By Larissa Page
Content warnings: Emotional abuse, domestic violence (side character)
Sometimes within my series of reading, I feel drawn to more lighthearted, uplifting, or happy reads. When this happens, I always want the book to have some love, some laughs, and maybe a bit of conflict, but I still want it to have some depth and development. This past month I felt drawn to pick up Part of Your World and I simply flew through it, finishing its 400 pages all within one day.
Abby Jimenez absolutely delivered for me. She gave me a book with a main character struggling with a recent break up from a relationship that has been anything but healthy. She is struggling to find her place in her family, pulled between the world they want her in and the one she wants for herself, and we see her learn to shift her priorities to better love and deliver happiness for herself. I loved getting to know Alexis and seeing her struggle against the backdrop of both the big city and the small town.
Daniel, on the other hand, delivers a little less personal growth. I really enjoyed him as a character, particularly a romantic one, and I loved the chemistry between him and Alexis, but I would have loved to have seen a bit more development from him as well.
I was a bit surprised by the conversations centered around emotional abuse and toxic relationships. We see from the beginning that Alexis’s previous relationship was emotionally abusive and thankfully she recognizes it too, but the level of emotional abuse coming from other characters within the book surprised me more. Without spoilers, I will say that I am happy that the main character managed to recognize these behaviours by the end of the book, but I would consider this a potential trigger for people who may have experienced these behaviours in the past.
Ultimately this book gave me what I always look for in a romance. It had some depth, some personal conflict, and good character development for Alexis. It features a lovely small town that you can just feel the community vibe. The side characters are mostly lovable, and those who are not meant to be lovable. It had a good amount of steam without being terribly salacious, and it made my heart feel happy.