Book ~ "Just for the Summer" (2024) Abby Jimenez

From Goodreads ~ Justin has a curse and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: they'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea … and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected – including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Justin posts online on Reddit that he is cursed ... after he dates a woman and they break up after a few dates, the woman always finds their soulmate. When Emma comes across this, she responds to him because she has the same curse. He is in Minnesota and she is in Colorado and they start texting and chatting and get to know each other. Emma is a travel nurse and she and Maddy, her friend, take on new assignments in new places every couple of months. Their next stop is supposed to be Hawaii but Emma convinces Maddy to head to Minnesota instead so she can meet and date Justin so they can break their curse and move on to meet their soulmate. As Emma and Justin get to know and like like each other, though, their plan to break up after four dates becomes harder.

Both are coming with baggage. Emma's mother, Amber, had frequently abandoned her and Emma was eventually put in foster care in Maddy's home. Amber has popped in and out of Emma's life for years ... it's always nice at first but explodes before Amber disappears again. Emma always has hope that Amber will straighten out and come back for good but it next happens. Justin's mom is heading to prison which will leave Justin responsible for his three younger siblings for the next six years.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it. It's a cute romance that does get heavy with the issues that Emma and Justin have to deal with with their families. It's written in first person perspective in Emma and Justin's voices (the chapters are labeled). As a head's up, there is swearing.