Ponder: Just for the Summer

The premise of Just for the Summer ©2024 by Abby Jimenez follows the philosophy of opening a jar of pickles. The first person ties with all his strength, unsuccessfully, to open the jar. The next person who tries, twists if off easily. So it seems to be with Justin and Emma. Every person each of them dates, once they breakup, finds his/her true love with the next relationship. So here is a thought... What if Emma and Justin date each other? Then each is sure to find true love with the next person after they break up with each other.

Emma is a traveling nurse, staying only for short periods at each assignment. This arrangement suits her fine. As a child, she had a mother who would periodically abandon her for long periods of time and consequently she had learned to not count on people. Justin is a techy type guy and wants to recapture the conditions that have prevailed when each of them broke up with a former boyfriend/girlfriend. His spreadsheets of data to replicate situations — how many dates, type of kissing, favored activities, meal preferences — are amusing. The trouble is, he starts to fall for Emma and does not want to conclude the dating plan because it might end in them splitting up. Justin has commitments to his younger siblings that do not leave him unfettered to follow Emma in her shifting job locations. She can't stay; he can't go; hence the dilemma.

A fun twist to the plot is that Emma is staying on an island during this present assignment; access to and from it is limited to transport by a rickety pontoon boat. Each date is carefully planned and timed — and often thwarted. As the final date nears completion, Justin stalls and does not want to fulfill the agreed-upon-terms to end their relationship. This book. although enjoyable, did not appeal to me as much as a previous book I read by this author, Say You'll Remember Me, reviewed in my blog post for 7/14/25. Just for the Summer had more comedic situations that made me smile, but it dragged a bit for me in the middle. I cared about Emma and Justin. I just wanted them to get on with it already!

★★★☆☆ Better than average; not a waste of time