Abby Jimenez Books In Order: Complete Reading Guide (Series, Novellas, and Upcoming Releases)
If you read contemporary romance, chances are Abby Jimenez is already on your radar. She has become one of the biggest names in the genre thanks to books that manage to be genuinely funny and deeply emotional—sometimes within the same chapter. Her romances are full of memorable meet-cutes, complicated families, lovable pets, big feelings, and interconnected characters who have a habit of popping up again when you least expect them.
But as Abby Jimenez's books have multiplied, figuring out where to start has become a little more complicated. There’s the original Friend Zone series, the Part of Your World series, newer connected novels, standalones, short stories, novellas, and plenty of Easter eggs tying her fictional world together.
That’s why I put together this complete guide to Abby Jimenez books in order. Below, you’ll find every full-length novel in publication order, the correct reading order for each series, her novellas and short stories, and her upcoming releases. I’ll also answer the question new readers inevitably ask: Do you actually have to read Abby Jimenez’s books in order?
The short answer is no—but I think you’ll have more fun if you do.
I was first introduced to Abby Jimenez back in 2018, when I had the opportunity to interview her for Hasty Book List—before her first novel, The Friend Zone, was even published. It has been such a treat to watch her career unfold since that early conversation and see her become one of the biggest names in contemporary romance. Having followed her books from the very beginning makes putting together this reading guide especially fun for me.Abby Jimenez Books In Order
If you simply want the answer without scrolling through the entire guide, here are Abby Jimenez’s full-length novels in publication order:
The Friend Zone — 2019
The Happy Ever After Playlist — 2020
Life’s Too Short — 2021
Part of Your World — 2022
Yours Truly — 2023
Just for the Summer — 2024
Say You’ll Remember Me — 2025
The Night We Met — 2026
Feels Like Falling — 2027
That is the easiest order to follow if you want to catch as many returning characters, references, and Easter eggs as possible.
Abby Jimenez’s books are especially fun because her fictional world keeps expanding. A supporting character you barely thought about in one novel might become the person whose love story you are completely invested in a book or two later.
Below, I’ve broken the novels down into their primary connected groups, followed by the novellas and short stories.
The Friend Zone Series In Order
The Friend Zone series is where Abby Jimenez’s publishing career began. These three books follow different central couples, but the characters are connected through friendships and family relationships. You can technically read any one as a standalone, but this is a series I strongly recommend reading in order.
The Friend Zone — 2019
Main couple: Kristen Peterson and Josh Copeland
The Friend Zone introduces Kristen, who is helping plan her best friend’s wedding when she meets Josh, the best man. Their chemistry is immediate, but Kristen is dealing privately with a medical issue that she believes makes a future with Josh impossible.
This is the book that established so many of the qualities readers now associate with Abby Jimenez: sharp humor, an appealing central friendship, romantic tension, and a story that can pivot into much heavier emotional territory.
Despite the title, I wouldn’t categorize The Friend Zone as a straightforward friends-to-lovers romance. Kristen and Josh’s relationship is more complicated than that. But if the friendship-first element is what you love most about the story, I have an entire list of friends to lovers books for your TBR.
My take: This is the logical place to begin if you want to experience Abby Jimenez’s books exactly as longtime readers did. It also establishes characters and relationships that become important in the next two books.
The Happy Ever After Playlist — 2020
Main couple: Sloan Monroe and Jason Larsen
The Happy Ever After Playlist picks up with Sloan Monroe, whom readers first meet in The Friend Zone. Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan is struggling to move forward when a runaway dog jumps into her car. She eventually hears from the dog’s owner, Jason, a musician who is touring overseas, and their texts and phone calls gradually turn into something much bigger.
The dog-assisted meet-cute alone makes this one memorable, but the real appeal is watching Sloan find her way back to herself while opening herself to love again.
My take: If you love romance novels that balance grief with hope, this may be the standout of the original trilogy. The premise is adorable, but the emotional stakes keep it from feeling like a lightweight rom-com.
Life’s Too Short — 2021
Main couple: Vanessa Price and Adrian Copeland
Vanessa Price has built her life around embracing every day. After watching family members face a potentially fatal genetic illness, she refuses to postpone happiness. But her freewheeling lifestyle changes dramatically when she unexpectedly becomes responsible for her infant niece.
