Lif’s too Short by Abby Jimenez. #2021AudiobookChallenge 1/4 bitter and 3/4 liquid sunshine.

Synopsis

A brilliant and touching romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone and The Happy Ever After Playlist.Vanessa lives life on her own terms — one day at a time, every day to its fullest. She isn’t willing to waste a moment or miss out on an experience when she has no idea whether she shares the same fatal genetic condition as her mother. Besides, she has way too much to do, traveling the globe and showing her millions of YouTube followers the joy in seizing every moment.

But after her half-sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her infant daughter, she is housebound, on mommy duty for the foreseeable future, and feeling totally out of her element.

The last person she expects to show up offering help is the unbelievably hot lawyer who lives next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. But as they get closer, Vanessa realizes that her carefree ways and his need for a structured plan could never be compatible for the long term. Then again, she should know better than anyone that life’s too short to fear taking the biggest risk of all. . .

Audiobook review

4,5 stars

Praise for the narrators that brought that story to life. I swear the male narrator Zachary Webber as a warm voice like melted sugar and I plan on listening to many books he has narrated.

It’s my second Abby Jimenez story and she seems to write romance with sensitive and heavy themes but without making it feel heavy. She does not sugarcoat it either or minimize the gravity of her topic but she has a knack to add positivity and light in her story that makes the reader think about that matter, ponder but prevent from dwelling on it.

Under the cover or romance happening between two very loveable characters, a foster baby and a foster dog, Abby Jimenez bring awareness to some serious matters.

While I listened, charmed by the budding romance, the hallmark moments, the swoon worthy hot lawyer turned babysitter and the upbeat travel vlogger, I could not help but soak all the information about what happened to Vanessa. And think. And wonder what I would do. And admire how strong Vanessa was.

One of the main tropes/topics in this story is the right to choose your own death, to decide what you want to do for your health.

That was a topic close to my heart as my dad, when he learnt he had cancer and couldn’t be cured, chose to refuse treatments. He entered the process to have euthanasia when the time would be right.

My mom and I completely agreed as it was his life, his body, his pain hence, his choice on how he wanted to go.

When Vanessa chose to live her life to the fullest, travel, enjoy wine, enjoy food as the women in her family tended to die young, I understood. She did not want to go on a lengthy process if she could maybe have that illness. There was no cure anyway. So why obsess about it?

As she said, if you do that, you die twice. First in your life thinking about what you can do to prevent it, not doing anything fun anymore but running from doctor to doctor, and then a second time when the end will come.

I admired her for her will to live, to shine, to be happy.

Another topic dear to my heart this time is the found family trope.

That trope is one of my favorites.

When Adrian rescues Vanessa from Grace who is crying all the time that night, he’ll soon become a part of their lives. Changing diapers, giving food, babysitting. It just happened. And it felt so natural! It felt so right.

It was like Vanessa and Adrian were meant to be together and be parents to Grace. Even the grumpy old dog was a nice addition to what soon felt like a found family.

But speaking about families, we also are reminded that every family has its problems and own brand of crazy

Adrian had problems with his family. His dad left when he was a kid, he helped his mom and grandma and now, his mom remarried and he hates her new husband.

He has never gone so long without seeing his family and it feels like an amputated limb.

But Vanessa’s family is a whole other level of crazy!

Her sister is a junkie, her brother is chasing the next Ponzy scheme and her dad is a hoarder of junk.

Not kidding his home looked like the inside of a trashcan and it was …gross! He also had arresting opinions like driving licenses were an invention of the state to have more money, or food never having an expiration date.

Vanessa had always been the glue to her family, the support, since her mom died. She was despairing to see them becoming independent!

You probably know by now that I am a character driven reader. Well, the characters were GOOD and amazing people!

I used to read a lot of romance with a$$hole heroes but now I crave good people and that’s exactly what both Vanessa and Adrian were!

Vanessa helping her family all the time, mothering Grace and being the optimist. She truly embraced life with her whole soul.

And Adrian, or Jesus’s abbs, was just amazing too. Supportive, kind, warm, polite protective… He is just the guy you want to introduce to your mom and marry.

I wanted to bask into their warmth and become friend with them in real life!

This is a feel-good book that is a quarter bitter and three-quarter liquid sunshine.

Thanks for reading!

Sophie