Being an avid romance reader, I notice several aspects of the genre. Most of the time, the dialogue is either cheesy and makes some people cringe, or the humor within the interactions between the characters feels forced and unrealistic.
However, Abby Jimenez’s novel, “Yours Truly,” really surprised me.
This novel is about two emergency room doctors who have terrible first impressions of each other, but after a bit of struggling and loneliness, they become each other’s safe person and right fit.
The tone of this novel is definitely a major shift from my last book review, but I think of these lovey-dovey novels as palate cleansers in between classics or heavier reads.
Dialogue is a huge determining factor in whether or not the book is a favorite of mine or not. Immediately after reading the first line, “They’re calling him Dr. Death,” I was intrigued. It caught my attention right away. The first page contained several witty lines which continued to draw me in.
I was told in one of my creative writing courses in college that starting your story with dialogue is usually a no-no, but I disagree! In the case of this book, starting with a funny line was the right move to interest readers and set up for the humorous tone of the rest of the novel.
Reading and humor are incredibly subjective, of course. So, someone may read this book and not find anything funny within it, but I enjoyed it!
There was a little bit of cheesiness, especially with the happy ending, but I liked how Jimenez demonstrated the struggle of trust and trauma within relationships.
I also really appreciated the way that Jimenez depicted anxiety within her male protagonist, Dr. Jacob Maddox. His struggle with anxiety felt very realistic and not overdone in any way. I found myself reading a detail such as Jacob having to know every detail about a social function, and thinking, “yikes, I do that too.”
The whole novel felt relatable and realistic, which is always important to me when deciding whether or not it would make my favorites list.
I felt myself not wanting to put this book down because I just wanted to find out what would happen with Briana and Jacob! I read the 348 page novel in three days, which is sort of fast for me!
I cannot wait to read more of Abby Jimenez’s novels because of her witty lines and deeply romantic stories!