Enter Adrian Copeland, the handsome lawyer next door who begins helping Vanessa navigate her suddenly very different life.
Life’s Too Short closes out the Friend Zone series while giving readers another story that pairs humor with genuinely difficult subject matter. It’s also a great example of why Abby Jimenez’s romances have such a devoted following: the romance matters, but so do the characters’ lives outside of it.
My take: Come for the attractive neighbor helping with a baby; stay for a much more emotional story about fear, uncertainty, and choosing to live fully anyway.
Part of Your World Series In Order
The Part of Your World series begins a new cluster of interconnected characters and introduces readers to Wakan, Minnesota, the charming small town at the heart of the first novel.
These three books can each function as a standalone romance, but this is another case where publication order gives you the best experience.
Part of Your World — 2022
Main couple: Alexis Montgomery and Daniel Grant
Alexis Montgomery is an ER doctor from a wealthy, prestigious medical family. Daniel Grant is a carpenter and innkeeper living in the tiny town of Wakan, Minnesota. After an unexpected encounter involving a ditch, a grilled-cheese sandwich, and eventually a baby goat, the two begin a relationship that doesn’t seem to fit into either of their carefully established lives.
The small-town setting is one of my favorite elements here. Wakan isn’t simply a backdrop; it becomes part of the reason Alexis begins questioning what she actually wants from her life.
My take: If someone wanted to sample one Abby Jimenez book without committing to reading everything from the beginning, Part of Your World would be one of my strongest recommendations. It gives you the humor, emotion, memorable side characters, and romantic chemistry readers expect from her while opening a new series.
Yours Truly — 2023
Main couple: Briana Ortiz and Jacob Maddox
Dr. Briana Ortiz is going through a divorce, worrying about her brother’s health, and expecting to receive an important promotion. Then Dr. Jacob Maddox arrives and immediately makes a terrible first impression.
But Jacob writes Briana a letter.
Then she writes back.
Their correspondence begins changing everything Briana thought she knew about him, leading to lunches, friendship, a fake relationship, and a much more complicated connection.
My take: The letters are such a simple device, but they give Yours Truly an intimacy that makes Briana and Jacob’s relationship particularly satisfying. If you like a slow burn and a hero who is more thoughtful than his first impression suggests, start here.
Just for the Summer — 2024
Main couple: Emma Grant and Justin Dahl
Justin has a strange problem: every woman he dates seems to find her soulmate immediately after they break up. When Emma discovers through Reddit that she apparently has the exact same curse, the two hatch an experiment. They’ll date each other, break up, and hopefully cancel out their respective curses.
Obviously, things do not remain that simple.
Emma, a traveling nurse, comes to Minnesota with her best friend, and what is supposed to be a temporary summer arrangement gets considerably more serious as both Emma and Justin face complicated family situations.
My take: The “dating each other to break up with each other” premise makes Just for the Summer one of the easiest Abby Jimenez books to recommend based on the hook alone. But, in classic Jimenez fashion, a funny premise gradually reveals a much more emotional story underneath.
What Is All Roads Lead to Here?
There is also a bonus short story called All Roads Lead to Here, which Abby Jimenez offers to readers through her website/newsletter.
It’s worth seeking out once you’re invested in her world, especially if one of your favorite things about the books is spotting the interconnected characters and little Easter eggs that reward longtime readers.
Say You’ll Remember Me and The Night We Met
This is where labeling Abby Jimenez’s books gets a little confusing.
You may see Say You’ll Remember Me, The Night We Met, and the upcoming Feels Like Falling described as standalones in some places and grouped together as a series in others. The safest description is that these are connected romances following characters within the same social circle, with each novel focusing on a different central couple.
That means the books still offer a complete central romance, but reading them in publication order gives you more context for the returning characters.
Say You’ll Remember Me — 2025
Main couple: Samantha Diaz and Xavier Rush
Samantha meets veterinarian Xavier Rush under less-than-ideal circumstances. His first impression is spectacularly bad, but once Xavier realizes he misjudged her, one incredible date changes their relationship completely.
