Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez: Summer Outfit Ideas + Book Review

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I genuinely did not expect this book to hit me the way it did. I picked up Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez thinking I was in for a fun, breezy romance with a cute veterinarian and a chaotic female lead, and while I absolutely got that, I also got a whole lot more. This one is heavier than the cover lets on, and I mean that as a compliment. If you have ever been close to someone navigating a loved one's memory loss, or if you have ever been in a relationship where the timing just would not cooperate, this book is going to find you in places you did not know were still sore.

But it is also genuinely funny. And warm. And the dog content alone should be enough to sell it.

Since we are doing what we do around here, I styled three outfits inspired by the moments in this book that lived rent-free in my head. Samantha Diaz is a 29-year-old social media manager who is curvy, Latina, and perpetually the most charming person in any room she walks into. She is the kind of girl who would absolutely make a viral GoFundMe for a kitten with no butthole (this is a real plot point and I need you to trust me on it), and then somehow still end up on the most romantic date of her life that same week. I loved her. We are dressing her for summer.

Everything is linked here, from Amazon. Let's get into it.

Scene 1: The Meet-Cute and the Most Epic First Date in Romance History

Okay, so here is what happens. Sam walks into Xavier's vet clinic in Minneapolis with a tiny stray kitten tucked into her bra. The kitten, Pooter, has a congenital condition that Xavier immediately wants to euthanize over. Sam calls him an asshole and leaves. And then, somehow, this man ends up donating $500 to her viral fundraiser and asking her on a date. One date that turns into a sunset charity cruise, mini golf, and getting accidentally locked inside a UFO-themed escape room while "Come on Eileen" plays on repeat. It is as chaotic and perfect as it sounds.

This is the night that changes everything for both of them. I kept picturing Sam looking effortlessly cute without trying too hard about it. She is the kind of girl who shows up to mini golf and somehow looks like she planned the whole thing. For this look I went with a flowy polka dot mini dress, or a pink athletic dress, Crocs Miami Toe Loop Sandals, and a trendy black bag. Cute, casual, and ready for literally whatever the evening throws at her including an escape room situation.

Shop the First Date Look on Amazon:

Polka Dot Mini Dress | Strappy Flat Sandals | Small Black Bag | Gold Hoop Earrings | Tinted Lip Oil

As for the book itself at this point in the story, the first date chapters are some of the most fun Abby Jimenez has ever written. The banter is so good. Xavier gets compared to Rhysand from ACOTAR approximately three hundred times and honestly I get it. The escape room scene is worth the price of the book alone.

Scene 2: Golden Hour at the Santa Monica Pier

This is the part where I got emotional. Xavier eventually flies out to California to visit Sam, and they spend the day at the Santa Monica Pier. She is afraid of heights and rides the Ferris wheel anyway. They share their first real kiss on the beach at dusk. It is golden hour and warm and they are both trying to figure out how to hold onto something that does not have an obvious future. I am not okay about it even now.

For the California summer look I wanted to capture that warm, golden, barefoot-on-the-boardwalk energy. Sam grew up in the LA area and she has that effortless California girl thing going on. I went with a linen matching set in a dusty blue color, or an Off The Shoulder two piece set for backup, a woven straw tote, and SPF because we protect our skin in this house. This look is also very much what Pinterest is obsessed with right now, which never hurts.

Shop the California Summer Look:

Linen Matching Set | Woven Straw Tote | Off The Shoulder Set | SPF Sunscreen| Oversized Sunglasses

The California section of this book is also where you really start to understand what Sam is carrying. Her mom's dementia is progressing faster than anyone anticipated, the family dynamics are layered and messy and real, and Sam is quietly sacrificing more than she lets on. Abby Jimenez handles the dementia storyline with so much care and honesty. It is never used as a cheap plot device. It is just life, which is harder and more meaningful than any trope.

Scene 3: The WFH Grind (Social Media Manager Era)

The middle section of this book is Sam fully settled back in Glendale, working remotely as a social media manager for a mustard company (and I mean that with all the affection in the world), helping care for her mom, and maintaining a long-distance relationship with a man she should not have let herself fall for. She is doing approximately four people's jobs at once and somehow still managing to be funny about it.

As a fellow dog mom and someone who has had days that feel exactly like this, I felt this section so deeply. The WFH outfit needed to be comfortable and cute in that specific way where you are technically in your house but you are also a functional adult with your life together. Wide-leg lounge pants, a good, oversized tee, a body mist (that smells amazing, and makes you feel like you did something nice for yourself) and a Stanley tumbler that you are refilling every forty-five minutes.

Shop the WFH Look:

Wide-Leg Lounge Pants | Oversized Tee | Body Mist or Warm Perfume | Aesthetic Tumbler | 

Xavier and Sam spend months doing this, the stolen FaceTime calls, the visits that are never long enough, the constant negotiation between love and logistics. The book is honest about how hard that is without ever making you feel like it is hopeless. That balance is really what Abby Jimenez does better than almost anyone writing romance right now.

Also a great spot to mention: if you want to grab this book secondhand before it sells out everywhere, my PangoBooks code HRHONEY gets you a discount at pangobooks.com/HRHONEY. Highly recommend!

Final Thoughts

Okay, my final verdict. I liked this book a lot. It is not Abby Jimenez's funniest, but I think it might be her most emotionally honest. The veterinary aspect of Xavier's character is woven in so naturally, and as someone who has spent plenty of time at the vet myself, I love that he is not just generically "loves animals." He is a working professional who is exhausted and financially stressed and doing this because it genuinely matters to him. That specificity is what makes the romance feel earned.

Sam is one of my favorite female main characters in a while. She is warm and sharp and she does not disappear into the love story. She stays herself the whole time, which is everything.

I gave this one four stars. The middle section drags just slightly and some of the pop culture references feel a little forced, but the emotional payoff at the end absolutely makes up for it. And I will not spoil it, but the proposal scene? I needed a minute.

Shop the full Say You'll Remember Me Amazon list here and grab the book on Pango at pangobooks.com/HRHONEY with code HRHONEY. If you have already read this one I would love to know what you thought in the comments!