The night we met (International Edition)

THIS BOOK WAS CUTE. I know I said I don't like romance in my thrillers, but I'm loving the romance in romance!!!! My first Abby Jimenez book and I was so impressed, invested, and in awe with how much I have enjoyed these romance books I find myself reading. This is a love story. A story about what love means and how love is shown. My favorite thing about this book is it is realistic. It's not some foo-foo love story with frills. It's hard, painful, honest, and messy.

Overall, I found “The Night We Met” to be a deeply emotional read, though the first word that comes to mind is painful. Typically, I enjoy Abby Jimenez's novels at a slow pace, but with this one, I kept rushing through it and needed several days' break before returning. A quote from Chris perfectly captures my feelings: “There was no happy ending for me. Or anyone.” The ending was technically happy, yet I didn’t feel that way. To me, the main 'character' was not a person but alcoholism, with its destruction evident on every page. I can't imagine anyone who has trauma from an alcoholic relationship reading this without feeling overwhelmed. However, Ms Jimenez powerfully illustrates how addiction destroys not only the individual but also everyone around them. In short, I’m glad I read it, but I probably wouldn’t pick it up again.

Abby Jimenez’s The Night We Met had me in the first half, but quickly descended into mediocrity. If this story took her years to write and perfect, maybe her books just aren’t for me.

I really enjoyed the first half. I liked how each chapter went back and forth with Larissa and Chris’s perspectives. I’m usually not a fan of multiple perspectives in a book, but this was done the way it should be. Larissa and Chris also had a great meet-cute, and their chemistry was very good. I even enjoyed their pet dog, Woofarine. That was also a cute and clever name. However, I never understood why we needed the constant references to the dead animals Woofarine caught. Who was that for? Was this book written by Jeffrey Dahmer?

Suddenly, the second half became dull. I don’t mind a slow burn, but this felt more like tedious dragging. From the very first chapter, the story practically spoon-fed the idea that Larissa and Chris were destined to be together. Then the rest of the book was just them taking forever to confess their feelings for each other. It was only until the very end of the book that they finally got together. So you are just reading repetitive chapters waiting for the inevitable.

The more I read this book, the more it reminded me of It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. It shared many similarities. While I don’t consider it as offensive as Colleen Hoover’s book, it was just as poorly written. Especially the female protagonist. The main problem with this book was how Larissa and Chris were written. Larissa lacked any sense of agency or independence. She was extremely fragile and timid throughout the entire book. On the other hand, Chris was written like he was Jesus Christ incarnate. Their overall dynamic was very imbalanced. Chris held all the cards, and Larissa just had to take it. It felt less like a healthy relationship and more like a codependency. Which is insane, considering how Larissa’s relationship with Mike was also a codependency. So she left one codependent relationship for another one?

Abby Jimenez clearly has her fan base, as evident by this book’s high rating on Goodreads. I cannot in good conscience recommend this book. Just reread Funny Story by Emily Henry.

Abby Jimenez’s The Night We Met tries to juggle friendship, addiction, poverty, and forbidden love. The problem is the romance spends so much time running laps around guilt that I did not care when Chris and Larissa finally got together. Larissa and Chris have chemistry right away. Unfortunately, Larissa is dating Mike, who also happens to be Chris’s best friend. The novel traps them in an endless cycle of emotional cheating while Mike’s alcoholism spirals further out of control with every chapter. Watching Chris constantly clean up Mike’s disasters became exhausting fast. Things finally hit a breaking point when Mike nearly kills Larissa because nobody around him takes his addiction seriously enough. The book frames Chris as protective and selfless, but so much of his behavior reads as codependent instead of romantic. Larissa’s fear of relying on men financially made far more sense to me than the novel seemed willing to admit. Chris pushing help onto her after years of financial instability felt frustrating instead of swoony because she clearly wanted independence. She did not want another relationship where someone else held the power. Mike’s mother, Donna, deliberately putting nuts on the menu after learning about Larissa’s allergy just to force her out of her job after she dumped Mike for almost killing her? My jaw was on the floor. I spent most of this book wanting someone to hold Mike and his entire enabling friend group accountable instead of excusing every terrible decision in the name of friendship. The pacing dragged badly. It takes more than 350 pages for Chris and Larissa to kiss making the romance feel painfully stretched out instead of a slow burn. By the time they finally get together, the novel has repeated the same emotional conflict so many times that their romance feels rushed and underdeveloped. Mike’s apology to Chris and decision to finally seek help ended up being one of the few moments of growth that actually worked for me. I also appreciated seeing Larissa build her business and break out of survival mode. The writing itself is readable, but this easily could have been a novella. The emotional themes had potential, though the relationships felt far too unhealthy for the romance to feel satisfying. Also, Woofarine is still one of the worst dog names I have ever read. Pick this up if you enjoy messy relationship drama, painfully drawn-out slow burns, and a cast fueled almost entirely by toxicity and codependency.

💯 loved this read. Laugh out loud funny!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️