I was introduced to Abby Jimenez through the audiobook of her second novel, The Happy Ever After Playlist, and I’ve never looked back. It’s still up there with my favorite audiobooks of all time, and since then I’ve immediately read everything she’s published. With each book, Abby gets better and better at putting her main characters in the most impossible situations, forcing the reader to trust her and go along for the ride. It’s an interesting thing to go into a romance novel, a genre that demands an HEA, and have a plot that seems determined to subvert that requirement. And for someone who reads a lot of romance, like me, it’s refreshing to not be able to see the end coming a mile away.
The Night We Met is a follow up to last year’s Say You’ll Remember Me, but it’s not necessary to read them in any order. When Chris and Larissa first meet after a concert, Larissa needs a ride home. But it’s not Chris who takes her home, it’s his best friend Mike. Larissa and Mike start dating, and when Mike can’t follow through on a commitment to give Larissa and her mom a ride to the hospital, he asks Chris to cover for him. Chris reluctantly pitches in for his friend, and after spending the morning keeping Larissa company and rescuing a feisty Yorkie behind the hospital, Chris can’t help but notice how much he’s drawn to her. Except now she’s Mike’s girlfriend. As the year progresses, Chris and Larissa are thrown together by a variety of circumstances, including co-parenting their rescue dog and Mike’s increasing unreliability. Chris keeps covering for Mike, so Larissa thinks Mike is the one being thoughtful and looking out for her, when it’s really Chris. Even though he knows nothing can ever happen between them, Chris can’t make himself stop taking care of Larissa. But can there be a happily ever after for you when all you want is your best friend’s girl?
Both Larissa and Chris are hardworking, thoughtful people, and both have endured more than their fair share of hardship. Chris’s mother has recently died, leaving him an orphan, and his friend group is now, for all intents and purposes, his family. Larissa lives paycheck to paycheck, has just been the victim of credit fraud thanks to her unscrupulous father, and has a severe nut allergy that limits her job opportunities. But her innate tenacity keeps her moving forward, always looking for the next opportunity to improve her circumstances. The more she and Chris spend time together and the more they share the burdens they carry, the clearer it becomes that their blossoming friendship brings both of them much needed support. Jimenez tackles some tough and complicated topics in this book, and I appreciated the complexity of both the romantic and the platonic relationships. People aren’t perfect and there are no easy answers here. Check the author’s note at the start for info on the content warnings.
— Lori, Island Books, Mercer Island, WA
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