Part of Your World

Alexis is driving back to Minneapolis when she ends up in a ditch in the small town of Wakan trying to avoid hitting a raccoon. Just great! The tow truck company she called will be awhile but in the meantime one of the locals stops to help her out of her predicament. She decides to stop at the local bar for a quick bite to eat before she heads off home again.

Daniel Grant was the guy who stopped to help her, he and his ancestors are a part of the fabric of this small town. He runs his family B&B and is a very talented carpenter. He is also the town Mayor, which is not as arduous as it sounds with a population of 350 people for most of the year.

Alexis being in the local bar raises lots of interest for all the single guys. They’ve either grown up with, know of or have dated every woman in town so Alexis is fair game as far as they are concerned. Daniel swoops in and saves her from them all with his witty banter and general warmth.

Alexis has recently gone through a break up. After lots of therapy she has come out much stronger and more aware of what she wants/deserves in a future partner. One thing she does now is that she is not interested in dating or relationships. This is how she ends up spending the night in Daniel’s bed. Let me put some context around this…

‘Daniel somehow managed to be charming and completely down-to-earth while also exuding pure sex. It was the most baffling combination. And one I wasn’t capable of refusing.’

Daniel truly is a genuinely lovely guy and Alexis probably can’t explain it herself but there is a connection there. A pull towards each other that even after a few hours of conversation over a grilled cheese sandwich they find themselves naked together. Alexis knows she will never return and she really needs a night like this. Daniel does not disappoint, he is attentive, intuitive and gives her a night she will never forget.

After Alexis leaves, Daniel is left wondering if it was all just a beautiful dream. This gorgeous, intelligent and articulate woman - who he thinks is waaay out of his league has left her mark on him. He cannot stop thinking of her and he will do anything to spend more time with her. And then she calls him..

Alexis’ path in life was carved out for her before she was born. Her family has generations of surgeons that have come before her but she defied the norm a little by becoming an ER doctor. Not a career deemed as anything of significance to her father. She constantly fails to meet the high expectations set by him and her recent break up with a surgeon he considered a son to him has not helped. Now she is the sole Montgomery doctor left at the hospital and he expects her to step up.

As you can see, Alexis’ world and Daniel’s are so far removed from each other but despite all of this she finds herself driving to see him most weekends. They are developing feelings for each other, big, huge, deep feelings that can never be any more than that. His life is in Wakan, and hers in Minneapolis - both anchored by the generations that came before them.

‘This relationship would never expand. It would never take a deep breath and pull in those around us. It wouldn’t fill its lungs with my people and my life. It would just be this. Only this.’

Honestly, my heart was breaking for this couple. Alexis has one true best friend, Bri (you are going to love her) and other than that no one else is in her cheer team, apart from Daniel. He makes her feel seen, he believes in her, he cares so much for her and put simply, all he wants is Alexis. She is so torn up over what she feels for Daniel, she is being pulled in so many directions and is drowning in the weight of expectations thrown upon her.

‘Nothing could convince me this woman wasn’t made for me to love. I think my soul recognized hers the second I laid eyes on her. Our bodies knew it the very first night. The power she had over me terrified me. But it also gave me clarity.’

Okay, so with all of this heavy angst there are also equal amounts of fun, laughter and swoon :) There is Chloe the goat, Kevin Bacon the pig, Hunter the dog and all the wonderful townsfolk of Wakan. The banter between Alexis and Daniel was so adorable and I laughed so much. I really hope we get more stories from the wonderful secondary characters in this story.

Well this was my reading highlight of the month, all those wonderful book feels that I love were here in abundance, I never wanted this to end!

‘I love you’ he whispered. ‘We are together. This isn’t over. And even if you leave, it won’t be over because you’ll take the love with you and it’ll bring you back.’

It’s been a while since I’ve been THIS affected by a book.

I was constantly thinking of it… even when I found out… (I’ll add why down below).

But honestly. Jeeeezus Christ. I was in my feels 😭. I’m so glad I got this book on sale (and I listened to the audiobook on Libby), because I’m planning to reread this with my eyes, as many times as I want 🥹.

Alexis (37/38), trauma/emergency surgeon and rich girl, avoids hitting a raccoon after she’s driving back from her great aunt’s funeral. Luckily for her, Daniel’s (28) almost like a Jack-of-all trades (he’s the small town’s mayor, a BNB owner, cook, carpenter, pet owner and babysitters etc etc 🤣) and just so happens to be driving by when he sees Alexis. He pulls her car out and then goes in his merry way.

She ends up going to the local bar where she sees Daniel again. He’s with his friends and he approaches her to warn her that his friends are making a bet on whether or not Daniel can get her into bed 😅. Alexis takes him up on the bet and tells him that they’ll split the earnings 👀. She’s adamant that she’s not the type of girl to have a ONS… and he’s not a ONS/manhoooar either.

