream girl. She’s messy and real and trying to figure out her life just like the rest of us.

And I’m going to admit, there’s a scene at the end that made me cry. It’s extremely well-written and very touching. I’m not going to spoil it, but it hit me right in the chest. Jimenez knows how to write emotion without being manipulative about it. This particular moment landed perfectly.

So, yeah. I absolutely loved this one. AJ stan for life and you can’t convince me otherwise.

If you’re tired of formulaic romances and want something with real emotional depth, pick this up. If you love books about complicated friendships that turn into something more, or stories where the right choice isn’t obvious, this is absolutely worth your time. And if you’ve been sleeping on Abby Jimenez like I was, fix that immediately.