The Night We Met
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Say You'll Remember Me comes a beautiful, compelling novel that revels in laughter, friendship, and the messy choices life can throw our way.
In everyone’s life, there’s a split-second decision that can change everything...
For Larissa, it came when choosing who to ride home with after a concert. That night, she had no idea she’d met the perfect man. She and Chris are great friends, co-parenting a slightly unhinged rescue Yorkie, sharing their favorite books, and judging bread (pumpernickel for the win!). For the first time amid all her side hustles to scrape by, things finally feel easy.
But she didn’t choose Chris to drive her home all those months ago—she went with his best friend, and he became her boyfriend. All Chris wants is for Larissa to be happy. Standing by on the sidelines is slowly killing him, but making a move would destroy someone else. How can something that feels so right be absolutely impossible?
- Pages
- 400
- First published
- March 24, 2026
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Ebook
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Shelved by 15 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished August 24, 2026
The Night We Met gave me unbearable yearning, questionable timing, one chaotic rescue Yorkie and two people struggling to admit to their feelings. Naturally, I had a fantastic time. The situation the main characters were in was an absolute mess, but that was exactly what made it so compelling. Chris and Larissa clearly belonged together, yet acting on their feelings would hurt someone they both cared about. There was no easy solution, just longing, guilt and enough emotional repression to power a small country. And Chris? EXCUSE ME? This man noticed everything. He remembered the smallest details, understood what Larissa needed and quietly tried to make her exhausting life a little easier without demanding anything in return. At some point, he apparently decided that loving her silently was a sustainable long-term strategy. It was not. For him or for me. Larissa was juggling enough side jobs to qualify as her own employment agency while dealing with financial stress, family problems and a severe allergy. Her life was held together by determination, exhaustion and probably one very stressed calendar. I completely understood why Chris became such a safe place for her. I also loved that the story did not pretend the situation was morally simple. The feelings between Chris and Larissa were genuine, but so were the consequences. Everyone involved had their own struggles, and nobody could escape without getting hurt. How considerate of Abby Jimenez to make the characters suffer while I watched helplessly from my sofa. Abby, what an author you are. Five stars for the yearning, the emotional damage and Chris single-handedly creating a global shortage of reasonable romantic expectations.
Finished March 29, 2026
Damn this book HURTS. I’m going to be thinking about this one for a while. It was so good. Despite the pain of say you’ll remember me that one left me a lot happier than this one did. All of the relationships in this were so complicated and you couldn’t help but feel for everyone involved. Seeing Larissa and Chris slowly fall in love and seeing how meant for each other they are when she was dating his best friend, ouch. Mike saying at the end that Larissa wasn’t the love of his life Chris was and admitting to the fact that he wasn’t a good friend or bf and knew he was letting Chris pick up all the slack was really good. I cried for a lot of this book but I also loved it, Jimenez’s books always feel so raw and so real.
Finished March 31, 2026
*☆5 stars☆* This one had me in tears more times than I’d like to admit. Abby doesn’t hold back when it comes to putting her readers through emotional damage… but she does reward us with the happy ending we deserve. The Night We Met is built on pure, painful irony—like, meeting the man of your dreams while dating his best friend irony. Abby has a way of bringing her characters to life that makes me ache for them, get frustrated with them, and still love them anyway. She writes messy, deeply human characters you can actually see yourself in—whether it’s anxiety, grief, self-worth struggles, addiction, or the weight of past decisions. She doesn’t just tell stories—she makes you feel seen. And of course, we have to give a shoutout to her signature furry sidekicks—always full of personality and somehow stealing every scene they’re in. Highly recommend for Abby fans, if you love emotional reads that hurt so good, and a romance that earns its happy ending. You won’t be disappointed. [Find my reviews on Bookstagram too!](https://www.instagram.com/literarily_laurynn?igsh=aTh6eTZ6dGwxMXpy&utm_source=qr)
Finished April 5, 2026
Started March 25, 2026 · Finished March 29, 2026
I can tell a lot of time and thought went into this book to make it feel genuine and really explore the complexities with the topics at hand in this one. I did enjoy Say Youll Remember Me more but this is very Abby coded with its exploration of deep emotional turmoil and relationships that sometimes make you wonder "is love really enough..." There were moments my eyes watered, and moments I laughed, and even moments where i felt the unredeemable became redeemed and I loved every minute of this. The deeper I got the harder it was to put down and that is exactly what I look for in a romance book. 🌶️0.5/5
Finished June 20, 2026
- challengingdarkemotionalhopefultenseMedium-paced
Started June 17, 2026 · Finished June 24, 2026
Loved this book in the first half, and struggled getting through the second half. Chris and Larissa in the beginning were really wonderful characters who I enjoyed reading how they kept ending up in situations together, though never planned that way. Their chemistry felt so real, and the yearning is always a win in my book. When I reached 60% through the book, I started to not want to skip to the next page to find out more. The inner/outer monologues given by Chris, Larissa, and Mike just felt like it hit a dead note after awhile, and at times throughout the whole book, the writing felt very unpolished and naive then would jump to a "meaning of" paragraph. I still enjoyed the book overall, but was let down by it.
Finished April 2, 2026
Started April 1, 2026 · Finished April 1, 2026
Say You'll Remember Me was easily my favorite book of 2025, so I was incredibly excited to read the follow-up-- especially with it having such an interesting premise. And while it didn't necessarily live up to Say You'll Remember Me (for me, personally) it was still a very solid entry into Abby Jimenez's catalog that I'd easily recommend to others. As with so many of Jimenez's characters, it was so easy to empathize with and root for Larissa and Chris. With Larissa struggling to make ends meet and navigate a new relationship while trying to maintain appearances, you can't help but want her to experience better. Chris is the perfect man to help her do that, but it's complicated with her dating his best friend. I really loved the development of their relationship, how both wanted only to take care of the other, and how the story emphasized that friendship is often the best foundation for a romantic relationship. The development of certain side characters was also very enjoyable and I'm excited to see where future installments might take their stories. While I enjoyed the characters, I felt that certain plot aspects could have been slightly improved. Specifically, I felt that the plot resolution was a bit too... easy... in some ways. We'd spent the whole book seeing Larissa in very difficult situations and struggling to make ends meet; while I didn't mind her taking the opportunity after being fired to start her own business, it seemed like the business was instantly successful, which felt convenient and didn't provide the emotional payoff I was hoping for. In all, The Night We Met was a really good story full of Jimenez's trademark humor and romance. If you enjoy themes of "what if?" and making the best of difficult situations, with wonderful depictions of friendship and supportive partnerships, this one's for you.
