NARRATORS: Erin Mallon and Teddy Hamilton

REVIEW: Hello, dear readers. I know…I know. You’re probably sick and tired of seeing book reviews for Abby Jimenez on my website. LOL. I do apologize, but what can I say? She’s just a really great author. I believe I'm caught up on all of her books now, except for her latest one, The Night We Met. I have that one in digital format, but I’d rather wait on the audiobook version. The Friend Zone was another funny, romantic, and enjoyable read. Lots of sarcastic and hilarious banter between the two main characters, and I was glad to see Abby took on something that’s rarely talked about in romantic comedies - women’s reproductive issues. Kristen, the female lead, suffers from uterine fibroid tumors, which have caused debilitating periods for most of her adult life, and she makes the difficult decision to have a hysterectomy. Josh, the male lead, wants a house full of children someday, so this causes problems between the two of them. There’s a lot of back and forth drama, especially on Kristen’s part, which honestly could’ve been solved with a simple conversation, but this is a romance book, so you’ve got to go through all of their angst first before they get their happy ending. This is book one in the Friend Zone series, and I wish I had read it first instead of The Happy Ever After Playlist (book two) because I knew what was going to happen toward the end, and I dreaded it. I’m not giving away any spoilers, so I’ll just leave this review with recommending reading the book series in order and not how I did it. 

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 12-cup non-stick muffin tin generously with baking spray. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients from flour to salt. Whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients from eggs to oil. Whisk to combine then pour mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk until JUST combined. Don’t over mix. There will be lumps but don’t worry. Using a 1/3 cup measure, fill 12 muffin tins to the top with batter. Add a few blueberries to each. Place in the oven and bake 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through bake time, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes then with a paring knife or off set spatula, gently remove muffins from tin and transfer to cooling rack. 

NUTRITION INFO: 2 muffins, Calories: 249 kcal, Carbohydrates: 43 g, Protein: 10.5 g, Fat: 5 g, Saturated Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 63.5 mg, Sodium: 273 mg, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 7 g

(Recipe and photo courtesy of Skinnytaste) 

TITLE: Yours Truly (audiobook) 
AUTHOR: Abby Jimenez 
NARRATORS: Kyla Garcia and Zachary Webber 
RATING: ★★★★

REVIEW: Yup...just finished another Abby Jimenez book. LOL. What can I say? I really enjoy her work. Yours Truly was kind of different from her other books, but not in a bad way. Normally, her male leads are always gruff and...what's the word...lumberjack-ish? (Not sure how else to describe them). They chop wood, build things with their bare hands, drive a truck...you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, the male lead in Yours Truly, Jacob, wasn't like that. I mean, yes, he was handsome and sexy, but not in the usual way I'm used to in Abby's books. Jacob suffers from crippling anxiety, so he's quiet, introverted, and shy. The female lead, Briana, is totally opposite, so their relationship is very sweet and give-and-take. She draws him out of his comfort zone and he softens her rough edges. Briana has unresolved issues from her childhood and a past failed marriage, that causes a lot of problems and wore on my nerves at times, but they did get their happily ever after. As with all of Abby's books, I recommend it to anyone who loves a good rom-com. 

Here are just a few of the books I’ve received in the mail recently from various authors and publishers. I haven’t read any of them yet, so let me know what you think if you decide to pick one up. (Oh, and The Pastor’s Easter Prayer is signed by the author, Tina Radcliffe).

   

AUTHOR: Abby Jimenez 

NARRATORS: Julia Whelan and Zachary Webber 

RATING: ★★★★

REVIEW: Life has been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to read, but I'm happy I was able to fit this audiobook in on my drive to work every day. I started off reading a different book that was more serious and dramatic by a different author, but life kept life'ing, and I really needed something I knew would cheer me up, so I reached for another Abby Jimenez audiobook. In my eyes, she is right up there with Lucy Score, who is also on my favorite author list, mainly because they both do such an excellent job writing hilarious romantic comedies. The snarky dialogue and witty banter is top notch, and I caught myself laughing out loud SO many times as I listened to Part of Your World. The two main characters, Daniel and Alexis, are adorable and fit perfectly together, even though they come from two completely different backgrounds and upbringings. She's almost a decade older than him, but instead of it being something that causes a problem, it balances them out. I don't know how else to describe it. If you love rom-com's, then I would definitely give this one a try. The narrators, Julia Whelan and Zachary Webber did an amazing job, and Abby Jimenez outdid herself once again.