Official Book Description
“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?”
Where to buy Just for the Summer
(used book, better for the environment and your wallet)
Review
Contains minor spoilers
Emma
Emma is someone who has deep-rooted traumas and sometimes responds to life situations in a complicated way; she locks people out. She is still a deeply empathetic person through all her troubles, which is something I can appreciate. My favorite quote was:
“In a world where you can choose anger or empathy, always choose empathy.”
This quote shows who Emma truly is as a person and how she later learns that although empathy is a valuable quality, it is important to also put yourself first. I really appreciated seeing Justin’s POV of Emma. To him, she is perfect, but when we see Emma’s Point Of View, you see all her internal struggles and how she does not think that highly of herself.
Maddie
Maddie, Emma’s best friend and foster sister, is a strong person who understands a lot of what Emma has gone through; she is someone many people deserve. I enjoyed her strong will and her desire to protect Emma. I appreciate the short story “The Situationship,” which gives us more info on Maddie as she is not a main character in “Just for the Summer”.
Justin
Justin is a sweet character who is the definition of “if he wanted to, he would”. Although Justin is going through some family struggles as well, I feel as though they are not delved into as much as Emma’s are and/or are not as major. His father died when he was younger, which is a traumatizing experience that could have been a major plot point along with Emma’s struggles, but it is rarely talked about, and we do not have any strong emotional moments with him. His mom is going to jail and he is going to become the guardian of his three younger siblings, and as tough as that is, he is well off and will have a house for them to live in and even though his mom got 6 years it is quite glaring that she will most likely get out early due to good behaviour. Even though this book has two points of view for the main characters, I believe Emma is a much more developed character and is the main focus of this story, aka the main protagonist. I did still enjoy his character and how incredibly sweet and understanding he is with Emma and his whole family.
If you are looking for a slow-burn romance book, this is the one. Although there is initial attraction and the whole reason Emma is in Minnesota is to date Justin, they set many (healthy) boundaries, and any physical romance does not happen until you are well into the book (a lot of yearning, but who doesn’t love yearning?).
Amber is a good description of a character you can easily hate. She acts incredibly selfish in every interaction that is had with her, and it is evident she is the reason for all of Emma’s emotional baggage. The disappointment Emma feels constantly due to her mother basically forgetting she exists is gut-wrenching and well-written.
I love the choices taken to reverse the hurt Emma caused Justin. She goes to therapy and works on herself, which, in the long run, is better for everyone. Even if she hurt Justin, it wasn’t like other books where the character does something terrible and is forgiven without doing anything to better the consequences of their actions.
I did enjoy this book, although I felt some parts of the plot were left out or not described well when they were main plot points. The curse they both share of everyone they break up with getting married with their next partner is not talked about anymore after the first few chapters, and when it is mentioned, we are only given two examples of this happening to Justin and none for Emma. The point of this story is not the curse; it is how these two characters heal each other, but I think if that is the whole reason they are doing this “experiment” of dating each other, it should be mentioned a little more or described in more depth.
There are so many beautifully written quotes throughout this story you just have to bookmark while you read. I don’t know how one person can come up with so many.
“The love stories sold us the wrong thing. The best kind of love doesn’t happen on moonlit walks and romantic vacations. It happens in between the folds of everyday life.”
“Sometimes the best way to show love or be kind to someone is to meet them where they are.”
“To me, love meant you stayed. But now I understood that love sometimes means you let someone go.”
I did not think I would enjoy this book as much as I did. More often than not, I am not a big fan of BookTok books, but this one was different; it was written well by someone who reads and understands writing. Abby Jimenez has a way of expressing love through the pages of a book and between fictional characters that feel real and not at all toxic, which is often the case with recent romance fiction.
