Abby Jimenez is a New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance known for writing emotionally grounded love stories that balance humor with real-life stakes. Across interconnected series and standalones, her books explore relationships shaped by timing, personal history, and the realities of everyday life, all while delivering the kind of romance that sticks with you way after the story ends.
Her catalog spans three series so far, with characters and storylines that often overlap, creating a world that rewards listeners who follow along from story to story. Whether you’re new to Abby Jimenez or already have a favorite, this guide will help you navigate her books and find your next listen.
Note: This guide follows publication order.
The Friend Zone
The Friend Zone series is where Abby Jimenez establishes exactly what kind of stories she wants to tell: romance that pulls you in with humor and keeps you there with emotional real-life connections that sneak up on you. The series truly sets the tone for everything that comes after.
The series begins with The Friend Zone, where we meet Kristen Petersen and Josh Copeland in the middle of wedding chaos. Their connection is immediate, but Kristen is firm on one thing: She cannot have children, and she refuses to build a future with someone who wants them. What follows is a push-and-pull between what Kristen believes is protecting them both and what is keeping her from something real. This one starts light, but it does not stay there.
In The Happy Ever After Playlist, we shift to Sloan, Kristen’s best friend, who is still navigating the loss of her fiancé when a dog quite literally jumps into her car and changes everything. That dog leads her to Jason Larsen, a touring musician, and their relationship builds through texts, calls, and long-distance connection before they ever get a real shot at being together. When Sloan is pulled into Jason’s public life, the story becomes about whether love can hold up when everything around it changes.
Life’s Too Short brings us to Vanessa, who has built her entire life around the belief that it might be a short one due to her family history with ALS. She avoids long-term plans, serious relationships, anything that requires her to think too far ahead. That all changes when she becomes the guardian of her infant niece. Adrian Copeland, her neighbor, steps in quietly and becomes a constant in her life, and their relationship grows in the everyday moments. This story leans heavily into caregiving, uncertainty, and what it means to let yourself want a future you’ve been avoiding.
Across all three books, you start to see how Abby builds a world that feels connected without losing the focus on each individual love story.
Part of Your World
I could sit here for days and talk about the Part of Your World series and get emotional about it while I’m at it. The series has everything—humor, banter, the small-town charm—all without losing the emotional depth that sits with you long after you finish.
It starts with Part of Your World, where Alexis Montgomery, an ER doctor from a powerful, legacy-driven family, ends up in the small town of Wakan after a literal wrong turn. Daniel Grant is the one who pulls her out of a ditch, and what follows is supposed to be a one-night escape that very quickly turns into something neither of them can keep casual. The tension here is not just about whether they work. It is about whether Alexis can walk away from a life that has been decided for her to choose something that makes her happy. This is also where we meet Briana, along with a cast of characters that make Wakan feel like a real place one can retreat to (like Alexis does) again, and again.
Yours Truly shifts focus to Briana, who is going through a divorce while also dealing with the reality that her brother needs a kidney transplant. Jacob Maddox, the new doctor at her hospital, makes a terrible first impression and is immediately written off. Until he writes her a letter. From there, everything changes. What starts as a simple attempt to clear the air turns into an ongoing exchange that builds a connection Briana wasn’t expecting. When they agree to fake date to help him navigate a messy family situation, it becomes clear that they won't be able to treat any of it like it isn’t real.
In Just for the Summer, Justin (Benny’s best friend from Yours Truly) finally gets his chance at love! Justin is convinced he is cursed; every woman he dates finds her soulmate immediately after they break up. Emma finds him through a Reddit thread after realizing the exact same thing keeps happening to her.
So, they make a plan. Date each other, break up, and hopefully cancel it out.
What starts as something very controlled and temporary quickly becomes harder to walk away from. The more time they spend in each other’s lives, the less this feels like an experiment with an end date, and more like something that is so much more than just a summer fling.