He’s gonna take her to his place JUST to cook her a grilled cheese… no hidden interests in his offer…

And then they have their ONS 🤣.

She takes his sweater when she goes back to her normal life, accidentally of course, and can’t stop thinking about him.

She wants to return his sweater to him 😅. Guess she’ll have to go see him again 👀.

But nothing’s gonna happen…

They promise 😈👀

What I liked/loved: POSSIBLE SPOILERS —he falls first, and harder 🫶. He’s the one wanting to commit ❤️ and he doesn’t care about anyone else 👏🏻

—all the feels I was feeling 🥹. I was laughing, crying, swooning, getting my heart broken, smiling, and having an amazing time while reading this ❤️

—the amount of times I cried 😭

—Daniel making Alexis a better person 🫶. This man… gah! This man shows Alexis so many things, primarily, how to be more independent and not reliant on others. She’s grown up PRIVILEGED, and he’s the complete opposite, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make each other better people ❤️

—how protective, uplifting, and positive he is ❤️. This man will think positive in any light, and he’s willing to move, leave everything behind, in order to be with his woman

—delivering the baby 😭. I was bawling like one 😭. What Alexis did was simply amazing and miraculous 🫶

—clothes smelling like the other ❤️. I love that she loved taking his sweaters so she can smell like him and I loved that he loved when she wore his clothes so he can still smell her when she wasn’t around 😭 gaaaahh 🫶

—the heart rock 🥹. Daniel really spent two hours looking for the perfect rock to give her 😭. Gah. This man 😭❤️🫶

—the names for the animals 🤣. Besides Hunter (the rescue dog), there was Duck Norris and Kevin Bacon (the pig) 🤣, Chloe Nose Bleat (the goat) and so many others 💀. I was 🤣🤣🤣🤣💀💀💀

—Daniel reads/listens to audiobooks 😅. A man after my own interests (if ONLY he listened to romance like me, we’d be a match made in heaven 🤡)

—the tension👀. These two have a connection 🔥

—the ONE 🔥 scene we get at about 34% ish

—the acorn/squirrel incident 🤣. I’m sorry. But seeing Alexis’s hoity-toity friends get scared and then basically pummeled by acorns made my week 🤣🤡. Sorry. If nature decides you’re not a good person, then I’m not gonna complain 💀

—Alexis’s swindling her friends for Daniel 💅. They gonna act like ingrates then they’re gonna be treated as such 🤷🏻‍♀️. The way their high class but low morals defined their personality meant I gave no Fs for them 😑. Good riddance 💅

—coffee apocalypse 🤡. I feel you Alexis. I need coffee every👏🏻day👏🏻 too!

—zombie apocalypse 😭

—duck pic 👀. But then later, he gets advice on sending a d pic 🤣🤣🤣. I have never read this in my life 🤡

—God and nature interfering when things were getting tough 🫶. Hey. It’s meant to be 🤷🏻‍♀️. Kismet ❤️

—Bri, the real best friend 👏🏻. I can’t wait to read her book!

—the epilogue 😭❤️❤️❤️

What I didn’t like/wanted more of: —THE FTB SCENES 😑. We only get one, non detailed 🔥 scene 😭. The amazing 🔥 life they have keeps getting referenced, but unless I see it with my own eyes… I don’t believe it… I actually wanted to cry because I was loving this and then came across the first nonexistent scene, and was so sad 😭

—Alexis’s parents 😑. I. Cannot. Stand. Her. Dad!!!! I. CANNOT!!!!! And her mother needed to protect her kids more 🤷🏻‍♀️. It’s no wonder Alexis’s twin brother basically peaced out from their lives, and I can’t even blame him. They’re terrible people (her dad more than her mom). It put so much pressure on Alexis

—her ex Neil 😐. The cheater

—her hoity-toity friends 😑. I’m so glad nature doesn’t like them either

—lack of comeuppance 😐. I hope her dad’s as miserable as he needs to be… disowning your children because of their life-choices/love interests

I started Abby’s books a bit backwards. I stumbled across Just for the Summer and I’ve been hooked ever since! The way Abby is able to bring these characters to life. She makes them so relatable. I love how all her characters have a tie to medicine (the nurse in me 😅). Most of all, I love the romance and how the stories blossom from silly encounters into something more. I can’t forget to mention the comedic parts either! I’m literally cackling! This book checks all the marks. In this books I was able to make connections with the characters from JFTS. It was an “Aha!” moment. Just like a puzzle 🧩 I can’t wait to read Yours truly next. I can’t wait to read all her books. There truly is magic in each story ✨❤️

Abby Jimenez books are the first books I have been able to read through in the last 10 years. I read Yours Truly before Part of Your World, and I didn’t think it could get an better. I was so wrong. I absolutely loved this book. It made me smile, laugh, and cry. It is such an easy read, I never wanted to put it down. I cannot recommend this book enough!