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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, hoardingbeaniebookcorner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Chronic illness
jktierney's review against another edition
reflective
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, and Drug use
kyleethecatlady's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
So emotional. I love the characters. This was a really unique book. I haven’t read another book like it, and I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, and Drug abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Dementia
sistatv'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
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
rachels_booknook's review against another edition
4.0
Life’s Too Short is the final book in Abby Jimenez’s The Friend Zone trilogy, but it’s not largely connected to the first two books. Adrian is briefly introduced in The Happy Ever After Playlist but he doesn’t have a huge profile. There’s a bit of a cameo in Life’s Too Short by the characters from the first two books, but it could definitely be read as a stand alone. This one also takes place in Minnesota as opposed to California.
All of Abby Jimenez’s books have a serious and/or medical component and this one is no exception. We don’t find out for a while what the medical problem actually is but we know it’s probably something pretty severe. Add to this, Vanessa’s family, which she is holding onto by a thread – taking care of her younger sister’s baby, worrying about her brother (I ended up liking Brent by the end), helping her dad get his life organized. Vanessa is so many things to so many people and it’s just really nice to see how Adrian supports not only her, but her family, and the deep friendship that develops first and foremost between them. The ending was so good. I figured out part of what would obviously be involved in the grand gesture but it was great to see it play out.
I love the message in this book about not living your worst moments twice – the first time being in anticipation. I think it’s really hard to actually do that but I appreciated Vanessa’s positive spirit and outlook. I loved that she helps Adrian with some of his own challenges by helping him look at things in a different way.
I wish there was more about Vanessa’s travel blog and how she makes money from it, but I guess it make sense that since Adrian doesn’t know much about it, neither does the reader.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Medical trauma
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
vrrrmm's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent