Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez Review

New York Times Bestselling author Abby Jimenez‘s Say You’ll Remember Me was one of my most anticipated releases of 2025.

I couldn’t wait to read it. I went into this book expecting a sweet romance running alongside sensitive, uncomfortable topics and that’s exactly what I got, with a lot more emotional punch than I expected.

It wasn’t my favourite by Jimenez (Just For The Summer, Part of Your World series holds that title for me). But, it surprised me in the best ways possible. There was heart, emotional depth, honesty, and a romance that felt truly genuine and, in my opinion, accurately reflected the pain and joy of a long distance relationship.

BLURB

There’s no such thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediate yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong . . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake.

But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be. Only no amount of distance or time is enough to forget what’s between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.

My review of Say You’ll Remember Me (spoilers)

It felt like Samantha and Xavier’s love story ran second to their individual character arcs, which is something I can absolutely get behind. Yes, Say You’ll Remember Me was a romance.

But, it’s also about family.

It’s about: healing from childhood wounds; navigating a loved one battling early onset dementia, an illness most of us cannot bear to think about; and learning how to make a long distance relationship work, despite everything being stacked against you.

What I loved

The leads, and their chemistry

Abby Jimenez is the princess (Emily Henry is the queen, ofc) of banter and sizzling chemistry, and Samantha and Xavier are certainly no exception. Lack of chemistry between the main two characters is one issue I’ve literally never had with any of her romance books.

Xavier Rush is an excellent book boyfriend and I absolutely loved him.

Initially, I thought Abby Jimenez was going for the grumpy/sunshine romance trope (big fan). When Samantha took her tiny kitten to his clinic, Xavier was incredibly rude. However, we learn pretty quickly the gorgeous veterinarian is a “Looks Like They Could Kill You, Is Actually a Cinnamon Roll” kind of guy.

After the “guy giving greek god vibes says the absolute wrong thing”, Samantha “proves the asshole wrong”, and in return Xavier donates $500 to help her kitten get a new bumhole. Yes, you read that right. Jimenez is also the queen of funny meet-cutes.

Only no amount of comedy took away from the emotional depth of their relationship, which is something I find a lot in modern romance novels. Their connection goes far beyond flirtation almost instantly. Following the UFO escape room debacle on their first date, Xavier opens up, and underneath their jokes is a deep intimacy forming.

There is nothing more beautiful than being a witness to someone’s life. To know them inside and out and be with them through everything, share the same memories. Memories are everything, I want that.

Samantha, Say You’ll Remember Me

After what Samantha and Xavier both called the best date of their life, she moved to LA while Xavier stayed in Minnesota.

They both carry a lot on their shoulders: Samantha loves her family but has complex responsibilities toward them, and Xavier with the immense weight of his past. But, what really made them believable is the fact they just get each other.

Jimenez didn’t try to sugarcoat any of the serious topics which would have made their romance and the story lighter and more palatable, and that’s something I believe this writer should be applauded for.

Abby Jimenez’s handling of serious topics

Again, this isn’t something I have ever faulted Abby Jimenez for. Her books all pack emotional weight.

This was where the book really shone for me. Xavier’s trauma following his upbringing felt so real and authentic. I recognised so much of myself in his internal monologue and his motivations, such as the constant drive to prove yourself to the people who hurt you. And then facing the realisation that, actually? You don’t need their approval. You don’t need to prove anything to them and you never did. That moment when Xavier lets that pressure go, took back his power, and finally starts living for himself genuinely made me tear up.

I also really appreciated the portrayal of early onset dementia. Abby Jimenez didn’t sugarcoat things or try to make them more palatable in the spirit of romance, instead she handled it with sensitivity and realism.

One of the things that is impossible to miss is how deeply Abby loves each of her characters, a key to writing that every good romance author knows. They are flawed, make questionable decisions, and that truly reflects real life. How can you empathise with someone, understand someone, when they do something you might believe is completely wrong?

