Life's Too Short

Abby Jimenez

Apr 2021 · Sold by Forever

About this ebook

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"A hilarious, tender, and altogether life-affirming gem of a book." --Emily Henry, bestselling author of Beach Read

A brilliant and touching romantic comedy about two polar opposites, one adorable dog, and living every day to its fullest.

When Vanessa Price quit her job to pursue her dream of traveling the globe, she wasn't expecting to gain millions of YouTube followers who shared her joy of seizing every moment. For her, living each day to its fullest isn't just a motto. Her mother and sister never saw the age of 30, and Vanessa doesn't want to take anything for granted.

But after her half sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her baby daughter, life goes from "daily adventure" to "next-level bad" (now with bonus baby vomit in hair). The last person Vanessa expects to show up offering help is the hot lawyer next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. No one warned her that he was the Secret Baby Tamer or that she'd be spending a whole lot of time with him and his geriatric Chihuahua.

Now she's feeling things she's vowed not to feel. Because the only thing worse than falling for Adrian is finding a little hope for a future she may never see.

• Minnesota Book Awards winner
• BookRiot, Top Books of 2021
• Goodreads, Best of 2021 Romance Finalist
• She Reads, Best of 2021 Romance Winner

Ratings and reviews

I am continually impressed by Abby Jimenez’s ability to create the perfect balance of emotions in her novels. There are moments in Life’s Too Short that are painful and will have you clutching your heart and then the next minute, you’ll be laughing hysterically until your sides hurt. Readers are introduced to such wonderfully relatable characters that you can’t help but root for them to find their way to happily ever after. This is book 3 in The Friend Zone series, but it can definitely be read as a standalone. The previous two books are amazing though and The Happy Ever After Playlist is where we are first introduced to the hero, so I highly recommend reading them as well. One of my favorite things in a romance is the meet cute and Abby Jimenez writes them so well! They’re hilariously unique and set things up so wonderfully for the characters. Throw in her trademark witty banter and dialogue and I was sold. Vanessa and Adrian’s story was just the right combination of serious and sweet. I loved how the friendship developed naturally between them and seeing that slow burn build up and up and up until it boiled over was delicious. Adrian Copeland had me swooning left and right and if he isn’t inducted into the book boyfriend hall of fame after this, I will riot. Yes, he makes some mistakes along the way, but I loved that he owns up to them and that his heart was always in the right place. Vanessa's view on life was a great reminder that nothing in this world is guaranteed and that anything besides living is just waiting to die. They were such a great complement to each other. The secondary characters were awesome as always and Brent and Becky stole the show every time they were on the page. I also loved the cameos from Josh, Kristen, Jason, and Sloan. Those scenes were such a treat and it made me so happy to get a little update on them (and to see that Kristen hadn’t lost her sense of humor). I don’t want to give away too much, but I’ve listed a few CW below just in case. Just know that Kristen’s theory about the Copeland men is right (a 25 pound dumbbell! LOL) and you will laugh, (probably) cry, swoon, have a goofy grin on your face, and be left feeling happy and above all else, hopeful. CW: possible spoilers . . . ALS, anxiety, death of loved one/family member, infidelity, substance abuse, mental health issues *I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

I've loved Abby Jimenez's first two books and Life's Too Short was just as wonderful. I fell in love with these characters so quickly and I while I wanted to find out what was going to happen, I didn't want to because that meant it was going to be over! Vanessa Price is the type of woman you want in your corner. She hasn't been dealt the best hand in life, she lost her mother too early and her older sister too, plus she's the one that does her best to hold the rest of her family together, which includes her Dad, younger sister and brother. Given that ALS runs in her family, and her grandmother, mother and sister all suffered from it, she's terrified she is going to be next. With that in mind, she started a channel where she shared her travel videos in order to raise money for ALS research and is determined to live life to its fullest while she still can. She's thrown a curveball when her younger sister leaves her baby daughter in Vanessa's care. So she quickly goes from traveling the world to being a stay-at-home Mom trying to figure out what moves to make next. When she gets a late night visit from her neighbor, lawyer Adrian Copeland, due to the baby crying, who could have guessed that it was going to change everyone's lives. While Adrian has his own family issues, he's always been married to his work as a partner at the law firm. He's had girlfriends here and there (including one he just broke up with), but when he meets Vanessa, things just seem different with her. He's caring, considerate, genuine and always ready to help however he can. Oh and did I mention he's drop dead gorgeous?! Vanessa and Adrian build a friendship as they spend more and more time together. Both of them begin to feel themselves falling for the other, but due to conversations they've had, neither one voices how they are feeling. Are they going to be able to deny what is growing between them? Will Vanessa's health throw a huge wrench into things? I truly loved everything about this book. I laughed, I cried, I cheered and I smiled as I moved my way through the story. I felt like the descriptions and storytelling were so vivid that everything just seemed to jump off the page for me and made it easy to visualize it all happening. This is definitely my favorite of The Friend Zone series, but do yourself a favor and pick up all three of them. I promise you won't regret it!

After finishing this book, I had to just let it sit for days because of how close to home it hit for me. But, that's the thing: Abby's characters are completely relatable, the storyline and turns make sense, and it's so easy to immerse yourself into their world as Adrian and Vanessa navigate a friendship they both so desperately need. I love the style of her books, too. You understand points of view because you're getting the story at it happens from the point of view of the characters. Their dialogue is so natural that you can practically hear the banter, and you can feel their passion and pain with them as they journey. The universe ties itself together so neatly that this almost feels like a modern day Love Actually between Abby's 3 books. I can't wait for the next!

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