Here's The Right Order To Read Abby Jimenez's Iconic Rom-Com Books In

From the moment her first book, "The Friend Zone," was published in 2019 Abby Jimenez immediately garnered fans all over the world. With a knack for writing characters who suck you in and having perfected the rom-com, Jimenez has become an author that readers can't get enough of. In fact, when compiling our top five favorite beach reads for summer 2024, we included Jimenez's more recent release, "Just for the Summer" because she really is that good.

Once just a hobby, Jimenez made writing a career after not being able to find stories that spoke to her. "I was chasing a certain kind of romance and I had a really hard time finding it," Jimenez told Today in April of this year. "I wanted something that was funny, but also had depth. I wanted to read stories that felt realistic, like they were people I would know. I had such a hard time finding exactly what I wanted and I was like, 'You know what, maybe I can write my own romance.'" What she came up with definitely hit a chord with publishers and she received a three-book deal while writing her first novel.

So far Jimenez has published six books and has no intention of stopping. What that means for you is that you have a bit of time before the next book drops, so if you want to get on the Jimenez train, do that now. However, before doing so, you'll want to organize your approach. Although her books can be stand-alone novels, characters from previous novels pop up along the way, which makes diving into Jimenez's world that much more fun.

Abby Jimenez's debut novel, "The Friend Zone," is definitely where you should start. The book centers around Kristen who's currently helping her best friend plan her wedding, while also keeping a secret. That secret is that after an upcoming procedure, Kristen will be unable to have kids. Although Kristen is pretty much fulfilled with her life — she has a dog named Stuntman Mike, so how could she not be? — she starts to second-guess things when she meets the best man of the upcoming wedding. Josh is basically everything Kristen didn't realize she wanted and as time goes by she starts to get a major case of the feels. But the kicker is that Josh desperately wants a boatload of kids and Kristen will be unable to give him that. Will love trump babies? There's always adoption, after all. 

In 2019, "The Friend Zone" was nominated for Best Romance and Best Debut Novel on Goodreads. It currently has more than 217k ratings, over 68,000 of which are five stars.

By the time you get to "The Happy Ever After Playlist," you realize Jimenez has a major love for dogs and makes sure that they always have a role in her novels. In this particular story, it's a dog that brings together Sloan, who was one of Kristen's friends in the previous book, and Jason, after the latter's pup, Tucker, jumps in Sloan's car and she takes him home. Despite several attempts to return Tucker, Sloan doesn't hear back from Jason so she keeps Tucker and falls in love with him. Eventually, Jason, a musician who's currently on tour, reaches out, saying he wants Tucker back, but Sloan isn't ready to part with him. What unfolds through texts and phone calls is an undeniable connection between Jason and Sloane, but Sloan just isn't sure if she wants to go down the road of romance again after her last heartbreak.

Like her first book, Jimenez found herself a nominee for Best Romance in 2020 on Goodreads with this one. "The Happy Ever After Playlist" actually has a higher average rating, at 4.18 stars, than "The Friend Zone" on Goodreads.

Although "Life's Too Short" introduces new characters, they're linked to characters from Jimenez's first two books. For example, Adrian in this novel is cousins with Josh from "The Friend Zone" and he also went out with Sloan from "The Happy Ever After Playlist." But other than those quick overlaps, there's no direct tie between the three books.

In "Life's Too Short," we meet Vanessa who has lost both her sister and mother to ALS. Out of fear that she might be next, she's made it her mission to make the most of everyday and begins to travel and post her adventures on YouTube. But all that carpe diem living is cut short when Vanessa's half-sister shows up and leaves her baby daughter with Vanessa while she runs off. This immediately turns Vanessa's life upside down as she struggles to adjust to this new and unexpected responsibility. Interestingly, help comes from her neighbor Adrian and, because it wouldn't be a Jimenez book without a canine companion, his elderly Chihuahua. "Life's Too Short" was the first of Jimenez's novels to make it on The New York Times Bestseller list. 

Proving that she's the master of the meet-cute, in "Part of Your World" Jimenez has 28-year-old Daniel rescuing 37-year-old Alexis after her car ends up in a ditch. From the get-go, the two are complete opposites: she's a city girl who comes from money and he's a country boy who doesn't come from a family of surgeons. However, he's a carpenter à la Aiden Shaw from "Sex and the City" and that's pretty hot. Despite all their differences, Alexis begins to spend time with Daniel and they start to fall for each other. Naturally, these feelings put Alexis in a bind where she needs to grapple with what's most important to her and what she should do: turn her back on everything she knows to be with Daniel in his Podunk town, or ditch the hot carpenter and return to her life?

Like "The Friend Zone" series, "Part of Your World" consists of three books that can stand-alone, but also have characters that overlap, so your best bet is to read these in the order they were published. "Part of Your World" was an instant success and made it onto The New York Times Bestseller list almost immediately.

With "Yours Truly," Jimenez keeps the doctors coming. In this story, we meet Dr. Briana Ortiz who has a lot on her plate: she's mid-divorce, just passed over for a promotion, and, on a sad and desperate note, trying to find a kidney match for her brother. Surprisingly, the man who got the position she wanted starts to grow on Briana. Before she knows it, Dr. Jacob Maddox isn't just winning her over, but wants to donate his kidney to her brother, solidifying himself as a true hero in her eyes. But let's be honest, workplace romances can be a bit tricky and it's up to Briana to navigate their situation with grace and discretion. What's a woman who has it all to do?

Rounding out the "Part of Your World" series is Jimenez's 2024 release "Just for the Summer" which became available in April of this year and should be the one you pick up after reading "Yours Truly." If, when you finish, you need more Abby Jimenez in your life, then her novella "The Worst Wingman" will hold you over until her next full-length book is published.