Stephanie Sullivan: Review - Just for the Summer

January 16, 2026

TITLE: Just for the Summer (audiobook)

NARRATORS: Christine Lakin and Zachary Webber

RATING: ★★★★

Summary (from Goodreads): Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

REVIEW: Man…this was a tough one. Don’t get me wrong - I actually LOVED this book, but there were parts of it that hit a little too close to home. I could sympathize with the main character, Emma, in so many ways, and I went through all the emotions while listening to/reading this beautiful story. I laughed. I gasped. I cried. I really admire Abby Jimenez for tackling such tough subjects, like childhood trauma and dysfunctional families, and I would highly recommend this book to everyone, especially the audiobook version. The narrators are incredible, and I lost count of the many times I literally laughed out loud listening to Zachary Webber, especially when he portrayed drunk Leigh and Christine. It was so funny I even went back and replayed it a couple more times. I will definitely seek out more of his audiobooks in the very near future.