Review by Booklist Review
Travel vlogger and internet sensation Vanessa Price cannot resist hot guys with beards, and one neighbor in her apartment building, workaholic attorney Adrian Copeland, is ticking off every box on her dream-date checklist. Add in Adrian's uncanny ability to get Grace, Vanessa's newborn niece, to stop crying as well as the fact that he is fostering a cranky yet adorable old chihuahua, and Vanessa just might be in love. However, while dating Adrian might seem to be perfect on paper, there is a big catch. Given her family's medical history with ALS, Vanessa knows that in the real world she can't let herself become romantically involved with anyone, even a man who could very well be her soul mate. Jimenez (The Happily Ever After Playlist, 2020) continues to burnish her well-deserved reputation for delivering truly unforgettable love stories by gifting lucky readers with another sneaky-sweet yet surprisingly sexy romance. Jimenez achieves stunning emotional depth as her realistically imperfect characters power a story line that is in equal measures realistically heart-breaking and gloriously hopeful.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Jimenez delivers a swoony and heartfelt third Friend Zone romance (after The Happy Ever After Playlist) about navigating life's difficulties. Vanessa Price is a 28-year-old YouTube star who travels the world using her platform to raise money and awareness for ALS. With a 50% chance that she has inherited the disease, she's determined to live her best life now because she may not make it to age 30. But her adventures are cut short when her half-sister drops off Vanessa's infant niece, Grace, at her door and never comes back, catapulting Vanessa into the role of mother figure overnight. Vanessa's neighbor, the sexy and successful lawyer Adrian Copeland, is a workaholic with little time for a personal life--until an earsplitting four a.m. meltdown from Grace brings him to Vanessa's door with an offer of help. Vanessa and Adrian's meet-cute develops into a steadfast friendship and eventually a slow-burn romance. But with Vanessa's health deteriorating, will their relationship survive after Adrian finds out that Vanessa may not? Jimenez masterfully blends heavy issues and humor, lacing the tear-jerking heartache with sass and sarcasm. Series fans and newcomers alike will be moved by this emotional rom-com. Agent: Stacey Graham, 3 Seas Literary. (Apr.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
When neighbors become so much more, it changes the trajectory of their lives forever. Vanessa Price may have only a year left to live. She inherited a gene that gives her a 50% risk of contracting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the fatal disease that afflicted her grandmother, her mother, and her older sister, Melanie. She's dedicated her adult life to enjoying each moment like it's her last, traveling the world and using the funds from her popular YouTube channel to donate to ALS research. Vanessa's not looking to be tied down by this disease, her dysfunctional family--or a romantic relationship. But when her half sister, Annabel, descends into drug abuse and drops her infant daughter on Vanessa's doorstep, she has no choice but to stick around in Minnesota for the first time in years. Luckily, she's got a hot next-door neighbor, and he's knocking on her door at 4 a.m. When Adrian Copeland helps Vanessa with a screaming baby, he doesn't expect to get wrapped up in her universe so quickly. But they start seeing each other every day, and he finds himself falling for her. The problem? She's made it clear that she doesn't date. And when Vanessa reveals that she's been displaying symptoms of early-onset ALS, they both must decide what they really want out of life. Jimenez has become known for books such as The Happily-Ever After Playlist (2020) that blend tragicomedy with romance, and she tackles many big issues here--mortality, drug abuse, mental illness--with tact. But the plot gets tedious as the mystery of Vanessa's prognosis drags on. Some readers may also balk at the instant connection between the two main characters, who share everything from house keys to child care in just days. Jimenez's rom-com formula feels a bit stale on the third go-round. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
