Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

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💕 Say You’ll Remember Me Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Long Distance, Big Feels, and a Vet Who Actually Deserves You

⚠️ Trigger Warnings

  • Illness (early-onset dementia)

  • Death (family loss)

  • Child abuse (past)

  • Addiction (mentioned)

  • Animal illness & near-euthanasia

  • Grief & caregiving stress

  • Mild sexual content & language

🚨 Spoiler Warning 🚨

This is a FULL SPOILER REVIEW — I’m talking beginning, middle, AND ending. Proceed only if you’ve read it or don’t care about spoilers (no judgment 😌).

💭 First Thoughts (aka I Got Emotionally Wrecked… Again)

Every once in a while, I fall headfirst into a romantic chick lit and just… never recover. This was one of those books 😭💕

5 stars. No notes. Absolutely obsessed.

And can we PLEASE talk about Xavier for a second???

This man is:

  • Not a billionaire ❌

  • Not emotionally unavailable ❌

  • Not toxic for absolutely no reason ❌

He’s just a hardworking, good-looking veterinarian with terrible parents and a good heart 🥹

Like… hello??? A realistic man in a romance novel??? We love to see it.

📚 Overview

Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez is a contemporary romance that blends:

  • 💔 Long-distance love

  • 🧠 Memory & identity

  • 👩‍👧 Caregiving and family dynamics

  • ⚖️ Real-life sacrifices vs. romantic idealism

At its core, it asks:
👉 What do you do when love is real… but life is complicated?

🐾 Plot Summary (FULL SPOILERS)

🐶 The Meet-Cute That Was Not Cute

We start at Xavier’s vet clinic where he refuses to euthanize a healthy dog (already obsessed with him tbh). Enter Samantha, carrying a tiny kitten in her bra (iconic behavior).

The kitten has a serious condition requiring expensive surgery, and Xavier — in his grumpy era — suggests euthanasia. Samantha calls him an asshole (correct), storms out, and somehow… this becomes romance.

She raises the money online, the kitten survives (Pooter supremacy 🐱), and Xavier donates anonymously like the softie he is.

🌅 The Best First Date Ever??

Their first date is:

  • A sunset rescue cruise 🚤

  • A shirtless lake dive 🥵

  • Mini golf + arcade chaos 🎯

  • AND getting trapped in an escape room for FOUR HOURS

Honestly? Elite first date.

They trauma-bond (as one does), share their deepest secrets, and fall HARD.

Except… Samantha casually drops that she’s moving to California the next day to care for her mom with early-onset dementia.

COOL COOL COOL 😭

✈️ Long Distance (aka Emotional Torture)

They try to make it work, and this is where I was like:

👉 HOW are they going to resolve this without ruining everything???

Because:

  • We do NOT want Xavier’s vet clinic to fail 🐾

  • We do NOT want Samantha abandoning her mom 👩‍👧

  • We do NOT accept heartbreak ❌

So what now???

Meanwhile:

  • Samantha is drowning in caregiving and family chaos

  • Xavier is overworking himself to afford visits

  • They keep missing each other (literally flying past each other at one point 😩)

And just when things couldn’t get worse:

  • 💔 Grandma dies

  • 💸 Xavier’s clinic floods

  • 🏥 Xavier ends up hospitalized

LIKE CAN THEY BREATHE???

🧠 The Caregiving Reality (This Part Hurt)

Samantha’s storyline is honestly what elevates this book.

Her mom’s dementia is:

  • messy

  • heartbreaking

  • unpredictable

There’s a moment with the car accident that just… snaps everything into focus. This isn’t temporary. This is their life now.

Watching Samantha step up, hold her family together, and STILL try to maintain a relationship??? Unreal strength.

🐕 The Turning Point

Enter: Dr. Hank Brekken (actual angel on earth 👼)

He:

  • volunteers at Xavier’s clinic

  • turns out to be connected to Xavier’s childhood

  • basically tells Xavier: get your priorities straight

And THIS is where things finally click.

💍 The Ending (YES I WAS HAPPY WITH IT)

Xavier realizes:

👉 What’s the point of holding onto everything… if you lose the person who matters most?

So what does he do???

  • Keeps the Minnesota clinic running part-time

  • Gets help from Hank 🙌

  • Moves to California 🚗

  • Shows up with flowers 🌹

  • PROPOSES 💍

AND YES SHE SAYS YES 😭

🌅 Final Scene (Beautiful Closure)

  • Family is stable 🤍

  • Samantha builds her own career

  • Xavier is rebuilding his life and career in California

  • Her mom is still declining… but surrounded by love

And the jewelry being found in the car???
Such a small but PERFECT symbolic moment.

❤️ What I Loved

🐾 A Refreshingly Normal Male Lead

Xavier is:

  • kind

  • flawed

  • hardworking

  • emotionally available (eventually 😅)

No toxic nonsense. Just a man trying his best.

🧠 Real Stakes, Real Problems

This wasn’t:

“Oh no, we live 30 minutes apart, how will we survive?”

This was:

  • finances

  • illness

  • family obligations

  • career sacrifices

It felt REAL.

😭 Emotional Impact

I laughed. I cried. I got stressed for fictional people.

The caregiving storyline especially hit HARD.

🤔 Final Thoughts

This is one of those romances that sneaks up on you and then suddenly you’re:

  • emotionally attached

  • deeply invested

  • and unwilling to let go

It’s not just about love — it’s about:

  • choosing love

  • redefining priorities

  • and figuring out what actually matters

And honestly? Xavier figuring it out the way he did was exactly what I wanted.

⭐ Rating: 5/5

✨ Emotional
✨ Romantic
✨ Grounded
✨ Completely addictive

📖 If You Loved This, Try These:

  • Just for the Summer — Abby Jimenez

  • Part of Your World — Abby Jimenez

  • Things We Never Got Over — Lucy Score

  • Yours Truly — Abby Jimenez

  • The Simple Wild — K.A. Tucker

If you’ve read this one, I NEED to know —
👉 Were you stressed about the long-distance situation too or just me?? 😅

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