Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

 

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 
                                                       432 Pages

From Goodreads: 

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?
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Aurel's Take: 

Before this book, to be perfectly honest, I'd been slumming it in the Kindle Unlimited random finds. As a result, I forgot that good dialogue, good plot, AND romance could all exist in the same book. I'm super happy I found Abby Jimenez; I quickly devoured 3 of her books in one week. 

The banter between the two main characters feels natural and endearing. I like Abby's style of writing both characters as loveable but slightly "flawed." It's a refreshing break from the tropes of Grumpy/Sunshine or Enemies to Lovers, or worse: A "plot point" that could totally be resolved with effective communication from two grown adults. 

Tangent aside: I love that this book has none of that. It treats the two main characters as actual adults, and they do have understandable, frustrating adult-level issues, stemming from something a lot of us can't avoid: our families, that seem to put huge hiccups into their lives. Something that even the healthiest of couples (or individuals) would struggle with. 


This book is a definite feel good read and I highly recommend it.