Say You'll Remember Me
The Say You’ll Remember Me series leans into timing in a way that feels a lot more complicated. What starts as something small—one moment, one meeting—quickly turns into something neither person planned for, and then life steps in before it has the chance to become anything more.
It starts with Say You’ll Remember Me, where Samantha walks into a veterinarian’s office with a cat that needs surgery to survive. Xavier, the vet, refuses to operate because he doesn’t think the cat will make it. What follows is a viral moment, a surgery that happens anyway, and a second meeting that turns into a date that feels like it could be something. And then it ends just as quickly, because Samantha is moving to California to help care for her mother. But Xavier doesn’t disappear. He finds reasons to show up, even when it doesn’t make sense, and what they have is forced to exist alongside everything else in her life until they have to decide if there’s a version of this that actually works.
The Night We Met shifts to Xavier’s friend group, following Mike, Chris, and Larissa. Larissa meets Mike first, but he’s not fully present, dealing with his own problems that keep him from showing up in their relationship the way he should. Chris steps in where Mike doesn’t, and over time, he and Larissa grow closer in a way that’s harder to ignore the longer it goes on. In the mess of loyalty, friendship, and the reality that sometimes the right person shows up in the wrong situation, it becomes harder for Chris and Larissa to pretend their friendship isn’t crossing a line.
The series continues with Feels Like Falling, which will focus on Mike’s redemption story, and will release in spring 2027.
Short stories
Worst Wingman Ever follows Holly, who is dealing with her grandmother’s declining health while also trying to move on from a breakup. The one unexpected bright spot comes in the form of a Valentine’s Day card left on her windshield that wasn’t meant for her. What starts as a simple mix-up turns into an anonymous exchange of notes and small acts of kindness between two strangers who have never actually met. As their connection grows, the story asks how something so real can exist without ever putting a face to it, and what happens when reality inevitably catches up.
The Fall Risk is a hilarious Valentine's Day short story that brings together Charlotte and Seth, two neighbors who are not looking for romance. Charlotte is on edge after dealing with a stalker, while Seth is freshly divorced and not interested in starting over. When an accident leaves them stranded with no easy way down, they are forced into close quarters, and what starts as pure survival slowly turns into something else. The more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to hold onto the walls they’ve built, even when neither of them was planning to let anyone in.
A Married Little Christmas is a collection of three novellas that I am sure will deliver holiday cheer, arriving fall 2026!
Adaptations
The Part of Your World series is in development, with Sophia Stallone and Balboa Productions having acquired the rights to all three books in the series. Casting information and whether the books will be films or a television series is still being determined.
About the Performers
Julia Whelan is an audiobook narrator and author known for her work across fiction and nonfiction. She has narrated bestselling titles including Educated by Tara Westover.
Erin Mallon is an audiobook narrator, writer, and producer known for her work in contemporary romance. She has narrated numerous titles across the genre and is also the creator of original audio content.
Teddy Hamilton is an audiobook narrator known for his work in contemporary and new adult romance. He has narrated a wide range of bestselling titles and is a frequent collaborator with romance authors.
Zachary Webber is an audiobook narrator known for his work in contemporary romance. He also performs under the name Jacob Morgan and has narrated numerous bestselling titles across the genre.
Christine Lakin is an actor and audiobook narrator known for her work in television, film, and voice acting. She has narrated contemporary fiction and romance titles for major publishers.
Kyla Garcia is an audiobook narrator known for her work in contemporary romance and women’s fiction, with titles produced by major publishers.
Matt Lanter is an actor and audiobook narrator known for his roles in television and film, including 90210 and Timeless, as well as voice acting work in animation.
Andi Arndt is an audiobook narrator known for her extensive work in romance and contemporary fiction, with a large catalog of titles across major publishers.
Connor Crais is an audiobook narrator known for his work in contemporary romance and fiction.
Teressa Palmer is an actress and model from Adelaide, South Australia.
