There’s no such thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediate yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong . . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake.
But after one incredible and seemingly endless date, Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be. Only no amount of distance or time is enough to forget what’s between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.
Say You’ll Remember is an emotional & heartwarming novel. Abby Jiminez’s signature writing style has evolved into romance combined with family drama and unresolved psychological trauma, and this book follows suit! The story follows Samantha, a marketing manager, who brings in a rescue kitten to the clinic of Xavier, a grumpy veterinarian. When he is adamant the kitten can’t be saved, she’s determined to prove him wrong and sets up a funding campaign for the kitten’s surgery. When Samantha returns to prove she was right, Xavier asks her out, and their romance takes flight. But Samantha soon moves to California to be a caregiver for her mother suffering from dementia, and a long-distance relationship takes shape. Xavier is hesitant to move as he has put everything into his clinic and wants to prove his abusive parents wrong. Trying to build a relationship with all the cards stacked against them proves more difficult than they imagined!
The story features several popular romance tropes, including insta-love, grumpy/sunshine, and opposites attract. During Samantha and Xavier’s initial encounter, there is very strong mutual attraction, but egos and insecurities get in the way. But just like any fated romance, a serendipitous circumstance brings them back together—in this case, the kitten survives a dangerous surgery against the odds. Both Samantha and Xavier have career ambitions and a passion for their jobs, which makes them more relatable.
Xavier has such an intense admiration and attraction for Samantha that it will have readers swooning. He even goes as far as to imagine making contracts with her in past lives to finally come together now—he’s really that invested! Their chemistry is intense, believable, and carries the story, even when not much else is happening in the plot. For anyone who’s tried to navigate a long-distance relationship, this book will feel pretty accurate—with thousands of miles between them, they spend a lot of time reminiscing, having phone conversations about how to make it work, and planning their next get-together while their responsibilities at home weigh them down. It’s exhausting listening to them but simultaneously heartwarming! The side characters in this story, including Samantha’s family members and friends, are all interesting and well developed—there’s potential to create a new series here with the side characters becoming protagonists in future books!
The romance is mostly closed door, so if you’re expecting spicy scenes, you’ll be disappointed. On the positive side, there’s an abundance of heartfelt dialogue and witty banter to keep readers fully invested in their romance. In an age where people get easily jaded in dating, the amount of effort these two put into maintaining their romance when they could make their lives so much easier by finding someone else on a dating app is admirable and heartwarming.
The family drama/conflict in this story has substance and is relatable, especially if you’ve been a caregiver to a loved one or have had a bad relationship with a parent. Jiminez doesn’t take the easy route when presenting these topics in her books—she makes them a core part of the protagonist’s psychological issues and includes uncomfortable scenes that can be triggering. The ending here isn’t a traditional HEA scenario, but it’s still satisfying.
Overall, Say You’ll Remember Me is an emotionally charged story that will hook you in from the very beginning. If you enjoyed other books from Jimenez or are keen on romance novels with substance, realistic family conflict, characters grappling with psychological issues, and unconventional HEA endings, then immediately grab a copy of this book!
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of Say You’ll Remember is a heartfelt and unstoppable listen narrated by the incredible Christine Lakin (who’s voiced previous Jimenez books) and actor Matt Lanter! From the very first chapter, Lakin brings protagonist Samantha vividly to life and creates an addictive listening experience that has readers glued to their headphones. Lakin portrays Samantha with a confident and emotional voice, accurately portraying an independent woman who’s dealing with changing the course of her life to help a caregiver. From the character’s grief over losing pieces of her mother to her intense insta-love for Xavier to dealing with unexpected loss, Lakin delivers an impressive spectrum of emotions and varied levels of intensity that makes the performance outstanding!
Matt Lanter uses his rich, smooth voice to perfectly capture “cinnamon roll” protagonist Xavier. Lantern’s performance is calmer and more evenly paced, authentically capturing the contrasting personalities of Samantha and Xavier and emphasizing the “opposites attract” trope. Jiminez writes some of the most meaningful romantic dialogue in the business, and Lanter delivers it to its full potential—he makes the intense chemistry between Samantha and Xavier palpable, and readers will be rooting for them to survive as a couple. Both narrators also provide distinct voices for the side characters, including very entertaining voices for Xavier’s coworkers and Samantha’s brother Tristen that add humor and depth to the listening experience!
Overall, this audiobook’s high production quality, coupled with Lakin and Lanter’s fantastic performances, will keep listeners fully entertained throughout the 10-hour runtime. For fans of heartfelt contemporary romance, family drama/conflict, and heartwarming audiobooks, this one is a must-listen!
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of Say You’ll Remember is a heartfelt and unstoppable listen narrated by the incredible Christine Lakin (who’s voiced previous Jimenez books) and actor Matt Lanter! From the very first chapter, Lakin brings protagonist Samantha vividly to life and creates an addictive listening experience that has readers glued to their headphones. Lakin portrays Samantha with a confident and emotional voice, accurately portraying an independent woman who’s dealing with changing the course of her life to help a caregiver. From the character’s grief over losing pieces of her mother to her intense insta-love for Xavier to dealing with unexpected loss, Lakin delivers an impressive spectrum of emotions and varied levels of intensity that makes the performance outstanding!
Matt Lanter uses his rich, smooth voice to perfectly capture “cinnamon roll” protagonist Xavier. Lantern’s performance is calmer and more evenly paced, authentically capturing the contrasting personalities of Samantha and Xavier and emphasizing the “opposites attract” trope. Jiminez writes some of the most meaningful romantic dialogue in the business, and Lanter delivers it to its full potential—he makes the intense chemistry between Samantha and Xavier palpable, and readers will be rooting for them to survive as a couple. Both narrators also provide distinct voices for the side characters, including very entertaining voices for Xavier’s coworkers and Samantha’s brother Tristen that add humor and depth to the listening experience!
Overall, this audiobook’s high production quality, coupled with Lakin and Lanter’s fantastic performances, will keep listeners fully entertained throughout the 10-hour runtime. For fans of heartfelt contemporary romance, family drama/conflict, and heartwarming audiobooks, this one is a must-listen!
The audiobook of Say You’ll Remember is a heartfelt and unstoppable listen narrated by the incredible Christine Lakin (who’s voiced previous Jimenez books) and actor Matt Lanter! From the very first chapter, Lakin brings protagonist Samantha vividly to life and creates an addictive listening experience that has readers glued to their headphones. Lakin portrays Samantha with a confident and emotional voice, accurately portraying an independent woman who’s dealing with changing the course of her life to help a caregiver. From the character’s grief over losing pieces of her mother to her intense insta-love for Xavier to dealing with unexpected loss, Lakin delivers an impressive spectrum of emotions and varied levels of intensity that makes the performance outstanding!
Matt Lanter uses his rich, smooth voice to perfectly capture “cinnamon roll” protagonist Xavier. Lantern’s performance is calmer and more evenly paced, authentically capturing the contrasting personalities of Samantha and Xavier and emphasizing the “opposites attract” trope. Jiminez writes some of the most meaningful romantic dialogue in the business, and Lanter delivers it to its full potential—he makes the intense chemistry between Samantha and Xavier palpable, and readers will be rooting for them to survive as a couple. Both narrators also provide distinct voices for the side characters, including very entertaining voices for Xavier’s coworkers and Samantha’s brother Tristen that add humor and depth to the listening experience!
Overall, this audiobook’s high production quality, coupled with Lakin and Lanter’s fantastic performances, will keep listeners fully entertained throughout the 10-hour runtime. For fans of heartfelt contemporary romance, family drama/conflict, and heartwarming audiobooks, this one is a must-listen!
