The Night We Met

I absolutely adored Say You'll Remember Me, so I preordered this second book in the series months ago, eager to slip back into this series and its characters.

Sadly, I was disappointed with this book. The premise, plot, characters and pacing just didn't cut it. It didn't even feel like an Abby Jimenez book, to be honest.

Premise: romanticizing emotional cheating is icky

Plot and pacing: not enough story and waaay too slow 

Characters: 

Larissa, what the hell are you doing? You want to be independent, but you constantly mooched off others and why didn't you confront your obnoxious mom? Then you strung Mike along for months (even though you never had a connection with him). You didn't know him well enough to realize he had issues yet you lived him so you could save money on rent while you emotionally cheated with his BFF? Just no!

Chris, you're (technically) a smart guy and I love that your love language is acts of service, but m'dude! It's too much! Sure, you had emotional baggage (and a unique phobia), but you were written to be too perfect, and you were a big 'ol pushover. 

Mike, you're nice to look at (abs and all that), but you're immature, have major issues you're ignoring and a bunch of people who say they love you but enable you constantly. You're not a bad guy, you're just struggling, but you've got to stop pawning off spending time with your girlfriend to your BFF. That can't end well!

Woofarine - your wee canine escapades added humour and you're a delightful psycho ... but your name is just dumb.

This book was less about romance and more about cheating and the complicated dynamics between Chris and Mike. I'm all for forbidden love, but I felt bored and frustrated while reading it. While writing this review my rating actually decreased as feelings of frustration bubbled to the surface but I'll round up due to some of the sweet moments and humour. 

I'm sad that this book lacked the Jimenez magic (humour, heart and memorable characters) I've come to expect. 

My Rating: 2.75 stars

Author: Abby Jimenez

Genre: Romance, Contemporary Fiction

Series: Say You'll Remember Me 2

Publisher: Hachette

First Published: March 24, 2026

Read: June 11-16, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: A beautiful, compelling novel that revels in laughter, friendship, and the messy choices life can throw our way.

In everyone’s life, there’s a split-second decision that can change everything...

For Larissa, it came when choosing which guy to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she’d met the perfect man. She and Chris are great together, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favorite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!). For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.

But Chris isn't the one who drove Larissa home all those months ago—Chris is her boyfriend's best friend. All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else. And he’s just not that guy.