Unfortunately, Samantha’s family is in crisis, and she has to leave California for Minnesota. She tells Xavier to remember their date as one perfect night rather than trying to make an impossible relationship work.
Neither of them is especially good at forgetting.
My take: This is the choice for readers who want Abby Jimenez at her most emotional. The romantic premise is appealing, but the family storyline gives the novel much of its weight.
The Night We Met — 2026
Main couple: Larissa and Chris
Published March 24, 2026, The Night We Met revolves around a seemingly tiny choice with enormous consequences.
After a concert, Larissa has a choice about who will drive her home. She chooses Mike rather than his friend Chris—and Mike becomes her boyfriend. But as time passes, Larissa and Chris develop an increasingly meaningful friendship. They share books, a rescue Yorkie, food opinions, and an ease with one another that becomes increasingly difficult to ignore.
There’s just one rather enormous problem: Chris is her boyfriend’s best friend.
My take: The setup is riskier than Jimenez’s usual meet-cute because the romantic tension depends on loyalty, friendship, and bad timing. That makes The Night We Met particularly intriguing for readers who like yearning and a very slow burn rather than an immediately available couple.
Feels Like Falling — 2027
Main couple: Elizabeth and Mike Maddox
Feels Like Falling is currently scheduled to publish April 20, 2027.
Elizabeth is tired of being the reliable person everyone depends on—her father, her sister, her best friend, and seemingly everyone at work. Mike Maddox, meanwhile, has plenty of mistakes in his past and some serious amends to make.
Elizabeth has good reasons not to trust him. Mike is determined to prove that he can change by actually showing up for her and the people she loves.
My take: Because Mike carries history from the preceding books, Feels Like Falling is exactly the kind of Abby Jimenez novel where reading in publication order should pay off. A redemption arc is much more interesting when you already understand what the character needs redemption from.
Abby Jimenez Novellas and Short Stories
Beyond her full-length novels, Abby Jimenez has also written several shorter romances. These aren’t essential to understanding the main books, so consider them bonus reading when you want a quick dose of her signature combination of meet-cute, humor, and emotion.
Worst Wingman Ever — 2024: Part of Amazon Original Stories’ The Improbable Meet-Cute collection. Holly begins receiving notes and small acts of kindness from a stranger after a Valentine intended for someone else winds up on her windshield.
The Situationship — 2024: A short story about Maddy and Doug that was originally included as bonus material with Just for the Summer and was later released digitally. This one takes readers back to Wakan, Minnesota.
The Fall Risk — 2025: An Amazon Original Stories release about neighbors Charlotte and Seth, who are unexpectedly stranded together after the staircase in their apartment building collapses over Valentine’s Day weekend.
A Married Little Christmas — 2026: Rather than a single novella, this October 2026 release collects three Christmas-themed novellas: Sweater Weather, Stealing Christmas, and Marry Little Christmas. The collection also includes recipes and illustrations.
And don’t forget All Roads Lead to Here, the bonus story available through Abby Jimenez’s website/newsletter.
For completists, these short works are worth adding to your Abby Jimenez reading list, but you don’t need to stop between every novel to read them before continuing a series.
Do You Need To Read Abby Jimenez Books In Order?
No—you do not have to read Abby Jimenez books in order.
Each full-length novel focuses on a primary couple and gives that relationship its own arc, which means you can pick up Part of Your World, Yours Truly, Just for the Summer, or another book without reading everything that came before it.
But should you read them in order? I would.
One of the pleasures of Abby Jimenez’s books is realizing that these romances don’t exist in isolation. Friends, siblings, coworkers, and other side characters reappear. Sometimes a supporting character becomes the lead of the next book.
For example, Sloan is an important character in The Friend Zone before becoming the heroine of The Happy Ever After Playlist. Briana appears in Part of Your World before taking center stage in Yours Truly. And the connections become especially important around Say You’ll Remember Me, The Night We Met, and Feels Like Falling.
Reading in order also helps you avoid casual spoilers. Romance readers generally know there will be a happily ever after, but seeing a previous couple together in a later book can reveal details about where their story ultimately lands.
