Just for the Summer

Abby Jimenez has such a knack for combining real life with romance. Her characters are always real people with real stories who struggle with real things—and that makes it all the more satisfying when they grab ahold of love.

The central characters in Just for the Summer—Emma and Justin—both have the same curse: the people they date go on to find their soulmates in their next relationships. Hoping to break the curse, they decide to date long enough and well enough to set each other free. The plan is four dates, a kiss, and a breakup. But things don’t go quite as expected. They feel an instant, genuine spark for each other, for one thing. Then real life keeps trying to get in the way. Emma’s neglectful mom shows back up in her life—and Justin’s mom does the opposite, leaving him to look after younger siblings. Through it all, Emma and Justin confront their fears, confess truths about their lives, come to new insights, and navigate their way to true connection.

This novel has it all: banter and stakes, hope and fear, summer fun and emotional depth. I’m always on the lookout for love stories that make an argument for why love matters: how life’s hardships help define its joys. Abby Jimenez is keenly tuned into that, and it shines through every page of this book.

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 soulmate 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?