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kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Title: Life's Too Short
Author: Abby Jimenez
Series: The Friend Zone #3
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: April 6, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Witty • Tender • Wholesome
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn't expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn't just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn't want to take anything for granted.
But after her half sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her baby daughter, life goes from "daily adventure" to "next-level bad". The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she'd be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua.
Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Life's Too Short was the final book of Abby's repertoire on my TBR. The third installment in The Friend Zone companion series, I knew the major plot centered around ALS, and that there was a social media aspect as well. I knew very little more than that, which is exactly how I like to go into her books.
Another signature Abby tale with witty banter, complex characters and mental health representation. I really liked both Vanessa and Adrian, they each felt so wholesome. Getting both of their POVs allows for a more in depth look into their thoughts and actions. Their connection was believable very early on and felt genuine. Their ability to co-parent was organic and simply beautiful. Additionally, I loved getting to see Vanessa's relationship with her family and how each one dealt with the tragic losses in a different way. This really shows how grief is deeply personal.
For me, the first half was definitely stronger. The manner in which the whole medical aspect was handled didn't sit well with me. It became harder and harder to believe as the story progresses and at times felt dragged out. I understand Abby wanted to add depth, yet I think it could have easily been done in a different way and it would have worked better.
Life's Too Short was an enjoyable story with realistic and flawed characters, yet it was easily my least favourite of Abby's books (even though there were aspects I adored). Regardless, I have come to the end of Abby's backlist and will be impatiently waiting for her next release.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• modern families
• furry companions
• Abby Jimenez
⚠️ CW: mental illness, addiction, drug use, drug abuse, overdose, death, death of parent, sibling death, grief, car accident, terminal illness, chronic illness, abandonment, dementia, panic attacks/disorders, sexual content, cursing, medical content, pregnancy, hoarding, toxic relationship, infidelity
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'Life is no excuse,' she said. "You should always have an adventure lined up. Having something to look forward to is tantamount to happiness.'"
"There are people you can know for a lifetime and they never get your heart. And then there are those who are already inside it, before you ever lay eyes on them."
Author: Abby Jimenez
Series: The Friend Zone #3
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: April 6, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Witty • Tender • Wholesome
📖 S Y N O P S I S
When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn't expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn't just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn't want to take anything for granted.
But after her half sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her baby daughter, life goes from "daily adventure" to "next-level bad". The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she'd be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua.
Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Life's Too Short was the final book of Abby's repertoire on my TBR. The third installment in The Friend Zone companion series, I knew the major plot centered around ALS, and that there was a social media aspect as well. I knew very little more than that, which is exactly how I like to go into her books.
Another signature Abby tale with witty banter, complex characters and mental health representation. I really liked both Vanessa and Adrian, they each felt so wholesome. Getting both of their POVs allows for a more in depth look into their thoughts and actions. Their connection was believable very early on and felt genuine. Their ability to co-parent was organic and simply beautiful. Additionally, I loved getting to see Vanessa's relationship with her family and how each one dealt with the tragic losses in a different way. This really shows how grief is deeply personal.
For me, the first half was definitely stronger. The manner in which the whole medical aspect was handled didn't sit well with me. It became harder and harder to believe as the story progresses and at times felt dragged out. I understand Abby wanted to add depth, yet I think it could have easily been done in a different way and it would have worked better.
Life's Too Short was an enjoyable story with realistic and flawed characters, yet it was easily my least favourite of Abby's books (even though there were aspects I adored). Regardless, I have come to the end of Abby's backlist and will be impatiently waiting for her next release.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• modern families
• furry companions
• Abby Jimenez
⚠️ CW: mental illness, addiction, drug use, drug abuse, overdose, death, death of parent, sibling death, grief, car accident, terminal illness, chronic illness, abandonment, dementia, panic attacks/disorders, sexual content, cursing, medical content, pregnancy, hoarding, toxic relationship, infidelity
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'Life is no excuse,' she said. "You should always have an adventure lined up. Having something to look forward to is tantamount to happiness.'"
"There are people you can know for a lifetime and they never get your heart. And then there are those who are already inside it, before you ever lay eyes on them."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Mental illness, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Grief, Sexual content, Drug use, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death, and Car accident
Minor: Dementia, Cursing, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity
overdose, sibling death, hoardingliterary_laur's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While I found this book to be an adorable romance, my rating is purely circumstantial. The medical component didn’t sit right with me at this time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Addiction, and Abandonment
Huge focus on terminal illness - ALSsistatv's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Abby Jimenez writes excellent book boyfriends. Like A 1, perfect fucking book boyfriends. I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Grief, Terminal illness, Drug use, and Addiction
teajunki's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Death, Addiction, and Medical content
amybartoli29's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Chronic illness
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Dementia
biojesspj's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Addiction, Grief, Ableism, and Death
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
juanat77's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Death, Grief, Addiction, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
natalie_the_reader's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Characters: 4
Connection to the book/Enjoyment: 3
Setting: 3
Plot/Overall Story: 4
Writing: 4
Every point= 0.25 stars, max per category 4 points
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Medical content, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Death of parent
Minor side character with alternative lifestyle, maybe 3 pages total of open doorhopelessromanticbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I couldn’t see why he wasn’t all over Tinder letting women climb him like a ladder. I’d climb this man no matter what he had in his pants.
Just WOW! I picked this book up hoping to get out of my reading slump and it was such an emotional rollercoaster.
This book follows a young woman called Vanessa who has the gene of ALS and has been passed down through the women of her family. She basically was living life to the fullest, travelling the world and filling up her travel vlog on YouTube…until a baby literally was left with her and halted all the plans. What’s even more annoying for Vanessa is she has a grumpy, sexy, ‘Jesus abs’ neighbour who wanted her to shut the baby up at 4am…it’s not like that’s what she had been trying to do 😅 before he started knocking on her door.
When reading this book (and unable to put it down), it had humour , moments that was so cute!, times I just wanted to bang the main characters heads together, heartbreak that left me calling them both idiots and of course an emotional and sweet ending.
I loved the emotional storyline that was beautifully represented. The characters were so diverse and had a mixture of real life problems, relationships & families
This book is a Grumpy/Sunshine & Friends to Lovers romance. It shows representation of the struggles with ALS, Drug Addict, Grief, Mental Health Issues & LGBTQ+ x
Just WOW! I picked this book up hoping to get out of my reading slump and it was such an emotional rollercoaster.
This book follows a young woman called Vanessa who has the gene of ALS and has been passed down through the women of her family. She basically was living life to the fullest, travelling the world and filling up her travel vlog on YouTube…until a baby literally was left with her and halted all the plans. What’s even more annoying for Vanessa is she has a grumpy, sexy, ‘Jesus abs’ neighbour who wanted her to shut the baby up at 4am…it’s not like that’s what she had been trying to do 😅 before he started knocking on her door.
When reading this book (and unable to put it down), it had humour , moments that was so cute!, times I just wanted to bang the main characters heads together, heartbreak that left me calling them both idiots and of course an emotional and sweet ending.
I loved the emotional storyline that was beautifully represented. The characters were so diverse and had a mixture of real life problems, relationships & families
This book is a Grumpy/Sunshine & Friends to Lovers romance. It shows representation of the struggles with ALS, Drug Addict, Grief, Mental Health Issues & LGBTQ+ x
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Grief, Terminal illness, Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, and Car accident