At first, when we discovered Samantha’s father is dating, I was furious. Samantha’s family were too. But then, when I started to think about it, I could not possibly judge someone for how they cope with and navigate the impossible. Family is everything, but is there such a thing as the right way to navigate something like this?

Maybe that’s the last thing we forget. Or we never forget it at all. Not really. We lose the words to say it. We lose the ability to show it. But we never lose the ability to feel it or recognize it when we see it. Love is the brightest color in a gray world.

Samantha, Say You’ll Remember Me

Dementia is something I can scarcely imagine, and something I hope I’m lucky enough to never have to. The note Jimenez added at the end, how all Samantha’s mother knew was how much her family loved her and how they had put aside their family issues to come together and respect her wishes, truly moved me.

What could’ve been better

Insta love is not my favourite trope

Now, while I did love Samantha and Xavier together, if insta lust has a million haters, I am one of them. If it has one hater, it’s me. If it has 0 haters, I am dead.

One thing I have found with Abby Jimenez’s romance novels is that they all involve an instant connection (with the exception of Yours Truly, Part of Your World series, perhaps).

I understand the insta love more this time, though. Long distance romance, tight timeframe, and a strong emotional pull can make things move quickly, but I’ve always preferred a slow burn. I love being 200 pages in and feeling like my commitment to the characters and their relationship have really earned me witnessing their first coming together.

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There was a lot of sexual tension right from the very beginning. While it was well written, I needed more build up. I didn’t even think the perfect first date sounded like the best in living history, as we skipped a lot of it and I would’ve loved to have seen more about the mini golf with Dr. Rush’s friends. I feel that something like meeting the friends is quite key?

Samantha begs Xavier to forget her, which he doesn’t. One date would’ve made for a very brief romance novel! Though I do understand that Xavier comes disastrously close to perfection, I didn’t feel enough of it during the first date, of which we skimmed half, to believe he’d fly out to LA to see her and propose going long distance.

That’s not say this wasn’t a good romance story, though.

Gen Z Lingo

I say this with so much love for Abby Jimenez and her characters… I cringe every time I read chronically online/TikTok language.

I’m also not a fan of pop culture references in fiction. That also goes for continuous mentions of Abby Jimenez’s bakery ‘Nadia Cakes’. The cakes sound good, but despite having an international following and winning numerous food network competitions, I cringe each time I see it mentioned. Plus, referencing another TikTok book boyfriend in her story, especially one as popular as Rhysand from ACOTAR, is always going to feel wrong.

“Your vet boyfriend probably looks like Lord Farquaad.” “He looks like the High Lord of the Night Court and you could never,” I snapped.”

Samantha, Say You’ll Remember Me

I know Abby Jimenez likes to keep her dialogue modern, but it has to feel authentic to the character. Take, for example, Holden Caulfields “phony”. That is consistent with his character. While Samantha is a social media manager, and is chronically online for her job, she came across as mature and grounded. I’m an SMM too, also chronically online by nature of my job, and I don’t speak like that in real life.

It truly takes me out of the romance. It reminds me that I’m reading something, and that these characters are not real people falling in love in real life. I read for escapism, and this kind of language just never reads naturally to me. These are kind of petty points, but that’s just my own personal preferences.

Final thoughts on Say You’ll Remember Me (spoiler-free)

Abby loves to pull on the old heart strings. Say You’ll Remember Me is not a book I will easily forget (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

This is a book about family, trauma, grief, and loss. It’s about letting go of who you thought you needed to be, of other people’s expectations, and finally finding peace in living life on your own terms.

Sculpted gods and tiny kittens aside, Say You’ll Remember Me is warm, funny, witty, and emotionally devastating in all the right places and my little gripes with the novel do not take away from how utterly I enjoyed this book and how much I loved Samantha and Xavier.

Let’s put it this way, Abby Jimenez is a New York Times Bestselling author for a reason.