Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

Pages: 400
Method: Kindle
Rating: 4.75/5

I really enjoyed this book and gave it four stars on goodreads, but after a couple of days of reflecting on it and giving time for my favorite parts to sink in, I decided that I liked even more than when I initially finished it. The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is because there were a couple parts that I related to so much that they were a bit triggering and at one point I actually had to put the book down and walk away for a minute because I was fully feeling the emotions of the main female character, Alexis. However, that is no knock against the author or the book itself, it was just visceral enough that there would be a tiny bit of hesitation for me to read it again.

With that being said, one of the things that I loved about this love story was that she went from the glitz and glam and the allure of a beautiful facade, to the deep and true and long-lasting simplicity of love. She had to recognize and break out of patterns in order to realize that money, power, and prestige are not nearly as fulfilling as genuine relationships and following your passion toward the things you are made to do. Her love interest, Daniel, didn’t feel like he had much to offer her but in reality, he offered her the things that mean the most, his time, his energy, his attention, and joy.

For example, Daniel gifted Alexis a heart shaped rock that took him two hours to find. This is what she says about it, “I loved it. I loved it more than I’d ever loved anything. It wasn’t flashy. It cost him nothing but his time–but that was the gift. Daniel didn’t have time. That was his most valuable commodity right now, and he’d given it to find me this?” What a beautiful picture of love. It is sacrificial and it is selfless. It makes you feel seen and makes you want to be the best version of yourself.

Love is also fun, and I felt that in their relationship. It wasn’t necessarily banter heavy, although there was a good amount, but you could tell that they loved being in each other’s company and laughed together a lot. They even developed their own inside jokes that became a theme that they returned to throughout the book and that’s an element of intimate relationships that often gets overlooked so I was happy to have it be a feature of their relationship. 

I thought the side characters were well written because there was a juxtaposition of people in similar environments that can be completely different. Her best friend Bri was her voice of reason, encouraging her and keeping her sane, while her other “friends” showed the negative side of the life she was in and made her realize how shallow and impersonal she could be if she didn’t check herself. And Daniel’s friends were the classic bro friend group that gave each other a hard time but when it counts, they show up and love each other. You got just enough of their individual stories that I want to read about them more but not so much that it distracts from the main story of this book. The good thing is that there are two other books in the series that follow other characters so I will definitely be reading those.