Reviews with content warning for Blood - Yours Truly

A great romance read! The two main characters have serious chemistry and make one another better people. The writing is fantastic; their relationship comes to life on the page. And Jimenez really gets you to laugh with some of the depictions of scenes and characters' actions. She writes chronic anxiety well, what with the characters' constant mentioning of it and efforts to overcome issues in that area of their relationship. Plus, there are many quotable lessons learned within the course of the book, which I appreciated. I also felt interested by the big family that the main male love interest has, because larger families are kind of rare and I am 1 of 9.

I do think Briana's pregnancy toward the end is random and used a little too obviously as a plot device to create just another conflict for the new lovers, especially since Alexis and Kelly both are also pregnant. It seems as if the author is sort of saying that a relationship is actually at its most complete status, and most thrilling, when the couple gets pregnant, and I simply disagree with that blanket statement. Seeing the ex could have been a big enough issue on its own without that extra piece of backstory thrown in, especially one that is incredibly traumatic and therefore needed a building up throughout the novel if included at all. However, I can't bring myself to dock half a star for the ending alone, simply Jimenez's depiction of anxiety and writing of their relationship is beautiful. I understand this is a subjective rather than objective star rating. I just love Jacob and Briana too much.

I'm also a bit mad that his ex-girlfriend and the younger BROTHER didn't get more of what they deserved for their backstabbing behavior, even though Jacob got over it easily enough in the end and said he hadn't necessarily ever actually loved her. There are just some boundaries you don't cross, and they each could have chosen other people. And the family seemingly wanting to be okay with it was odd. But it's still great writing, because it's reality. This is how people are, and sometimes the best revenge and happiness really is just to move on with someone better.

I don't factor audiobook performance into my star reviews, but I give both Kyla Garcia and Zachary Webber 5/5 easily. They are unique, not annoying, and did plenty of inflection without overdoing it.

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mariposa517's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

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juanat77's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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vailtoset10's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

For me this was a story that started off strongly but in the third half went completely off the rails. It felt like Abby forgot it was a romantic comedy, and the last third of the book suffers greatly for it. I completely hated a character I started off liking and ruined any affection I had for her.

I am well aware that trauma changes the brain. I’m a person who has faced their own trauma in life -but everything Brianna did in the last third is completely inexcusable. She was beyond cruel and quite frankly how Jacob handled the way she treated him has me worried for his wellbeing.

I’m so disappointed that this book ruined everything it had built and destroyed its own story. A single book should not manage to jump the shark like this.

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readwithria's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.5

Yours Truly is so full of heart and love and deep connection. It deals with anxiety, and trauma, and healing. It’s a beautiful book, and I thoroughly loved it.

Briana and Jacob are so perfect for each other. Their chemistry is off the charts, and they have such a deep understanding of each other’s needs and how best to support the other. I loved reading about their love so much.

Fake dating and forced proximity will always be some of my favorite tropes. Having so much time on the page spent with both characters together is exactly what I want in a romance!

The therapy rep, anxiety rep, strong family bonds, and deep friendships supported the rest of this book so well! Jacob and Bri’s families are so excellently written, as are the rest of the secondary characters. Abby Jimenez did such a great job of developing all of the characters in this book, and I love how they all fit together.

The one thing that bothered me was how little they communicated for so long, especially Briana. Having Jacob’s anxiety monologue running made perfect sense, but there were so many times when Bri was so close to getting actually useful information if she just voiced the question she had in her head.

I will definitely be reading more by Abby Jimenez. 4.5 stars.

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