If you love interconnected characters and catching Easter eggs, publication order is the way to go.
If you simply want to try Abby Jimenez for the first time, however, feel free to start with whichever premise sounds best.
Which Abby Jimenez Book Should You Read First?
Not sure where to begin? I’d choose based on what kind of contemporary romance you already know you enjoy.
Start with The Friend Zone if: You want to begin at the very beginning and read every Abby Jimenez book in publication order.
Start with Part of Your World if: You love a small town, opposites attract, complicated family expectations, and romances where the setting becomes part of the love story.
Start with Yours Truly if: You want letters, fake dating, workplace romance, anxiety representation, and a slow-burn relationship.
Start with Just for the Summer if: You want the most immediately irresistible premise. Two people dating specifically so they can break up and find their soulmates afterward? I’m in.
Start with Say You’ll Remember Me if: You want an emotional contemporary romance where family obligations make the central relationship much more complicated.
Start with The Night We Met if: You like yearning, complicated timing, friends-to-lovers energy, and a romance that begins with a choice that cannot easily be undone.
For most new readers, though, I think there are two especially good strategies: start with The Friend Zone if you already suspect you’ll want to read everything, or start with Part of Your World if you want to sample one of Jimenez’s later novels before committing to her entire backlist.
If I had to narrow it down, my top three Abby Jimenez books are The Friend Zone, Feels Like Falling, and Part of Your World. The Friend Zone will always feel special because it’s where her career as a novelist began—and I had the chance to interview Abby before it was published—while Feels Like Falling and Part of Your World are two of the books that best capture what I love about her writing: humor, emotional depth, and characters you genuinely want to root for.
If You Like Abby Jimenez, Try These Authors
Once you’ve worked your way through Abby Jimenez’s books in order, there are plenty of other contemporary romance authors who deliver some combination of humor, emotional depth, memorable banter, and big romantic payoffs.
Emily Henry: An obvious next choice for readers who like witty dialogue, emotionally layered characters, and romance novels interested in much more than the romance itself. I also have a complete list of authors like Emily Henry if you want to keep building your TBR.
Christina Lauren: Try this writing duo if your favorite Abby Jimenez element is the balance between a fun romantic premise and characters you quickly become invested in.
Tessa Bailey: A good choice if you want contemporary romance with bigger personalities, lots of chemistry, humor, and generally more heat.
Ali Hazelwood: Especially good for readers who enjoy banter, distinctive heroines, workplace settings, and heroes who fall hard.
Katherine Center: A great fit if what you love most about Jimenez is the hopeful, emotional side of her storytelling.
Beth O’Leary: Try her books for clever romantic setups, warm humor, and stories where the supporting characters matter almost as much as the central couple.
You can find even more recommendations in my guide to the best contemporary romance authors.
And if you’re newer to romance and aren’t quite sure what separates these books from historical romance, romantic comedy, romantic suspense, or other categories, start with my guide explaining what is contemporary romance.
Abby Jimenez Books In Order: The Bottom Line
The easiest way to read Abby Jimenez’s books is in publication order, beginning with The Friend Zone and moving forward from there. You don’t have to—the central romances are designed so that readers can enjoy individual books as standalones—but reading them chronologically makes the interconnected characters, cameos, Easter eggs, and evolving friendships much more satisfying.
Start with the Friend Zone series for The Friend Zone, The Happy Ever After Playlist, and Life’s Too Short. Then move into the Part of Your World series with Part of Your World, Yours Truly, and Just for the Summer. From there, continue with Say You’ll Remember Me, The Night We Met, and the upcoming Feels Like Falling.
And when you need something shorter between novels, there are novellas and short stories like Worst Wingman Ever, The Situationship, The Fall Risk, and the holiday collection A Married Little Christmas waiting for you.
That interconnected quality is ultimately one of the things that makes Abby Jimenez’s bibliography so much fun to read. You arrive for one couple, notice an interesting side character, and before long you’re picking up the next book because now you need to know how that person’s story turns out.
Which Abby Jimenez book is your favorite? And if you could recommend just one to a brand-new reader, which would you choose? Tell me in the comments.
