Is it just us, or are novelists doing the most these days? Before becoming a STEM romance novelist, Ali Hazelwood worked as a neuroscience professor; thriller author Frieda McFadden moonlights as a brain doctor; and Abby Jimenez is the latest writer with a dual career who has skyrocketed to success.
Not only has the romance writer topped The New York Times Best Sellers list, but you might recognize her name from a little cooking show known as Cupcake Wars. (Her Minnesota-based bakery, Nadia Cakes, took home the top spot on the series in 2012.)
“They’re both pleasant ways to escape and fun to share,” Jimenez told The New York Times of her two professions in June 2025. “Writing and baking are activities for introverts.”
Although that hasn’t stopped Jimenez from connecting with over 1.5 million readers across 28 different languages through her prose. Her work has resonated with romance fans on and off #BookTok by pairing sweet-as-pie love stories with complex issues, such as infertility, death, and health struggles.
Whether you're a longtime fan or don't know where to start, there are a lot of Jimenez books worth reading—especially when you're looking for a good beach read for the summer. Below, we ranked the best Abby Jimenez books, so you know which one to pick up next.
Every Abby Jimenez Book, Ranked
Jimenez may be a romance writer, but no one can ever accuse her of sticking to fluff. Early in her career, the author tackled the complex subject matter of fertility with her debut novel, The Friend Zone. It follows a heroine with plans for a hysterectomy and a man with desires for a large family. Not everyone loved the way this one shook out, but it certainly got people talking.
The Night We Met is the second installment in Jimenez's "Say You'll Remember Me" series. It centers on Larissa and Chris, who meet one night at a concert—though Larissa shares a ride home with his friend Mike, the two hit it off, and start dating. When an opportunity presents itself for Chris to show up for Larissa, he does, and the two quickly spend more time together, leading Larissa to wonder if he's who she should actually be with.
The characters are complex, frequently make poor decisions, and don't necessarily run from mess. Many readers have noted that their qualities and choices may have served the story more if it was written as literary fiction, but as a romance novel, feels unresolved and difficult to relate to. As has become custom with Jimenez novels, there's a lot of trauma to unpack, which some fans have felt like reads like a crutch. Still, it's satisfying to see less-than-perfect characters on the pages of a romance novel and the slow-burn tension is more than enough to make you not want to set this one down.
While Say You’ll Remember Me wasn’t named for the Taylor Swift lyrics from "Wildest Dreams," there’s a definite connection between the two. “That song has sort of become the anthem for the book,” Jimenez told US Weekly. The novel itself is about a couple who go on one incredible date at an impossibly wrong time. Though Samantha and Xavier decide it’s best to go their separate ways so she can focus on helping her mother, who has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, the heart wants what the heart wants—and it’s not so easy to let go.
Chief complaints among readers for this release have been that the drama in Sam's family was a bit too much, cheapening the love story at its heart. It came from a personal place, however. “Every single thing that happens to Samantha in the book happened to me,” Jimenez told the Seattle Times.
While the material for Jimenez’s second novel was no less heavy than her first—about a woman who suffers from complicated grief in the wake of her fiancé’s sudden death—it was far better received by her fan base, who praised its “heart-squishy” vibes. It was also therapeutic for Jimenez, who wrote it in part to help a close friend whose life unraveled similarly. “I wrote [it] after watching a very close friend struggle following the sudden death of her husband,” she wrote on Goodreads. “All of those things I do for Sloan in this book because I couldn’t do that for my friend at the time.”
Bonus: This one’s also got a jam-packed soundtrack that's chock-full of meaning. “The songs at the start of each chapter were meticulously selected for tone, title, and lyrics,” Jimenez wrote. “Listening to them before each chapter really enhances the reading experience.”
Life’s Too Short may be considered middle of the road by Jimenez's fans, but you’d be remiss to write it off: The effort earned her a Minnesota Book Award in 2022. The novel follows an influencer who lives by the seat of her pants until she unexpectedly becomes the primary caretaker of her sister’s infant child. Even more surprising? The connection she finds with her hot neighbor, who just so happens to be great with children.
