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Justin has a curse: every girl he dates goes on to find her soul mate after they break up. When a post he makes online goes viral, Emma sees it. She thinks it’s funny because she has the same curse. On a whim, she DMs Justin, and they end up communicating. They decide, Hey, if we date each other, maybe we can break the curse and each go on to find our soul mate.
Emma and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, and Emma decides to use her next pick of location to go to Minnesota, where Justin lives. They can go on some obligatory dates and trigger and satisfy the potential terms of their “curses.”
It should be just an enjoyable, casual summer. Justin seems really fun and nice so Emma doesn’t mind using one of her travel “stops” to have a little fling. But it’s clear right away that the two have a lot of chemistry, and it’s also clear in not too long that they could really be each other’s “the one.” And that’s a problem for both of them in different ways. Justin is just about to take guardianship of his three younger siblings for a while, and Emma’s toxic mother shows up in Minnesota and starts a fling of her own with Emma and Maddy’s landlord.
Why would the two be brought together at such a tough time? Can they possibly make a go of it with all they’re up against?
Just for the Summer is an absolutely darling romance. The two main characters have the best banter, and Justin is just an adorable, hilarious guy. The things he does, like making a pre-date survey for Emma to fill out, are awesome. I laughed at so many spots my daughter kept asking what I was laughing at. “The book, kiddo. The book.”
At the same time, this story has a lot of heavy themes. Emma in particular is in her late 20s and never understood, like her best friend, the way she’s been neglected and manipulated by her mother. She has a lot to unpack emotionally. Justin is dealing with heavy responsibility but is emotionally mature in most respects and ready to take it all on. I loved this whole story and how deftly Jimenez handled and balanced all of the elements. I’d only prefer there be less profanity and sexual content. (It was also cool to see the tie-ins to her previous books set in this “universe,” starting with Part of Your World.)
Rated: High. Profanity includes 44 uses of strong language, 60 instances of moderate profanity, about 30 uses of mild language, and about 35 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes some references to sex and one fairly detailed open-door scene. Some difficult themes include past child neglect, depictions of undiagnosed mental health issues, and a toxic parent. (Jimenez mentions these possible trigger warnings at the beginning.)
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