Alexis isn’t exactly a mermaid longing to be human, and Daniel isn’t exactly a prince looking for a bride, but there’s some crossover between the plot of Part of Your World and the Little Mermaid song it shares a moniker with. It’s a classic tale of star-crossed lovers (Alexis is a wealthy heiress and Daniel is a blue-collar carpenter), and according to her family, their worlds don’t mix. But that’s not for them to decide…or is it? Readers call this just the book you’ll want to read when you’re in the mood for a feel-good pick-me-up.
Some would cite Jimenez’s 2024 novel about two “cursed” daters who agree to take a chance on each other as her best work yet; it’s her highest-rated novel on Goodreads. It’s not quite as well known as Yours Truly, but it’s definitely up there—and for good reason. Readers adored its practical message that “the best kind of love...happens in between the folds of everyday life.” And that's exactly the situation Justin and Emma find themselves in after life throws more hurdles at them than either of them could have ever planned for.
Should we really be shocked that a book in which the characters fall for each other through a series of love letters is considered Jimenez’s most romantic yet? The plot is simple enough: A couple gets off on the wrong foot, they begin to find common ground, and fall head over heels for each other. However, the main characters of Dr. Briana Ortiz and Dr. Jacob Maddox truly blew readers away with their “tender,” “hilarious,” and “caring” relatability, making it Jimenez’s most recommended novel by a long shot.
What is Abby Jimenez's most popular book?
Abby Jimenez’s most popular book is, without question, Yours Truly. In a landslide of Reddit votes, it outranks her other titles, with fans gushing over its sweet, butterfly-inducing moments.
How to read Abby Jimenez’s books in order
If you’re someone who prefers to read your books in chronological order, you’ll want to start with 2019’s The Friend Zone, followed by 2020's The Happy Ever After Playlist—never mind the fact that Jimenez has said she actually wrote her second novel first.
From there, you can move on to Jimenez’s third, fourth, and fifth books, Life’s Too Short (2021), Part of Your World (2022), and Yours Truly (2023), before diving into Just for the Summer (2024), and her most recent books: Say You'll Remember Me (2025) and The Night We Met (2026).
While all of the books above can be read in a standalone fashion, you can also read them as collections.
The "Friend Zone" collection includes The Friend Zone, The Happy Ever After Playlist, and Life’s Too Short.
Jimenez’s second collection, "Part of Your World," meanwhile, includes Part of Your World, Yours Truly, and Just for the Summer.
So far, the author/baker has released two novels in the "Say You’ll Remember Me" series, including the book of the same name and The Night We Met.
Are any of Abby Jimenez’s books being turned into movies or TV shows?
It seems very likely! In spring 2026, Deadline reported that Independent Artist Group signed Jimenez for movie/TV representation. As the outlet points out, IAG also represents star authors like Elle Kennedy, Ana Huang, and others who all have book-to-series either airing or in the works right now.
Most recently, Part of Your World was optioned for feature-film development by Sophia Stallone and Balboa Productions (A.K.A. the daughter of Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone, in collaboration with their family production house). There's little information about the movie thus far, so consider it still very early days.
In addition to Part of Your World, Deadline reported in 2021 that Thruline Entertainment was bringing The Happy Ever After Playlist to the big screen with the help of writer Marisa Coughlan and director Gail Mancuso. No updates about the project's status have been announced since then, but Jimenez noted that she hoped to be heavily involved in the process should it come to fruition.
“I will say that if I ever get the opportunity to make one of my books into a movie, I’m going to really do my hardest as an author to make sure that the readers are happy with the movie that they get,” she told US Weekly in April 2025. We also hope that dream becomes a reality!
Why Trust Us
From #Booktok favorites to acclaimed best-selling authors, we regularly rank just about any book you can imagine. Beach reads? We’ve done our homework. Smutty STEM novels? We've got them covered, too. We’re methodical in our methods: combing through real-life reviews, seeing what fans are saying on Reddit, TikTok, and GoodReads, and, of course, actually reading the books. We simply love to read and keep up with what's trending in the book world—so you can focus on more important things, like devouring every single precious word.
